Thoughts about a mobile recording studio.

[BLP]

Originally Posted by MSEH

- How bad is it to have a passive un-isolated splitter? I would like to have a isolated splitter but then I need 24 transformers, which is very expensive.

This would seem a little risky to me. The risk of having some nasty ground problems in your setup is just too great. You could, in fact, end up botching entire recordings due to an unacceptable amount of noise. After having dealt with that once, I make sure that I have at least one transformer isolated out to work with.

Originally Posted by MSEH

- If i daisychain multiple motu 8 pre's via firewire, do I have to sync the motu or can I sync them somehow via firewire?

While I can't speak specifically to the 8pre, I have a friend who recently came up against a lot of trouble syncing some MOTU boxes via FireWire. He had the luxury of setting them up and then syncing internally for each box (they were simply serving as D/A's), but they were decidedly unhappy with the daisychained FW sync.

Hope that helps!

[John Suitcase]

I would agree that an isolated splitter may be a requirement. You can probably rent one for not too much money, if you check around town. If you were putting together an installed system that wasn't going to be going from place to place, you could get away with a regular splitter, assuming you had time to solve any grounding issues. If you can get direct output from the FOH board, and can run your rig off the same power source as the FOH, you might be able to pull it off, but I wouldn't take that chance on a paying gig, especially if it's a one-time event.

Have you thought about something like an Alesis HD24 type system? Or, if you want to have your own preamps, maybe one of the Mackie Onyx boards with a firewire card?

[Roland]

Originally Posted by MSEH

Hello,

6 months have past and I would like to give you an update.

I've already made the desicion of not taking the loan. In the last few months I've tried to save some more money and in the meanwhile I've talked to a lot of people.

I have decided to buy 2 additional motu 8 pre's, a Macbook pro, a pair of 8030/40 and a pair of Neumann KM184. And of course a splitter system.
I've already have a motu 8pre and Beyer 770 pro headphones.

In this way I can track a liveshow and have a light a compact setup.

What do you think?

I've also have 2 remaining questions:
- How bad is it to have a passive un-isolated splitter? I would like to have a isolated splitter but then I need 24 transformers, which is very expensive.
- If i daisychain multiple motu 8 pre's via firewire, do I have to sync the motu or can I sync them somehow via firewire?

And of course I would like to thank all the people who have taken the trouble to respond to my post.

I think that you were wise not to take the loan out. The market is very tight at the moment, and there are good people scratching around, who already own their gear.

The split is (as you have gathered) very expensive if you buy all transformered. You could go with a smaller transformered split that will do most of your work and have a passive split for the jobs that go a little over the top. Transformered is nice, however I do know a lot of people (myself included) who have used passive splits without problems. I think you have to balance it with the work you are doing and the rate you are being paid. Obviously at lower rates people are not expecting you to turn up with the same kit as someone charging much more. Equally as well you can't get the best rates unless you are providing kit commensurate with the charge.

From your original list I would recommend a few more DI boxes (don't bother with such esoteric ones) and you could cut down on things like the number of 414's. I would suggest looking at things such as Shure SM81's KSM32's etc, great mics, very versatile and a lot less money particularly when starting off. Also grab a handful of utility mics such as 57's, you would be surprised how useful they are.

Regards


Roland

[MSEH]

Thank you for you're reply's.

I've thought about a HD24 and rented one several times. Although it is a great machine for a great price, I think it isn't the best choice for my demand. I would need pre-amps anyway and I would need a device to monitor the signals. And after the preformance you'll have to transport all the files from the HD24 to your DAW.

Maybe I would buy one someday for backup.

I'm going to send an e-mail to Motu with my Motu related question.
And I will try to find a sound retal company who can rent me a isolated splitter because of the high costs involved buying one.

[RMJAZZ]

Get the HD24 and a toft ATB24.....and you are done for eq and pre amps (initially). Put the board in a road case. When you get busier, get one high end vocal pre amp for the studio set up, and a good vocal mic...the TLM103 is not that great.

For drums and horns don't sleep on SM57's and Audix i5's. You can get a bunch of those guys! And don't pay the $100 sticker price either.......

Start getting mics off your list one at a time, or a couple at a time. Network with other home studio owners near you and include them on your location gigs and pool gear for a couple years until you can afford all the mics you really want. It would be cool to make this connection before you start buying a lot of mics so you can get mics that augment the other guy's gear.

Cheers,

Rob

[MSEH]

Hello gearslutz,

It has been a few months since my last post. I am very busy with some unexpected things, so I didn't have any time to invest in my mobile recording studio. But I did some more recordings with my 8 pre.

I've already decided that I not going to do any live recordings. I'm focusing on small bands/ensembles/singers. Since I don't like the preamps of the 8pre I have been searching for another interface. I thought that the apogee ensemble was the right choice for me.

So I ordered the macbook pro and last week I went to a store to buy the ensemble with cubase 5. But the guys at the store told me that the macbook-cubase-ensemble combi wasn't a really good choice. I would be better if I go for: macbook-logic-ensemble. But I don't like logic and I am used to work with cubase/nuendo. The guy from the store told me about the steinberg producer-pack: the MR816 CSX with Cubase 5.

I did some research on the internet and the MR816 CSX isn't a bad interface for what I found on the net. And it really intergrades with Cubase 5 very well, and in that way I could manege to have a very compact setup.

My question to you is: What is the best choice: The ensemble with cubase or the MR816 CSX with Cubase. And is it possible to use your own preamps with the MR816 CSX, since it has no line inputs. I mean if I plug in a TRS cable into the combi socets on the MR816 CSX, am I on line-level then or do I have to go through the preamp anyway?

Thank you so much for your input so far.

[Roland]

Originally Posted by MSEH

Hello gearslutz,

It has been a few months since my last post. I am very busy with some unexpected things, so I didn't have any time to invest in my mobile recording studio. But I did some more recordings with my 8 pre.

I've already decided that I not going to do any live recordings. I'm focusing on small bands/ensembles/singers. Since I don't like the preamps of the 8pre I have been searching for another interface. I thought that the apogee ensemble was the right choice for me.

So I ordered the macbook pro and last week I went to a store to buy the ensemble with cubase 5. But the guys at the store told me that the macbook-cubase-ensemble combi wasn't a really good choice. I would be better if I go for: macbook-logic-ensemble. But I don't like logic and I am used to work with cubase/nuendo. The guy from the store told me about the steinberg producer-pack: the MR816 CSX with Cubase 5.

I did some research on the internet and the MR816 CSX isn't a bad interface for what I found on the net. And it really intergrades with Cubase 5 very well, and in that way I could manege to have a very compact setup.

My question to you is: What is the best choice: The ensemble with cubase or the MR816 CSX with Cubase. And is it possible to use your own preamps with the MR816 CSX, since it has no line inputs. I mean if I plug in a TRS cable into the combi socets on the MR816 CSX, am I on line-level then or do I have to go through the preamp anyway?

Thank you so much for your input so far.

Aren't you glad that you didn't take out that loan you were talking about?

Hindsight of course is 20/20, but remember this was a lesson you learnt for free, it could have cost you dear!


Regards


Roland

[MSEH]

Hello Roland,

Actually, yes, i'm glad I didn't take the loan. I'll understand now that you'll have to grow and the equipment grows with you.

[MSEH]

Hello everybody,

I really don't know what I should do. I called the Apple store to freeze my order because I lately spoke to a good friend of mine and he told me about the differences between a MAC and a PC. And yes, A MAC is extremely overpriced: a apple-mouse will cost me 70 euros, whilst my logitec mouse does the same job for 12 euros. Personaly I prefer a normal PC with Windows, but I am affraid this PC won't give me the stability and preformance.

I basicly have my choises scalled down to two options:

A windows PC with Cubase 5 and the MR816CSX
+ Cheaper, or better price/quality
+ Perfect intergration of the interface with Cubase
+ My personal preference
+ Better expandibilty, I can add a second interface via Firewire and still be able to record at 96Khz.
- Maybe, less stabel and worser preformance?
- Maybe, lesser sound quality
Question about this configuration: Am I able to use my own preamps on the MR816CSX? Or do I have to go trough the preamps of the MR816CSX when I use my own preamps?

A Macbook pro with Logic and the Apogee Ensemble
+ Better preformance and stabilty
+ Probably better sound quality
+ Good intergration of the 3 components.
- Way more expensive, overpriced
- Hardly any expension options.
- I don't like Logic

What do you think. Thanks in advance.

[John Suitcase]

I don't know about where you are, here in the US, Macs are competitively priced, component for component. That is, you might find a cheaper laptop or desktop with the same or better specs, but the quality of the components will likely be inferior. That said, if you prefer windows, use windows.

My concerns would be: Is Windows 7, a brand new OS going to be stable? Or will you go with Vista, which has had some problems, or try to find an XP installer, and use a rather out of date OS?

I'm a mac guy, and wouldn't even consider switching to windows, but that's me. I've been happy and had really negligible problems (my previous iMac blew two motherboards, which Apple replaced for free, even well beyond the warranty date.)

I run Cubase 4 on OS X, with a MOTU 828MKII and Tango 24, with no problems.

You don't have to use Logic, obviously.

A few extra bucks on a stable OS and solid hardware can be a good investment, in my opinion.

[bishopthomas]

Originally Posted by John Suitcase

My concerns would be: Is Windows 7, a brand new OS going to be stable? Or will you go with Vista, which has had some problems, or try to find an XP installer, and use a rather out of date OS?

I have been using a release candidate of Windows 7 for months now and can tell you that it is extremely stable and a huge upgrade from Vista. So to the OP, I wouldn't let OS stability be a factor in your decision.

[MSEH]

Thanks for your reply's.

Because it is a large investment for me, I really want to know sure what the best option is for me. So I contacted Apogee en asked the following question:

Could you tell me how much DAW "power", stabily and functions I'm probably going to lose when I am using the combination: Mac - Cubase 5 - Apogee Ensemble? Where I use Cubase instead of the recommended Logic.

They responded very quick and the answer was simpel and clear: "You should not notice any difference in preformance, the only real advantance is that Logic has the Apogee control panel within the application.

So that's scalles down my option's even more: I don't like Logic, so I could use Cubase, a Mac and the great sounding Ensemble. Well, I can't use the Ensemble with a normal Windows PC. But all I have to find out now is the difference in quality between the MR816CSX and the Ensemble. Is there someone who has a usefull comparison between these to units?

Thanks a lot, you have been great. I guess it won't take any long anymore before I can start record with my new setup.