work out the kinks

[jw74tele]

I posted about my new project studio last week, but didn't really get any feedback. I've revised this thread with the hope that someone will take intersest in this project and give me some advice, and help me work out the kinks.

I'm sure many of you have been where i'm at now, and learned from your mistakes. I'm putting together a new project studio in my church and need to get it right. This is a big step for me(first 2 rm studio w/DAW). My first project studio was one room based around Mackie 32x8 and mackie HDR.

I'm nearing the end of studio construction, two rooms 13x20 each. Thorough DIY acoustic treatment is planned for studio based on ethan winer's plans. Projects will range from hard rock to acoustic, even choir up in sanctuary. Mostly band stuff w/ live instruments. Much of the recording projects will consist of bands/musicians who i have/make contact with.

As i'm most comfortable mixing/working on a console, i've based the studio around a 24x8 Toft ATB console( http://www.toftaudiodesigns.com/atb.html ) and a Tascam1884 controller/interface. I chose the Tascam because of it's feature set/connectivity and price. I plan to use the Toft pres for tracking up to 18 tracks via firewire to powerbook running DP. Editing, automation/mixing in DP (effects from Powercore). I'll send 18 tracks(stems) out to Toft for mixdown, utilizing the excellent board EQ's and outboard. I'll utilize the 2 control room outs by sending L/R mix back to DP to record stereo tracks, while monitoring L/R mix through Presonus Central Station.

I will be the only in house engineer for now, possibly assisted by friends. The studio is funded between myself, my bandmate and church/grants/donations. The budget for the REMAINING GEAR is around $7-8 thousand for now, hopefully with more in future. Construction and acoustic treatment not included in this budget.

Items marked with * * have NOT been purchased yet.

SYSTEM CORE;
1.67ghz Pwrbook w/Dig Performer
Tascam FW1884
*Toft ATB 24ch* $4000
*10ch ADA converter*- recommendations please(see CONVERTER THOUGHTS below)
*Digital Clock* Considering Lucid GenX96 (see DIG CLOCK THOUGHTS below)

MONITORING;
Event ASP8
*Presonus Central Station w/remote* $650

OUTBOARD;
Joe Meek TwinQSCS
Roland SRV3030
Lexicon MPX100
*RNC* $200
*RNLA* $250
*TC Powercore* (opinions on this choice please) $1200
*Bass Pod ProXT* $700


MICS;
Rode Nt1
ATPro37
57
58
Beta58
ATM41A x2 (found in back room... anyone know about it?)
SM77 (found in back room... anyone know about it?)
bunch of funky mics
*Josephson C42mp* $900
*AT AE2500* $500
(more mics to be added soon)

MISCELANEOUS;
FirewireDrive -undecided, recommendations please
1 or 1&1/2 gigs ram - recommendations please
Neutrik Patchbays
Bulk Cabling - Mogami?, recommendations please
Furman power conditioners
Senn HD280 headphones $100
Sony MDR7506 headphones $100
ATH-AD700 headphones $100

GEAR INFO;
The TascamFW1884 is an 18in/18out firewire interface w/adat in/out spidif in/out.
The Toft ATB is a 24ch inline console w/optional dig card. I have signed up as a for one of the first consoles which will arrive around April 1st. Dig Card is being developed- POSSIBLY fw10in/10out adat in/out spidif in/out - cost unknown, available 2 or more months after i recieve board(last piece of gear to arrive in a recently completed studio).

CONVERTER THOUGHTS;
I need 8ch ADA conversion between the Toft console and Tascam interface(ADAT in/out), and 2ch spidif in/out. I'm considering buying an 8ch ADA converter rather than the Toft dig card(price, quality, availability unknown).
I want higher quality than the Tascam(AD reported to be RME quality, DA not as good), and need 10 ch ADA between Toft console and Tascam Adat in/out Spidif in/out.
What do you folks recommend?

DIG CLOCK THOUGHTS;
The tascam has a digital clock, although i can't find any info on it's quality. Without assesing the quality of this clock, would it be advised to purchase a dedicated clock? If so, what compares to the the Lucid GenX96?

CUE SENDS;
I plan to send cue sends off the board, but am unsure about latency issues, and if i could benefit from a headphone amp such as the Mackie HMX-56. Thoughts/concerns?

GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS;
*10ch ADA converter*- recommendations please(see CONVERTER THOUGHTS below)
*Digital Clock* Considering Lucid GenX96 (see DIG CLOCK THOUGHTS below)
*TC Powercore* (opinions on this choice please) $1200
FirewireDrive -undecided, recommendations please
1 or 1&1/2 gigs ram - recommendations please
Bulk Cabling - Mogami?, recommendations please
*AT AE2500* $500

GENERAL CONCERNS;
I want this system to be solid and dependable, and as it's my first DAW, based around a developing firewire protocol, how does this plan look to you? From my research, it seems that the powerbook w/plenty of ram, and the powercore to ease the CPU load can handle the track count. The Tascam seems capable as well. Are there any potential problems you see w/this plan? Also is my current plan of sending the L/R mix back to DP a standard practice rather than using a stand alone CD recorder?

THANKS for all the help,
josh

[chuckj]

I'll offer some thoughts on your setup:

Cabling: Check out West Penn D291. This is their "computer grade" cabling. It specs out very favorably compared to Mogami and Canare. I bought rolls of 1000' for about 100 bucks 7 or 8 years ago. It sounds great and I have had no cable problems. this can save you a bunch of money if you have alot of cabling to do.

Computer: As much RAM as you can afford

FW drive: The cheap and cheerful method of an external firewire drive case and installing your own IDE drive in them works rather well and saves a bunch of money.
You can get internal 200 GB drives now for around 100 bucks if you shop around.
I have had good fortune with Maxtor and Western Digital drives with the 8mb cache.
Or if your computer has an internal SATA bus and room for an extra drive, think about installing the extra drive in the computer and using the external drive for backup/archival purposes. The SATA should outperform the external FW.

Monitors: I like my ASP8's, hope you enjoy yours!

I'm a PT HD guy so I'm not up on the some of the pci card plugs for native systems but the demo I heard at AES of the Universal Audio UAD plugs was impressive. The EMT plate sounded smooth. Might be worth a demo download to check out.

Headphones: Anything you provide the band to deal with their own headphone mix will be helpful. I use and like the "Hear Back" system. Four modules and a distibution box for about 900 bucks. You can add more modules if you need them.
The bands love it and no more...."I need more..."

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck with the setup!

Chuck

[jw74tele]

hey chuck,
thanks for the tips. I'm checking out the firewire drive, and cabling. i appreciate your response.
josh

[Youngy]

ATM41A x2 (found in back room... anyone know about it?)

I have the ATM41 (no "A" or any other suffix), I bought it new in 1982 for backup vocals in a Pub Rock band. I love it, and it's still going strong and built like a tank thumbsup . To me its better than an SM58, and I have also used it in the studio - although it needed a little EQ (a bit dark with my voice). Its smooth and rich sounding...I don't think I've ever experienced popping with it.

Some details from the 1982 brochure:

Polar Pattern: Unidirectional (Cardiod)
Frequency Response: 50 to 16,0000 Hz
Impedance: 250 Ohms

Hope this helps.