Every music aficionado musician dreams of having a studio complete with sophisticated equipment to record crisp sounds every time. Renting a studio can sometimes be very laborious and time-consuming as you need to haul most of your equipment and set it up, which can be a risk of damage affecting your equipment’s sound quality. And as every audiophile knows, audio quality is imperative in creating music. Having a studio with everything you need may be the answer.
The Importance Of Audio Quality
Sound quality may be subjective, but for an audiophile listening through their headphones, a piece of music recorded in a low-quality system could be the end of their loyalty to a specific musician they idolize. Vocals recorded on a Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel alongside an acoustic guitar can produce a silky and smooth output with very pronounced melodies. Moreover, the final touches of professional mixing and mastering bring balance to the voices and instruments of all tracks and enhance the overall sound quality.
Audio quality can also be measured through quality imaging. Imaging is a subjective measure of the three-dimensional location of sound sources. A recording in a sophisticated system can yield a more defined sound with individual instruments located aurally in space. You can record a piece of music and make it appear like it was recorded live on a concert stage and not inside a stuffy studio.
When you have your studio complete with all the tools you need, including quality recording equipment like a sophisticated audio interface similar to Universal Audio x4 Heritage Edition, you can focus on your music instead of the tasks best left to roadies. One of the go-to specialists in audio recording equipment today is Vintage King.
What Is Vintage King?
Established in 1993, Vintage King is the unintentional creation of two brothers, musicians Mike and Andrew Nehra. What was supposed to be just a trip to England to buy vintage Neve modules for their studio, the white room, became an obsession with filling their showroom with quality audio recording equipment. They began refurbishing musical equipment, and now they carry vintage classics and cutting-edge digital gear to satisfy every musician’s whim and desire.
If you belong to the creative music industry, you need the best technology to create quality and clear sounds that will top the charts. Every novice and professional musician knows that poor-quality sound will not cut it, and you need the best music gear. Crisp and clear audio can make or break your career. It would be best if you had the best interface, microphones, equalizers, and microphone preamps in a recording. To help you out, here’s a guide on audio recording equipment from Vintage King:
Audio Interface
Today’s recording is done mainly on the computer. Since most pieces of musical equipment are not digital, their sound needs to be converted first to a medium the computer will understand, and that’s the purpose of an audio interface.
An audio interface converts analog to digital in the input and digital to analog in the output. Computers and mobile devices have audio built-in, but this may be very limited and produce poor-quality sounds. Hence, you won’t be able to play around with the sound you created the way you’d want to.
Vintage King’s Universal Audio x4 Heritage Edition is patterned after the acclaimed Apollo x4, which has elite-class analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion. It’s equipped with Unison-enabled mic preamps and an updated QUAD Core real-time UAD plug-in processing.
Today, the Universal Audio x4 is the largest desktop interface capable of premium conversion and near-zero latency. The device has two high-C inputs, two headphone outputs, and four line outputs.
Microphones
Vintage King has an array of microphones for your every need. There are large diaphragm condensers, small diaphragm condensers, dynamic microphones, ribbon microphones, digital microphones, headset microphones, and even universal serial bus or USB microphones.
Microphones are vital in any musical recording. Condenser microphones, in particular, are essential in recording audio. The front plate of the condenser microphone contains a diaphragm that converts the vocals to electrical signals. This is essential in tracking the sound before the final mixing.
Meanwhile, dynamic microphones are used in broadcasting since they are more capable of handling extremely loud sound signals and are pretty good at rejecting background noise. On the other hand, they have a very low sensitivity which can mean a low output level, and they also lack a full-frequency response.
Equalizers
Equalizers remove or add frequencies of audio signals in a recording. Many recording studios have these so musicians can separate individual tracks of a mix. Moreover, an equalizer can boost or diminish frequencies, making the sound more pronounced as you listen.
Vintage King’s Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer is a prized find, as it can boost extremely low and high frequencies without harming the notes in the middle. The Pultec equalizer produces a wide and open sound that adds a cozy and light feeling to recordings reminiscent of sounds from vintage records.
Mic Preamp
Microphone preamps take weak signals to make them louder but with more clarity and punch. Vintage King’s Rupert Neve Design 5025 Dual Shelford Mic Preamp is a rare gem with only 300 pieces manufactured. It can produce legendary sound with bold signature lows, focused mids, and rich, silky highs. Your organic sound can be captured in real-time and be transformed into a rich and luxurious sound for your listeners.
Conclusion
Audio recording today has become pretty sophisticated. Recording gears are very much linked to the latest in technology. Engineers have partnered with the best music experts to create quality tools that will make musicians recording life straightforward and pleasant.
Consider the guide above if you’re planning to acquire audio recording equipment. Fortunately, you can get it all in one place. Vintage King has all the best audio recording equipment that you’ll need and more. They also have an array of plug-ins to take your music to a new level.
