In this video, Adam Steele and Rob from mastering.com are at the Cloud Booth discussing the affordable equipment that is available today. They are using the new Cloud lifter X, which is a transformer-based Cloud lifter, and they are impressed with the extra zing it adds to the vocals.
They recall their own experiences of starting out in the industry, with Adam’s first microphone being an AKG C1000 and Rob’s being a Behringer BE1, which he admits was not very good. They both joke about the age-old advice of using an SM57 on everything, which still holds true to this day.
They comment on how things have improved over the years, and how even using an SM57 with something like the new interfaces from Audiom, for example, produces high-end sound. They discuss how affordable Dynamic microphones have become, and how classic records were made using cheap microphones such as the 57s and 545s.
They recall how, in the past, people preferred expensive microphones and considered cheap microphones to be rubbish. But now, these same cheap microphones are considered vintage and have been reissued. They reminisce about the time when there were second-hand shops in Manchester and Leeds, where rack mount gear was sold for pennies.
Overall, they conclude that it is a good time to be making music because inexpensive equipment is ridiculously good.