looking for advice on a portable recording setup

[treymonfauntre]

hey guys, i work mostly with diy punk/indie/hardcore bands that are just trying to get a demo or a 7" recorded. i also like to record shows. i don't have the skill or funding to create a studio at this point, so for the next year or so i'm going to be travelling around to record and mixing everything in my bedroom. i'm going to build a few portable absorbers to take with me to help take the room out of vocals and such.

heres what i'm working with right now:

soundcraft live 8 mixer - for preamps, and i use it for shows ocassionally but its HUGE
fostex vf16 - i use this for a/d conversion. it has adat in so i can record an additional 8 tracks, but currently i don't have anything to do that.
echo gina card - this has a breakout box with 2 a/d and 8 d/a converters, and 1 adat in. so i run from the fostex into this via adat. its a pain synching up extra tracks on the fostex!
then i mix in the box back in my room.

i've learned a LOT from this setup, but i'm starting to feel its limitations. i'm tired of hearing hard drive squeels when i apply compression, and frankly i've never been impressed with anything i've done aside from a "wow this doesn't sound as awful as i imagined!". i want to build a rack so i don't have so much bulky junk to lug around. seriously, it seems like such a chore just thinking about loading it all up.
heres what i would love to have:

rackmounted computer - my current one is pushing 2 years, and although it works fine its time for an upgrade.
new interface - i'd like something with 2 adat inputs so i can get more than 8 tracks at once. seems like the rme ones are the only ones that do this for a decent price? i'd be thrilled to find one thats just a double PCI slot with 2 adat ins, spdif, word clock, and 4 analog outs for monitors/headphones.
headphone amp - yea, i don't have one right now. i'd prefer a rackable one, but a standalone one could be nice if it was right in the middle of everybody.
m audio octane - these can be had for about $400 on ebay, 8 channels with adat out. seems like an obvious choice for now!
m audio tampa - i really only want this because i want a single channel preamp thats nicer than the octanes, but i'm not so sure this will even be an improvement? the extra tools would be nice for messing around in my room and recording to a tape deck or something.

i feel that this will give me more room for upgrades in the future.

so, does anybody have any suggestions on an interface/card or any warnings about the gear i've picked out? i'm not making money off this, i'm doing it because i love to help bands get their ideas and songs out, so i can't really be affording anything TOO expensive. at the same time i'm doing this i'm also juggling playing 3 different instruments in 4 different bands and touring and putting out friends' records going to school and working full time.

thank you so much in advance!

[Jim vanBergen]

I know its Low End as well, but it seems the better place for this.
Have you tried posting this question there?

[treymonfauntre]

wow i feel dumb! sorry, i'm still kind of new here :)

[henryrobinett]

Did ou ever get any answers to this? Why do you want to go the rack mounted coputer as oppsed to a powerbook/laptop approach. You can get used or refurbished ones fairly cheap these days. And they're a lot easier to lug around than a rack mounted 'puter.

I use a Powerbook with Metric Halo interfaces and Millennia pres. This is more than you would want to spend but it does the job nicely. And you could do very well with a lot less.

[simonv]

If you want a really versatile and mobile setup, you might check out the Onyx mixers, I've never used them myself, but a lot of people say that they are good. feature-wise, they're pretty cool that's for sure. (You get a mixer with a firewire out that sends all of your tracks to a computer)

If not, maybe an RME Fireface? You'd get 4 pres, for a total of 10 analog ins, which should be enough for most live situations. You'd just have to get 6 other pres that you could get from something else.

It's a tuff call, and it depends what quality you're after.
A much cheaper setup could be to get 2 used Motu 896. You'd have 16 analog inputs with 16 pres for about 1200$. (Such a setup would have costed around 3500$ 5 years ago). It would end up cheaper per channel, and the difference in quality wouldn't be THAT big. If you wanna go crazy from there, you could take the cash and buy a couple good preamps to at least have a couple of golden channels.

And BTW, for the rackmount computer.. For a long time I wanted to buy one too, but in the end, you still have to carry the monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc! I don't think that its worth it honestly. Personnaly, instead of investing in that, I'd buy nice little laptop for remote tracking.. (Something like a Centrino 1.5 ghz, 512megs of RAM, 60gig 7200rpm hard drive... 800$?), and I'd buy another desktop for mixing.
The laptop sits on top of the rackmount case, and it's much less trouble to carry a laptop backpack than a rackcase + monitor. Plus, having a cheap laptop & a seperate desktop, as well as having 2 MOTUs would allow you to have 2 functional recording setups. The possibilities increase a lot... you could use the laptop to generate VST instruments sounds while the desktop records it, etc, etc, etc

good luck!

[Remoteness]

In my opinion the forum is just right for your questions...


I got to run to a gig. I'll try to get back to you soon.

[Jim vanBergen]

Do you have a specific budget in mind? If so, a one-time purchase, or buy it piece by piece as you can get it, and interface it one at a time?

The rackmount computer is pretty easy, you can get them a half dozen places and can buy the parts from New Egg and piece it yourself if you like. if you REALLY want a rackmount computer (I'd rather use a dedicated 24-track hard disc recorder, which is the same size as the computer) then I'd look for one of the flat panel screen/keyboard drawers. Middle Atlantic Products makes this one:

http://www.middleatlantic.com/dcm/ra...orKeyboard.htm

You can probably find one cheaper but its great. I have one at my day job but my personal remote rig requires a large case for my LCD panel, mouse and keyboard.

Hope this helps!
Jim

[treymonfauntre]

hey thanks for the replies

the motu would be a great option. for some reason i never thought to go with firewire. i guess i always thought it was unreliable or something.
i would of course love to have a 24 track recorder, but there really aren't a ton of options out there for them and i definitely don't have the money for one. i'd still have to get preamps on top of that, and then i still need a new computer for editing since mines not exactly cutting edge.

heres a list i came up with w/ ebay prices:

rme hammerfall 9636 - $250
rme aeb4-0 - $75
maudio octane - $450

[radiated]

What about RME Fireface + Focusrite Octopre with ADAT option? Will give you 12pres in 2U rackspace+ another ADAT for eventually another 8 ins. The Fireface has headphone and monitor outs. Get a rackbag and a laptop PC or MAC with a cheap sequencer for tracking (Steinberg Cubase SE eg.), and you'd be up and going. Perhaps a FW800 compatible MAC is the best choice, on FW800 the fireface will support about as much data traffic as a 2.5inch harddrive can take.

[treymonfauntre]

i don't have that budget at all, but i am now thinking about something like the focusrite saffire pro. that extra adat option is very nice, and 2 headphone amps will help out.
like i said, i'm not planning on making any popular music here, i just want to cut a few demos for friends, record some live shows, and maybe make a few albums for myself. i don't think i'll ever even break even on what i'm spending on gear. that might change 5 or 10 years down the line but in the meantime i just need some gear that will make my experience easier than it is right now.

[mrufino1]

HI, I am in the same boat as you and put together my setup for exactly the same reaosns and intended purpose. I bought the m-audio firewire 1814 (and finally seem to have worked out all of the kinks), protools m-powered 7 (I am adamant about using protools, it just fits the way I like to work, alhtough if firewire audio ever comes out for linux I may try that out) the behringer ada8000, had a few other small preamps, and my laptop, and I bought some basic mics. While I have no illusions that this will give me the same quality as more expensive gear, I am working on technique all the time to do the best with what I have. Honestly, to do the type of recording we are talking about, the clients will not have a big budget (or any), so to invest a ton in gear and then never earn it back makes no sense. Since my total investment is under $2000 (and the laptop was paid for a while ago) I have been getting good sounding recordings with my setup and finding out more and more everyday that the people playing are much more a part of the equation as long as I record it correctly (good levels, good gain staging, etc.). I'd love to get some really nice stuff but I had to get a new house, so I am broker than before, but in a good way! Since I moved, it seems that recording has had to take a bit of a back seat in deference to work around the house and the day job to pay for said house...At some point I will be able to build my studio room in the basement and get back to it with some consistency. Good luck with whatever you choose.