| My Thoughts
If you have firewire, then this is the gear I would be looking at. All these pieces I have some experience with.
MOTU 896HD I/O. I have one. If you can get by with 36db of gain on the mic inputs, this is a good start. Later, outboard preamps and an analog means of controlling the volume will yield big rewards, as the conversion is better than the analog stages. All XLR ins/outs, separate +48V for each channel. $1k
KRK RP5 monitors. A friend has these. Not too bad for $200 pr. Add a sub later for full range monitoring.
Audio-Technica AT-4040. Decent LDC. Buy 2 for $600. Vocals, upright bass, etc.
Audio-Technica AT- 4051 or Rode NT-5 SDC. Buy a matched pair. Good for A. guitar, overheads, room, other acoustic instruments. Omni capsules available for NT-5's $300-700.
Misc. dynamic mics, the usual suspects: D-112 standard kick mic, SM-57 not great, but usefull in many situations, e609 good for inst. amps, Audix OM-5 better handheld than SM-58, Beyer M 201 similar to, but better than an SM-57.
I get better results with fewer mics on the kit, so no dedicated tom, hi-hat, etc. for me. Besides, I'm limited here to 8 ch.
This should be enough to track a whole band live, with care taken in mic. placement. And even with cables and stands, should be under $5k.
Well, that's what I would do anyway. There are other ways and opinions.
Best,
David |