11 thoughts on “Show 142 – Basic Guitar gear comparisons and more

  1. RNC in super-nice-mode does sound a lot more natural with less thumping. Were the release settings exactly the same between clips 2&3?

  2. Hey Ryan, I know you’ve probably been over this before, but exactly which output do you use on your 002 to reamp? I know on my 003, all of the outputs are 1/4″ and I imagine that most of them are balanced, so do you use an adapter cable to get to your pro rmp? Also, what about volume level out from the console? Thanks

    • I used a male 1/4″ TRS to Male XLR out of the 002. Worked just like it was supposed to! The level out was usually left alone. I would sometimes adjust the gain on the Pro RMP.

  3. Hi R

    Yes the settings were identical. All I did was push in the RNC button. FWIW I find the RNC is a terrific little box for just about any tracking need. Cheap too, for the quality.

  4. The full settings for the RNC clip on the show were:

    If you’re interested the recording notes are

    L’Arriveé OM01 guitar (Canada’s finest…)
    Neumann TLM103 mic pointing at 14th fret
    RNP preamp

    Comp settings:

    Level    -10db
    Ratio  6:1
    Attack .6
    Release .3
    Gain makeup +4db

    I used the same comp settings for both clips, I just punched in Really Nice mode on the second one.

  5. When I worked at a music store in the late ’70’s, all the young guys were coming in and buying the exact rig that their guitar heroes played. There was one guy who idolized Hendrix to the point that, since Jimi was left handed and played a right handed strat upside down, this kid bought a custom made (from the factory!) left handed strat, with the nut and bridge set up to play right handed. He still didn’t sound like Mr. H.

    Around that time, Guitar Player magazine had an article in which an engineer was talking about all of the guitar greats playing on each others’ albums (like Clapton and Harrison, etc.), and they asked him how he is able to supply the amps and guitars these guys needed. He answered something to the effect that these guitar greats just come in and pick up any guitar, plug it into any amp, and pretty soon they sound like they always do. I think that goes to show that skill, talent and performance overshadow equipment every time.

    You guys are terrific! I look forward to every show.

  6. Once again, greta show! It would be awesome to see you guys do a show on the differences between overdrive and distortion. (On guitar, bass, vox, drums even)IMHO Distortion is more than just overdrive turned up to 11. 😛

    dan

  7. Hey Ryan and Jon. Love the show. Been listening to back episodes, and am finally caught up.

    I have a suggestion for a shootout: Cheap mics for the singer-songwriter.

    The scenario I’m imagining is the singer/acoustic guitarist who does not want to spend more than a few hundred dollars on recording gear, but needs something that’s a step up from singing into the lid of a laptop. I’d like to hear a comparison of mics under $100, and in the $100 to $200 range.

    To better simulate the plight of the impoverished musician, I would recommend these ground rules:

    -No external preamps–plug the mics directly into an interface such as a Fast Track or Mbox.
    -Test the mics in an actual bedroom, complete with noise leaking in from other rooms and no acoustic treatment other than blankets.
    -Extra points for a mic that does a decent job on both voice and acoustic guitar.

  8. Hey guys, one difference between a strat and tele bridge pickup (aside from winding, wire gauge, and magnet type/strength) is that the tele usually has a big metal plate under the coil. Theory is that this affects the magnetic field of the pickup causes the classic tele bite. True? Maybe. Who knows? The guitar world is about 90% superstition and the rest is hearsay!

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