What Gear I Use to Record

If there's anything that this pandemic has taught us as musicians it's that recording at home is a vital and necessary skill.

I wanted to share with you my gear set up to hopefully inspire you to start recording yourself!

You'll see that my set up is really NOT that complicated, super fancy, or mega expensive, however I get a really slick cello sound that has been featured in movies, commercials, and records.

I'll give you the gear with some quick commentary after each.

Here's the rundown:

Microphone: VintageVoice'd MJE-v250 by Michael Joly

This is a large diaphragm condenser microphone, which is what I recommend for cello. Unfortunately, Michael stopped making microphones after many years.

What's important to note is that this is a MODDED microphone. Meaning that he would take the same components of a much more expensive microphone and put them together himself.

This would result in a MUCH less expensive microphone with the same quality as something with a name brand.

I bought mine for $369 back in 2014. The Neumann U 87 which my microphone is based off of goes for $3,650 on Sweetwater.

Wow, that's expensive!

I definitely recommend doing some research into modded microphones. You can save a lot of money and get really good quality mics.

Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

I can't recommend this thing enough! It's very inexpensive (only $170 USD) and gets an excellent sound.

It's so simple. You plug it into your computer via USB and then you connect your microphone via an XLR cable and that's it!

It's super portable and very easy to use and set up.

Preamp: Assembled CAPI VP26 microphone preamp

This preamp is much like a modded microphone. It is an off-brand model based on vintage API preamps that are much expensive.

It's sold as a kit and a friend of mine puts them together and sells them.

It gets an excellent and warm sound and cost me $380.

Conclusion

I just want to say that the preamp is definitely NOT necessary at the beginning if you are looking to get into recording.

Get a microphone (it doesn't have to be super fancy or expensive, again check out modded mics), a microphone stand, an XLR cable, and the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.

If you have a Mac you can use Garageband (comes free with every Mac) as your Digital Audio Workstation and if you have a PC you can download Audacity for free.

Personally, I use Logic Pro X, which is the more advanced version of Garageband.

I am NOT a gear guy! I'm not one of those people that loves gear or really knows that much about it at all.

I just know I get a good sound with the gear that I have and it's not that complicated or super expensive.

That's why I wanted to share this stuff to help you get started.

As always, if you want some fun things to jam on and record, check out String Jams!

Have fun and get recording!