I usually use my custom tube pre-amp made with ef12's and V-series transformers and chokes or a refurbished V77 or V72 with an LA-2A clone I built with UTC ha-100x and A24 transformers and a telectronix optical attenuator, since replacing 40 year old caps seems to be a no-no amongst recording 'engineers' and you lose market value.
for mics I use a U67 with original 1967 capsule, no re-skin, replaced electrolityic coupling capacitor etc. or (my favourite)a custom U47 clone which uses a 50's telefunken early high-capacitance type M7 re-skinned a couple of years ago by Geffel with a PVC membrane. Again, this is because when comparing my current mic with the originals , I felt obliged to mod them and re-skin them anyway and I don't feel like losing the value or tampering with a vintage item.
I now also use an sm58 sometimes for more rhythmic vocals such as in dance or rock etc.
For guitars I use sm57, 4038, d12, and 77 U67 U47 anything really.
AS LONG AS THERE ARE NO IC's in the guitar amp or the mic pre or the board.
I also did a nice comparison between a refurbished v76 Studio version I got, which is the dirty-est of the german tube preamps because of the 4 tubes and electrolytic capacitor coupling throughout and it smokes IC based focusrite, on noise, clarity top end you name it.
The best solid state stuff is the early german stuff (not neumann).
I like api better than IC's but the german amps are more natural.
I think for a working recording studio an all-tube console would be just too huge, and would not transfer well to most of the modern types of arrangements which grew up on solid state.
so discrete transistor is the ideal, all arounder.
but if you do stuff on small scale, and use few mics tube is still best.
As far as converters, my personal converters are RME with a modified analog section.
I prefer prism to apogee. Never heard Lavry although I am told by a friend with good ears (who can hear the difference between IC's and audio electronics) that they are very good and close to analog resolution.
My fave tape machine is the studer 16 track with no IC's or dynamic bias, although I remember the sound of an old ampex 16 track that I liked too but it was a bit 'ringy' sounding.
Sure you may want to automate everything, eq it, compress it etc. but if the end result sounds distorted and lifeless?
It's the great artists and musicians that make up 90% of a perfect mix, not the mixing engineer.
So if there is one thing an engineer should always do is not fuck up the signal path.
A singer can control breathing and tone, so you don't need to ride too much. Musicians can balance themselves and bring good musical instruments in.
The only thing that the band has no control over and the engineer should not fuck up is the SIGNAL PATH.
especially when tracking.
So that's my ideal path.
But I could be using anything really, it doesn't make a difference what I use.
What makes a difference is when the people who record real artists use cheap IC's to fix the perfomance forever on tape, and seemingly don't care or can't hear the difference.
Success hides a multitude of sins, they say.
