Recording music on a boat?

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

Yeah, just get a mic pre that runs off of 12volt dc. That focusrite would be fine if you don't mind crap sounding gear LOL. Don't mess around and get one of these.

Correct! Inexpensive gear and GarageBand is fine if you only want to futz-around with demos, yet if you really want to step in deep and hone your skills, i.e., make 'studio quality' recordings, top-notch expensive gear is the way to go.

Spend once, then relax and enjoy the great sounds. Or, spend multiple times until you finally arrive at the pro-level shelf. You'll ultimately spend more money going the latter route.

Money depending, think Neve, Neumann, Universal Audio, Avalon, Manley, Great River, etc. Oh, and don't forget a very expensive Mac. You'll be happy.

Here's a good place to start, and "water" is in the name.

https://www.sweetwater.com

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Correct! Inexpensive gear and GarageBand is fine if you only want to futz-around with demos, yet if you really want to step in deep and hone your skills, i.e., make 'studio quality' recordings, top-notch expensive gear is the way to go.

Spend once, then relax and enjoy the great sounds. Or, spend multiple times until you finally arrive at the pro-level shelf. You'll ultimately spend more money going the latter route.

Money depending, think Neve, Neumann, Universal Audio, Avalon, Manley, Great River, etc. Oh, and don't forget a very expensive Mac. You'll be happy.

Here's a good place to start, and "water" is in the name.

https://www.sweetwater.com

I second the Sweetwater endorsement. Those guys are super customer service oriented. Hey PortClyde, how are things down there in the tropics? I am up in the Northern wilds on Islesboro.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Correct! Inexpensive gear and GarageBand is fine if you only want to futz-around with demos, yet if you really want to step in deep and hone your skills, i.e., make 'studio quality' recordings, top-notch expensive gear is the way to go.

Spend once, then relax and enjoy the great sounds. Or, spend multiple times until you finally arrive at the pro-level shelf. You'll ultimately spend more money going the latter route.

Money depending, think Neve, Neumann, Universal Audio, Avalon, Manley, Great River, etc. Oh, and don't forget a very expensive Mac.

Sure. If your boat ls like 100ft or bigger and you have staff, equipment lockers and dessicators. (are you a pro-audio dealer, by chance?)

Nobody's gonna record Nora Jones' next release on a 30 ft boat. Like your boat, your at-sea recording gear should be simple, durable, reliable. Sufficient to work on your technique and your creativity.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

I second the Sweetwater endorsement. Those guys are super customer service oriented. Hey PortClyde, how are things down there in the tropics? I am up in the Northern wilds on Islesboro.

Hi Ben, I'm currently in Japan. A little north of the tropics. Are you a fellow 'Maine-iac', or a summer transplant? The last time I was in Islesboro was around '73, via a 16-foot Boston Whaler Eastport and a 55 Johnson. Port Clyde is a little south of you. How's the lobster & steamers this year?

Yup, the folks at Sweetwater are attentive. Good catalog of gear, and good customer comments. As we say in Maine, "Ahayuh!"

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Sure. If your boat ls like 100ft or bigger and you have staff, equipment lockers and dessicators. (are you a pro-audio dealer, by chance?)

Nobody's gonna record Nora Jones' next release on a 30 ft boat. Like your boat, your at-sea recording gear should be simple, durable, reliable. Sufficient to work on your technique and your creativity.

It all depends on the type of recording you want to make. Except for the guitar, you can now fit a full pro studio into a suitcase. A laptop, 8-space pro rack, pro mic, and a few cables doesn't take up any space at all. Thus, my comments were about the amount of money you want to spend, not the space required. If a $7k Neumann tube mic doesn't give you a heart attack, then you are good to go.

You now actually "can" record the next Beatles album out of a suitcase. Just plan on spending some heavy cash. Think "Pultec" (photo), and the other pro gear I previously mentioned.

No, not a pro-audio dealer, just a user. I've recorded at A&M Records Studio in LA. Much more room needed there. Now you can have 2 64-channel Neve boards and 14 walls of 19" rack gear, all running on a 15" MacBook. Pretty cool, isn't it?

Can you fit an extra suitcase on your boat?

[PamlicoTraveler]

With Pre Amps, powered monitor speakers, headphone amps, computers, monitors....you better have a 10,000 AMP hour battery bank and a Pure Sine Wave inverter.

I have a recording studio and a sailboat. I can't see merging those passions.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

It all depends on the type of recording you want to make. Except for the guitar, you can now fit a full pro studio into a suitcase. A laptop, 8-space pro rack, pro mic, and a few cables doesn't take up any space at all. Thus, my comments were about the amount of money you want to spend, not the space required. If a $7k Neumann tube mic doesn't give you a heart attack, then you are good to go.

You now actually "can" record the next Beatles album out of a suitcase. Just plan on spending some heavy cash. Think "Pultec" (photo), and the other pro gear I previously mentioned.

If the space and acoustics are crap, a $7k mic won't fix that. CF is full of stories of equipment rotting out in the sea air; why would you expose premium gear to that? Would you bring a $30k Martin guitar to a campfire singalong?

Yes you can record the next Beatles album out of a suitcase. Ashore. Not on a small boat.

(and the general caveat that a crap recordist with the best gear still makes crap recordings)

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by PamlicoTraveler

With Pre Amps, powered monitor speakers, headphone amps, computers, monitors....you better have a 10,000 AMP hour battery bank and a Pure Sine Wave inverter.

I have a recording studio and a sailboat. I can't see merging those passions.

You don't need that much juice.

It's all digital now. Think UA Apollo x8p, combined with a sh*tload of expensive plugins. The new digital plugins are stunning, and very very close to the original 19" rack gear. All you need is a good MacBook, Pro Tools, and a bunch of cash. Don't forget the Neumann U67, and the Avalon 737 (I highly recommend!).

You can ditch the powered monitors and the headphone preamp, if you wish. Or, start up the generator.

Record an Eagles album on a sailboat? You sure can! Just open your wallet.

Too bad the recording industry is now DEAD, and all money is now via touring and t-shirt merch. Sad sad days!

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

(and the general caveat that a crap recordist with the best gear still makes crap recordings)

Yup! It's not difficult spending money. The hard part is writing the "3-minute SMASH HIT song". That's where 99% of musicians "fail". They can't write a hit song to save their life.

David Crosby kept his Martin at sea, for 40 years. Think about that!

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Too bad the recording industry is now DEAD, and all money is now via touring and t-shirt merch. Sad sad days!

The "recording industry" is dead in part because you can produce stellar results with less than $10 k in equipment. That's the reason I got out of the broadcast/recording/postproduction technology side in the 90s.

(Or, you could say that the recording industry has been democratized, since the financial barrier to entry has been lowered.)

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

The "recording industry" is dead in part because you can produce stellar results with less than $10 k in equipment. That's the reason I got out of the broadcast/recording/postproduction technology side in the 90s.

(Or, you could say that the recording industry has been democratized, since the financial barrier to entry has been lowered.)

In full agreement. I left in the '90s too, yet I was on the other side of the board. Label band - RCA, Columbia. Times have changed. The only money now is in touring. Heard any new McCartney or Billy Joel record lately? Nope. It's done. Rock is dead. Nobody buys CDs. That's why they all do the annual 'Goodbye Tour", Year, after year, after year. hahahaha Think KISS, Stones, McCartney, AC/DC. Soon they will play live in wheelchairs.

Digital streaming, and Apple, killed it all. No money to artists and new bands.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Heard any new McCartney?

Um, "Egypt Station"?

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Um, "Egypt Station"?

"Yawn" I haven't paid for any music for 20 years.

When playing live, people just want to hear "Yesterday" and "Love Me Do". Same with Clapton - "Layla" ... year, after, year, after year. That's where the money is now. Reunion tours and old has-beens playing live to the boomers and their grand-kids.

That, and drugged-out people raving to some dude spinning a turntable, with a laser show. So strange.

"But so far streaming has not saved the music business, and deep worries persist about the model. Many artists are suspicious of the deals that their record companies have cut with technology companies, and they want to know how much money is trickling down to them. In a rough analysis of the recording industry association’s numbers, Billboard magazine estimated that the average amount of money generated each time a song is streamed fell last year by about 24 percent, to 0.506 cent. (The fine print: That number, a retail sales figure, covers so-called on-demand streams, excluding Internet radio.)"


https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/b...s-decline.html

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Andy Todd

Any recording musicians out there? What do you use to record your stuff on the boat?

Hey man, since this thread appears to have now flown off to 'never-never land', maybe you can tell us what "your stuff" is, and what you wish to gain with "your stuff".

Focusrite is low-level gear. Hope that helps you, with recording "your stuff".

Ciao

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Hey man, since this thread appears to have now flown off to 'never-never land', maybe you can tell us what "your stuff" is, and what you wish to gain with "your stuff".

Focusrite is low-level gear. Hope that helps you, with recording "your stuff".

Ciao

Why the hissy-fit?

Modern budget gear is pretty good. Outside of mics and speakers, there's not a huge gulf between good budget recording electronics and the top of the line. No-one outside of a small circle of pros and audiophiles listening to CDs or vinyl will ever be able to tell whether you had a Focusrite or a Prism A/D... especially since the popular stuff is all streamed (meh). If someone manages to write and record the next "Yesterday" aboard their boat, ain't no one gonna care that they had a cheap interface from Sweetwater.

It's like saying you can't sail without dropping 6 figures on an Oyster...