Starting out - Buying a van

[hywyn]

Hi,
I'm getting a van together for small-scale acoustic recordings mainly. On the recording side, I have a Trident Trimix console (like a small series 80) 18/8/2, and a HD24XR recorder. Monitors are Dynaudio BM-5's.

I have a shock-mount flight-case for the recorder, but will need to fit in my console somehow. I guess questions about shock-absorption come later, so.....

...what should I look for in a van?

Panelled or un-pannelled? Thinking sound-proofing behind pannels cos I want it also to be for working at home too (in the garage) so that may be crucial!

Any ideas????

Thanks,
Steve

[hollywood_steve]

Although I'm a fan of the Trimix, I'm wondering why you feel you need to lug that thing around if you are recording acoustic sessions? Your HD recorder and small rack of mic preamps might be all you need and then bring things home to the Trimix for editing/mixing. Just a thought. Same with the monitors; although they are certainly nicer than headphones, I spend most gigs set up in places where I couldn't use monitors anyway. I prefer to travel as light as possible with all of my concentration on mics and mic placement. Anything else can wait until I'm back at the studio. If you were doing loud rock gigs, I'd see your point; but for acoustic sessions, I'd leave the hardware at home except for the basics. Just my opinion.

[hywyn]

Originally Posted by hollywood_steve

Although I'm a fan of the Trimix, I'm wondering why you feel you need to lug that thing around if you are recording acoustic sessions? Your HD recorder and small rack of mic preamps might be all you need and then bring things home to the Trimix for editing/mixing. Just a thought. Same with the monitors; although they are certainly nicer than headphones, I spend most gigs set up in places where I couldn't use monitors anyway. I prefer to travel as light as possible with all of my concentration on mics and mic placement. Anything else can wait until I'm back at the studio. If you were doing loud rock gigs, I'd see your point; but for acoustic sessions, I'd leave the hardware at home except for the basics. Just my opinion.

Well, I don't have space any longer for a dedicated studio space, so the van it is!!!
Neither do I have a rack of pre-amps as good as the Trident pre's.
Re: monitoring. It's a tough call. I've had problems with some stereo set-ups on headphones, - especially fig-8 blumlein, trying to figure if there's a hole in the middle. It's fixable, but best fixed at source.
Cheers,
Steve