Pre-amp front end - Rack or desk.

[Mick@itc]

Hi all

I am getting closer to having my new location recording set-up together. So far I have got...

2 HD24XRs as the centre piece;
Laptop Dell
Racked UPS - APC
Splitters - EWI and Horizon
AKG headphones
Heaps of cable snakes and adaptors
And I intend to get a whole lot of otehr things mentioned in some of the great threads in here line "Five Components to a successful location recording" (thanks Remoteness and others)

The last (I think) big decision for now is the pre-amps. Two real questions. Do I go Rack pres, eg ONYX 800R or go Desk eg ONXY 2408. Only using ONXY as the example of desk and pres, not wedded to ONYX or anything like that. Either way I hope to split the signal and send one to the HD24XRs and the other to the Laptop. Yes, redundancy recording in two spots but I personally know MURPHY and he visits regularly.

So thats the first opinion I am looking for, should I go DESK or RACK based pres??

The second question naturally follows on from that. Whatever your opinion above can you suggest a product that fits with your suggestion?

I'm going to use the converters in the HD24XRs (Jim Williams upgraded one of them) as the converters to the HR24XRs. For the Laptop I was hoping to get either the rack units with a firewire out (to the laptop) or for the desk option use a converter with firewire out (to teh laptop).

All opinions gratefully received.

Regards
Mick

PS. I found a thread in here which has been a help. However not sure about converters for these.

[Gerax]

I'd go rack. That's how I've set up my rig. I'm not using Onyx, but a mix of Focusrite (Octopres and ISA428) and API (3124). My way of doing things is, each pre has it's own onboard converter, so I just feed the recorders (Mackie SDR2496 and a Dell XPS laptop with M-Audio profire Lightbridge interface/Pro Tools MP) the double ADAT stream from the AD card; the very handy thing is that those AD cards are S/MUX ready so when used at 48KHz the two ADAT ports output the same signal which can be fed two different ways.
Desk would add faders, but you'd only be able to monitor the signal coming in, not the out from the recorders...so to me it's usefull only when you can monitor and mix your recorded tracks, which isn't possible if you're using the pres for recording.
It makes sense to use the pres from a live console, and use a small desk for the rough mix of the recorded tracks; I monitor with the PT software and interface, even though I have a small mixer just in case...it's been working great for me so far. Plus, going rackmount would allow you to use different flavors of preamps if you feel like it, whereas a desk would theoretically force you to use the same pres for everything (I know...there's inserts...but...you know...).

Hope this helps

[Mick@itc]

Thansk mate, good idea splitting the ADAT S/MUX. I have a few mic pres I might put into the racks, Pacifica, Sebatrons and some JLM stuff. Still want to get some 8 channels and throw a Aurora 16 with f/w card as the converters, but like I said, still looking for opinions.

Regards
Mick

[Remoteness]

I'm with Lorenzo.

I would go with rack mounted preamps instead of a console based solution for a variety of reasons.
I like using the console strictly for mixing.
When applicable, I like to have the individual control of separate pres (patched directly to the recorders) handled by another set of eyes and hands.
Furthermore, you have so many preamp options to choose from and it's completely independent to what's happening at the desk.

Here's some more food for thought -- Check this thead out.

[Mick@itc]

Thanks Steve, biy that thread was exactly where I am ...I think the rack options is looking like the go. And the conversation is making me think more about monitoring the outputs of the HD24. The way I was thinking was to monitor the outputs of the Pres through the Laptop but maybe a 24 channel mixer linked to the HD24XR outs is the way to go. Gee these threads are great

Thanks all

Mick

[LX3]

Hey Mick, throwing in my 2c, which you're welcome to ignore

I'd also recommend the rack pre approach. Not only does that give you lots of good options for pres, but how many 24-input analog boards do you know that you'd be happy to carry around regularly?

It depends where you're planning on recording, but there are gigs where if you arrive with a 24 channel desk, you simply won't have anywhere to put yourself. A 19" rack has a much more manageable footprint.

Yes, I would definitely plan to monitor the HD24 output somehow. Otherwise, something could be buzzing or distorting and you'd never know. If you can find one over there, a Roland M240R is a really neat and affordable solution (second hand only though). If cash is limited, buy good pres, rather than blowing too much of your budget on a monitor mixer.

The Onyx pre is a good choice for the money IMO, I have one which I use occasionally. But sometimes the "Mackie" badge can turn clients off... which I think is a little unfair on Mackie in this particular instance. But it's a commercial world, so from a commercial point of view, slightly more boutique pres might be worth considering.

In my limited experience, anyhow. Mileage varies. HTH.

[Mick@itc]

Thansk Paul, the Roland M480 is getting a few recommendations...have to start looking at this beasty...

Mick

[LX3]

Yay, a thread I didn't kill with one of my posts

Oops, probably spoke too soon!

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by Mick@itc

Thansk Paul, the Roland M480 is getting a few recommendations...have to start looking at this beasty...

Mick

The Roland M480 is a very good solution when you're just monitoring the tracks, especially when you want to monitor bother 24 track recorders.
It has a A/B switch so you can switch back and forth from the A and B machines.

When A/B'ing two machines is not necessary, I like to patch lets say, the two over heads (or any stereo input) into the channels A and B inputs so you have them on one knob.
You just pan and set the input levels and wha-la you have a stereo channel on a single fader knob.