New project studio need help!!!

[Rippo]

As a Gearslutz virgin I am humbled by your incredible forum.. Infact there is wayyy too much shit for me to get through.. Soo here is my humble plea: I am now just... lets just say... begining a new project studio. I greatly need some advice on the following for a very recent purchase, and with this I am sincerely grateful for your help.
Actually let explain in brief what I do. I write and produce for a couple projects from 7-15 pieces, mostly world/jazz/electronic material. Believe it or not I have been using Studio Vision and Finale on a powermac til now. I need great sequencing capabilities, software/hardware, audio recording not really more than 8 ch at once for now, great mixing/editing, and great monitoring..SO I have looked into a few things and would like to know what you know..
Logic vs. Performer
RME Multiface vs. MOTU 828 MK2
Monitors ? Mackie HR624's ?? Any suggestions aprox $700 for the pair
Mac G4 superdrive 15"

Once again thank you very very much for your help..
All the blessings in Life and Music,
Ray
rippo6@aol.com

[LTA]

As a cubase/DP and RME user, it pains me to say this: Don't rule out a digidesign 001 or either 002 system. This is one of those retrospective "if i knew what i know now when i first got into this, and if they had created the 001 at that point, i should have gotten that and saved some money in the long run." It isn't exactly better, but it for sure is a complete package that will fit your requirements for the moment, and the price is actually pretty inexpensive for what you get.

Now, a multiface is a great i/o. I have no experience with the 828 mkII, but i feel it can't be worse than the original.

If you have to ask what monitors are good, you might as well go for the 624s. You'll use them a few years and develop a sense of what you like in a speaker. Then you can sell those and get something you actually like once you learn what to listen for. I don't care what people say, the first monitor experience is completely a shot in the dark. You need to develop a reference to base other speakers off of, so you might as well buy something somebody recommends. If you are currently using sparkomatics in a handmade box, any speaker will sound better, if you know what i mean.

[Gerax]

Hi

Starting a project studio eh...nice

Let's see if I can give you some helpful infos.

Well, first of all the DAW: if you mostly sequence and need great flexibility at that I'd say go with Logic: the learning curve may be a bit steeper, but for MIDI and arranging tasks I think it's the most comprehensive; plus, if you work on the Mac platform its integration with the G4 or G5 is solid.

If you can, try to go with a Dual Processor, rather than a single one, or save up and get a G5 (IMO a dual G4 will be more than enough and with all of Logic features like freeze DSP shouldn't be a huge problem, but I don't know your DSP requirements so you might want to read some reviews and on top of that I'm not a Mac user so I may as well shut up on thistutt ).

For an audio interface the 002R from Digidesign is certainly a good and complete package, that would provide you the ability to run Pro Tools for recording/mixing/audio editing tasks (better and faster than Logic at that IMO) and Logic for all the MIDI work, be sure that the Digidesign Direct I/O driver works well with that combination.
If you decide for another soundcard the RME are certainly great quality (audiowise), though MOTU offers more complete solutions (kind of like the 002R from Digi), that include monitor sections and analog+digital I/Os.

Monitors are a very subjective thing, for example lots of people like and swear by Mackie HR824s, I can't stand them and like Genelecs ( I have 1030As); I haven't listened to the 624, but I guess that being the 824's little sisters they should be very accurate in the high end ( the 824 sound painfully bright to me).
I suggest you try out a few pairs like the 624 or Event (which have some good models at reasonable prices) with a CD you know very well IN YOUR ROOM and decide what you like best: try to pay attention to an even response without holes or werid bumps, and listen to the midrange which I think it's the most important part for a speaker.

I guess mics and preamps/toys will come down later right?

An often overlooked factor in project studios is the room treatment: no recording or mix will sound good in an untreated room as there's a tight relationship with your speakers and the room you use them in, so you may want to save a little for some room tuning, even if minimal, some HF controlling and bass trapping will make your room not perfect but usable at least.

Hope this helps

L.G.

[dhughes]

There's a thread over in the cheap gear forum on 8 converters for under $2000. Actually, that thread has becoming annoying but still it has useful info on what kind of interface you might want.

Of course, by the time you're done hanging around here, we'll have convinced you to buy the Crane Song Spider for your project studio.


Beware.....