Awesome gear that doesn't really get any credit?

[rlcramer]

I tend to spend 99% of my life GAS'ing for the latest and greatest piece of swanky gear. But every once in a while, I plunk down some cash for something that actually makes a practical difference in the way I work, or the way my music sounds, instead of just being a cool toy. (In case you were wondering, I have REALLY bad GAS. REALLY REALLY bad...).

Anyway.... A few months ago I picked up a Mackie Big Knob. A friend of mine had one, and said "Dude, I can't live without it - you gotta try it." So I bought one myself, and I frikkin LOVE this thing. No, it's not the most glamorous piece of kit, but it gives me a single volume control for the main outs on my MOTU interface, the line out of my Mac, it lets me switch between my three sets of monitors, it's a great headphone amp, it provides mono summing so I can check my mixes, etc. At the time, I'm sure I was going to spend that money on something cooler like a new mic, some FX plugins, etc. But in the end, it's probably the most useful thing in my entire studio. I can't say enough good things about it, and I NEVER would have looked at it, unless my friend recommended it to me.

Do you guys have any similar "unsung heroes" in your recording or live rigs?

Bobby

 

[Ermz]

Well, similarly, getting my M-patch 2 made my life a lot easier in regards to volume management and lowering the noise floor of the monitors. Apart from that, everything is standard fare and getting the credit it deserves. The Millennia, Multiface and new PC have been fantastic. The GSSL has been a great toy. If anything the Mbox deserves cred for letting me run ProTools once in a while and not be stranded with Cubase for editing. It's probably invaluable if I think of it that way.

Have you noticed any degradation in your monitoring quality since getting the Big Knob? I've heard a lot of feedback where people mentioned the Big Knob taking fidelity out. It was part of the reason I opted for a passive unit in that price range. Less coloration than cheap active, particularly if paired with high quality, short run cables. Who knows though I read it all on GS, so you never know which deep dark recess of insecurity half those comments are coming from.

 

[gabriel g.]

Yamaha hs80m!!!!

I only wanted monitors that go very low, to have a better controll of my low-end in the mixes. I tried the hs80m and was totaly blown away!!!
Money wasnt realy that problem at the time, so I also checked KRK with 8" Adams 2.5 and the Genelec 8030 (??? or the 8040, the one with the 8")

So the Yamaha was my winner!!!! I had never expected that!!!!

 

[rlcramer]

I'll be honest, I never really hooked the Big Knob up to any test equipment or anything like that, but to my untrained ear, I can't hear any difference at all between running my monitors through it, or connecting them directly to my interface. Keep in mind - one set of speakers is a 2.1 set of Logitechs for my PC, another is a set of Avantone Mixcubes that are supposed to sound a bit gnarley anyway. My only "real" monitor speakers are Mackie HR624's and they sound identical to me when I run them direct or through the Big Knob.

Bobby

 

[gabriel g.]

???I dont understand your post...do you mean you dont hear any difference between different monitors or did you mean you dont hear any difference between one HR624 and the other???

 

[smy1]

Gabriel: he doesn't hear a difference between using the Big Knob in the monitoring chain or not - meaning, he can't tell if there's a signal degradation caused by the Mackie Big Knob.

 

[gabriel g.]

ahh, now I get it....thanks smy1

 

[rlcramer]

Sorry Gabriel - you're not going crazy. I edited my original post to make it more clear.

Bobby

 

[James-Doolan]

Moongel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ahjteam]

Sennheiser e901 mic. Its a PZM mic that you put inside the kickdrum. Works wonders live, I usually just boost the bottom shelf about 2-3dB and slam one channel from dbx 166XL to it and thats it. No other processing needed.

I have used it in the studio too 4-5 times and I have usually always preferred it to all those traditional kickmics because the snap has this "already processed" sounding tone to it.

http://www.ahjteam.com/upload/2008/kicktest.mp3 (8 hits of e901, D112, MD421 and a DIY-subkick)

Moongel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

+1. This has really been a lifesaver sometimes

 

[Notuern]

TubeWorks MosValve poweramps, ProCo Rat, 70's/80's Tokai(Guitars), 70's/80's Arias(Guitars & Basses) and then we might just have the one thing most people seem to care about the least: Computer screen!
Seriously, i cant stand shitty screens. ;X

 

[Ermz]

^ I feel you there. I used one live many times and a few times in the studio. It did the job, that's for sure.

 

[jrt12]

i cant live without dual screens. makes all the difference in the world to me, whether working on music, at work or just screwing around online at home. i dont know how the "other half" lives with just one screen

 

[Metaltastic]

i cant live without dual screens. makes all the difference in the world to me, whether working on music, at work or just screwing around online at home. i dont know how the "other half" lives with just one screen

Keyboard shortcuts to toggle various windows!

 

[ahjteam]

i cant live without dual screens. makes all the difference in the world to me, whether working on music, at work or just screwing around online at home. i dont know how the "other half" lives with just one screen

I actually switched after using 19" dualscreens for 5 years to a 37" singlescreen (with actually a bit smaller resolution) and I didn't experience that big of a difference since I know how to use my keyboardshortcuts

 

[JMarz]

Keyboard shortcuts to toggle various windows!

WTS Alt-Tab

9000$

 

[jrt12]

yea, the shortcuts help in some scenarios, but when doing things like graphic design and or publishing layouts... the various toolbars take up half the screen. its good to have a whole other screen for just the image.

as for going to one big screen... monetarily it doesnt make sense for me. I got two 22" screens for about $300. I dont know what a 37" would cost, but i'm guessing way more.

 

[K Odell]

My weiner is the one piece of gear I find that never gets any credit. FUCK!

But I am with whoever said dual screens.

 

[ze kink]

Also a +1 for dual screens, or actually in my case, a single 26" screen. I could use my Macbook Pro's screen with it too, but the 26" is enough for me. It's also a S-IPS and not a crappy TN panel or anything, but that doesn't really matter with mixing and stuff I guess.

 

[rlcramer]

Yeah, +1 on dual screens here too... I have 2 26" NEC S-IPS, hardware calibrated screens (I'm a part time photographer) and when I sit at a desktop with 1 screen or work on my laptop, I feel like I can't get anything done. Dual screens really changes the way you work (in a good way).

Bobby