Need equalizer advice. . .

R

RyanOD

New member
I am putting together a studio to help myself learn to be a recording engineer. Everybody seems to think the best way to learn the business is to dive right in and start recording. That being said, I need some advice on what equipment is most valuable. I have a Tascam digital 4-track, a dbx166, an Alesis Wedge, a drum machine, and a Shure 58. I figure I'll need an eq and was looking at the Alesis M-EQ230. Is this a worthwhile piece of equipment or is there something better to buy for under $300?? I am also looking at a used AKG C1000s mic. From what I understand this is a great mic for the price. True??

What other gear would be good to try to get my hands on?? I plan to record blues and folk music.

Thanks to everyone who helps me with this in advance. Oh yeah, money is not unlimited, but I have spent the past year saving up a few thousand dollars to use on this project.
 
I might catch hell for saying this but I don't really recomend Alesis EQ's. I found them to color the sound too much. An EQ is somthing that you don't really want to the cheapest one you can find. I have had prety good luck with Samson lately, you might want to check them out. AS FAR AS EQ's GO STAY AWAY FROM PEAVEY, they are noisy as all hell and not too accurate.
 
start by getting some better mics - they are the most critical element to giving a professional sound to your work. the c1000 is a great little mic for acoustic guitar, piano, etc, but can be a little brittle for vocals. most people prefer a large capsule condenser coupled with a tube preamp for vocals. watch out with the eq thing - it is very easy to think you can fix poor recording technique using eq or enhancers, etc later in the process - big mistake. on the other hand, a great eq can surely contribute to the quality of the final mix. i like tube eq's rahter than solid state, and am always keeping my eyes open for nice vintage eq equipment on eBay. i do find it better to get the right sound up front than to try to fix things with eq later down the road.
 
That's some good advice from jnorman, but I would ask if a graphic EQ is really what you're looking for. The only thing I really use my graphic EQ for is "EQing" my listening environment. That is, making up for the sonic shortcomings of the room I'm in. For recording your money might be better spent on a parametric EQ instead.
 
loudnaybor-
Good point. In fact the only thing I use a graphics EQ on is my monitoring system as well! You should try out different settings on the EQ on your 4-track befor you shell out the $ to get somthing that you probably wont use.
 
Okay, so generally an eq is used not to enhance the actual recording, but to make up for unwanted noise from equipment, recording room, etc.?? Thanks. That means I will use the eq on my 4-track on forego buying an eq now.

What other gear (outside of new mics, I am working on that) would be good to look into?? That is, what are the 'standard' pieces of equipment that most recording studios have?? This isn't to say I am going to rush right out and buy this stuff, but I would like to take a look.
 
monitor speakers. a pair of GOOD FLAT STUDIO MONITORS. These are by far one of THE MOST important thing you can buy for your studio!
Good Luck
 
Okay, so which monitors are 'it'?? I have heard Yamaha makes a set that is considered the 'industry standard'. Is that true?? Who makes the best speakers to look at for under $600?? Thanks again and again and again. . .
 
I don't think you'll get monitors that are "it" for under $600, but you can get really nice ones in that range.
Everyone has their favorites, it's kind of like asking "who makes the best guitars?". I use KRKs myself, and I love 'em. A lot of people here seem to use the Events.
The way to buy them is to take some of your own music down to the store and listen for yourself. Just remember that you're not listening for what sounds the best, your're listening for which ones let you hear all the pieces clearly.
Other equipment you'll need is a good 2 channel compressor/limiter, an effects unit and one or more good preamps.
 
I use Yamaha NS-10's and I think they are great. Your best bet is to just find a pair of FLAT response monitors, buy them (no mater what they may be) and just start mixing with them and get accostome to them.
It may take a while to get a handle on the way flat speakers sound.
 
Hey Ryan, I've Been Buying My Stuff One Piece At A Time For The Last Year And A Half. And My Last Purchase Was Monitors ( Alesis Point 7's, I Know, I Know, Twas All I Could Afford, But Shure Beats The Hell Outta Mixin' With Headphones Or My Multi-Media Altecs W/Sub. Get Wat You Can Afford And Work With It, I'm Into Same Music And Have A Rode NT 1 And Love It On Acoustic, Vocals, And More ( Needs A Tube Pre Though ) And Stop Callin' Me SirLee
 
On flat monitors--no matter how flat they show on their spec sheets, their response curve is affected greatly by the room and speaker placement. If you are using the NS10s for nearfield monitors, make sure they're not on a table or desk where the sound reflects off the surfaces and significantly changes the response. Nearfield ("in your face") monitoring with flat speakers is the cheapest way to offset room effects. In expensive studio control rooms the walls and surfaces are carefully engineered to prevent undue room effects from exaggerating or diminishing certain frequencies. If your using your monitors more as mid-field monitors (farther away) you will need to eq them for the room.

The critical thing is, you're not equing them to "sound good" because anyone who subsequently listens to your recording will not have your particular eq settings and therefore will hear something different. Instead, you eq to compensate for the room effects so that you're back to an effective flat response in the listener's (engineer's) position.

Do do this properly, you need to rent a special room analyzer and find out what frequencies to boos/cut to create a flat response. It sounds complicated but it isn't and the result will be a much better mix.
 
Tapehead --

OK, that makes perfect sense. Can you give me some insight as to where I can find one of these analyzers?? How much does it cost to rent one / buy one?? Where can I get info on how to analyze the room properly?? Thanks a lot.

RyanOD
 
I use a Peavy Autograph which comes with a pink noise generator (that sounds impressive but all it does is pump out a specially engineered hiss which you play into your speakers) and a special (very flat response) microphone. You set up the mic in your listening position (ie at ear level in your chair), record several minutes of the hiss and stop when the Autograph tells you to. It will then process for a few minutes and give you an eq curve. The Autograph is also a graphic eq (digital with a digital display). It creates eq settings which counterbalance your room and that's it--run your monitor signal through that (not your mix!) and your close to a flat response. (Mind you any time you eq you add artificacts such as phase shifting but that's the nature of the beast.)

Since you're only renting this or a similar product (ask at any professional recording or PA sound store that does rentals) simply write down the settings and duplicate them on your own graphic eq--or at least as closely as possible as you might have different centre points for the different bands.
 
Ahh yessss, pink noise!! I can remember that on my older cousin's souped up stereo system from when I was a youngster. I remember thinking it was used for something like that, but I had forgotten all about it. Thanks a lot. . .this will come in very handy.
 
Originally posted by RyanOD:
Okay, so generally an eq is used not to enhance the actual recording, but to make up for unwanted noise from equipment, recording room, etc.
No, Eq is a powerfull tool. There are many situations where using Eq is the only way to a good sound in budget Studio's. Even more so when you cant afford top notch mic's.

As for grapic EQ's - Although Parametric are the most flexible, Graphic are used by many people who find them more comfterable. It's a choice thing.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RyanOD:
Okay, so generally an eq is used not to enhance the actual recording, but to make up for unwanted noise from equipment, recording room, etc. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, Eq is a powerfull tool. There are many situations where using Eq is the only way to a good sound in budget Studio's. Even more so when you cant afford top notch mic's.

As for grapic EQ's - Although Parametric are the most flexible, Graphic are used by many people who find them more comfterable. It's a choice thing.
 
I ultrarecomend a BBE sonic maximizer,
buy the little one, 264 (1/3 rack)
is like $80. this can save you, and add a lot of quality and power to your sound.

and...

a ZOOM rfx-__, there are 300, 1000 and 2000.
they have a lot of tools to record.

The alesis micro and midiverb have a lot of fx and you can use it in a radio station.

For simplicity, go ZOOM.
 
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