On workshops I’m often asked to give an opinion about a certain piece of recording or live PA equipment. There is so much choice at so many price points that it can be really hard to figure out what is best for your school and your students.
If you’re reasonably comfortable in the world of music technology then my advice would be to read lots of reviews from websites like Sound on Sound, visit other schools, visit studios and talk to a range of sales people in a range of shops. Never take just one person’s advice (including my own!).
The more you become informed of the options the better position you’ll be in to make smart purchases.
If you’re not overly confident with the world of music technology and just want someone to tell you what to do, here is my advice based on what I’ve found what has worked for me…
Microphones
3 or 4 Shure SM57‘s – the industry standard mic for recording guitar amps, snare drums (as well as tom’s) and can also work great for loud brass instruments. The most important thing about them for a high school situation is that they’re pretty much indestructible (well, I’ve never had one break on me despite some rough treatment). If you can only afford a couple of mic’s – just get a pair of these, they even work well on vocals (although you might like to consider an SM58 for these).
AT4050 Condenser mic – it’s good to have one good quality condenser mic for recording voice, solo acoustic instruments, etc. Get a pair of them and you can make great stereo recordings of choirs and orchestras. There are many comparable condenser microphones from other manufacturers (AKG 414’s are a popular choice) but I love my AT-4050’s.
A pair of Neumann KM184‘s – great for over the top of drums, grand pianos, violins, recording ensembles, etc
Recording Interface
There are a huge range of interfaces available now. If you want one that can double as a mixing desk for a live PA system then I’ve found the Presonus Studio Live desks excellent. I’m particularly fascinated with their new RM mixer series which only has mic inputs and is controlled from an iPad or touch screen computer.
However, if you want something more ‘pro’ in terms of the preamps and analogue-to-digital conversion (i.e. better sound) then my pick would be the newly updated Apogee Ensemble. I have the older Ensemble and it’s fantastic (for my studio I also use the Symphony but that is probably out of the budget range of most high school departments).
Recording software
See my previous posts here and here where I discuss what is the best Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) for high schools.
Speakers/Studio Monitors
In the past I’ve had Tannoy Reveal’s, Behringer Truth’s and Mackie HR824’s. But I’ve never really been happy with any of them. Don’t get me wrong, for a high school situation they’re fine. They were durable and gave a big sound. But all of them suffered from not being overly ‘even’ across the frequency range – usually too bassy.
So I consider myself very fortunate to now have Focal SM9‘s, but these cost crazy money.
But… based on reviews I’ve read recently I’d say some of the best monitors at reasonable prices would have to be the Presonus Sceptre’s or any of the mid-priced options from Focal, Adam, KRK or JBL.
Of course you’ll also need things like cables, mic stands, speaker stands so don’t forget to allow budget for those.
Where do I purchase all this from? Well, I like to support local stores but online the best website I come back to time and again is Sweetwater.com. Their service has been faultless. The other store that has given me great service and good educational discounts is Vintage King (if you ever get the change to visit their LA store make sure you do, it’s amazing).
Audio equipment preferences can be very personal so I do encourage you to do your research. Don’t get too hung up on reading forums like Gearslutz (too many contrary opinions there!). The best thing to do is to find other schools that are into music technology and visit them to find out what works.
Comentários