I am interested in any exceptional processing devices/ signal flows used in recording or playing live with your moog synths. As many different setups as I have used, the best for me is simply model D to mackie mixer with aux send going to space echo, from mackie to compressor to analog tape. I have used Logic and pro tools in the past, and still use them mainly for reverbs (mackie aux sends to firewire-> DAW → reverb plugin-> mackie - > speakers/tape) and loops, but tape is indispensable for me to maintain the analog signal, and as a processor in itself, how it affects the transients (which can be changed substantially by changing the tape formulation). Also for me a good compressor/limiter is crucial for minimoog because of the wide dynamic range of the synth and how it can overload a system. LA-2A leveling amplifier for minimoog basslines enhances the sound in amazing ways, turning the fat into the morbidly obese. I think I have come to the point where I am content with the model D as my only synth, and now I just need to find the exact combination of analog signal processing to make it sound out of this world.
My next processor will be a Manley Massive Passive EQ. For those uninitiated, this is a tube EQ with passive circuitry (inductors, resistors, etc.) that imparts a wonderful, almost surreal quality to anything you put through it. It really is a magic box, and I can’t wait to put the mini through it. I know most of you might think this type of stuff is boring, what with all the new modules and crazy effects out there, and I felt the same way until being exposed to audio engineering and the creative tools that non-musicans use to make music sound better and put their own signature on it. I have always wondered why synth makers and signal processor manufacturers have never really combined their efforts. Except when Moog made the Eq’s. Someone should start making synth modules for 500 series lunchboxes or make signal processor modules for modular synths. It would be cool to be able to compress an oscillator before going to a filter, or to gate a filter output, etc.
I never saw the importance of the engineering side of music, but now I realize it’s just as important. Whereas in the past people were mainly either a musician or engineer, nowadays the line is increasingly blurred, and since alot of us are do it yourselfers, it is important to maximize the sound of our instruments in order to maintain the quality achieved in the past which has made instruments like the minimoog so revered.
I started out on a Tascam Porta II analog 4 track (cassette based). Would master with a dual tape deck.
I was given a Roland VS-840ex console…zip disk based. Would master to a computer via “Sound Recorder” to burn cd’s.
Now I currently use a Peavey 14 USB mixer going into the Mac, with Logic as the main editing program. Trying to kep it simple.
Eric
I just run my Little Phatty through an amp and into a mic I have connected via USB into my DAW. I don’t have anything fancy yet.
I run pretty much everything through a couple of CAJ V-Comp tube compressors, and often through an Alembic F-2B preamp (though I have found that the sound with just the V-Comp is pretty good!). Then just into ProTools.
I used to have one of those fostex cassette 4 tracks. Amazing the sound quality that came out of those things for what they were. A recent issue of Tape-Op had an article on something like “ten reasons to keep your cassette multitrack”. Tape saturation is a very distinctive type of distortion that is very cool. Ever heard of Tascam 388? It was an 8 track mixer with an 8 track 1/4" reel to reel attached. Some very famous musicians still use it for its great saturation FX. I have tried Reel Tape and have heard the Studer a800 tape plug ins, but really just using any cassette deck/reel to reel is way better. Long live analog.
I have a couple different platforms depending on what I’m working on. Typical signal flow is the Moog OS going through my Moog pedals into my UA preamp/compressor or Focusrite preamp straight into Pro-Tools or onto 4 track tape. I have a Tascam broadcast tape deck that I’ll mix back down into as well, which gives the mix some nice saturation/distortion. Hitting tape at some point in the process sounds great IMO, especially if you like an older, less clean, less hi-fi sound.
Awesome, that is what I like to hear. I was beginning to think everyone abandoned tape. You have the LA610 or whatever it is? UA makes awesome gear. I discovered mic pres for instruments only a couple years ago, and have to say they can be superior to guitar amps for recording. I use Vintech (neve 1073 clone) pres, which have this subharmonic fatness that result in a super thick, chunky sound without coloring too much. So I can stack multiple instruments in a mix and get a very BIG sound without muddyness. With tube pres, they sound a bit too colored to stack more than a few tracks, but the tone is amazing. Moog OS into an LA-2A? Right on. I have put model D bass through one with outstanding results.
Before I discovered console-type preamps, I gravitated toward guitar/bass amps that were powerful and loud, but then I realized it’s all about tone, and any signal can be amplified to any level. What is your 4 track? I recently acquired an Otari MX70 1" 8 track, it sounds HUUUUGGGE. Recoding drums is like night and day vs. DAW. With this machine, I need not compromise “hi-fi”, clean sound for vintage tapeness. I also have a tascam 1" 16 track that I am trying to restore. It is super noisy and the DBX noise reduction kills the tapeness, so I’m getting the amp cards modded to take +9 tape, raising the signal to noise ratio and hopefully making the deck usable without NR. I want to be able to mix down to 1/4" without hitting converters at all, but it’s not easy, don’t know how they managed before DAW’s.
Pro Tools LE8 (soon to be 9) with a 002 Rack. I just use the generic Digi plugins. An 8-channel control surface would be nice for mixdowns, but I really don’t need one yet.
I used to record with Ramsa WRS1224 mixer feeding a Tascam 80-8 8 track reel to reel.
Later I got fed up with the cost of analogue tape and the short length of the reels. So I sold the 8 track and went into the DAW world. I ran Cakewalk Pro Audio then Sonar from Sonar 1 to Sonar 8. I am a former Cakewalk beta team member actually. Now I run Logic 8 witha Motu 828 MKII (with an op amp upgrade courtesy of Black Lion Audio). I use Summit and a couple Art tube mic pres. I also have some old Yamaha PM180 and pm1000 channels for use as pres.
90% of the time its my Summit though. Can’t say too much about the 2BA221 mic pre. Buy one.
Also, quite often I run my moog stuff or whatever other synthesis devices I am using du jour through my Mesa Bass 400, Traynor YGL MKIII or Epiphone Valve jr. I think the sound of the speaker pushing air in a room does a lot for certain synth sounds.
But then so does an Effectron II with a tiny amount of modulation.
Too bad about the tape machine. Yeah tape is expensive,but an invaluable tool in itself for me. I have heard good things about Summit pres, but its so hard to try out gear like that without buying it. With recording gear and instruments, I try to find gear that is universally praised and stick with it be it vintage or good clones. I would like to experiment more, but I figure what I have serves me exceptionally well, so why alter it? Though I am considering a 500 series lunchbox, good way to get a wide variety of modules from different manufacturers.
I use a vinyl disc cutter. Yeah I’m old school!
You call that old school ? I’m still using wax cylinders 
.
Just upgraded to Sonar X1 and use a Lynx Audio 2A soundcard. Outputs are routed through a Mackie 1402 mixer, and I mostly use a pair of Klipsch KG 2.2’s powered by a Carver PM-120 amp for monitors, and recently added a KRK10s sub. I have an Event Tria setup too, but really prefer the Klipsch’s. All audio is routed through a Furman patchbay to provide patch points for access to a Lexicon MPX-1 or a Roland SDE-1000, as well as to patch Moogers (102, 104SD, 105M, 107) or other stomp FX.
My setup is located in my dining room, which has a 12-foot vaulted ceiling and opens into my living room, so I have about 16 feet of open area behind my listening spot. I built two pair of gobos 42"wide x 7’6"tall totalling 14-lineal feet stuffed with 3 to 5 inches of Knauf soundboard for bass traps/room treatment, and the traps provide a nice tight soundstage. The space behind the gobos in the corners is a good place for storing all the boxes everything came in. I haven’t noticed the need for any further room treatments, but if I had to relocate to a smaller space I wouldn’t hesitate to build another pair of corner traps and maybe some clouds too. Flutter echo and standing waves suck. If you are recording mic’d sources in an untreated space I highly recommend looking into building corner traps at the very least. A properly trapped/treated listening area will improve your mixes too.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/Recmanual/index.htm
Have various preamps, Davisound TB-10 serial #1, Meek VC6Q, and a couple GT Bricks. If you are looking for a straight-wire-with-gain preamp the Davisound is a solid choice. The Meek is nice with a P-Bass, and I use the Brick mainly as a preamp into a chopped Leslie. It sounds epic with a KLON Centaur driving it with a guitar.
For MIDI I/O I use a MIDIman MIDIsport 8x8 configured through MIDI-OX.
Mics include BLUE Cactus, Rode NTV and NT2, Sennheiser 421, and a pair of Naiant matched small omni condensors.
Recording wise I use the Roland VS2480 with four effects cards. All of the synths go into a Mackie 1604VLZpro with a Lexicon MX200 and Boss SE50 effects on the AUX sends. Subs 1,2,3,and 4 feed four inputs on the 2480 while L/R goes to the Mackie 1202VLZ that is used as a monitor mixer for all the audio sources in the studio. The 1202 has a Tascam CD Recorder hooked up to it for recording live jams, or as a note pas for when I don’t want to fire up the 2480.
For mixdown the 2480 is hooked up to the PC through and M-Audio Pro Fast Track using the digital out. In the past I used the Event Gina. Software of choice is WaveLab.
The current monitors are the Event ASP8, soon they will be upgraded to Opals.
When mic’s are needed in the studio or for location recording I have a selection of large and small diaphragm condensers and a few dynamics. The 2480’s pres sound pretty good but as an alternative I also have a Aphex 1100 Tube Mic Preamp.
In the early 80’s through mid 90’s I recorded to a Teac 3440 four track reel to reel. In the mid 90’s bought the VS880 when it came out, then the 2480 when it was released in 2001. I’m in the process of transferring all the old recordings to the 2480 for back up and remixing. Sure I could do the remix from the 3440 into the 1604, but the 2480 allows for much more flexibility in the “re-mix” .
It’s interesting, because recording ideals for electronic music tend not to be as “critical” as those used with acoustic instrumentation. Don’t get me wrong…they matter…but it’s a much more straightforward process in capturing the tone of a Moog than say, a drumkit or guitar. I’ve used a small variety of recording setups over the years, and I’ve generally been able to capture the sound of my Moogs (which I use exclusively for all my sounds) regardless of the platform. In the past year, I’ve moved to some tape based mediums, like a Tascam broadcast cassette deck that I mix down to, and that has brought the sound of my Moogs to a place reminiscent of older electronic recordings that have always been my inspiration. There’s a lot of old, forgotten recording platforms of the past 20 years that can produce such interesting results if we’re willing to jump off the DAW route and limit ourselves. Can be fun, too!
It’s interesting you use the word capture, because I think digital recording does exactly that: captures a snapshot of an instrument very well in most cases. But in my opinion, with a high quality well calibrated tape machine, it’s less capturing of the signal rather than storage. Semantics, I know, but when I hear playback of, for instance, my model D on my machines, it’s as if the sound is coming from the instrument itself. That is, if the tape is hit at the right level, the sound is so natural to the ear as to be indistinguishable from the instrument itself. I think it’s possible if the human ear had a different structure or “bandwidth” digital might sound more natural, and maybe some ears do, but to mine and most from what I have read, the sound of tape is more lifelike. That said, I often prefer processors that allow a less natural and more “surreal” sound, and digital converters and some crazy effects can be useful to me in that regard. I cannot stress how much I am grateful for digital recording, it has allowed music to be created and circulated at an acceptable quality level by the masses, democratizing music as it were.
But mostly I think the revival of analog gear and tape is due to being fed up with the poor quality of commercial digital music and a lack of new music that is on par with older classics. Plus when you compare classic recordings from say the 70’s, the newer stuff has a certain air of phoniness to it, that those of who grew up listening to analog recordings find objectionable. This is obviously a psychological thing, but music is very psychological in nature.
And with the advent of digital audio came the vast expansion of editing and processing that some may say has had a detrimental effect on music. If any of you have heard of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a small group of people were able to to amazing things (like the original DR.Who theme) constrained by the limitations that would be unthinkable today. They didn’t even have synths to work with on the original Dr.Who, just tape splicing, reverse playback, tape sampling, and some crude lab oscillators, yet they made that theme song into a classic electronic piece (though it took them weeks to make one 3 minute song). And back when they only had 2 tracks or even mono to record bands, the musicians and engineers knew they had to try harder to get a good take. Kind of like the invention of the microwave, it allows quick and easy cooking of food, but does it really taste better? It can, but for the most part nothing can beat a slow cooked meal.
I have an 8 track set up. It’s 8 highly trained African Grey parrots who completely mimic any sound I make w/ the Voyager. TOTALLY analog, but editing (and cleanup…) is a real pain… Seriously, I used to use a Mackie 1202 (original version) to a Fostex 8 track reel to reel (in storage since Katrina…). Now it’s Moog>whatever EFX>Mackie>Sony DAT for digital conversion>G5 1.8GHz tower optical input>Live 8 Intro (or Reaper). Sometimes I run it through a bass guitar amp and mic it w/ Audio Technica dynamic or MXL condenser mics… As much as I like tape, I love going all digital: We recorded our album half in my living room, half FTPing files back and forth (total cost = $0.00). Dan did the editing, and we uploaded it to CDbaby for worldwide distribution via iTunes and a load of other stores (total cost = $49.00). Gotta love the 21st century (now where’s my jetpack?). 
Here’s a bit of what I use. I use to have a Tascam 388 and loved it, I just needed more tracks. If it wasn’t for redundancy, I’d buy another in a heartbeat. I am very happy to see others here using it and mentioning it. I have fond memories and a load of tapes from that machine.
I still believe in tape and still make tape loops. There is nothing like analogue.
I have really grown to love the Roland VS-2480 and 1680. Who would have thought. Editing is a breeze on these machines and since everything going into them is analogue I find I’m very pleased with the warm sound I get.
I was very influenced by studios like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Rediffusion and WDR and eventually built my own!
I’ve had many synths including modulars and can’t get enough of this stuff. It was very interesting seeing what other people on the forum are using.
Recording
Roland VS-2480CD
Roland VS-1680
AKG K240 Headphones
Alesis MasterLink
And yes, I’m starting to feel more like an engineer at times as opposed to the musician I started out as!
Cheers
Tascam 388: Best lo-fi sound on the planet. Great mixer/machine, and a technological advancement, cramming 8 tracks onto 1/4" tape and still getting an acceptable sound was an amazing feat. Those who record exclusively to digital and are planning to invest in a new synth or something should consider it. You can even record SMPTE time code on the eighth track and sync to DAW, allowing you to mix an analog and digital version of a track, or put all your analog gear on 7 analog tracks, and use digital tracks for background stuff, or just bounce down all your tracks and go completely analog while using DAW effects. I like to switch up recorders on the same song, like using the a drum beat put through Logic, then for another section of the song use the same beat through tape, and back and forth. I don’t have a 388, but using it for this purpose dramatically changes the sound, which can create a sensation of movement and keep the listener interested. I got this idea from a film I saw in which the director used a digital format camera for most of the movie, until a dream sequence where he used 16mm film. Filming the same images through a different format changed it enough to cause a surreal sort of effect.
