Dan's Workhorse - The Daily Drivin' Rig

We’ve seen Josh’s setup, we’ve been on the road with Dan for portable recording, and we’ve seen both Dan’s booth and his Record-In’ Box as well. In this long-anticipated episode, we finally see Dan’s daily workhorse, his daily digital recording and editing platform, and his setup.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:14 Side-by-side Monitors
02:20 Dynamic Microphone
05:30 Condenser Microphone
05:55 Scarlett Solo
07:10 Headphones
08:53 USB Audio Interface
10:58 Mic on Boom Arm
11:30 Webcam upgrade
11:50 Camera/Ring Light Boom
16:35 Peripheral Gear
22:14 Tech tower
24:05 Adjustable Desk
24:30 Motion Stool
25:40 Contact SMYS

In Show Me Your Setup episode 8, Dan downplays his gear as he describes his setup to Josh. Josh asks many detailed questions about how Dan uses his setup, why he arranges the equipment as he has, and how he uses it daily. Dan replies to each question in turn, adding commentary and riffing with Josh as they do.

A key theme to follow throughout this episode is how the setup has been carefully customized over time to yield an ergonomic, adjustable workstation. Some covered improvements include an adjustable desk, DIY desk upgrades, additional hardware, and extra lighting.

Josh leads with an overview of Dan’s setup. The first thing to notice is a side-by-side monitor configuration. Dan has a 32-inch primary monitor in front of him, and he’s positioned himself to the left of the center, focusing more on the right two-thirds. This is where the camera boom is suspended. To the right of that is the second monitor which is mounted on a moveable boom arm and is rotated into portrait mode. This monitor is excellent for opening documents and lists. Readily viewable and yet off to the side.

Next Josh notes Dan’s microphone. Dan’s speaking into the Electro-Voice MC200 which is mounted to an Audio-Technica AT8410a shock mount, attached to a LUXO LM-1 boom arm, clamped to the desk using a Heil bracket. Dan says this is one of two microphones he tends to use on this workstation. The other, an MXL 990 appears as if by editing magic, and Dan and Josh briefly do bad pro wrestler impressions from the 80’s and 90’s.

What Dan’s speaking into is just the beginning, as next Josh will ask Dan how he’s listening to the audio. To this, Dan responds with the tried and true, Audio-Technica ATM50s, and Josh echoes that he’s also sporting a pair.

Josh asks how Dan connected his microphone and headphones to his computer, mentioning first that awful memory of days gone by when he used to plug inexpensive mics into the computer’s sound card directly, and how the self-noise of the PC was an unwanted surprise.

This leads to discussing the USB audio interface which connects the dots. The Focusrite Scarlett Solo connects the ATM50s with a ¼” stereo phono plug. It also connects the microphones with a Mogami gold XLR cable. For the condenser microphones, the Solo can provide 48V phantom power with the push of a button. It’s connected to Dan’s Dell via high-speed USB.

Time to discuss the look of the video, and why Dan’s looks as it does now. The new webcam, Nexigo’s N940p 2K webcam is one reason, good ambient lighting plus an additional light ring is the other. Also, the camera placement is something to note. Dan has his webcam mounted on a custom-fabricated wooden boom that holds it about 9 inches in front of the monitor. This allows it to be much closer to Dan than when it was simply mounted above the monitor. The boom also holds the light ring, so that it’s aligned with the camera, also mounted closer to the subject, and adjusts as the camera is moved.

Show Me Your Setup would have the reader pause here and pay close attention. If you want your video footage to improve, improve your lighting. Adding more light will enhance almost every video recording.

Back to the action, and now they discuss peripheral gear. All that extra stuff that makes this setup a better custom fit for Dan. Specifically, these items are the ShuttlePro v2 programmable controller, a Logitech MX Master wireless mouse, and the Logitech Carbon G512 keyboard. Dan details a bit about each and how it helps him work fluidly and comfortably over the long haul.

There’s a moment when the conversation turns to what’s behind Dan, his mysterious tower of tech, and Dan mentions the Tascam CDA 580 by name. Most of the gear in the tower remains a mystery for now, but other mentions include a generic laptop, a wireless router, and another webcam.

Then the focus changes to the desk and chair situation. Dan tells a bit of the history of his desk and then describes his Motion Stool. Discomfort while working is a recipe for disaster and to alleviate this Dan purchased an Uplift desk back in 2016 while he was stuck working from his bedroom. Once he moved back into the office, he situated his desk in the middle of the room. A tall chair was purchased, and work continued. After a time that chair wasn’t as supportive as necessary, so another solution was sought. Dan found the Motion Stool and that proved to be the extra option that rounded out the bunch.

Having covered the lot, Josh tells the listeners that he’s really impressed with this setup while Dan spins around on his stool. Oh, and Josh reminds the audience that we’d love to see their setups as well, and possibly even tour their studios.

Microphones (Dan uses one or the other depending on the situation)

MXL 990 Home Studio Recording Microphone

Condenser microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern

Mic Boom Stand – Proline MS112 Desktop Boom Mic Stand

Holding a microphone in your hand gets tedious. It also allows unwanted noises (thumps, bumps, etc.) To avoid concerns, Dan uses a desktop boom mic stand. It has a weighty base that holds his microphone solidly in place. Several adjustment points allow for good, close mic placement.

Microphone – Electro-Voice MC200

Dynamic microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern

Mic Boom Stand #2 – Luxo LM-1 Black Microphone Boom Arms(Discontinued)

Headphones – Audio Technica ATH-M50x

Our favorite headphones! One of the features that makes them really good for what we do - critical listening - is they are closed back so they reject some of the noise outside. When you're recording at a remote location, this can be helpful because you're trying to figure out what the microphone is picking up and what it's not.

USB Audio Interface – Focusrite Scarlett Solo

Connects microphone, headphones, and computer.

PC – Dell Inspiron 3671

Camera – NexiGo N940P 2K Autofocus Webcam

Control Interfaces

Programmable Shuttle Control – ShuttlePRO v2

Logitech G512Carbon (GX BROWN) RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Logitech MX MasterPerformance Wireless Mouse

Motion Stool by UPLIFT Desk

UPLIFT Standing Desk V2

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‍Links:

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o Libsyn: https://sites.libsyn.com/451803/showmeyoursetup

o YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gomodpod

o Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoModPod/

o Twitter: https://twitter.com/gomodpod

o Riverside: https://riverside.fm/homepage

Email:

o  showmeyoursetuppodcast@gmail.com

Bios:

o  Dan Nelson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-nelson-6b33a87/

o  Josh Blood: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-blood-48486518a/