Impedence and various inputs

Can someone explain to me what impedence is? Also, I have a Presonus Firepod.  It has three kinds of inputs:  mic, line and instrument.  What is the difference between them and does it make a difference for sound quality if I plug a mic into an instrument ijnput, etc? Impedance

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Blending in a guitar solo

Dr. Doctor: How do you recommend blending a guitar solo into a song?  It’s tricky (for me anyway) becuase if you have other guitars they are basically taking up the same EQ space.  I don’t want to make it too loud or overly compressed.  Any trick/tips? I just do whatever

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Recording Distorted Guitar

Wise One: Do you have any tips for recording distorted guitars?  When I try it, the recording sounds for ssssssizzzzly. I have a Big Muff and a Boss OD2.  I’ve experimented with an SM57, a Cascade ribbon and I’m about to get a Sennheiser MD421.  I have a Marshall JCM2000.

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Questions on the making of Yes We Can

Hi Steve, Thanks for the email about the “Yes We Can” videos on YouTube.  They were very educational.  Everyone involved in the production did a great job. I wanted to ask you a few questions about some of my observations: 1.      I noticed you started out recording vocals

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How to know if something sounds good

Hi Steve, I am constantly reading reviews on the internet about different pieces of musical equipment.  Given my limited budget, I am always looking for the best values. I recently bought two MCA SP-1 microphones for $39 each after reading good reviews for them.  I have done a little bit

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Glyn Johns Drum Method

Greetings Wise One: Have you ever used the Glyn John’s method of recording drums?  I’ve been trying to use it.  It seems simple but there seems to be real problems with phase coherence, in particular if you are recording in a small space. IF you have ver used it, does

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Saturation

Hi Steve, I was watching some free samples of a mix training DVD, where the guy mentioned he always puts McDSP AC-1 on the mix bus and does his entire mix through it to add subtle distortion to make it sound like a record.  Is this something that you do

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Blumlein Question

So if I’m recording with the Blumlein set up, do I need to set the pans to the hard right and left and switch the polarities like you do with the mid-side technique or is it something different? The Blumlein technique only requires two figure of eight pattern microphones, placed

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mid-side (MS) recording method

I’ve been experimenting with the  mid-side (MS) recording method. So I understand how to do it.  When I look at the phase relationship of the three signals on a spectral form (in Ozone 3), the signal is out of phase. When I hit the mono activator just the middle mic

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-10 dB switch

Stupid question: What does the 10dB switch on a mic do? The only stupid question is one that’s not asked! The -10 dB switch you see on some microphones is a “pad” switch, which attenuates the output of the microphone by 10dB.  You would use that when recording a very

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