$ 10,000 For outboard mastering/ Mixing home setup ??

[G-NETIC]

HEY guys kinda new Here but thought I could get some advice

SO I just got 10 G's for some sound design work that I did whoop !!

Im looking for the best possible home Mixing/ Mastering
outboard combo that I can get with 10 G's and everything I would need to make
it intergrate with my existing system which is
RME Fireface 800 and my P4 with 4 gig or ram computer
for speakers I have mackie Hr824's and a decent mackie
analog board 1642 vlzpro plus wayyy too many hardware synths

so I was thinking

- Disterssors EL-8xs (stereo brit mod) -- $2500
- LIL Fre Q X2 --$3000 or the GML 8200 -- $ 3000
- FATSO JR EL-7 --$1800
- Manley Vari MU --$3000

OR

- 2 X PENDULUM QUARTET II ME -- $8000
- 2 X UAD-1e Expert pack ( get the best of UA & the neve plugins)

I could really use a lil Help anyone ?

[G-NETIC]

COME on people

a lil help please !!

[jaylistk]

There has got to be trillion posts of this kind which get the same reply I'm going to give you;

Before using 10Gees in pres, you should ask yourself;
1. is my room treated right? Is there something I can do with it -> If there is, then do it. If you don't can you do something, you probably can. Ask an acoustic engineer.
2. are my Mackie monitors/mixer worth of adding a 10Gees pres infront of them? -> If you answer yes, I'd disagree with you but thats just opinions. Still think about, how about upgrading on that direction?
3. Mixing and mastering are truly a different thing, what you want do? Of course you can use mastering outboards in mix if you want, and the other way 'round. But for me, I've always wanted to keep thinks somehow separated.

IMO you should still consider the thing.

Plus it's rude to be disappointed if nobody answers in hour and a half; come on!

[G-NETIC]

dont think I was being rude in anyway
as you can see my lil down there was friendly

but anyways my room is verry well treated acousticly
I have bass traps and padding set up properly everywhere
so the room is quite good for mixing
and as far as my Mackie monitors they work great for the type of
music that I do which is mostly Electronic and Hip hop
so I like the fact that they are a bit bass heavy I roll em off at 80hz tho
to not be to bassy tho..plus I know many engineers that really love them
but obviously you disagree so lets just leave it at that..
& I know mixing and mastering are 2 seperate stages all together
which is why I posted this cause im looking for a setup that is
versitile enough to do both

I listed the Gear that I thought would be Ideal for my needs
So do you have some gear in mind that you can suggest ?

[jaylistk]

I'm glad that you are happy with your room / monitors.

So you will be tracking beats from synthesizers/mpc's/whatever? Will there be any vocal recording?

Otherwise I think you can't go wrong with EM or Manley, I'm just curious how do your work? I mean, are the composer of the beats or do you get ready recorded sessions which you mix?

And of course, I myself changed from PC to Mac for just a year and a half ago. I think everybody should do that.

[G-NETIC]

well honestly for vocals I already have a UA 6176 with a telefunken M16
but honestly I dont do too many vocals lately
there wont be too much traking goin on except for my Synths & I generally like to process afterwards
I like to keep the signal clean as possible recording in.
& I dont use drum machines anymore I tend to do most of the composition in Nuendo with various vst samplers but as far as synths go most of my synths are outboard I guess Im just at that point where im not happy with the results im getting with software plugins compared to hardware results ive heard
in the studios and im not saying im the best engineer but I have a pretty good
ear and understanding of how to mix my songs to get as close as I can to
a pro sound whatever you may concider that to be these days
so at this point I need some outboard gear I figure it can only help me get to that
sound that I am looking for in my music that is a pain in the ass to achieve with
plugins but I still love alot of my plugins dont get me wrong
I just want the best of both worlds

SO which list is better >and what would you get if you had $10,000 to spend for what I was trying to do ?

[G-NETIC]

anybody else got some suggestions >>>??
I would appriciate em

[tomdarude]

hey dude,
first of all I´d skip the mackie for monitoring (keep it for your synths, if you want)

-> Dangerous Monitor ST (2000,-)
(told that story a 1000 times....invest very early into a good monitoring-controller....it´s the hub of your DAW-studio and you won´t have to replace it for years!! makes everything!! you hear sound sound better...cause it´s always in the audiopath!)

than I`d look into versatility! & and buy used

pair of distressors! (of course)

pair of Daking MicPre/EQ´s (2 great pre´s for tracking & 2 great EQ´s for mixing, bargain price) (or an AuroraAudio GTQ III)

Drawmer 1986ME (or Smart C2, or whatever you like ->for your drumbuss)

a Fatso

or maybe just some weird, exciting oldschool trash-fx, DP4+, Spring-reverbs, Tape-echo, old eventides, URSA, roland SDD-delays, too help you get a "different" sound from the average radio-hiphop-track!


(I hope you already have a SSL Duende, UAD-cards, URS, Chandler TG and Altiverb for ITB...and erased all the old/cheap crap-plugins from your hard-drive)


good luck, tom

[G-NETIC]

Hey thanx TOM I dont know if the Dangerous ST 2000 is somtheing I need
right now but it looks like it might be useful later down the line but
I get good enough control through the Fireface Daw mixer at the moment


Did you have any thoughts on me getting 2 X PENDULUM QUARTET II ME ?
I know its an all in one kinda deal " comp, limiter, EQ, & pre" but I have
heard really good things about it & I wonder if this would save me
alot of headache in the long run or should I just go for each
unit individually ? man really frustrating tryn to decide

[Benmrx]

If I had 10K to spend on outboard for mixing.

Distressor
Drawmer 1968
Rolls RMS 755
Tube Tech CL1B
Summit EQP-200B
Speck ASC-T

But give me an hour or so, and that list will change.

[G-NETIC]

Originally Posted by Benmrx

But give me an hour or so, and that list will change.

HEE HEE thats how I feel ? just when I think I know what I want
one new piece of gear throws me off completely


So anyone suggest me going for 2 X PENDULUM QUARTET II ME -- $8000 ?
& that way I have a lil left after as well maybe that Dacking EQ/pre
or getting 2 UAD-1's as well
are the Pendulum's worth it for what I need ??

[donsolo]

with 10k I'd be interested in microphones as well as more inputs.

As for outboard, Get a good Lex reverb a vintage 1176 LA2A

if you're already using a working rig, Go high end and get something nice.

Not a bunch of not-as-nice

The way you're talking you're in upgrade mode.

[Benmrx]

To each his own, but I'd ditch the Pendulum idea. I'm sure they're fantastic units, but you would really be putting all your eggs in one basket.

The list above has 2 different options for 2buss compression, which ever you didn't use for the buss would also do just fine on a drum buss. In all honesty, with my list above, I might swap out the Rolls for the TFPro P38.......but maybe not.

Why not due a test run with a few different units.

[cdog]

Go for the Quartet IIs and don't look back.

Anyone who tells you otherwsie has never tried one.

[requiem]

what i wonder is, with 'prosumer' converters, would the extra d/a-a/d conversion detriment the signal as much as to significantlycounteract the merits of high end outboard?

thanks,

[Benmrx]

Originally Posted by cdog

Go for the Quartet IIs and don't look back.

Anyone who tells you otherwsie has never tried one.

This is true, I've never heard one. But still, if I had 10K to spend, I'd get a little variety.

[the russian]

You might want to start with a PC w/Wavelab and a good CD Burner before you start adding distressors into a mix.

[foldback]

A UA Classic 1176 is a great tool. Fantastic resale value too when you decide you don't need it anymore.

[foldback]

DON'T BE IN A HURRY!

Use your ears.

Did you list the pieces you're thinking about because you need them for work or want to hear them?

Take your time and go listen to some stuff. Rent some studio time if you must.

[G-NETIC]

Keep in mind that I mostly produce ( D&B/Drum & bass ) , dark Electronica & some Hip Hop

-So I Need a good comp mainly for drums with alot of to it I mean something that will even be able to give me an industrial/ Metal feel if needed
just Heavy Heavy Snap & crack

-An EQ/pre that is Surgical but not over complicated but also has alot of Tone
and warmth

-A good comp for the 2 buss to help glue the track together

-And a limiter that will really get the trak loud as possible without losing too much of my Dynamics

I dont know if any of you are too familiar with the type of music I do but
Its pretty dark and verry verry bass heavy like bone shattering bass heavy

so with all that in mind now what ?

[donsolo]

have you thought about ITB?

[G-NETIC]

Originally Posted by donsolo

have you thought about ITB?

sorry for not knowing but what is ITB ?

[the russian]

Wavelab (cough)

CD Burner (cough) (cough)

???


Or will we not be mastering?

better monitors (cough)



Those 3 things will make a big difference

[cosmos]

Originally Posted by G-NETIC

Keep in mind that I mostly produce ( D&B/Drum & bass ) , dark Electronica & some Hip Hop

-So I Need a good comp mainly for drums with alot of to it I mean something that will even be able to give me an industrial/ Metal feel if needed
just Heavy Heavy Snap & crack

-An EQ/pre that is Surgical but not over complicated but also has alot of Tone
and warmth

-A good comp for the 2 buss to help glue the track together

-And a limiter that will really get the trak loud as possible without losing too much of my Dynamics

I dont know if any of you are too familiar with the type of music I do but
Its pretty dark and verry verry bass heavy like bone shattering bass heavy

so with all that in mind now what ?

i would say your looking at 1x smart c2, 1x manley massive passive, maybe a duende and a Good speaker set with sub ( depends on which monitors / room )

[G-NETIC]

Originally Posted by the russian

Wavelab (cough)

CD Burner (cough) (cough)

???


Or will we not be mastering?

better monitors (cough)



Those 3 things will make a big difference

I actuyally have WaveLAB 6.0
& honestly I dont use it quite that often I actually usually
do my masters in Nuendo in a seperate project
all together the only realy thing I even honestly use wavelab for
these days is that great 3D spectrum analyzer that it has
I really wish they made a Live Vst or DXI version of it
then I could prob uninstall wavelab all together

LoL I have a CD burner
unless you mean an external CD burner that burns to 24 bit ?

& as for my monitors I am verry happy with my Mackie 824's
altho most people in here dont really seam to like them for some reason?
for the type of music I do they fit just rightthumbsup

[G-NETIC]

Originally Posted by cosmos

i would say your looking at 1x smart c2, 1x manley massive passive, maybe a duende and a Good speaker set with sub ( depends on which monitors / room )

I was actually thinking of the ALAN SMART C2 I hear its great on the 2 buss
really helps to gel things together..

not sure about the Massive passive I recently tried it out against the
LIL FreQ and I think I liked the LIL FREQ plus it has a really nice De esser and a DI
alto I am curious to try the Mastering version of the Massive passive which they did not have

Also has anyone had any EXP on the New LIQUID MIX ??
the concept seams pretty solid 40 compressor emulations everyting
from Neve to Manley to SSL and I belive 20 or 30 EQ emulations with the ability
to mix and match and customize Im really keen to hear if anyone thinks
the LIQUID MIX would be worth while ?

By the way guys thanx for all the advice so far I think Im getting close to a rough idea as to what to go for

KEEP EM COMING

[the russian]

Originally Posted by G-NETIC

I actuyally have WaveLAB 6.0
& honestly I dont use it quite that often I actually usually
do my masters in Nuendo in a seperate project
all together the only realy thing I even honestly use wavelab for
these days is that great 3D spectrum analyzer that it has
I really wish they made a Live Vst or DXI version of it
then I could prob uninstall wavelab all together

LoL I have a CD burner
unless you mean an external CD burner that burns to 24 bit ?

& as for my monitors I am verry happy with my Mackie 824's
altho most people in here dont really seam to like them for some reason?
for the type of music I do they fit just rightthumbsup

Well that's good to know. I'd hate to see you overlook the simple things, lol.

[G-NETIC]

Originally Posted by the russian

Well that's good to know. I'd hate to see you overlook the simple things, lol.

[G-NETIC]

OK so I think im gona go for

-2x Distressors El-8XS ($2500)

-2x LiL FREQ ($3000)

- FATSO JR ($1800)

-Thrmonic Culture Vulture ($1300) -or- SPL Chrisma 8 ($1500)

-2x Adam A7 ($700) - special deal

-Mackie Big knob ($100)

- With $600 to spair on cabel's patch bay Power conditioner and a good dinner
in the end cause all that shopin is gona make me hungry

[tomdarude]

your doin d&b ???

do yourself a big favor.....skip the CultureVulture (dfegad SPL Charisma) for now
and buy some $ 2000,- + Monitors instead!!

you´ll thank me later!!!






check out:
Dynaudio BM15a
PMC TB2S-a
Focals

....(maybe with a sub?)