How's this for a plan to upgrade my recording gear?

T

twangbuck

New member
Tell me if this makes sense from the point of view of upgrading my system. Right now I record with Cubase LE on a Windows 7 machine (dedicated pretty much exclusively to recording, so there's not much else on it). I have a Zoom R8 that I use as an interface and a pair of decent JBL studio monitors, but honestly I've forgotten the model. I record my amps (low wattage tube amps but cranked up) with a 57. I also have a condenser mic that I've used in conjunction with a 57 to get pretty good results recording acoustics. Bass I record direct with a patch in the Zoom. When I need keyboards, my wife records those parts going out of her yamaha directly into the interface.

I want to accomplish a couple of things: Little better clarity, and I need to be able to silent record, at least when it comes to my guitars and bass (I'll soon be getting EZ Drummer to create drum parts. Right now, a drummer friend of mine occasionally records parts for me in his home studio and sends me the WAV files).

First, I'm thinking of upgrading my interface to an Audient id22. I'm leaning toward that because first I really want something that will let me defeat the onboard preamp in case I ever get a nicer standalone preamp someday. Second, I've heard awesome things about it in terms of reliability and problem-free setup. Never something I take for granted in this day and age of recording on PCs. Third, I've heard it sounds pretty darn nice. I have the money already saved for this.

Second, I'm considering getting a reactive load (something like a Suhr or a Rockcrusher) and then using IR's (Ownhammer?) and a convolution reverb to simulate room sound so I can silently record my amps. I hope to have the money saved for all that by December. I've heard good things about reactive loads and tremendous things about Ownhammer's IRs. I've also heard of a couple of good convolution reverbs I could try, and I was pretty impressed by a couple of different audio clips I've heard. I think a Pete Thorn clip maybe?

For my purposes, I have a pretty decent ld condenser mic for vocals (and for the tunes I really care about I hire out for those parts anyway) so any upgrades there are going to wait. Any purchase of a nicer tube preamp or anything like that I'm going to wait on as well.

Does this sound like a decent plan, considering my main goals are: a bit more clarity, setting myself up for a nice preamp purchase in the future, and the ability to silent record?
 
I think it all sounds reasonable. I don't know anything about the audient interface and I dont know what causes you to have less clarity. There is more than gear involved to solve mix issues.

While the rockcrusher is pretty cool, you might consider an amp sim as well. Especially if money is a consideration. I've been using a Digitech floor model for many years, but I'm not a purist, so I'm not looking for authentic emulation.

You might consider upgrading Cubase at some point.... unless it is meeting all your needs.
 
Audient ID22 | Sound On Sound

^ Gives a very good report on the iD22. The lack of MIDI (does Troubles kbd have it?) would infuriate me but then I have a spare 2496 card to fix that. Do you really need to pay for that ADAT expansion?

Then, as our Esteemed Moderator has said, "lack of clarity" is unlikely to be down to the kit. Many people make perfectly good recordings with a 57 and a $100 interface.

"Reactive" load? Be careful. For one thing, not all amps sound good with all loads (reactive or resistive) then SOME loads are downright dangerous to amp or/and a fire risk! Software grunging was mention but does the Audient have low enough latency?

FRETBOARD.COM is a forum with some really top guitar techs who know all there is to know about matching amps to power soaks.

Sorry! thefretboard.co.uk is the RIGHT addy, pretty sure.
Dave.
 
I'd be surprised if that Audient AI bypassed the input preamps when you use 1/4" input plugs. It probably just puts a pad on them, the way most other AIs with combo inputs do.
 
mjbphotos said:
I'd be surprised if that Audient AI bypassed the input preamps when you use 1/4" input plugs. It probably just puts a pad on them, the way most other AIs with combo inputs do.
Click to expand...

It has balanced inserts on 1 and 2 Mike.

Dave.
 
If your drummer is any good at all, don't go ITB. A decent drummer that you can get good sounds from beats almost everything I've ever heard from programmed drums.
 
I use amp sims exclusively these days for recording, while my Marshall & Mesa-Boogie amps sit collecting dust. I can get a good enough latency even on my old XP DAW. Granted, I don't think I'll ever get a guitar tone like with Thin Lizzy's "Boys are back in town" sound with amp sims.
 
mjbphotos said:
Yeah, but that doesn't mean that using the 1/4" 'line' inputs bypasses the preamps.
Click to expand...

True, but the OP wrote "...something that will allow me to defeat the onboard preamp..." and so that was one reason he went for the Audient? The insert gives direct access to the converters.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
True, but the OP wrote "...something that will allow me to defeat the onboard preamp..." and so that was one reason he went for the Audient? The insert gives direct access to the converters.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes - inserts. OP actually didn't say that: "I really want something that will let me defeat the onboard preamp in case I ever get a nicer standalone preamp someday. "
 
mjbphotos said:
Ah, yes - inserts. OP actually didn't say that: "I really want something that will let me defeat the onboard preamp in case I ever get a nicer standalone preamp someday. "
Click to expand...

Er? Well the inserts will Mike. Nothing left in the path but the converters (well, there is, has to be but OP won't know that!)

Dave.
 
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