Recently on The Home Recording Show I interviewed Kent Holmes.  We swapped out preamp tubes to get different tones out of different amps.  Check out HRS Show #34 to hear the interview for all the details. Below are all 27 clips that we recorded.  Only 9 of them were able to make the show because of the length of the segment had we used them all. - The Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 Reissue - Epiphone Rivera (with mini humbuckers) Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.standard.epi.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.12au7.epi.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.rca.epi.mp3] Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster (DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups) Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.standard.strat.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.12au7.strat.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.rca.strat.mp3] Gibson Les Paul Studio Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.standard.paul.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.12au7.paul.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Deluxe.rca.paul.mp3] - Airline - Epiphone Rivera (with mini humbuckers) Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.standard.epi.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.12au7.epi.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.rca.epi.mp3] Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster (DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups) Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.standard.strat.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.12au7.strat.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.rca.strat.mp3] Gibson Les Paul Studio Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.standard.paul.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.12au7.paul.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Airline.rca.paul.mp3] - Marshall DSL 2000 - Epiphone Rivera (with mini humbuckers) Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.standard.epi.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.12au7.epi.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.rca.epi.mp3] Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster (DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups) Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.standard.strat.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.12au7.strat.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.rca.strat.mp3] Gibson Les Paul Studio Stock 12AX7 Tubes [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.standard.paul.mp3] 12AU7 [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.12au7.paul.mp3] Vintage RCA 12AX7 (50's or 60's) [audio:http://ryancanestro.com/hrs/tube/Marshall.rca.paul.mp3]

Follow me on Twitter.  This will be the only current info coming from me until I get this page redone. http://twitter.com/rcanestro Also, The Home Recording Show is still happening every week.

I am giving this page a complete makeover very soon.  RyanCanestro.com will become the central location to find all of my projects.  This blog will be moved over to www.ryansound.com. The podcast at www.homerecordingshow.com has been going strong.  Show number 28 will be coming out in just a couple days.  We put out a new show every week.  If you have not checked this out yet, please come over and check out what Jon and I have been up to. I have finished all construction on my recording studio.  The website is now under construction and will be up soon.  I am open for business.  Come book time with me!  You can find that site at www.ditchroadrecords.com. Thank you all for your continued support.

I recently read an article that got me thinking about the future of consumer audio gear. Any major shift from the traditional gear that we are accustomed to could change the way we currently recording and capturing content in a dramatic way. Recently we have started to see audio quality decline in the mainstream due to the phenomenal success of the iPod. It is always amusing to see an expensive live sound system playing tracks off of 128k MP3 source material. Back to the original point. The thing that caught my eye was a new technology using carbon nanotube sheets 1/1000 the size of a human hair as a loudspeaker. With this new material, traditional magnets are not even necessary. Small electrical sound frequency current is all you need to reproduce sound. The world of possibilities is somewhat limitless at this point. Nobody knows how long it will take to get something like this in the hands of us normal consumers, but I expect it to change more than just speaker design if it turns out to be a viable technology. Conceivably this same technology can also be used to manufacture microphones. ...

As I am sure that most modern recording setups have a computer sitting at its core, keeping that computer happy should be a priority. In last week's Home Recording Show I outlined the problem areas, solutions, and some preventative maintenance to avoid catastrophe.    Among the tips are to backup often, keep off site backups, reformat recording drives every couple months, defragment system drives a couple times a year, and avoid Internet pollution. Take a listen to the show. [audio:http://www.audiogeekzine.com/podcast/hrs.015.mp3] Download Show # 15

Growing up in the late 70's and early 80's put me right in the middle of the pre and post digital age in my formative years.  As a young guitar player I quickly learned that the old tube technology in guitar amplifiers would give me a much better tone than the solid state technology.  The generation just before me did not have to even make a choice, there just was one option. Fast forward to today.  The transistor and digital technology have progressed to a point where a $200 device can come pretty close to emulating every boutique and classic amp that you have ever hear of... let alone could afford. The shift that we are going to see in the next generation should be nothing short of amazing.  Each new breakthrough leads to exponential growth.  I would imagine that in less than a decade even the most discerning guitar amp aficionados will no longer be able to identify the difference between a classic amp side by side against an emulated amp from an affordable device. Where will that then take us?  Will future guitarists be unphased by seeing a Marshall Plexi in the pawn show window?  Will that bring down prices for ...

It has been a long haul to get this studio up and running.  I thought that it would take a month, but it took two and a half.  I have done most of the work myself to save money, but I wouldn't recommend it. There have been a lot of great people that have helped me along the way that I will be sure to thank them on the studio page when it is completely redone with pictures of the completed project. Tomorrow the rest of the paint goes up, the electrical outlets and switches all get wired and powered up, and the snake and headphones panels go up and get soldered together.  There is still plenty to do, but the drywall part is over.  That has been the absolute worst part of the entire project.  I will not take on that amount of drywall work as long as I live.  There will be a lot more to come soon and I will be back to my regular postings on this page. Here is a picture of me getting dirty while painting the live room earlier today.

I have not had any time to write any new posts lately because I have been working on the new studio. I ripped the down the old studio to concrete and studs. The new design is what I have painstakengly put together over the past year and it is finally coming together. The new interior walls are up and wiring, drywall, and finishing touches will be done in the next few weeks and I can get back to my normal schedule. Pictures, what I have learned in the process, and new content to follow. I am however managing to stay current on our podcast at Home Recording Show. Please stop by and take a listen.

Check out the first installment of our weekly show that is all about home recording. I have teamed up with a couple great guys to get this show going. If you have not yet checked out their sites before, Jon Tidey does audiogeekzine.com and Des McKinney does hometracked.com. They are both fantastic points of interest and I am very happy to be working with them. Check out the new podcast at Home Recording Show. You can also subscribe to the feed that is at http://feeds.feedburner.com/homerecordingshow. Please leave us your comments, suggestions, and questions on the new Home Recording Show site.

(For the podcast segment I did on this topic at Home Recording Show, please click here.) There has been much debate over how similar or how different the Shure SM57 and SM58 are against the GLS Audio ES-57 and ES-58 series of microphones. I have read several reviews and there seem to be two distinct camps forming. One group that believes that the GLS mics are every bit as good or better than the Shure counterparts and those that scoff at them as even being in the same league. I have worked with both the Shure and GLS microphones at live sound venues. My initial impression was that the GLS mics were terrible. I was expecting to confirm this once I was able to test them side by side in the controlled environment of the studio. I was surprised to find that the GLS mics, while not a Shure replacement, are better than I had previously determined. Here are a the tests that I conducted in the studio: The first pair of audio tracks are the SM57 and ES-57 respectively on a clean guitar track: [audio:Shure.GLS/sm57.clean.mp3] [audio:Shure.GLS/es57.clean.mp3] The second pair of audio tracks are the SM57 and ES-57 respectively on a distorted ...

I always use compression when I am tracking. Be very careful to make sure that you are not using too much from the start because just like salt on food, you can not remove what you have already used and you can always add more later. When you compress a signal, in simplest perceived terms, you are taking the loudest parts and reducing them and boosting the quietest sections of the source material. This can benefit you in many more technical ways beyond the scope of today's show, but it will become obviously useful when it comes time for mix-down. The basic signal chain that I use when tracking most everything is a microphone to a pre-amp to a compressor and then to my digital audio workstation. Once you have your pre-amp level dialed in the compressor's settings are next. Depending on what you are recording and what you want to get out of your overall sound will determine what your settings will be. A good place to start is a 4:1 ratio with a medium to fast attack time and a medium to slow release. Make sure that the signal only engages the compressor at ...

Starting next week I’ll be hosting a weekly podcast along with Jon Tidey (AudioGeekZine) and Des McKinney (Hometracked). We will primarily cover recording techniques, gear, software, and how to really get professional results in your low budget home studio. With such a wealth of information out there, it is hard to filter through all of it to find what you are really looking for. We will try try distill it all down to simple terms and help you get what you really want out of your recordings and equipment. With recording techniques, perspectives, mad scientist ideas, and tips we may help make your experience more about making great sounding music than dedicating your precious time to searching for these answers on your own. Please contact us with your own tips, experiences, and techniques and become part of the community.

With a geographically undesirable partner for your show, traditional methods will certainly limit your ability to get together unless you have both an ISDN line (service and expensive equipment), already own a private jet, or you like spending an obscene amount of time in the car. There is another way. And get ready for this... it is free! You can use Skype in a way that is similar to having your own personal free ISDN line. As I am sure that you already know, Skype is a free computer to computer VOIP system that is really easy to use and gaining quickly in popularity. I was first introduced to using Skype in this way by Leo Laport who has the largest podcasting network and uses this service on his nationally syndicated radio program. There are several ways to capture the conversation either with software or external hardware. The most common would be to use a USB headset that comes equipped with a microphone like the Plantronics DPS 400. This device is great for most podcasters and is certainly be a quick and easy solution with great results. There are several software package that ...

I would have to say that this is one of the worst titles to an article, but it certainly is a question worth asking. I have recently been interested in reamping. What this means is that the original source material, like an electric guitar, would have its pickups recorded directly via a direct box. After this material is recorded and edited, it would be output through another type of DI box that is designed to convert the line level back to an instrument level as so you may plug a 1/4" cable from it directly into an amp. The first few time you do this it seems like the haunted mansion where the amp is seemingly playing itself. I was curious to see if there would be a significant loss in quality in using this method so I have made some examples and I would appreciate your feedback. Why even bother to go through the trouble? This can be a great way as a producer to dial in exactly the sound that you are looking for no matter what rig the session guy shows up with. Lets say you have an important session and the ...

1. Think of each monitor as a separate mix than that of the house mix. If you have four monitors and a house mix, you effectively have 5 separate mixes (4 mono and one stereo). If you are then going to make a recording with a "B" mix... You are then looking at 6 independent mixes. This can all get a bit confusing especially in a hectic environment of 5 bands a night all wanting a sound check and getting to play on time. One thing that should put your mind at ease is that your monitor mixes rarely need to be as complex as the house mix. Usually singers only want to hear themselves, so that is only one source sent to that one monitor. Simple enough, right? This is generally true with most vocalists. Guitars, especially acoustic, are likely to end up in the mix as well. If you have a monitor set up for the drummer, this is usually the most complex stage mix more like that of the house mix. If you think in terms of separate mixes, you are likely to keep this all ...