An 11R pre-production test recording

[Jim Soloway]

I'm hoping to start work in earnest on my new album in the next few days. Here's a quick take of one of the tunes that I just did using the 11 Rack. I'm not using Pro Tools but rather running through my Pre Amp/USB interface into Garageband just because I know it much better. The song is nothing new. I've recorded it a bunch of times but it's definitely one of the songs that I want on the CD so I want to get the best sounding version of it that I can.

http://www.jimsoloway.com/MiscDemos2012/BlueAndGreen11RTest.mp3

 

[HS3]

Very nice Jim !
How do you like the 11R, compared to the HD 500?

 

[Gigbag]

Very nice. I think I like your POD tone a bit better, but without a side-by-side comparison, it's hard to tell. Which do like better?

 

[lspaulsp]

Do you ever play anything that doesn't sound amazing?

 

[Chadley]

That sounds really great. What amp model are you using?

 

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks guys. It's a 59 tweed bassman with a 1x21 BF Deluxe cab with verb and trem. For playing live I definitely prefer the Pod but this is really about recording. The jury is still out on this for me. I feel overwhelmed by Pro Tools and without that, a lot of the functionality of the 11R seems lost. My hope is that i can get to a point where I'm ready to start cutting actual tracks for the CD by Monday whichever unit I choose to go with.

And lspaulsp, thanks for the vote of confidence. I guess you'll just have to buy the CD when it comes out.

 

[Scott Peterson]

Sounds fantastic Jim.

I will be buying/downloading and supporting your project. I love your stuff man.

 

[QQQ]

Awesome stuff Jim.

 

[Aaron Mayo]

Sounds great--clear & full. What would you need Pro Tools to do (for this type of project) that GB can't do? Just curious.

 

[burningyen]

I'm listening with in-ear buds, so take this with a big grain of salt: I think I prefer this other clip of yours, which has a softer attack to the notes, bigger bass and an overall warmer tone:

http://www.jimsoloway.com/MiscDemos2012/LoonL7.mp3

It could be simply a difference in performances, though. They both sound great.

 

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks guys. It's been interesting going back and forth between the Pod Hd and the 11R. I feel like I have lot more control of the Pod, but the I've used it a lot more and I'm really comfortable with the configuration software.

Sounds great--clear & full. What would you need Pro Tools to do (for this type of project) that GB can't do? Just curious.

What Pro Tools can do for me is give me software control of the 11R. I don't see any benefit other than that but without it, I'm having to do all of the settings on the 11R through hardware and nested menus on the dinky front panel. With the Pod I can use the software to do small tweaks to the setting very quickly and I think that may be part of why I've been able to get a warmed sound out of it.

I'm listening with in-ear buds, so take this with a big grain of salt: I think I prefer this other clip of yours, which has a softer attack to the notes, bigger bass and an overall warmer tone:

http://www.jimsoloway.com/MiscDemos2012/LoonL7.mp3

It could be simply a difference in performances, though. They both sound great.

I think I agree with you. That's kind of why I posted this recording. It felt a bit thin and sterile to me compared to my Pod recordings. It may just be my lack of control over the 11R. As I said in my comment above, going through nest menus on the box is frustrating and without using Pro Tools there doesn't seem to be much alternative. I was even using my warmest sounding guitar in this clip. The one benefit I can see to the 11R is that it does seem to record with a lower noise level. I think I'll try another version with the Pod and my #1 guitar a bit later and compare the two.

And thanks again to all for the help. I feel like I'm getting really close to getting serious about this album project.

 

[Aaron Mayo]

I'm listening with in-ear buds, so take this with a big grain of salt: I think I prefer this other clip of yours, which has a softer attack to the notes, bigger bass and an overall warmer tone:

http://www.jimsoloway.com/MiscDemos2012/LoonL7.mp3

It could be simply a difference in performances, though. They both sound great.

Yeah, I don't think you could go wrong with either one. They're both excellent example of "that" sound. Is one more "fun" or inspiring?

 

[Jim Soloway]

Yeah, I don't think you could go wrong with either one. They're both excellent example of "that" sound. Is one more "fun" or inspiring?

I wouldn't say that the Pod is more fun or more inspiring as much as much as it's more transparent within the process. I'm much more comfortable with my ability to control it so I don't think about nearly as much. I can just turn it on and focus on playing.

 

[ptgold]

Do you have the Expansion Pack installed? Try using the Parametric EQ low pass filter. This will really warm up your patches.

the Eleven Rack with the Expansion Pack Parametric EQ is night and day difference than without it.

IMO the Para EQ MUST be used on all amp models, especially on the mid to high gain amps.

Without it the 11R was great but it didn't inspire me. However once I started using the low pass filter on my higher gain patches to clean up the fizz and the high pass filter on my clean patches to tighten up the bass.....WOW!!!

I dont see how you could get a better sound

 

[Aaron Mayo]

I wouldn't say that the Pod is more fun or more inspiring as much as much as it's more transparent within the process. I'm much more comfortable with my ability to control it so I don't think about nearly as much. I can just turn it on and focus on playing.

There's a lot to be said for that WRT the creative/performance aspect of things. Good luck!

 

[Richard_G]

Very nice.

Let us know when the album is available.

 

[Chadley]

What Pro Tools can do for me is give me software control of the 11R. I don't see any benefit other than that but without it, I'm having to do all of the settings on the 11R through hardware and nested menus on the dinky front panel.

Whenever I read about people struggling with Pro Tools when using the 11R I always wonder if they know that you can edit in the 11R window without actually having a session open. When Pro Tools opens up and the start up dialog window pops up (the one that asks you what kind of session you would like to open) you can just hit cancel. The 11R window should pop up and you can tweak away without having to deal with creating a track, arming it, making sure it's routed correctly, etc.

 

[TheJudge]

Jim, your clip sounds really nice. It has a tube quality I can't quite put my finger on and will not even try to describe. It simply sounds like a really nice Fender tube amp. Great dynamics too. Personally, I think this clip has a lot of potential. Warming it up more should be no problem if that is what you need. Thanks for sharing. Really nice.

 

[sbruce]

Awesome! I never noticed this. I've been storing dozens of projects with random names just to edit the 11r! Thanks!

Steven

Whenever I read about people struggling with Pro Tools when using the 11R I always wonder if they know that you can edit in the 11R window without actually having a session open. When Pro Tools opens up and the start up dialog window pops up (the one that asks you what kind of session you would like to open) you can just hit cancel. The 11R window should pop up and you can tweak away without having to deal with creating a track, arming it, making sure it's routed correctly, etc.

 

[Chadley]

Awesome! I never noticed this. I've been storing dozens of projects with random names just to edit the 11r! Thanks!

Steven

My guess is that lots of people don't realize that (included myself for the first few months I had mine). I wonder if all the gripe about not having a stand alone editor can be partially contributed to this.