Thanks for the hilariously Great Video! Agree with all f your points 100% and just ordered my Cranborne 500 R! Subscribed to your channel as well. HNY 2021 Cheers!
I would love to know the arguments for or against that, I mean beyond being stupidly overpriced, at least we perceive it as such (they could have made such a small run that volume discounts didnt kick in at all and I have no idea how much crap on board costs, and I know some things line a relatively large fpga will always be expensive, because if you were selling it in a volume that could get the cost down an asci would be as cheap and cheaper down the line and better) My main question would come to is there a point of severely diminishing returns that happened way down the price line? I know with headphones you get about 80% of the potential quality by the 150$ price point, around 95 by the 500, and 99 by the 1000, but things like the orpheus exist which as I understand, as good as headphones can ever be my point is, im wondering if this is severely diminishing returns or is this the equivalent of putting crystals on an audio cable to to "stabilize sound" (god I hate the audiophile snakeoil but dammit it is funny).
@@alidan well, people have opinions about what 'the best' preamp out there is. This one isn't mentioned, and most of 'the best' aren't even close to as expensive. Sure, it's subjective, but even if the diminishing returns thing applies, placebo has taken over waaay before this pricepoint, and arguing it makes a difference is just justifying being a self-rightous asshole. Feed some kids. Save some animals. Help some homeless people. Your mix is not worth it.
if you think you want to price one, just rent it for a day and I will build you one if one does not already exist at this site. Here's an example...the P.melter :-) www.pedalpcb.com/product/facemelter/ I guess do an episode where you beat down all the ultra-boutique bitches by letting them know that even if they try to kill a pedal that pedals can now achieve internet martyrdom and LO THE PERSISTENCE OF DIGITAL EPHEMERA WAS BEHELD BY GENERATIONS OF TERRANS
It would actually be much cheaper to replicate a human ear to listen to a high quality set of transducers. :-) Brüel & Kjær charge a base $250k for the entire head (there are tool subscriptions involved and that's a LOT of recurring charges, usually at least once a quarter) but just making a thing that emulates an ear along with the cochlear response modeling in physical life (that's the difference between emulating and simulating, kids) but I did craptons of device testing and qualification over the years, including stuff that goes in people ears so I've literally modeled an ear and it had to not only hear but be moving, etc, so we could tell if a design was going to fall straight out of the standard ear bucket per size fitted or fitting feature validated. Make several to a dozen depending on what type of fixturing was required and what features we were testing under what conditions. :-)
I bought the Midas L6 rack last week as I had a suspicion those noise issues were hugely overblown or maybe just on the initial launch units a few years back. Surprise surprise... It's dead silent. Extremely well built, good linking and buss features on the back and no noise at all. I'm very picky with this stuff and I've tried numerous modules in different positions in the rack and it's still quiet. So despite what anyone is saying about that I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if you want to get into 500 series cheaply and don't need the extra features of something like the Cranbourne.
Same here. Haven't tried it with all 10 slots drawing current yet, but considering I could buy a second one and still not have paid what I'd pay for most other chassis I'm feeling fine.
@@RealHomeRecording I have one two and it's perfect. Dead silent and good power. If you don't need all the bells and whistles then this is a no brainer.
I have been eyeing that Cranborne rack for a while now. That, and a load of 500 series modules is going to be my next big studio upgrade. Hopefully this winter!
so I've just found out about the 500 series after looking for pre-amps and it seems like a really cool rabbit hole, no surprise you've already covered it :D
In all fairness, I couldn't even bear to pull up the video after seeing the thumbnail. Here's a +2F for your misery and blood pressure. I think that episode would have been the one to cause me to generate such a massive eyeroll that my eyes would get stuck backwards and I wouldn't be blind but all I would be able to see was literally the inside of my own head. Also, people are stupid. Thank you for your time and content and not charging me anything but time i was probably going to waste anyhow...be safe, be well.
AdSense Glenn is trying to teach you passionate folk, how to make great recordings. Here's another example. Only this one is more unique. So unique. It was never supposed to happen. So I worked out a deal with this night club to have my large recording truck parked in his backyard for nearly one year, 11 months. And I was just experimenting. So I installed a bunch of microphone splitters in the club. And patch them into my 40 input snake. Then led them into the backyard and almost as far away as the length of a football field. To my truck. Which, of course has central HVAC air conditioning. It's like a big rock 'n' roll tour bus inside. Just packed with a lot of audio equipment. It was Monday evening. I had gotten in my car yet to go home from the previous Saturday and Sunday night shows. They go to nearly daylight. This is not a nightclub. This is a BYOB. They didn't have to close at 2 AM. We would have baths until nearly sunrise. In the good old days. A couple of months ago. I have left to go home. I had sacked out that night in my truck. On my blowup mattress. When I took the captain chairs out of the control room. And I was watching a TV show through my monitoring system. When my finger accidentally pushed up a fader. And there was music. How's that? It's Monday night. The club is closed. It's a dark night. So I go wander into the club. Here is this band set up playing. There are no other people. They went in the club to use to rehearse in. I asked him if they would mind if I rolled some tracks? They said what are you talking about? I should come out in the backyard for a minute. Of course they said yes. But this is just a rehearsal. There's only 3 microphones on the drum set. Because they had 2 drummers. They were breaking in a new drummer. I think they were also breaking in a new keyboard guy or guitarist? And so one set of drums is in the left channel the other set is in the right channel. Sometimes I would put both bass drums into the center image. Sometimes I would put them left and right to be with the sets themselves as a single entity. But I really wasn't mixing anything. I wanted to watch my TV show. So what you're hearing here. His me mixing and recording from bed. Sitting under my Neve console. And I had the band turned up in the background. So I could hear my TV show. And occasionally I would hear an instrument soloing. And I might push up a fader. But I would then get re-engrossed with the TV show. And not pay direct attention to my mixing. I hadn't cleaned up for the night before recording. And my microphones were still on stage and plugged in. Which also went to the PA system. They were using the PA system. And so I also get a separate feed of all the microphones into my Neve. And this is a less than haphazard recording. The way I do them. And just a little technical info here. It's only SM-57 & 58 microphones. Maybe my Radio Shaft PZM in the bass drum? I forget. Or just a 57. I'm getting a little senile. A lot of people like my natural sounding vocals. He stays right where you want to hear him. Yeah that's because there is nothing natural going on here at all. His microphone is highly and extremely processed. Oh, how? 58 microphone into decent preamp without overloading it. So you can go conservative on the gain. If you want to. Or, not. It depends on what you're using for a microphone preamp. I personally preferred the discrete transistor types with transformers but, I don't care. A Beringer, would do me just fine also. I'm not picky. Then you take the equalizer. And you turn your low-frequency control, all the way down. Yes all the way down. I know that doesn't make any sense. But that's what you do. Then you take the Presence equalizer. And you shove that up, 4-6 DB. Then you take your high-frequency equalizer. And turn that up, + 6-12 or more DB. Then listen to that. Right. It's not really listenable. It's really horrible sounding. That's right it is. Then you plug that into a limiter. I like peak limiters on vocals best. Where my colleague and lightweight friend George Massenburg. Prefers the RMS type. But this is the way I do it. The 1176 has some cool adjustments and settings. Like 4:1, for compression. 20:1, for limiting. SCREW THAT! I push all the buttons in. I want my money's worth. That's 50:1. And you read about those famous engineers. And they tell you. They only use 1/2 or 1 or 2 DB of limiting. FUCK that! On the vocals. My gain reduction meter. Looks like the windshield wipers on your car. When you're driving 70 mph. To a hurricane. They have no dynamics. There are no dynamics on these vocals. They are crushed to living death. And I have my limiter attack speed set relatively slowly. So to allow peaks through. That everybody else out there seems to be worried about. I'm not. And then a medium quick release time but not too fast. Too fast and they get too much in-your-face. Adjust where you want them placed in your mix by adjusting the release time. Then your vocals sit remarkably in the mix. Wherever you decide to put them. And when they sing soft passages. You can hear every word. When they go from a soft passage to the scream. They sound like they are screaming. It's definitely louder. It's not exactly really louder. By adjusting your release time. You can adjust the APPARENT LOUDNESS level. You can't do that with a DBX type. Unless they have a release time adjustment feature which some do. Of course doing that also sucks up everything on the little 8' x 10' stage. So you get a lot of drums in the vocal microphone. Which can really FUCK up your life radio broadcast next radio broadcast mix. Such as this. See you can't always push the vocals up as high as I might want. Without corrupting my mix terribly. With too many drums in the vocal microphone. The whole recording is one lousy 100% technical compromise. Nothing is right. 5-10 seconds were spent positioning microphones. There are no readjusting the microphones. It is what it is. You get a feed. Do with it what you can. And so the blade between the instruments and the PA speakers coming through all the microphones. You don't just deal with bleed. You deal with unusable massive hemorrhaging. How are you supposed to get a good recording that way? I don't know? I've never figured that out? Because my sound just fine. And billions of people have heard my work. As an a lot more than 999, 999 million. With these sort of recordings. I don't know the bands. I've never heard them. I just push up faders for a live broadcast. Of whatever I'm getting. And so there is no kind of precision anything going on here, really. It doesn't matter where the microphones are positioned. It really doesn't. As long as they are pointing in the general direction you want them to point. Yes there is a difference of sound. Every time you move a microphone 1/2 inch. What do you want me to do about it? How many cubic inches do you need to listen to? Just stick it and forget it. Sometimes everything will come out exactly right. And it will sound amazing! Sometimes none of the microphones are actually positioned where you really want them. And you can't get the sound you want. Oh well. That's why God designed beer and other combustible things that grow in the ground. And you just move the faders around as best you can. Because you're not in the pocket on this one.: soundcloud.com/user-135130368/sets/live-at-electric-church-fm-sessions-vol-1 But your job as an audio engineer for live FM broadcast. It is to still and try to make it, as exciting and as listenable. With everything being wrong. And that's a fun challenge. It still listenable. It's still exciting. It sure ain't the FUCK the way I wanted it to sound. And oh well. It still kicks ass. Just not quite sounding the way I wanted to make it sound. I would've swapped around some microphones and repositioned them. But you can't do that for a live recording. Oh well. It's not my fault. I just waved my hands over the knobs and dials. Take another puff. Take another slurp. And enjoy the band. Because I think this recording and mix of this band, I wouldn't call my best. It's my more garbage like. But as I listen to the playback of this again and again.. I did do some fun experimenting. And maybe that's why it's not coming off the way I think I would have normally had it. Because I was fucking around. Possibly only using my, Taiwanese made,, 34-year-old, months old AA battery powered, $30 each,, Radio Shaft, PZM microphones on the floor. And then your standard SM-58's on the vocals. And I just did that for shits and giggles. And that's why it lacks the punch I normally go for in my mixes. With those on everything. Except the vocals.. To be showing younger engineers. The multitude of ways. You can make recording with total stupid junk 34+-year-old battery-operated piece of crap microphones. And still come away with a decent recording. You don't always have to use good microphones. Just microphones that work. And you put them where you can. And that's not anyplace where you have to put a PZM. So it's never really on the instrument. It's on the floor. Right in front of the instrument. Or underneath it. Like for the drum set. 2 on either side of the bass drum outside the bass drum. And one inside the base trim. The overheads are a couple of other PZM's. And me kind of things. This was one of the bands I did this on. Because it does not have the same consistency as some of my other tracks. It would done more conventionally with 57's on most everything.
Agree whole-heartedly, with the exception of analog summing. There's absolutely nothing special about analog summing other than the noise floor, and who wants that? Get a midi knob and call it a day. I'm aware that this opinion may get some panties in a knot, but it's the sort of panties I'm ok with knotting. Dan Worrall has a good video regarding analog summing, and generally I like his approach. There is no magic in audio. Everything is quantifiable. Magic is an easy out for the intellectually uncurious, and for the ones selling gear. That being said, I do love my 500 series gear for other reasons.
"Maybe not the bass players, but you're certainly smart enough to figure it out." But Glenn, I am a bass player, so can I do it or not? Please email me in crayon to tell me
And since Glenn is trying to teach you passionate folk, how to make great recordings. Here's another example. Only this one is more unique. So unique. It was never supposed to happen. So I worked out a deal with this night club to have my large recording truck parked in his backyard for nearly one year, 11 months. And I was just experimenting. So I installed a bunch of microphone splitters in the club. And patch them into my 40 input snake. Then led them into the backyard and almost as far away as the length of a football field. To my truck. Which, of course has central HVAC air conditioning. It's like a big rock 'n' roll tour bus inside. Just packed with a lot of audio equipment. It was Monday evening. I had gotten in my car yet to go home from the previous Saturday and Sunday night shows. They go to nearly daylight. This is not a nightclub. This is a BYOB. They didn't have to close at 2 AM. We would have baths until nearly sunrise. In the good old days. A couple of months ago. I have left to go home. I had sacked out that night in my truck. On my blowup mattress. When I took the captain chairs out of the control room. And I was watching a TV show through my monitoring system. When my finger accidentally pushed up a fader. And there was music. How's that? It's Monday night. The club is closed. It's a dark night. So I go wander into the club. Here is this band set up playing. There are no other people. They went in the club to use to rehearse in. I asked him if they would mind if I rolled some tracks? They said what are you talking about? I should come out in the backyard for a minute. Of course they said yes. But this is just a rehearsal. There's only 3 microphones on the drum set. Because they had 2 drummers. They were breaking in a new drummer. I think they were also breaking in a new keyboard guy or guitarist? And so one set of drums is in the left channel the other set is in the right channel. Sometimes I would put both bass drums into the center image. Sometimes I would put them left and right to be with the sets themselves as a single entity. But I really wasn't mixing anything. I wanted to watch my TV show. So what you're hearing here. His me mixing and recording from bed. Sitting under my Neve console. And I had the band turned up in the background. So I could hear my TV show. And occasionally I would hear an instrument soloing. And I might push up a fader. But I would then get re-engrossed with the TV show. And not pay direct attention to my mixing. I hadn't cleaned up for the night before recording. And my microphones were still on stage and plugged in. Which also went to the PA system. They were using the PA system. And so I also get a separate feed of all the microphones into my Neve. And this is a less than haphazard recording. The way I do them. And just a little technical info here. It's only SM-57 & 58 microphones. Maybe my Radio Shaft PZM in the bass drum? I forget. Or just a 57. I'm getting a little senile. A lot of people like my natural sounding vocals. He stays right where you want to hear him. Yeah that's because there is nothing natural going on here at all. His microphone is highly and extremely processed. Oh, how? 58 microphone into decent preamp without overloading it. So you can go conservative on the gain. If you want to. Or, not. It depends on what you're using for a microphone preamp. I personally preferred the discrete transistor types with transformers but, I don't care. A Beringer, would do me just fine also. I'm not picky. Then you take the equalizer. And you turn your low-frequency control, all the way down. Yes all the way down. I know that doesn't make any sense. But that's what you do. Then you take the Presence equalizer. And you shove that up, 4-6 DB. Then you take your high-frequency equalizer. And turn that up, + 6-12 or more DB. Then listen to that. Right. It's not really listenable. It's really horrible sounding. That's right it is. Then you plug that into a limiter. I like peak limiters on vocals best. Where my colleague and lightweight friend George Massenburg. Prefers the RMS type. But this is the way I do it. The 1176 has some cool adjustments and settings. Like 4:1, for compression. 20:1, for limiting. SCREW THAT! I push all the buttons in. I want my money's worth. That's 50:1. And you read about those famous engineers. And they tell you. They only use 1/2 or 1 or 2 DB of limiting. FUCK that! On the vocals. My gain reduction meter. Looks like the windshield wipers on your car. When you're driving 70 mph. To a hurricane. They have no dynamics. There are no dynamics on these vocals. They are crushed to living death. And I have my limiter attack speed set relatively slowly. So to allow peaks through. That everybody else out there seems to be worried about. I'm not. And then a medium quick release time but not too fast. Too fast and they get too much in-your-face. Adjust where you want them placed in your mix by adjusting the release time. Then your vocals sit remarkably in the mix. Wherever you decide to put them. And when they sing soft passages. You can hear every word. When they go from a soft passage to the scream. They sound like they are screaming. It's definitely louder. It's not exactly really louder. By adjusting your release time. You can adjust the APPARENT LOUDNESS level. You can't do that with a DBX type. Unless they have a release time adjustment feature which some do. Of course doing that also sucks up everything on the little 8' x 10' stage. So you get a lot of drums in the vocal microphone. Which can really FUCK up your life radio broadcast next radio broadcast mix. Such as this. See you can't always push the vocals up as high as I might want. Without corrupting my mix terribly. With too many drums in the vocal microphone. The whole recording is one lousy 100% technical compromise. Nothing is right. 5-10 seconds were spent positioning microphones. There are no readjusting the microphones. It is what it is. You get a feed. Do with it what you can. And so the blade between the instruments and the PA speakers coming through all the microphones. You don't just deal with bleed. You deal with unusable massive hemorrhaging. How are you supposed to get a good recording that way? I don't know? I've never figured that out? Because my sound just fine. And billions of people have heard my work. As an a lot more than 999, 999 million. With these sort of recordings. I don't know the bands. I've never heard them. I just push up faders for a live broadcast. Of whatever I'm getting. And so there is no kind of precision anything going on here, really. It doesn't matter where the microphones are positioned. It really doesn't. As long as they are pointing in the general direction you want them to point. Yes there is a difference of sound. Every time you move a microphone 1/2 inch. What do you want me to do about it? How many cubic inches do you need to listen to? Just stick it and forget it. Sometimes everything will come out exactly right. And it will sound amazing! Sometimes none of the microphones are actually positioned where you really want them. And you can't get the sound you want. Oh well. That's why God designed beer and other combustible things that grow in the ground. And you just move the faders around as best you can. Because you're not in the pocket on this one.: soundcloud.com/user-135130368/sets/live-at-electric-church-fm-sessions-vol-1 But your job as an audio engineer for live FM broadcast. It is to still and try to make it, as exciting and as listenable. With everything being wrong. And that's a fun challenge. It still listenable. It's still exciting. It sure ain't the FUCK the way I wanted it to sound. And oh well. It still kicks ass. Just not quite sounding the way I wanted to make it sound. I would've swapped around some microphones and repositioned them. But you can't do that for a live recording. Oh well. It's not my fault. I just waved my hands over the knobs and dials. Take another puff. Take another slurp. And enjoy the band. Because I think this recording and mix of this band, I wouldn't call my best. It's my more garbage like. But as I listen to the playback of this again and again.. I did do some fun experimenting. And maybe that's why it's not coming off the way I think I would have normally had it. Because I was fucking around. Possibly only using my, Taiwanese made,, 34-year-old, months old AA battery powered, $30 each,, Radio Shaft, PZM microphones on the floor. And then your standard SM-58's on the vocals. And I just did that for shits and giggles. And that's why it lacks the punch I normally go for in my mixes. With those on everything. Except the vocals.. To be showing younger engineers. The multitude of ways. You can make recording with total stupid junk 34+-year-old battery-operated piece of crap microphones. And still come away with a decent recording. You don't always have to use good microphones. Just microphones that work. And you put them where you can. And that's not anyplace where you have to put a PZM. So it's never really on the instrument. It's on the floor. Right in front of the instrument. Or underneath it. Like for the drum set. 2 on either side of the bass drum outside the bass drum. And one inside the base trim. The overheads are a couple of other PZM's. And me kind of things. This was one of the bands I did this on. Because it does not have the same consistency as some of my other tracks. It would done more conventionally with 57's on most everything.
I have the Fredestien Bento 8 pure analog 500 series rack. It's very powerful and quiet. For only $349.00 it's a steal!! Definitely recommend it for anyone.. 🤘😎🤘
DUDE what’s up with dissing our friends from the low ends? Bass guys are the offensive linemen of any band. The only time they get noticed is if they screw up. Anyway- Dude you were born for this gig! Totally appreciate the way you do your thing! Always enjoy your vids!
I've been following the cranborne stuff for a while now and glad to see them getting some more attention. Not sure I can justify it once i convert to australian dollars but they are definintely on my wishllist.
Glenn I've been on your team since I was working sound many moons ago at the world famous Apache Cafe here in Atlanta, GA. I used your "How To Hold A F*cking Microphone!" video many many many times to educate wood-be rappers... especially during open mics!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Bravo Glenn!!! One of the best episodes ever! I know you’ve hit a few speed bumps lately doing the hard work separating the REAL DEALS from the trash… And while I also have read the high-minded spending justifications of many-a-“Slut,” you make an excellent point that EVERY TIME one of these snotty dependents is ripping ass on some well-meaning budget conscious recordist, if I can find ANYTHING that the assailant has actually WORKED on, it’s at least obscure… But in the RARE occasion that music has been shared, I dare ANYONE to hear where the extra $2K went… It’s not hard to get good tone out of $3,800 preamps… But I agree that we have a duty to pull the reigns on overpriced items… And, folks are strapped these… Buy something that works and pass some of your old stuff down to the new gen!
I have a cranbourne audio 500 it’s an awesome piece of gear. Also amazing sounding interface ! Surpasses a lot of very high end converters in my opinion
Uhhh I know that "Gotta catch 'em all" thing too damn well from DIY pedal kits. Building and especially modding them is great fun and there are some truly amazing PCBs out there. Spending hundreds of bucks on a legendary but long discontinued pedal like a Boss DC-2 or HM-2 on the used market? No way, I just get the PCB and the parts for much, much cheaper and build it! My collection is growing and growing...
The studio where I work have two of the Midas 10 slot racks full with gear. Sounds awesome never had any problems with noise or anything else for that matter. Although I was really surprised to see something in that price range next to the set of barefoot speakers they run. Guess it goes to show that cheap stuff isn't bad, just cheap, sometimes
I don't have any 500-series gear but I always liked the idea of "just getting what you need and keeping it in a compact carrier". Plus, fewer power cables and fewer power supplies, which all should mean "less power drain and power cable mess". Then a company like Cranborn comes in and says "Hey, let's go make wiring and configuration easier and more functional". Fantastic. More time getting stuff done, less time trying to significantly add to the cable jungle.
Idk about the Midas lunchbox it’s probably fine for the beginner engineer or someone looking to get into 500 series! Remember if it’s cheap, on gearslutz it sucks!
Advertising dollars can get wasted in crowded spaces. That 15k preamp is a marketing scheme. And a genius one at that. Its an advertisement that makes its way in to where few others can, the 500 series department. And if you filter high to low it is right on top. It’s an easy way to upgrade the brand name and get some easy attention. Got you talking right? For Midas-Mission accomplished!
I'm using a Camden 500 with a Midas L10 (that I bought recently) for voiceover work, it's as clean as a whistle. So, either I got lucky, or they just aint noisy (anymore).
Some chassis come with a handle on top, so you can take your entire set-up to the studio. Also there are some diy 500 series kits, tube and solid-state, that can bring costs down further and have something actually unique
@@SpectreSoundStudios It's like if someone says "Modular Synths are better because there's this one company/brand that makes this one awesome case with extra features" Not a reason why Modular Synths are better overall.
@@SpectreSoundStudios Anything (like a special feature) that's brand/model specific is not a reason why the format is better UNLESS it's the norm and no longer specific to that brand/model. If MOST 500 Series cases have this feature then yes.
This is maybe a bit more a Cranborne ad than a 500 series video....nonetheless I agree with the statement that 500 series gear is better. It was a way for me to get the preamps I wanted on a smaller budget, and expand it unit by unit everytime I got the cash for a new unit.
“It’s like Pokemon for audio engineers“. That’s exactly how I feel about it, too 🤣 It has a similar appeal as guitar pedals. They are small enough to get a lot of them, they look fun but are very powerful.
Would die to see that happen, but i think steel panther goes for a more polished and sterile sound than glen goes for and im not sure the label is okay with SP going sample-less 😂😂
Hi Glenn. Speaking of 500 series, would you ever consider buying DIY kit 500 series module? Some manufacturer like Sound Skulptor seem to have a killer stuff for not that much money.
You forgot the best thing of all: Can service modules individually. Iv been left 4 channels down multiple times because i had to service a 4 channel mic pre even tho only one of the pres was faulty
I've still got two powered fan cooled racks of all the old school Aphex 900 compatable cards and a full frame of Dbx 900 cards that I uncloak on some occasions in the dead of night when no one is looking. Shhhh!
I bought into 500 series about five years ago due to cheaper units compared to rack-mounted counterparts like you mentioned. I have a Lindell Audio 506 which I read (pretty sure on Gearslutz) that it doesn't sound as good as an API Lunchbox, and adds noise. I've not done a direct shootout between 500 series racks, because I don't care. I'm not losing sleep having the 506 over the Lunchbox. My Hairball Audio pres sound great, as do my Maag EQ4s and Lindell 7X-500.
I just looked up a breakdown of that Cranborne 500 interface, and holy absolute shit, have they crammed functions into that thing. I'm looking at 500 series stuff here to potentially build an outboard vocal setup I can use both in my home studio and on stage (possibly for recording some acoustic on-location stuff too) and that looks like it could be used in any scenario for anything. And that you can send audio out at any processing stage in addition to the whole rack? Ah man. I'll admit the barrier of entry price-wise is quite high here, even if I totally see the value. One day :D.
Applause!! This is what we were talking about between us (You don't care but it's funny).. True and sincere video.. Thanks a ton for that, many musicians around the globe need to hear that. "An easy fix >> Drums samples" ha ha ha ha ha!!
This is why I allways bring an additional 4 string bass to studio sessions. Those are easy recognized as basses from recording engineers, you'll never get asked why your guitar has only 5 strings, and why they are so thick. This and the famous "Lee Sklar Producer Switch" helped me out a lot of personal suffering - and knob twiddeling on my amp.
I just plug into the bass, hand the other end of the cable to the engineer and let them sort it out. No producer switch needed, I've only got volume and tone so any issues are on their end.
@@GarethFlatlands See, as my heart sure beats for heavy metal, there are much more styles of music that I have to be in to. I am making a living out of two bands I am in right now and the gigs we used to play before Covid19 lockdown, some students and beeing the first call bassplayer of a studio. I can't choose what style of music I have to play on the next recording session. Oh, sorry, I am able to choose - by loosing jobs, I just have to say "no, I don't play your songs" - what would be nothing but stupid. So sometimes not the recording engineer but the producer asks me to change the tone in the one or the other way. In this case I nodd my head, flick the "producer switch" (pat.pend.) and make sure the producer sees it, then I change the finger position of my plucking hand and ask "how's this one?" Most of the time I hear a "yessss, this is much better" after using "the switch" the second time. What they do afterwards in proceding my tones is not my business. It has to sound fucking killer, thats all.
I was looking forward to the "in-use" on the Cranborne 500 rack. I didn't expect it to be wrapped up in a "10 reasons" clip though :-) Anyway, good to see you are liking it and yes, the ability to insert analog gear using the ADAT I/O is very handy indeed. Would love to hear how that works out, which DAWs calculate the delay properly, etc. I am about to step into the 500 series world myself.
Glen, show us how you use your 500 series modules as plugins. How does the routing work? How do you set it up with your DAW? Thanks for the great videos bro.
Just wanted to say I have 2 of the Midas 6 slots - not one bit of noise. . . Couldn't be happier with them (from what I understand it may be the 10 spot unit that has the noise issue).
Man I would absolutely love to a 500 series desk like Steve Vai, Kurt Ballou, or Kevin Antreassian but I seriously don't have that kind of money to spend on gear. Unfortunately I'm stuck with plugins. Thanks for doing this video! Love geeking out to awesome gear and all the possibilities.
No I don’t know where all of our savings went honey. Oh that box over there....It was sitting along the curb. It’s a toaster oven. I just gotta put a new door on it.
Yes please do this Glenn🙏 Thank you very much. I decided I should go with 500 series instead of getting a 19'' rackmount unit looks much more flexible for workflow
Aphex had USB and ADAT 500 series box with 4 slots that had S/mux for 96K back 2009 but Cranborne should consider a USB4/Thunderbolt multi-chainable version where you could use multiple low latency Thunderbolt connections to connect multiple units together. Since the Thunderbolt standard is now open source and part of the USB 4 protocol. Similar to how the Quantum line of interfaces from Presonus works. I'm not a fan of ADAT since it required a codec converter chip and limited sampling at 48K. Sure 90% of sessions I receive are 48K but that 10% recorded at 88.2 or 96K make ADAT expansion an no go. But Cranborne are on to something very cool with this tech. But the USB version seems to be the best option as well as the network option!! Get video Glenn.
Just getting into the 500 series is so expensive. I can buy a warm audio 76 and have fun immediately. Once you dropt the bomb on a good rack you might be cheaper out in the long run, but there is a hefty starting price.
That's true. If you are on a budget and you aim to buy these 200$-400$ 500 series modules over the time... you first need to get that 1500$ rack... Not to mention if you are in a lower standard smaller country like me... you have lower income but that 1500$ rack is more like 2000$ where I live, same for all other equipment... life is fair :P
You can get a MIDAS rack for like 300-400 EUR. Perfect for starting out. I bought a Lindell Audio 4 space rack on ebay for 130 EUR when I started with 500.
Cranborne,cranborne......CRANBORNE!!!! O.K. that is a game changer. As far as price guess I am just a cheap ass old fart. Happy 50th Glenn. 60 hurts less you really do not give a shit anymore. Thanks for this post. 500's do have a place you changed my mind with Cranborne.
lmao, you rock man! Love the humour and the logic! Thank you for the video and all the work! I am very interested in the 500 series. I miss tactile relationships with the gear. Peace!
For home recording I don't need more than two inputs, so this is probably out of my use needs. An interface that can process VSTs on its own is probably the next best thing... that I don't have either.
@@filipebelini5063 The Apollo Twin USB looks the part, yes. It only works with their VSTs, but that's probably not a problem. Having enough money to purchase it is the problem.
Thanks so much for the kind words Glenn!! Not bad for a company founded by a bass player! 🤣
Noooooooo!
You know that we HAVE to boycott now...
hahahahaha
Thanks for the hilariously Great Video! Agree with all f your points 100% and just ordered my Cranborne 500 R! Subscribed to your channel as well. HNY 2021 Cheers!
THANK YOU for the $15,000 preamp remarks, people need to get their shit checked.
I love you even more now.
I would love to know the arguments for or against that, I mean beyond being stupidly overpriced, at least we perceive it as such (they could have made such a small run that volume discounts didnt kick in at all and I have no idea how much crap on board costs, and I know some things line a relatively large fpga will always be expensive, because if you were selling it in a volume that could get the cost down an asci would be as cheap and cheaper down the line and better)
My main question would come to is there a point of severely diminishing returns that happened way down the price line? I know with headphones you get about 80% of the potential quality by the 150$ price point, around 95 by the 500, and 99 by the 1000, but things like the orpheus exist which as I understand, as good as headphones can ever be
my point is, im wondering if this is severely diminishing returns or is this the equivalent of putting crystals on an audio cable to to "stabilize sound" (god I hate the audiophile snakeoil but dammit it is funny).
@Fortnum Sound it does indeed exist. Reputable online retailers sell it, like sweetwater and thomann.
@@alidan well, people have opinions about what 'the best' preamp out there is. This one isn't mentioned, and most of 'the best' aren't even close to as expensive. Sure, it's subjective, but even if the diminishing returns thing applies, placebo has taken over waaay before this pricepoint, and arguing it makes a difference is just justifying being a self-rightous asshole. Feed some kids. Save some animals. Help some homeless people. Your mix is not worth it.
if you think you want to price one, just rent it for a day and I will build you one if one does not already exist at this site.
Here's an example...the P.melter :-)
www.pedalpcb.com/product/facemelter/
I guess do an episode where you beat down all the ultra-boutique bitches by letting them know that even if they try to kill a pedal that pedals can now achieve internet martyrdom and LO THE PERSISTENCE OF DIGITAL EPHEMERA WAS BEHELD BY GENERATIONS OF TERRANS
It would actually be much cheaper to replicate a human ear to listen to a high quality set of transducers. :-)
Brüel & Kjær charge a base $250k for the entire head (there are tool subscriptions involved and that's a LOT of recurring charges, usually at least once a quarter) but just making a thing that emulates an ear along with the cochlear response modeling in physical life (that's the difference between emulating and simulating, kids) but I did craptons of device testing and qualification over the years, including stuff that goes in people ears so I've literally modeled an ear and it had to not only hear but be moving, etc, so we could tell if a design was going to fall straight out of the standard ear bucket per size fitted or fitting feature validated. Make several to a dozen depending on what type of fixturing was required and what features we were testing under what conditions. :-)
I bought the Midas L6 rack last week as I had a suspicion those noise issues were hugely overblown or maybe just on the initial launch units a few years back. Surprise surprise... It's dead silent. Extremely well built, good linking and buss features on the back and no noise at all. I'm very picky with this stuff and I've tried numerous modules in different positions in the rack and it's still quiet. So despite what anyone is saying about that I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if you want to get into 500 series cheaply and don't need the extra features of something like the Cranbourne.
Same here. Haven't tried it with all 10 slots drawing current yet, but considering I could buy a second one and still not have paid what I'd pay for most other chassis I'm feeling fine.
@@yarnf I'm looking into buying one of these. How is it working for you all these months later?
@@RealHomeRecording I have one two and it's perfect. Dead silent and good power. If you don't need all the bells and whistles then this is a no brainer.
As someone who has 2 of the midas L10s they sound fantastic and I've never had a problem with noise.
Same. No noise with my Midas either.
I am so glad that someone with a major following is talking about Cranborne because that company is absolutely killing it
Damn... I just love your sarcasm! xD
Just only realized at the end, that i basically was watching a Cranborne ad.
Nicely done, Glenn!
I’m glad you made a video on this. Been thinking about 500 stuff to take the load off a Mac laptop - and I’m just a guitar player.
I have been eyeing that Cranborne rack for a while now. That, and a load of 500 series modules is going to be my next big studio upgrade. Hopefully this winter!
so I've just found out about the 500 series after looking for pre-amps and it seems like a really cool rabbit hole, no surprise you've already covered it :D
Betcha, that guy who told last week "you're a sellout" really implodes after this one. xD
Yes, he commented further up
In all fairness, I couldn't even bear to pull up the video after seeing the thumbnail. Here's a +2F for your misery and blood pressure. I think that episode would have been the one to cause me to generate such a massive eyeroll that my eyes would get stuck backwards and I wouldn't be blind but all I would be able to see was literally the inside of my own head.
Also, people are stupid. Thank you for your time and content and not charging me anything but time i was probably going to waste anyhow...be safe, be well.
AdSense Glenn is trying to teach you passionate folk, how to make great recordings. Here's another example. Only this one is more unique. So unique. It was never supposed to happen.
So I worked out a deal with this night club to have my large recording truck parked in his backyard for nearly one year, 11 months. And I was just experimenting.
So I installed a bunch of microphone splitters in the club. And patch them into my 40 input snake. Then led them into the backyard and almost as far away as the length of a football field. To my truck. Which, of course has central HVAC air conditioning. It's like a big rock 'n' roll tour bus inside. Just packed with a lot of audio equipment.
It was Monday evening. I had gotten in my car yet to go home from the previous Saturday and Sunday night shows. They go to nearly daylight. This is not a nightclub. This is a BYOB. They didn't have to close at 2 AM. We would have baths until nearly sunrise. In the good old days. A couple of months ago.
I have left to go home. I had sacked out that night in my truck. On my blowup mattress. When I took the captain chairs out of the control room. And I was watching a TV show through my monitoring system. When my finger accidentally pushed up a fader. And there was music. How's that? It's Monday night. The club is closed. It's a dark night.
So I go wander into the club. Here is this band set up playing. There are no other people. They went in the club to use to rehearse in. I asked him if they would mind if I rolled some tracks? They said what are you talking about? I should come out in the backyard for a minute.
Of course they said yes. But this is just a rehearsal. There's only 3 microphones on the drum set. Because they had 2 drummers. They were breaking in a new drummer. I think they were also breaking in a new keyboard guy or guitarist? And so one set of drums is in the left channel the other set is in the right channel. Sometimes I would put both bass drums into the center image. Sometimes I would put them left and right to be with the sets themselves as a single entity. But I really wasn't mixing anything. I wanted to watch my TV show.
So what you're hearing here. His me mixing and recording from bed. Sitting under my Neve console. And I had the band turned up in the background. So I could hear my TV show. And occasionally I would hear an instrument soloing. And I might push up a fader. But I would then get re-engrossed with the TV show. And not pay direct attention to my mixing.
I hadn't cleaned up for the night before recording. And my microphones were still on stage and plugged in. Which also went to the PA system. They were using the PA system. And so I also get a separate feed of all the microphones into my Neve. And this is a less than haphazard recording. The way I do them.
And just a little technical info here. It's only SM-57 & 58 microphones. Maybe my Radio Shaft PZM in the bass drum? I forget. Or just a 57. I'm getting a little senile.
A lot of people like my natural sounding vocals. He stays right where you want to hear him. Yeah that's because there is nothing natural going on here at all. His microphone is highly and extremely processed. Oh, how?
58 microphone into decent preamp without overloading it. So you can go conservative on the gain. If you want to. Or, not. It depends on what you're using for a microphone preamp. I personally preferred the discrete transistor types with transformers but, I don't care. A Beringer, would do me just fine also. I'm not picky.
Then you take the equalizer. And you turn your low-frequency control, all the way down. Yes all the way down. I know that doesn't make any sense. But that's what you do.
Then you take the Presence equalizer. And you shove that up, 4-6 DB.
Then you take your high-frequency equalizer. And turn that up, + 6-12 or more DB.
Then listen to that. Right. It's not really listenable. It's really horrible sounding. That's right it is.
Then you plug that into a limiter. I like peak limiters on vocals best. Where my colleague and lightweight friend George Massenburg. Prefers the RMS type. But this is the way I do it.
The 1176 has some cool adjustments and settings. Like 4:1, for compression. 20:1, for limiting. SCREW THAT! I push all the buttons in. I want my money's worth. That's 50:1.
And you read about those famous engineers. And they tell you. They only use 1/2 or 1 or 2 DB of limiting. FUCK that! On the vocals. My gain reduction meter. Looks like the windshield wipers on your car. When you're driving 70 mph. To a hurricane. They have no dynamics. There are no dynamics on these vocals. They are crushed to living death. And I have my limiter attack speed set relatively slowly. So to allow peaks through. That everybody else out there seems to be worried about. I'm not. And then a medium quick release time but not too fast. Too fast and they get too much in-your-face. Adjust where you want them placed in your mix by adjusting the release time.
Then your vocals sit remarkably in the mix. Wherever you decide to put them. And when they sing soft passages. You can hear every word. When they go from a soft passage to the scream. They sound like they are screaming. It's definitely louder. It's not exactly really louder. By adjusting your release time. You can adjust the APPARENT LOUDNESS level. You can't do that with a DBX type. Unless they have a release time adjustment feature which some do.
Of course doing that also sucks up everything on the little 8' x 10' stage. So you get a lot of drums in the vocal microphone. Which can really FUCK up your life radio broadcast next radio broadcast mix. Such as this. See you can't always push the vocals up as high as I might want. Without corrupting my mix terribly. With too many drums in the vocal microphone. The whole recording is one lousy 100% technical compromise. Nothing is right. 5-10 seconds were spent positioning microphones. There are no readjusting the microphones. It is what it is. You get a feed. Do with it what you can.
And so the blade between the instruments and the PA speakers coming through all the microphones. You don't just deal with bleed. You deal with unusable massive hemorrhaging. How are you supposed to get a good recording that way? I don't know? I've never figured that out? Because my sound just fine. And billions of people have heard my work. As an a lot more than 999, 999 million. With these sort of recordings. I don't know the bands. I've never heard them. I just push up faders for a live broadcast. Of whatever I'm getting.
And so there is no kind of precision anything going on here, really. It doesn't matter where the microphones are positioned. It really doesn't. As long as they are pointing in the general direction you want them to point. Yes there is a difference of sound. Every time you move a microphone 1/2 inch. What do you want me to do about it? How many cubic inches do you need to listen to? Just stick it and forget it.
Sometimes everything will come out exactly right. And it will sound amazing! Sometimes none of the microphones are actually positioned where you really want them. And you can't get the sound you want. Oh well. That's why God designed beer and other combustible things that grow in the ground. And you just move the faders around as best you can. Because you're not in the pocket on this one.:
soundcloud.com/user-135130368/sets/live-at-electric-church-fm-sessions-vol-1
But your job as an audio engineer for live FM broadcast. It is to still and try to make it, as exciting and as listenable. With everything being wrong. And that's a fun challenge. It still listenable. It's still exciting. It sure ain't the FUCK the way I wanted it to sound. And oh well. It still kicks ass. Just not quite sounding the way I wanted to make it sound. I would've swapped around some microphones and repositioned them. But you can't do that for a live recording. Oh well. It's not my fault. I just waved my hands over the knobs and dials. Take another puff. Take another slurp. And enjoy the band. Because I think this recording and mix of this band, I wouldn't call my best. It's my more garbage like.
But as I listen to the playback of this again and again.. I did do some fun experimenting. And maybe that's why it's not coming off the way I think I would have normally had it. Because I was fucking around. Possibly only using my, Taiwanese made,, 34-year-old, months old AA battery powered, $30 each,, Radio Shaft, PZM microphones on the floor. And then your standard SM-58's on the vocals. And I just did that for shits and giggles. And that's why it lacks the punch I normally go for in my mixes. With those on everything. Except the vocals..
To be showing younger engineers. The multitude of ways. You can make recording with total stupid junk 34+-year-old battery-operated piece of crap microphones. And still come away with a decent recording. You don't always have to use good microphones. Just microphones that work. And you put them where you can. And that's not anyplace where you have to put a PZM. So it's never really on the instrument. It's on the floor. Right in front of the instrument. Or underneath it. Like for the drum set. 2 on either side of the bass drum outside the bass drum. And one inside the base trim. The overheads are a couple of other PZM's. And me kind of things. This was one of the bands I did this on. Because it does not have the same consistency as some of my other tracks. It would done more conventionally with 57's on most everything.
I think this was my favorite video you've ever done. Had a great vibe to it. Very enjoyable. Cheers.
I legitimately thought your were gonna say..."Hell, I'm not even a real person."
Ohh Glenn, sometimes you make me chuckle quite hard
It's neat to be able to mix-match brands and customize your own channel strip.
Agree whole-heartedly, with the exception of analog summing. There's absolutely nothing special about analog summing other than the noise floor, and who wants that? Get a midi knob and call it a day. I'm aware that this opinion may get some panties in a knot, but it's the sort of panties I'm ok with knotting. Dan Worrall has a good video regarding analog summing, and generally I like his approach. There is no magic in audio. Everything is quantifiable. Magic is an easy out for the intellectually uncurious, and for the ones selling gear.
That being said, I do love my 500 series gear for other reasons.
LOVE this video! Informative, entertaining, bagging on bass players AND drum samples! Thanks, Glenn!
"Maybe not the bass players, but you're certainly smart enough to figure it out." But Glenn, I am a bass player, so can I do it or not? Please email me in crayon to tell me
As a fellow bassists the answer is . Trapt Blows Dog .
If you have to ask, you're not smart enough 🤣🤣🤣
They called the bass easy so i decided to learn the knobs.
I love it. Plain and simple. One more factor should be the endless amount of diy equipment for these types of racks.
And since Glenn is trying to teach you passionate folk, how to make great recordings. Here's another example. Only this one is more unique. So unique. It was never supposed to happen.
So I worked out a deal with this night club to have my large recording truck parked in his backyard for nearly one year, 11 months. And I was just experimenting.
So I installed a bunch of microphone splitters in the club. And patch them into my 40 input snake. Then led them into the backyard and almost as far away as the length of a football field. To my truck. Which, of course has central HVAC air conditioning. It's like a big rock 'n' roll tour bus inside. Just packed with a lot of audio equipment.
It was Monday evening. I had gotten in my car yet to go home from the previous Saturday and Sunday night shows. They go to nearly daylight. This is not a nightclub. This is a BYOB. They didn't have to close at 2 AM. We would have baths until nearly sunrise. In the good old days. A couple of months ago.
I have left to go home. I had sacked out that night in my truck. On my blowup mattress. When I took the captain chairs out of the control room. And I was watching a TV show through my monitoring system. When my finger accidentally pushed up a fader. And there was music. How's that? It's Monday night. The club is closed. It's a dark night.
So I go wander into the club. Here is this band set up playing. There are no other people. They went in the club to use to rehearse in. I asked him if they would mind if I rolled some tracks? They said what are you talking about? I should come out in the backyard for a minute.
Of course they said yes. But this is just a rehearsal. There's only 3 microphones on the drum set. Because they had 2 drummers. They were breaking in a new drummer. I think they were also breaking in a new keyboard guy or guitarist? And so one set of drums is in the left channel the other set is in the right channel. Sometimes I would put both bass drums into the center image. Sometimes I would put them left and right to be with the sets themselves as a single entity. But I really wasn't mixing anything. I wanted to watch my TV show.
So what you're hearing here. His me mixing and recording from bed. Sitting under my Neve console. And I had the band turned up in the background. So I could hear my TV show. And occasionally I would hear an instrument soloing. And I might push up a fader. But I would then get re-engrossed with the TV show. And not pay direct attention to my mixing.
I hadn't cleaned up for the night before recording. And my microphones were still on stage and plugged in. Which also went to the PA system. They were using the PA system. And so I also get a separate feed of all the microphones into my Neve. And this is a less than haphazard recording. The way I do them.
And just a little technical info here. It's only SM-57 & 58 microphones. Maybe my Radio Shaft PZM in the bass drum? I forget. Or just a 57. I'm getting a little senile.
A lot of people like my natural sounding vocals. He stays right where you want to hear him. Yeah that's because there is nothing natural going on here at all. His microphone is highly and extremely processed. Oh, how?
58 microphone into decent preamp without overloading it. So you can go conservative on the gain. If you want to. Or, not. It depends on what you're using for a microphone preamp. I personally preferred the discrete transistor types with transformers but, I don't care. A Beringer, would do me just fine also. I'm not picky.
Then you take the equalizer. And you turn your low-frequency control, all the way down. Yes all the way down. I know that doesn't make any sense. But that's what you do.
Then you take the Presence equalizer. And you shove that up, 4-6 DB.
Then you take your high-frequency equalizer. And turn that up, + 6-12 or more DB.
Then listen to that. Right. It's not really listenable. It's really horrible sounding. That's right it is.
Then you plug that into a limiter. I like peak limiters on vocals best. Where my colleague and lightweight friend George Massenburg. Prefers the RMS type. But this is the way I do it.
The 1176 has some cool adjustments and settings. Like 4:1, for compression. 20:1, for limiting. SCREW THAT! I push all the buttons in. I want my money's worth. That's 50:1.
And you read about those famous engineers. And they tell you. They only use 1/2 or 1 or 2 DB of limiting. FUCK that! On the vocals. My gain reduction meter. Looks like the windshield wipers on your car. When you're driving 70 mph. To a hurricane. They have no dynamics. There are no dynamics on these vocals. They are crushed to living death. And I have my limiter attack speed set relatively slowly. So to allow peaks through. That everybody else out there seems to be worried about. I'm not. And then a medium quick release time but not too fast. Too fast and they get too much in-your-face. Adjust where you want them placed in your mix by adjusting the release time.
Then your vocals sit remarkably in the mix. Wherever you decide to put them. And when they sing soft passages. You can hear every word. When they go from a soft passage to the scream. They sound like they are screaming. It's definitely louder. It's not exactly really louder. By adjusting your release time. You can adjust the APPARENT LOUDNESS level. You can't do that with a DBX type. Unless they have a release time adjustment feature which some do.
Of course doing that also sucks up everything on the little 8' x 10' stage. So you get a lot of drums in the vocal microphone. Which can really FUCK up your life radio broadcast next radio broadcast mix. Such as this. See you can't always push the vocals up as high as I might want. Without corrupting my mix terribly. With too many drums in the vocal microphone. The whole recording is one lousy 100% technical compromise. Nothing is right. 5-10 seconds were spent positioning microphones. There are no readjusting the microphones. It is what it is. You get a feed. Do with it what you can.
And so the blade between the instruments and the PA speakers coming through all the microphones. You don't just deal with bleed. You deal with unusable massive hemorrhaging. How are you supposed to get a good recording that way? I don't know? I've never figured that out? Because my sound just fine. And billions of people have heard my work. As an a lot more than 999, 999 million. With these sort of recordings. I don't know the bands. I've never heard them. I just push up faders for a live broadcast. Of whatever I'm getting.
And so there is no kind of precision anything going on here, really. It doesn't matter where the microphones are positioned. It really doesn't. As long as they are pointing in the general direction you want them to point. Yes there is a difference of sound. Every time you move a microphone 1/2 inch. What do you want me to do about it? How many cubic inches do you need to listen to? Just stick it and forget it.
Sometimes everything will come out exactly right. And it will sound amazing! Sometimes none of the microphones are actually positioned where you really want them. And you can't get the sound you want. Oh well. That's why God designed beer and other combustible things that grow in the ground. And you just move the faders around as best you can. Because you're not in the pocket on this one.:
soundcloud.com/user-135130368/sets/live-at-electric-church-fm-sessions-vol-1
But your job as an audio engineer for live FM broadcast. It is to still and try to make it, as exciting and as listenable. With everything being wrong. And that's a fun challenge. It still listenable. It's still exciting. It sure ain't the FUCK the way I wanted it to sound. And oh well. It still kicks ass. Just not quite sounding the way I wanted to make it sound. I would've swapped around some microphones and repositioned them. But you can't do that for a live recording. Oh well. It's not my fault. I just waved my hands over the knobs and dials. Take another puff. Take another slurp. And enjoy the band. Because I think this recording and mix of this band, I wouldn't call my best. It's my more garbage like.
But as I listen to the playback of this again and again.. I did do some fun experimenting. And maybe that's why it's not coming off the way I think I would have normally had it. Because I was fucking around. Possibly only using my, Taiwanese made,, 34-year-old, months old AA battery powered, $30 each,, Radio Shaft, PZM microphones on the floor. And then your standard SM-58's on the vocals. And I just did that for shits and giggles. And that's why it lacks the punch I normally go for in my mixes. With those on everything. Except the vocals..
To be showing younger engineers. The multitude of ways. You can make recording with total stupid junk 34+-year-old battery-operated piece of crap microphones. And still come away with a decent recording. You don't always have to use good microphones. Just microphones that work. And you put them where you can. And that's not anyplace where you have to put a PZM. So it's never really on the instrument. It's on the floor. Right in front of the instrument. Or underneath it. Like for the drum set. 2 on either side of the bass drum outside the bass drum. And one inside the base trim. The overheads are a couple of other PZM's. And me kind of things. This was one of the bands I did this on. Because it does not have the same consistency as some of my other tracks. It would done more conventionally with 57's on most everything.
I really enjoy each one of your videos Glenn. Always awesome information reflecting your passion for the audio. Best wishes from Uruguay!
I have the Fredestien Bento 8 pure analog 500 series rack. It's very powerful and quiet. For only $349.00 it's a steal!!
Definitely recommend it for anyone.. 🤘😎🤘
Why can’t I like this video more than once!!! Cranborne Audio killing it! Great video!
I love Cranborne Audio. My 500R8 is beast! 🔥
DUDE what’s up with dissing our friends from the low ends? Bass guys are the offensive linemen of any band. The only time they get noticed is if they screw up. Anyway- Dude you were born for this gig! Totally appreciate the way you do your thing! Always enjoy your vids!
This video brought to you by Cranborne audio!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
I've been following the cranborne stuff for a while now and glad to see them getting some more attention. Not sure I can justify it once i convert to australian dollars but they are definintely on my wishllist.
Did I just watch an 8 min commercial?
I dunno... I wasn't watching you, I was watching this eight minute commercial...
Glenn I've been on your team since I was working sound many moons ago at the world famous Apache Cafe here in Atlanta, GA. I used your "How To Hold A F*cking Microphone!" video many many many times to educate wood-be rappers... especially during open mics!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Bravo Glenn!!! One of the best episodes ever! I know you’ve hit a few speed bumps lately doing the hard work separating the REAL DEALS from the trash… And while I also have read the high-minded spending justifications of many-a-“Slut,” you make an excellent point that EVERY TIME one of these snotty dependents is ripping ass on some well-meaning budget conscious recordist, if I can find ANYTHING that the assailant has actually WORKED on, it’s at least obscure… But in the RARE occasion that music has been shared, I dare ANYONE to hear where the extra $2K went… It’s not hard to get good tone out of $3,800 preamps… But I agree that we have a duty to pull the reigns on overpriced items… And, folks are strapped these… Buy something that works and pass some of your old stuff down to the new gen!
I saw that Midas mic pre on Thomann the other day and thought there was some kind of typo! 😱 🤣
Glen! This is the video I needed. Thank you
That was funny, but true. Now I have to rewrite my wishlist!
Love my R8, sounds amazing and the workflow is super convenient. 👌👌
I have a cranbourne audio 500 it’s an awesome piece of gear. Also amazing sounding interface ! Surpasses a lot of very high end converters in my opinion
Uhhh I know that "Gotta catch 'em all" thing too damn well from DIY pedal kits. Building and especially modding them is great fun and there are some truly amazing PCBs out there. Spending hundreds of bucks on a legendary but long discontinued pedal like a Boss DC-2 or HM-2 on the used market? No way, I just get the PCB and the parts for much, much cheaper and build it! My collection is growing and growing...
The studio where I work have two of the Midas 10 slot racks full with gear. Sounds awesome never had any problems with noise or anything else for that matter. Although I was really surprised to see something in that price range next to the set of barefoot speakers they run. Guess it goes to show that cheap stuff isn't bad, just cheap, sometimes
great vid thanks, I was already leaning towards the ADAT500 and now I’m totally sold. 500 here I come
500 series is The Bomb ...I remember when ADAT was a vhs digital tape ... DA 38 s were my favs
I don't have any 500-series gear but I always liked the idea of "just getting what you need and keeping it in a compact carrier". Plus, fewer power cables and fewer power supplies, which all should mean "less power drain and power cable mess". Then a company like Cranborn comes in and says "Hey, let's go make wiring and configuration easier and more functional". Fantastic. More time getting stuff done, less time trying to significantly add to the cable jungle.
It’s awesome!
Idk about the Midas lunchbox it’s probably fine for the beginner engineer or someone looking to get into 500 series! Remember if it’s cheap, on gearslutz it sucks!
Advertising dollars can get wasted in crowded spaces. That 15k preamp is a marketing scheme. And a genius one at that. Its an advertisement that makes its way in to where few others can, the 500 series department. And if you filter high to low it is right on top. It’s an easy way to upgrade the brand name and get some easy attention. Got you talking right? For Midas-Mission accomplished!
I'm using a Camden 500 with a Midas L10 (that I bought recently) for voiceover work, it's as clean as a whistle. So, either I got lucky, or they just aint noisy (anymore).
I'm sold on the FIRST VIDEO that I've seen about 500-series rack units and chasis!!!!!
2:00 drooling for that snappy snare, loving dem tutorials
The midas rack is fine. There is a ground lift that eliminates any noise...
100% agree with you about 15k preamps this should be a law. crandbourne rack is a great ideaaaaa.
Didn't think I would get the rundown with product placements and reviews.
Oh shit, my mind just got blown by that Cranborn power supply with adat. Damn. I need to get that. I have an RME babyface pro.
Some chassis come with a handle on top, so you can take your entire set-up to the studio.
Also there are some diy 500 series kits, tube and solid-state, that can bring costs down further and have something actually unique
Your Reason #3 (can be used as an audio interface) is particular to the Cranborne, this is not a reason why 500 Series is better.
It’s not? Please enlighten us.
@@SpectreSoundStudios It's like if someone says "Modular Synths are better because there's this one company/brand that makes this one awesome case with extra features" Not a reason why Modular Synths are better overall.
@@SpectreSoundStudios Anything (like a special feature) that's brand/model specific is not a reason why the format is better UNLESS it's the norm and no longer specific to that brand/model. If MOST 500 Series cases have this feature then yes.
This is maybe a bit more a Cranborne ad than a 500 series video....nonetheless I agree with the statement that 500 series gear is better. It was a way for me to get the preamps I wanted on a smaller budget, and expand it unit by unit everytime I got the cash for a new unit.
“It’s like Pokemon for audio engineers“. That’s exactly how I feel about it, too 🤣 It has a similar appeal as guitar pedals. They are small enough to get a lot of them, they look fun but are very powerful.
Yeah, I watched a few videos about the Cranborne stuff at NAMM and it did seem awesome.
You should track and mix the next STEEL PANTHER album
Would die to see that happen, but i think steel panther goes for a more polished and sterile sound than glen goes for and im not sure the label is okay with SP going sample-less 😂😂
“Eminem can suck it. So can dr. Dre. They can suck each other just because they’re gay.”
funny how I'm watching this video while browsing "500 series vs 19" rack gear" in Gearslutz
Hi Glenn. Speaking of 500 series, would you ever consider buying DIY kit 500 series module? Some manufacturer like Sound Skulptor seem to have a killer stuff for not that much money.
I have Soundskulptor and CAPI diy gear. I love it!!!
I dont know what you're talking about..but i watch you anyway
Thanks for the midas mic pre recommendation bro
You forgot the best thing of all: Can service modules individually. Iv been left 4 channels down multiple times because i had to service a 4 channel mic pre even tho only one of the pres was faulty
VERY true! I’ve had to replace a couple of op-Amps in my Api preamps over the years. But one at a time...
I've still got two powered fan cooled racks of all the old school Aphex 900 compatable cards and a full frame of Dbx 900 cards that I uncloak on some occasions in the dead of night when no one is looking. Shhhh!
I bought into 500 series about five years ago due to cheaper units compared to rack-mounted counterparts like you mentioned. I have a Lindell Audio 506 which I read (pretty sure on Gearslutz) that it doesn't sound as good as an API Lunchbox, and adds noise. I've not done a direct shootout between 500 series racks, because I don't care. I'm not losing sleep having the 506 over the Lunchbox. My Hairball Audio pres sound great, as do my Maag EQ4s and Lindell 7X-500.
I just looked up a breakdown of that Cranborne 500 interface, and holy absolute shit, have they crammed functions into that thing. I'm looking at 500 series stuff here to potentially build an outboard vocal setup I can use both in my home studio and on stage (possibly for recording some acoustic on-location stuff too) and that looks like it could be used in any scenario for anything. And that you can send audio out at any processing stage in addition to the whole rack? Ah man.
I'll admit the barrier of entry price-wise is quite high here, even if I totally see the value. One day :D.
Applause!! This is what we were talking about between us (You don't care but it's funny).. True and sincere video.. Thanks a ton for that, many musicians around the globe need to hear that. "An easy fix >> Drums samples" ha ha ha ha ha!!
This is why I allways bring an additional 4 string bass to studio sessions. Those are easy recognized as basses from recording engineers, you'll never get asked why your guitar has only 5 strings, and why they are so thick.
This and the famous "Lee Sklar Producer Switch" helped me out a lot of personal suffering - and knob twiddeling on my amp.
It's a bass ... A bass ...
I just plug into the bass, hand the other end of the cable to the engineer and let them sort it out. No producer switch needed, I've only got volume and tone so any issues are on their end.
@@GarethFlatlands
See, as my heart sure beats for heavy metal, there are much more styles of music that I have to be in to.
I am making a living out of two bands I am in right now and the gigs we used to play before Covid19 lockdown, some students and beeing the first call bassplayer of a studio. I can't choose what style of music I have to play on the next recording session.
Oh, sorry, I am able to choose - by loosing jobs, I just have to say "no, I don't play your songs" - what would be nothing but stupid.
So sometimes not the recording engineer but the producer asks me to change the tone in the one or the other way.
In this case I nodd my head, flick the "producer switch" (pat.pend.) and make sure the producer sees it, then I change the finger position of my plucking hand and ask "how's this one?"
Most of the time I hear a "yessss, this is much better" after using "the switch" the second time.
What they do afterwards in proceding my tones is not my business. It has to sound fucking killer, thats all.
I was looking forward to the "in-use" on the Cranborne 500 rack. I didn't expect it to be wrapped up in a "10 reasons" clip though :-) Anyway, good to see you are liking it and yes, the ability to insert analog gear using the ADAT I/O is very handy indeed. Would love to hear how that works out, which DAWs calculate the delay properly, etc. I am about to step into the 500 series world myself.
I use it on every single video!
I love the api and Rupert neve 500 series!
Your Bad News shirt is so awesome! Futuristic metal!!
Nah, we’re more modern than that!
@@SpectreSoundStudios HAHAHHA! Perfect!
Glen, show us how you use your 500 series modules as plugins. How does the routing work? How do you set it up with your DAW? Thanks for the great videos bro.
RND 500 series R6/R10 and 5xx modules are some of the very best out there - 542 has a nearly undetectable noise floor
F!!! Awesome Video! U said it first! Jumping on 500 soon. Cheers
Just wanted to say I have 2 of the Midas 6 slots - not one bit of noise. . . Couldn't be happier with them (from what I understand it may be the 10 spot unit that has the noise issue).
Super fun and valuable video. Thanks!
Man I would absolutely love to a 500 series desk like Steve Vai, Kurt Ballou, or Kevin Antreassian but I seriously don't have that kind of money to spend on gear. Unfortunately I'm stuck with plugins. Thanks for doing this video! Love geeking out to awesome gear and all the possibilities.
No I don’t know where all of our savings went honey. Oh that box over there....It was sitting along the curb. It’s a toaster oven. I just gotta put a new door on it.
love my cranborne usb rack
3:20 - Classic Glenn (Love the hat)
lmao he went hard on the customers of that 15k dollar pre amp
Thank you that was informative and funny as hell. You are a talent! Best Tod
Would love to see you hook up with Hairball Audio to try out their Elements, Lola, and 1176 style compressors! All in 500 series.
Would love to check those out!
Yes please do this Glenn🙏 Thank you very much. I decided I should go with 500 series instead of getting a 19'' rackmount unit looks much more flexible for workflow
Just started getting into external hardware.. Your videos are great!! Thanks!
Aphex had USB and ADAT 500 series box with 4 slots that had S/mux for 96K back 2009 but Cranborne should consider a USB4/Thunderbolt multi-chainable version where you could use multiple low latency Thunderbolt connections to connect multiple units together. Since the Thunderbolt standard is now open source and part of the USB 4 protocol. Similar to how the Quantum line of interfaces from Presonus works. I'm not a fan of ADAT since it required a codec converter chip and limited sampling at 48K. Sure 90% of sessions I receive are 48K but that 10% recorded at 88.2 or 96K make ADAT expansion an no go. But Cranborne are on to something very cool with this tech. But the USB version seems to be the best option as well as the network option!! Get video Glenn.
Just getting into the 500 series is so expensive. I can buy a warm audio 76 and have fun immediately.
Once you dropt the bomb on a good rack you might be cheaper out in the long run, but there is a hefty starting price.
That's true. If you are on a budget and you aim to buy these 200$-400$ 500 series modules over the time... you first need to get that 1500$ rack... Not to mention if you are in a lower standard smaller country like me... you have lower income but that 1500$ rack is more like 2000$ where I live, same for all other equipment... life is fair :P
You can get a MIDAS rack for like 300-400 EUR. Perfect for starting out. I bought a Lindell Audio 4 space rack on ebay for 130 EUR when I started with 500.
What about 500 series modules that are also guitar pedals? HOW DOES ONE CHOOSE?! I MAY NEED BOTH..!
3:29 HAH! Jokes on you, I AM a Bassist 😎 (who probably couldnt figure it out if my life depended on it...)
think maybe the midas noise is its a miss labeled beringer?
Cranborne,cranborne......CRANBORNE!!!! O.K. that is a game changer. As far as price guess I am just a cheap ass old fart. Happy 50th Glenn. 60 hurts less you really do not give a shit anymore. Thanks for this post. 500's do have a place you changed my mind with Cranborne.
lmao, you rock man! Love the humour and the logic! Thank you for the video and all the work! I am very interested in the 500 series. I miss tactile relationships with the gear.
Peace!
I up-voted purely for the rant about the 15k preamp haha
That Cranborne stuff looks pretty awesome.
That magical number 10
500 series is a neat concept but you gotta get the box to use it, so the upfront cost is pretty high.
I agree about the midas. I was thinking the other day however, can you test one and show us why this is so much better? :)
Read my above comment about the Midas - it's not noisy at all, it's dead quiet.
I literally choked on my drink with the bass player joke! XD Also LOVE the Bad News shirt! Thanks for the vid, that 500 chassis is frigging cool.
🤣🤣🤣 the sarcasm at the end was priceless
For home recording I don't need more than two inputs, so this is probably out of my use needs. An interface that can process VSTs on its own is probably the next best thing... that I don't have either.
like the UAD stuff?
@@filipebelini5063 The Apollo Twin USB looks the part, yes. It only works with their VSTs, but that's probably not a problem. Having enough money to purchase it is the problem.
I love this channel.
Love these new "Reason" series...this one was great! Then again..."What the hell can I possibly know!"👍
Glad you’re enjoying it!
Nice product placement
Cramming all those items into a chassis looks like there might be a susceptibility to over heating. Is this a concern?
fumedrummer it does run pretty hot but as long as you leave good ventilation space around it I’ve not had any issues.
I believe there was a company called Apex who made a usb 500 rack. But I dont think they make it anymore