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Michael Nielsen (Big Hairy Guitars ) Ask Me Anything?
- Thread starter BigHairyGuitars
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I understand that. That’s pretty much what I do with no amplification.
Quick question. What would an ideal set up be for you if you were going to do a guitar set up using monitors? I even like the idea of using just great preamp pedals to go with power amps to go through monitors. That’s obviously a more minimal set up. I like the idea of playing not using a computer. But could be kind of ideal? But I do not know too much about IR‘s or anything.
The core of this would be to setup a little computer DAW / Workstation. OR... If you pickup a little 4 channel mixer. Run Guitar > Amp > LoadBox (Fryette Power LoadIR, or TwoNotes CaptorX) > Mixer > Studio Monitors. It's a bit of a to do though. Maybe it's better to just stick with a killer low wattage amp.
Yeah, that was a great experience for me. I haven't talked to him since that project. When I did it I was 29 I think, and he's a big powerful presence. True Alpha person. Rockstar. So, I was a bit intimidated by him. He was VERY cool with me, and we spent a lot of time together, but it wasn't really a "I'm gonna call up John today" kinda thing.
Dave Friedman said that the Marshall 20w plexi style is a killer amp (and he can mod it to be even more plexi-like). 20w is still f'n bonkers loud, so yeah, a master volume 100%!!!
I'll keep my eye out for a cheap one. Doing demos is tricky sometimes. I had that ART SGE in my room for several years. Just sitting in the box, unopened waiting to get played. Other things just kept coming up that required attention.
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I think it sounds great with the V30. BUT, if you're willing to go down a totally different road... you can match it up with a Fryette Deliverance cab, or Sound City cab, with the Fane F70. Daaaang, those are so great! But very different than V30's.
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@BigHairyGuitars
What are some basic tips you could give the average home hack when trying to record/mix their stuff. There is sooooo much content on YT and online when it comes to mixing and mastering tracks, but it all becomes a bit overwhelming, “cut this, boost this on your kick, I use XYZ on the cymbals, compress this, do this eq move on the flute solo”.
For the normal home enthusiast, who’s let’s say has their tracks sitting in the DAW and is thinking “now what”, what are a few basic tips, tools and concepts they could easily apply that would immediately help them get something passable. (Not necessarily at pro level, but a decent home demo type track)
What are some basic tips you could give the average home hack when trying to record/mix their stuff. There is sooooo much content on YT and online when it comes to mixing and mastering tracks, but it all becomes a bit overwhelming, “cut this, boost this on your kick, I use XYZ on the cymbals, compress this, do this eq move on the flute solo”.
For the normal home enthusiast, who’s let’s say has their tracks sitting in the DAW and is thinking “now what”, what are a few basic tips, tools and concepts they could easily apply that would immediately help them get something passable. (Not necessarily at pro level, but a decent home demo type track)
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Thank you @BigHairyGuitars for taking time out to do an AMA with us! 
MichaelB
Newbie
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I was being a bit tongue and cheek with the just ringing him up. I figure that if the people that worked with him the most couldn't get him out to play, then nobody was going to do it. I would love to have seen Blue Murder and regret missing the show when it came around. I believe it was King's X, Billy Squier and Blue Murder on the same ticket back then. He is a true rock star. Thanks again.
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I'm gonna think about this. It's such a massive question.
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WOW, that would have been an insane ticket! The best part of the gig was getting to watch John play unplugged. Just the Les Paul not plugged in. Insane. It was all there. You could tell what the tone was gonna be. The amp really didn't matter.
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They really need a plexi pedal. That would be incredible.That's not too out there? I paid $3XX for the Woodrow which was limited in control af the whole while wanting a Marshall style box of the same form factor. While still probably going to use my modeler anyway
THANKS!
Neural doesn't look like they're gonna budge on their format.
I've been working all weekend on the ToneX platform. It's great. The best capturing I've heard anywhere so far. I haven't figured out how their file system works yet. Hoping to make that work.
The Synergy 800 is really good. So is the Plexi. That JJ module (from 3rd party) was just a lot of gain, without the JJ tone. I think Dave F designed the Plexi and 800 modules... they're on point!
It pretty much all happens at once now. But that's a result of a ton of practice and work over the years. The absolute best tip for arranging practice is to recreate things you like. For instance, if you like a particular chorus from a Metallica song. In a DAW, recreate it. The whole thing, note for note... as best you can. Even if you have to simplify the parts. Once you start putting all of the parts down, and bass, and drums, you'll start to notice things like, "oh... there's no cymbal crashes in this chorus!?!" or "I didn't realize that there was a subtle keyboard part in there", or "I didn't realize that there was actually 3 guitar parts, not just 2".
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That Synergy Plexi module is enough to draw me back there 
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Pricing is weird these days (compared to 5-10 years ago). I kind of expect everything to be cheap these days, but at the same time, ANY price almost seems fair. Who knows!?! $99 for a full featured modeler: SURE! $3000 for a full featured modeler: SURE!
Who knows.
I think it's because I don't NEEEED anything. So, it's all luxury boxes. "Do I want it?" Then reason, and price start to go out the window.
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I'm gonna think about this. It's such a massive question.
Haha. Might make a cool video
Figured I’d lob that one out your way. What got me thinking about it was I built out a modest home recording setup about a year ago. Took some time but finally tracked a song I wrote, programmed some drums to it, and basically had it all sitting in the DAW, but then it was really a “now what” moment. It sounded reasonably decent for a rough mix of raw tracks, but where to go from there was a mystery. I did a bunch of YT diving and while there was a ton information it was so granular and deep-dive that it became almost too overwhelming. Its clearly not aimed at the home-hack crowd which likely isn’t trying to have 37 different go-to moves they make on each individual piece of a drum kit. (You can get lost on a 100 hours of how people mix the kick, much less the snare or the rest of the kit, and we haven’t even gotten to the guitar or bass!)
So, was just curious if you had any broad tips or tools you’d rec that are fairly universally effective and simple to apply, for us home hacks. (Assuming we’ve already tracked parts and are at the “now what” stage, staring at our DAW in confusion, and just looking for a few simple but effective things to do)
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My tracks aren't near Michael's level but I found Ozone Elements to be an AWESOME plug-in for basic mastering tasks. At least for proper demo stuff?Haha. Might make a cool video
Figured I’d lob that one out your way. What got me thinking about it was I built out a modest home recording setup about a year ago. Took some time but finally tracked a song I wrote, programmed some drums to it, and basically had it all sitting in the DAW, but then it was really a “now what” moment. It sounded reasonably decent for a rough mix of raw tracks, but where to go from there was a mystery. I did a bunch of YT diving and while there was a ton information it was so granular and deep-dive that it became almost too overwhelming. Its clearly not aimed at the home-hack crowd which likely isn’t trying to have 37 different go-to moves they make on each individual piece of a drum kit. (You can get lost on a 100 hours of how people mix the kick, much less the snare or the rest of the kit, and we haven’t even gotten to the guitar or bass!)
So, was just curious if you had any broad tips or tools you’d rec that are fairly universally effective and simple to apply, for us home hacks. (Assuming we’ve already tracked parts and are at the “now what” stage, staring at our DAW in confusion, and just looking for a few simple but effective things to do)
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Yes, Ozone is great. Especially after a long day, or if you're just plain stuck. Ozone might light the way :)
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instrumentalcase
Newbie
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Hey Michael,
Longtime fan of the channel and all of your fantastic content! My sincerest thanks for everything you do.
I’m planning to reboot a guitar YouTube channel that I started when I was about 16 (about 16 years ago); could you sprinkle us aspiring guitar content-creators with any advice?
Your fan in Austin,
Dave
Longtime fan of the channel and all of your fantastic content! My sincerest thanks for everything you do.
I’m planning to reboot a guitar YouTube channel that I started when I was about 16 (about 16 years ago); could you sprinkle us aspiring guitar content-creators with any advice?
Your fan in Austin,
Dave
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Thanks so much Jarick! Yeah, the Demeter is a super interesting preamp.
I'm gonna go with Pornograffiti. It's a tough one, but Porno was playing at a god-tier, and the ADA metal tone was perfect. I do love III Sides though, and Extreme 1.
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Thank you so much! Definitely reboot your channel! It's great motivation to practice and get better.
Well in terms of advice, all I can really offer is to do what you like, and pace yourself. OH, maybe hire / convince a camera expert to come and help setup your lighting and video framing.
OR
on the other side of the coin, 1) make click bait titles 2) make silly thumbnails 3) yell, and throw tantrums in your videos 4)if at all possible have a big bosom and long beautiful hair 5)definitely don't show off super expensive amps, and hard to fine rack gear.
