Equipment Part 1... The Audio Chain

The recording platform that we use is an Apple iMac (quadcore i7) and Pro Tools 9. We will discuss the computer and Pro Tools in detail in a future post. 

Recording in the digital domain has many wonderful aspects but it is such a faithful reproduction medium, it is essential to remember that the initial signal that you record is exactly what you will get, thus the audio path or signal chain is of critical importance.

Whatever we are recording, whether it might be voice, guitar, bass or drums, all of which we record on a regular basis, there are special elements that we always adhere to... our recommendations are below:

The pre amp:

Microphones need preamps to boost their output to a level that is suitable for recording and we use a number of preamps for specific purposes

The Neve 5032 Mic Pre & EQ

Neve is a name synonymous with audio quality. Rupert Neve and his company has been making all aspects of high quality mixing desks (etc) since the 1960's and many of the greatest recordings of all time have been recorded on Neves. 

As the desks became old and were replaced with newer models many of the channel strips were removed, reconditioned and resold as standalone rack mounted input strips. These are still to be found in quality studios throughout the world. 

TLAudio Fat Track:

All guitarists know the value of valves in creating a harmonically rich sound. The Fat Track by TLAudio 

(a company dedicated to the use of valves) is a valve pre amp as well as potentially being a complete submixing solution, adding valve warmth (and crunch if needed) to anything put through it.

Our unit has an additional advantage and value to us as it provides us with the option to export all of the resulting output digitally using high quality DA converters (which again we will discuss in detail in future posts).

light pipe digital output from Fat Track

light pipe input into Pro Tools 003


Instrument wise we use the Avalon pre amp for both bass and guitar input... stunning!!: