What to upgrade first and where is my weakest link?

[Rogervandeberg]

Hello fellow sluts,

I am having my first project studio for about a year now and since then i've gained some money on side-jobs (I am a sudent). I would like to put it in my studio. This is my gearlist of what i have:

Recording:

- Motu Traveler
- Dell 8200 P4 2,8 ghz, 2 GB Ram
- Cubase SX3

Tracking/Mixing:

- TC Voiceworks (vocal pre/channelstrip)
- Focusrite platinum Penta pre/comp
- Mackie HR 624 Monitors
- Mackie Control surface
- Rode NT-1000 mic
- Shure SM-57
- neutrik patchbay
- TC powercore MKII
- Waves Gold Bundle
- Edirol pcr-50 midi-controller
- Lots of Samples (BFD drums, EW symphonic, NI elektrik piano, NI abynth)

- A backline with Gibson and Fender Guitars, A Line 6 Vetta and Peavey amps and in abouth a month a Roland TD3-KW drumkit.

I do mostly pop-rock music (sometimes a little trance/RnB) and i have about $ 2000-2500 to spend. Next year the same amount (but that is next year!) I track drums with samples, the rest i record live.
I mix in a very well treated ( a bit dry'ish) room which is used also for tracking.


Now is the question: where do I have to start with upgrading? Input, or mix stage?

Better Pre's? I like my traveler pre's for acc. guitar, my penta for DI and bass, my voiceworks for vocals, but these are all mid level pre's. Electric guitar depends, but all these pre's are pretty transperant. The germanium and ADL600 have my attention, but is this a weak link? Are there any pre's that are better for the money than those 2?

Better Mic? Should i go this route? The elux 251, charteroak SA 538 and SE Gemini has cought my attention. Are these any good? Or don't look at mics at this moment?

More/better effects? Like an Uad, liquidmix, or should i invest in outboard like a distressor or something? Or is this at this stage useless....


And the big question: Am i Missing something essential? I would like to here it from you guys with lots more experience!


Well, thanks in advance!

Greetings from holland,

Roger

[allencollins]

You have no weak links.
you have all the tools to make a pro record

Maybe another pre like an old Focusrite ISA 110 or something would be cool
If you want retro go with a 1066 or 1067. If you have the $$$ get a 1073


Maybe a mic like a akg 414 would be cool too. I would say Nuemann 103 or 87 but
all the 'know it alls' hear would shoot it down

[Frost]

Your monitors are your weak link. I can mix a good record tracked using only audio technicas and 57s and make it sound great if the talent is there. But if you cant hear what the tracks sound like or they dont translate at all, then your mixes will suck.

Dynaudio bm5a on the cheap, 15a if you can swing it. I really like my adam s3a, and people rave about the barefoots (tho I havent heard them) then there is the klein and hummel camp. sell your mackies or use them for the lounge.

Frost

[Dog_Chao_Chao]

I don´t agree. Mackie Hr monitors are far from best but I don´t think they are your weak link. If you take your mixes out side the studio and they sound ok to you, or at least if they sound close to what you are hearing in the studio they will be enough for now. Your monitoring room is more important.

I think that, with the kind of money you have to spend and the kind of gear you already have, you should start looking at mics and maybe a preamp.
Mics: consider a pair ( you still don´t have a pair) . maybe Oktava Mk12/ or the pelusocmc6, whatever.
consider also a nice LDC (or2)- cheap one: maybe At4047
Preamp: Something with a little more
Maybe a greatriver, vintech.The germanium. Whatever you like.


For the moment i would forget Fx. About distressors, you are not tracking live drums...Of course you could use it on the rest but...I almost never compress guitars and for that you can buy something much cheaper: RNC, DBX, or just use your plugins. For me the most important factors studiowise are> your skills, acoustics, mics and preamps
GoodLuck
I love holland by the way. Although i wanted Ukrania to win the Championship...sorry.

[Bat Head Sound]

I would invest in a couple of SDC's and maybe a nice LDC. Look into a pair of Audio Technica AT4051's and a Telefunken AK-47 (no flames, if you haven't heard or used one, don't comment on it). That'll run you about $2500 total, but trust me, you'll be very happy.

[Rogervandeberg]

Thanks for your reply's!

I consider myself to be very lucky to have all this gear with my young age, but hey, if I earn some money, it has to roll and investing in such a great hobby is always good

By the way, I really like my mackie's and i do reference with lots of other speakers, so i think i am gonna hang on to them for some while!

Am i noticing right that If i want to upgrade that I should do this at my input side? I am the kind of guy who if i want to buy something new, it has to be better than what i already have, if you know what i mean

On the other hand, I spoke to a guy today who suggested a good channel strip with a comp/limiter so that i could hit my converters better.....is this right?

And finally, what do u guys think about putting my money in education of some kind (maybe a workshop with mr. wagener?) ?


Well thanks for you reply's and further suggestions of any kind are most welcome



@ Dog_Chao_Chao: I was very surprised that holland won!

[bobx]

with what you have, i'd invest in a stereo pre and either one nice LDC or even a stereo pair.

you can probably get a brent averill 312A and a decent pair of LDC's. a pair of at4050's would be awesome. or maybe a soundelux u195. you can probably swing all that for under or close to $2500

[Rogervandeberg]

I see all of you guys rave about those AT mics? Are they really that good? I have to admit i only heard the 2020 (this is the only model which is widely available in holland. I know this is a very budget model, but is the somewhat comparable? How would you describe the sound of the 4050 and 4060? How are they compared to the soundelux/blue/charteroak contenders in the same price range?

Thanks in advance!

[Doser]

Originally Posted by Frost

Your monitors are your weak link. I can mix a good record tracked using only audio technicas and 57s and make it sound great if the talent is there. But if you cant hear what the tracks sound like or they dont translate at all, then your mixes will suck.

Dynaudio bm5a on the cheap, 15a if you can swing it. I really like my adam s3a, and people rave about the barefoots (tho I havent heard them) then there is the klein and hummel camp. sell your mackies or use them for the lounge.

Frost

By far the 5a's are the best for the buck. I have put them up against the ever popular Genelecs and found that the Dynaudios don't bump your low end which offers a truer mix that translates to other speakers. I think the 5a's should be in every studio replacing the NS10s as the new industry standard.

Doser

[andychamp]

I'd suggest adding a "highclass-workhorse" mic/channelstrip combo.
The hardest decisions will be "mono or stereo?" and "character or fidelity?".

(And later, once you're hooked, you'll start thinking about pairing a character mic with an ultraclean preamp, or vice-versa. And what about "tube or solidstate?", "tranny or not?", etc... heeeeeelp!)

Welcome to slutland

[PRobb]

What jumps out at me as a weak link is the lack of good mics. Like a lot of folks have said, the A-T 40 series is great bang for the buck. And a Royer 121 would be a very versatile instrument mic.

[Rogervandeberg]

thanks for all your replies!

This tread is quite old so i've upgraded about a half a year ago.

i did a big shootout (see this tread ( Big shootout: pacifica, 737. LA-610, r121, jz2 etc. )

and bought a royer 121 and a pacifica. I love that combo!!!

But hey, if anyone had tips how to further expand my setup, you're welcome! I am a gearslut you know.....

[Geosync]

This may be something to look at when it hits the streets in August
n series class-A mic pre mixer

Not trying to over hype this guy, it's just coming in quietly and will be in limited supply at first.