Gan On caught up with South Shields’ answer to Mac Demarco, Patrick Gosling (‘Peachy’, ‘Good Measure’), to talk about how to record your tracks on a shoestring budget. Let’s get into it.
Since I was young I’ve been obsessed with everything to do with recording—more specifically, making good-quality recordings at home on a budget.
In recent years I have traded in using ‘proper’ studios for recording in the box room at my house. I grew up as a teenager idolising artists like Tame Impala, Mac Demarco, Prince, and Paul McCartney who are known to have recorded entire records in their houses while playing every instrument themselves. Since then, recording and trying to play as many instruments as possible on my own tracks has been my main goal.
…which I guess is the crack of why I’m writing this article. Here’s a rundown of the gear I use when recording in the comfort of my home, so you can do it too:
- Fender Telecaster
- Squire Mustang
- Martin Acoustic Guitar
- Alesis Microverb 4
- Tascam Portastudio
- Focusrite Interface
- Shure SM57
- Rode NT – 1A
- Fender Champion 100 (dialled like a Twin)
In 2023 I really got into using my old Tascam Portastudio cassette tape machine as my main weapon of choice. The actual ‘record-to-tape’ part of the machine is knackered, but I found using it almost as pre-amp gave the track such a unique and exciting sound, I couldn’t put it down.
On my latest record, the lead guitar sounds throughout are recorded like that – so here’s what that would look like:
- Mic up Fender Champ with SM5
- SM57 into Tascam Portastudio (for analog warmth)
- Portastudio into Microverb on the chorus setting
- Tascam into Focusrite into logic
- PRESTO YOU’VE GOT A HIT
I’ve found getting more hands-on with analog gear is a great way to ditch distractions and spark your creativity. Plus, it feels a lot more rewarding when you stumble across a particularly cool sound. Embrace the hiss, don’t be afraid to clip the tape, and finally: go forth and record!
Listen to Patrick’s latest tune ‘Am I on your mind?‘ on Spotify, and keep up with his musical antics on @patrickgoslingmusic.