trying to get a set up together.....

[orpheus]

Hello everybody ,this is my first post here .
now me and a friend are trying to get a decent recording set up.
our budget is about $7000 and we already have a bunch of fx (eventides orville ,dsp7000,2tc fireworx....)a motu 828mkII,cubase sx2 and a complete pro tools mix setup ,an avalon 737,and of course cpus ,now when it come to hardware (pres,eq,comp,mics ,etc)i am not to shure whats needed,we are looking into an apogee ,maybe ad8000????
now we would like to be able to record drums with at least 8 channels and the set up should also be as effective for vox ,guit,bass ..........
any suggestions would be apreciated ...
thanks
Alex

[frist44]

Will you be mixing in the box? If so, I would concentrate on getting a few really good outboard pres. Maybe 4-6 channels, which will probably take up most of your budget, but you'll be thankful down the road. If you're doing rock stuff, manufacturers like vintech, phoenix, chandler, and api come to mind. In the world of converters, you can obviously spend a shit load of money. You have some on the motu and I'm not sure if you have digidesign hardware with the pro tools system, but you will probably need 10-12 inputs if you're mixing Itb. I would definitely get a really good DAC like the bechmark and a good a/d for overdubs. A distressor or similar outboard compressor would be valuable as well. It's hard to properly fit analog pieces of gear in mixdown when you're mixing in the box, so I would just get the compressors that you find necessary for tracking at the moment.

hope this helps,
Brandon

[Jay Kahrs]

Mics and pres are more important then coverters. If money is an object then skip the Apogee for now and use the Motu 828 or the PT converters or whatever for now.

Mics? Get the standard stuff. A couple each of SM57's, 421's, some pencil mics for overheads and a pair of whatever condensers for the room. What mics and pres do you already own?

[orpheus]

we have an avalon 737,2 sm 57 ,a vocal mic ( my buddy has it,don't know what it is exactly)....i was thinking about api 3124+ and don't know if i should get an averill,focusrite,or even great river .......the distressor seems to be a shure one and the a few mics ..that's my thoughts as of now.....

[frist44]

the 3124 would be a great investment especially if you're looking to record drums. Like jay said, you're going probably want a couple different types of mics to cover the kit. Some stereo small diaphragm's, a couple dynamics, probably one dedicated for the kick drum, although a 421 would work, and some for the toms. With those mics, you probably have your ass covered for guitars and bass because you could always use the DI on the 737 or API. Distressor is a must if you're doing rock.

Brandon

[orpheus]

thanks a lot guys .
now do you have any thoughts on focusrites isa 428 or 430 ,would they be a nice addition to the api or would something like a great river or averill be a better choice......or maybe a..???
what mics besides a sm 57 will work great on guitars to blend with the 57 ......??

[manning1]

just an idea. a lot of folks like ev dynamic mics on guitar cabinets.

[frist44]

If you don't mind spending a little bit; Royer 121

[dhughes]

Sennheiser e609silver is an incredible guitar cab mic for under $100. DO a search on gearslutz and I doubt you'll find a single person who owns one and doesn't think it is great. Also, the e609silver and a 121 make an incredible combo.

[dhughes]

One more thing...

I recently tried the e609silver on a bass cab and it was awesome. Snare...awesome.

Yeah, I like it.

[orpheus]

thanks i'll look into both

[bernieL0max]

Hi

Your 828 MKII has 8 analog inputs, and ADAT I/O

I've made a list of preamps that i'm considering for my setup at the moment... you might also find it useful.

M-Audio Octane [reviews favourably]
[2RU(-), US$499(+), Bal-out(+), Rear XLR(-)]

Presonus Digimax LT [unbalanced out's are a downside]
[1RU(+), US$749(+), UnBal-out(-), Rear XLR(-)]

Presonus Digimax 96 [expensive - same pre's as LT apparently]
[1RU(+), US$1329(-), Bal-out(+), Rear XLR(-)]

RME Octamic-D
[1RU(+), US$1179(-), Bal-out(+), Rear XLR(-)]

Mackie Onyx 800R [is this actually available yet?!?!]
[1RU(+), US$879(+), Bal-out(+), Rear XLR(-)]
Also, can this do 48kHz ADAT on 1 Lightpipe?... I have a suspicion it can only do higher sampling rates, S-Muxed over 2 lightpipes. this could be a plus, but I'm not sure if my dakota/montana can do this.

My goals are 1RU, less than US$1000, Balanced Line outs & front XLR inputs (if possible). That's what all the +'s & -'s are about.

You could add any one of these via the analog I/O's to start with, then if you find you need more channels later, add a second via ADAT (all of these pre's have ADAT out), to keep your mic pre's sounding consistent. The only difference would be in the ADC's, but i imagine it's the pre's that "colour" the sound to a greater extent.

If you use only the analog inputs on your 828 MKII you can record at 24-bit 96kHz, but as soon as you add more channels by ADAT that drops to 24-bit 48kHz (limitation of ADAT).

I hope you find something useful in my ramblings.

[Kalite Marka]

Originally posted by orpheus
thanks a lot guys .
now do you have any thoughts on focusrites isa 428 or 430 ,would they be a nice addition to the api or would something like a great river or averill be a better choice......or maybe a..???
what mics besides a sm 57 will work great on guitars to blend with the 57 ......??

Focusrite 428 is an ok swiss-army pre but a Great River, Brent Averill or a GTQ2 would compliment APIs much better.
I haven't used the GTQ2 but heard a lot of great things about it.
A pair of Distressors should be on your list too.

[enharmonic]

You might wish to check out the Daking Mic-Pre IV as well. It looks like it is a good bit more affordable than the API unit, which means you could get 8 channels and still have $ for some nice mics

Not slagging the API unit in the least...it looks quite tasty in fact...but if we're looking to get you some nice high quality pre's and maximize your budget, the Daking's will do you proud.

[Jules]

bump