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HCMS Go-To Gear Guide

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27 views3 pages

HCMS Go-To Gear Guide

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Việt Thương
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© © All Rights Reserved
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GO TO GEAR GUIDE

FOR METAL and ROCK ENGINEERS


You don’t need a huge collection of top-of-the-line gear to make
great records. In fact, it is possible and (in my opinion) preferable
to work with a streamlined setup that gets the job done with
great results. Below is the gear I settled on in my small 600sqft
studio after years of buying, selling, testing and swapping.

MICROPHONES AND THEIR ROLE


∙∙AKG D112 (Kick, Bass Cab, Floor Toms)
∙∙ Alternatives: Shure Beta 52, Audix D6
∙∙Shure SM57 x2 (Snare Top/Bottom, Guitar Cab, any loud
d112 SM57
aggressive instrument)
∙∙Shure SM7b (Vocals, Hi Hat, Bass Cab, Guitar Cab)
∙∙AKG C451b x2 (Overheads, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion,
Stings)
∙∙ Alternatives: Shure SM81, Shure KSM137, Rode NT5
SM7b C451b
∙∙AudioTechnica AT4040/4050 (Rooms, Vocals, Acoustic
Instruments, Overheads)
∙∙ Alternatives: AKG C214/414. Shure KSM32
∙∙Sennheiser e604 x2 (Toms)
∙∙ Alternatives: Sennheiser 421, Beyerdynamic M201
AT4040 E604

1 JORDAN VALERIOTE
go to gear guide for metal and rock engineers

PREAMPS
∙∙API 3124+ (4Channel)
∙∙Sytek MP4aii (4 channels at 25% the price. Not as colored, but perfectly clean and suitable for
pro environments. I had two of these units)

API 3124

In most cases, you’re only recording one instrument at a time in a small studio. It’s wise to choose 2-4
channels of high-end preamps as your go-to and fill in the rest of your drum inputs with something less
expensive but still clean and high-quality. You really don’t need a $1,000-per-channel preamp just to put
toms or hi-hats through.

When tracking drums, Kick / Sn Top / OH L / OH R should go through your best preamps. All other drums
can go through the other preamps you have available. After drums are done, stick with your best preamps
for everything else.

OUTBOARD
If you have the budget, I recommend getting an EL Distressor for compression. This will be a big upgrade
on your vocal chain and be useful for drums, bass, acoustics and more if you choose to compress on
the way in. It’s hard to “screw it up” with a Distressor, and you can do a lot of gain reduction pretty
transparently. This is the only compressor I ever owned or needed in my studio.

Empirical labs distressor

If you don’t have the budget yet, don’t worry - you don’t need an outboard compressor.

2 JORDAN VALERIOTE
go to gear guide for metal and rock engineers

INTERFACE and DAW


With so many good options these days, I’ll refrain from any specific recommendations. Choose whatever
DAW works best for you, and when it comes to an interface, consider the number of inputs and outputs
you need. If you’re recording drums often, I recommend having 16 in and 8 out so that you’re never
stuck for I/O. Even low-budget converters are getting better and better, but stick with reputable pro audio
companies that have a track record of making good converters. Look at Apogee, Universal Audio, Avid
and the higher-end units from Focusrite.

If you don’t want to spend a lot on 16 inputs, you could consider 8 inputs of top-notch conversion and
add 8 more inputs via ADAT from a lower-end interface, such as a Focusrite Octopre. This will give you
the extra preamps and inputs you need just to fill out the last bits of your drum setup.

Over 10+ years running a small project studio, I went through


a lot of gear and spent a lot on high-end equipment I didn’t
really need. Eventually, I streamlined my setup and kept only
the pieces I loved and that worked for the type of music I was
making.
Sure, you might see a lot of vintage tube mics and ribbon mics
at big studios... but if you’re not recording grand pianos and
string sections, you don’t need ‘em!
The gear I’ve recommended here is what I ended up sticking with, and it covers the essentials
beautifully without any waste. Start with these, and if something doesn’t work for you, swap it

”
out. Have fun with the journey, but remember - no amount of gear can upgrade your work
from amateur to label-ready. Only you can do that!

3 JORDAN VALERIOTE

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