The question I always ask myself is would I have been able to write this 2-3 years ago. If the answer is no then I'm on a just fine path. Music is a journey, there is no beginning, there will be no end. Just enjoy it while you can.

I agree with you about Reaper. I too bought a licence after only a few days of using it. 😎😎🎵🎵

Great video, subscribed.

Can this setup be used for a live gig?

Thanks Paul.

That was brilliant - just what I was looking for; a very clearly described and presented video on free amp sims. Many thanks, Paul. For anyone else thinking of downloading Amplitube 5 CS, I just downloaded it, and wanted to provide a bit more information. I found that, even though Amplitube 5 CS - and the other free products - all have separate 'Install' buttons, and even though I only clicked the Amplitube 5 CS Install button, the IK Product Manager app downloaded all 8 free products. I am assuming marketing is responsible for this, and I am hoping that clicking 'Unauthorize' for the other 7 sims I do not want will successfully de-register those sims.

I don't consider myself a talented musician but I love to write songs and have been doing so since 1979. In fact I started writing songs because it was the only way I could get into a band -- my singing voice and guitar chops were not going to do it but in the days of punk rock, songwriters with a lot of tunes and a lot of attitude were in demand. I have made a decent living at a career that I was more cut out for but I kept up with the songwriting and my singing and guitar skills have gotten a little better. After I was done paying college tuition I rented a friend's studio once a month and I've just finished my sixth online album; I'm on Spotify, Apple Music, KZfaq Music etc. I have made zero money but I've kept my "Artistic Integrity!!!" And I have a lot of fun. I think I've done better than I ever would had if I had become a professional musician. You are right; it's a fun hobby.

I totally agree with this. I became a guitar teacher to make money while trying to become a professional musician, and eventually the guitar became a work tool... and you know how good it feels to down tools at the end of the day! I play as a dep and I teach music courses in colleges too, but at the moment I do NOTHING creative, whereas I used to write songs and record demos, and practice, and explore, and experiment....

After years of gigging, teaching, session work, and occasional touring, I've decided to pursue a 'day job' career rather than continue to try to make music my full-time gig. I've even turned down an offer to play 130+ gigs/year on tour with an up-and-coming artist that had a song on a hit TV show because it didn't give me the creative opportunities I wanted, it would have forced me to quit my original projects, and it didn't pay well enough to entice me to drop my entire life and go live in a van again. What I realized is that creative freedom is more important to me. Rather than chasing money and compromising on the music, I can make exactly the music I want on my own terms. I'm not beholden to a record deal, booking agency, musical director, or anything. I'm just an artist now, free to explore music without tarnishing it for myself by applying the pressure of sustaining an income from it. If you're reading this and want to live without regret of what 'could have been', focus on what 'could be' if you applied your music hobby time to the things that make you most happy with music - be that learning songs/pieces you love, writing your own music, playing music with others, sharing your passion for music with others through social media or teaching, etc. Make the most of what time and musical freedom you have!

Great video - thanks 😀

Good little video, Paul. Thank-you. 👍

Hi Paul! I would like to say that I am a big fan of your videos. I find many points in common with my own trajectory in music. I'm 51 now, I didn't become a professional musician. Sometimes I think "what if...". Repentance comes to some degree. But I also think about the other side of the story, as you rightly put it. And so I balance myself, between cultivating this musical side, and insisting on making my recordings, even though this isn't exactly my source of income. Receive a hug from Brazil! 🇧🇷

Great lesson Paul. I've had Amplitude for a while and have stuck to the pre-installed preset, but this has given me a lot of useful information. Thanks

I did all this exactly as you described but the unamplified guitar sound still bleeds into the mic and can be heard in the vocal track. And how can I do this when I play acoustic? Also I'm videoing myself and make a video of it afterwards. Check my channel to get an idea (I know, no talent 😂) Anyway, many thanks for the video 😊

Michael Jackson used these, so... in the studio too.

If you're using guitar rig as a plugin the audio options will not be there, because your DAW controls the audio options.

wisdom

Wow, really underrated tutorial man! Thank you so so much, very quick and easy; straight to the point :) Amazing playing too!

This is a great video, very well explained.

Interesting idea. I wish you had actually put together what it recommended. Throw a 4/4 Rock beat on a drum machine and lay down the rhythm and lead tracks.

sm57 and 58 are all i use with my 8i8 and my hummingbird. got a few other great acoustics but for mics its sm57 on my acoustic and sm58 on vocals and sometimes on acoustic also

Thank you for your videos. They have helped me a lot. Have you tried Luna, from Universal Audio? It looks like this one is free. Greetings from Brasil ! 🇧🇷

A condenser mic tends to offer more detail and better transient response than a dynamic mic. Whether this is a good thing or not depends on what your are after sonically and how you prefer to work. Many budget condensers lean towards being overly hyped making them sometimes edgy and unpleasant, sometimes overemphasizing sibilance and mouth noises in a bad way. This can be delt with using a de-esser and/or eq but some prefer to use a dynamic mic and deal with adding a bit of top end or using a compressor with a slow attack to let the transients through and even enhance them somewhat. Dynamic mics tend to do better in bad sounding rooms as you can get right up close on them to get a drier sound with less of that bad room in the recording. You do have to be careful however as a mic like the SM57 and SM58 has a considerable proximity boost so you will have to do some low eq cut to make up for being so close to the mic but this is an easy fix and can be better than recording with a condenser from further away and getting a lot of bad room sound or even external noise from outdoors or HVAC systems. The SM58 (or SM57) can certainly be a great mic to get and it isn't very expensive but there are some decent condensers that cost the same or just a bit more. The AudioTecnica AT2020 is a fairly passable budget condenser, personally I would invest a little more if you want to go the condenser route but even the AT2020 should be capable of good sound if you know what you are doing with it.

Doesn't work unfortunately. When I open Guitar rig 7 player it the "On" icon at the right top corner is white and I cannot enable it. It just doesn't start.

I will pay attention to anyone wearing a Clutch shirt.

I need to crank it because otherwise I cant see the waveforms

nice video - good stuff

Hi. Nice video thanks. But I was wondering, since the -18dB is a target value aimed at analogue gear, since a daw is fully digital I don t think it is too relevant aiming at -18dB, unless some plugin is mimicking analogue circuitry and the input value should be naturally -18 dB. The DAW itself I d say is blind to this, we can lower or raise values in post and it will not even make a change, including clipping. Thanks :)

Some of the most prized records ever made used an SM57 (that's right, SEVEN) ON THE VOCALS, which is very similar to a sm58 you would just need to put a foam filter over it for singing.

I prefer a dynamic on my voice. I've recently upgraded my sm58 to a telefunken m80 and it is a slightly nicer mic with the same qualities.

You've saved this generation ❤

Thank you for your work. It has been very important. 🇧🇷

I do have a Helix but recently bought the Marshall Suite from Softube in a sale.I love that too. Yes, real amps are great.Nowadays there's so much to enjoy. Thanks.

The biggest issue I have with mic’ing up an amp at home is affording the amp. Seriously, though, I’m a fairly new viewer, have you made a video on the bare bones necessity in term of the software stuff? What kind of computer do you need? What’s the minimum on processor and memory and all of that?

Why does my guitar sound like shit no matter what I use? 😅

Thanks

True. The quality of the SM-58, and the interface you show, and even software, such as LogicPro, is way beyond what most people are even capable of doing. On the other hand, don’t make the mistake of buying a cheap, made-in-China acoustic guitar for $99. You need to spend at least $400 to $600 for a decent guitar with good acting, real spruce top, to play well.

Pressing the L, R or the combined button isn't to select the input on your audio interface. You can split your signal in Guitar Rig. Making it possible to select effect chains. This way you can make your own sound for rhythm or leads for example. Or select both to have both chains active. I'm quite new with this but I am pretty sure it has to do with that instead of your input of your audio interface. Otherwise you wouldn't have to select the input in the driver settings within the preferences settings. Do correct me if i'm wrong! I love to learn. :)

it comes up with an offer to buy it at a reduced rate of £89 sounds good, you say its free, then why buy it, is there a time limit on how long you can use it before you have to buy it, im a bit confused, thanks

Sound advice. I been playing a Hohner LP 75 pro for years while i was trying to see if i would play more in the future. I will say, when i bought my first Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional 2008 first year model, by chance, it brought the tone and enjoyment to a whole other level. Been using Shure sm58 dual impedeance for the same period but want a better now. But those 2 low tier things is what kept me going and found out that, actually, i wanted to step it up a bit.

Thank you very much. I think mastering has to be done from the first initial stage at the start of the composition and throughout all process of composition. Bit by bit, step by step, comparing sound relationships between instruments to find an optimum golden ratio. It is an art form on it's own. This approach is much easier for me rather than waiting for the full track to be finished) I am not expert but I think this is the way out and it much healthier for my ears and it doesn't kill inspiration.

You have such a beautiful English) Nice accent and perfect English tone. Thank you for this information. I have just bought this mic. I am discovering it's possibilities)

Spot on! 👍

Recorded two albums with SM58 and I can't say bad word about it.

I partscast. Good neck, pickups, bridge is where I may spend a bit.

i have buy a bunch of mics from stagg or berhinger , yee they sound grate , you can get 5 cheap sm57copy mics for the price of 1 , sure sm57 and 99% of people will not be able to tell the difference , and also 90% of people lessen to music on laptop or phone speakers or with cheap small earbuds , or on car speakers ,

Spot on Paul. It's what you put into your effort that counts. Having said that, the SM58 isn't the workhorse it has been for the past 60 years if it wasn't any good.

I am SO GLAD some one told the REAL truth about a mics besidez NO mic soundz $5000 better than SM58 even SM57 shure been around FOREVER and to dis day ALL nu mics alwayz trying 2 compare against sm58 that along should tell EVERYBODY something

This video made me realize I had ASIO the whole time and just never selected that option because I didn’t know what it was… should have seen my face, THANK YOU

Great video. Really enjoy your channel