i could use some advice/consultation on a portable recording rig

treymonfauntre

Magic Bag Of Sounds
hey guys, i work mostly with diy punk/indie/hardcore bands that are just trying to get a demo or a 7" recorded. i also like to record shows. i don't have the skill or funding to create a studio at this point, so for the next year or so i'm going to be travelling around to record and mixing everything in my bedroom. i'm going to build a few portable absorbers to take with me to help take the room out of vocals and such.

heres what i'm working with right now:

soundcraft live 8 mixer - for preamps, and i use it for shows ocassionally but its HUGE
fostex vf16 - i use this for a/d conversion. it has adat in so i can record an additional 8 tracks, but currently i don't have anything to do that.
echo gina card - this has a breakout box with 2 a/d and 8 d/a converters, and 1 adat in. so i run from the fostex into this via adat. its a pain synching up extra tracks on the fostex!
then i mix in the box back in my room.

i've learned a LOT from this setup, but i'm starting to feel its limitations. i'm tired of hearing hard drive squeels when i apply compression, and frankly i've never been impressed with anything i've done aside from a "wow this doesn't sound as awful as i imagined!". i want to build a rack so i don't have so much bulky junk to lug around. seriously, it seems like such a chore just thinking about loading it all up.
heres what i would love to have:

rackmounted computer - my current one is pushing 2 years, and although it works fine its time for an upgrade.
new interface - i'd like something with 2 adat inputs so i can get more than 8 tracks at once. seems like the rme ones are the only ones that do this for a decent price? i'd be thrilled to find one thats just a double PCI slot with 2 adat ins, spdif, word clock, and 4 analog outs for monitors/headphones.
headphone amp - yea, i don't have one right now. i'd prefer a rackable one, but a standalone one could be nice if it was right in the middle of everybody.
m audio octane - these can be had for about $400 on ebay, 8 channels with adat out. seems like an obvious choice for now!
m audio tampa - i really only want this because i want a single channel preamp thats nicer than the octanes, but i'm not so sure this will even be an improvement? the extra tools would be nice for messing around in my room and recording to a tape deck or something.

i feel that this will give me more room for upgrades in the future.

so, does anybody have any suggestions on an interface/card or any warnings about the gear i've picked out? i'm not making money off this, i'm doing it because i love to help bands get their ideas and songs out, so i can't really be affording anything TOO expensive. at the same time i'm doing this i'm also juggling playing 3 different instruments in 4 different bands and touring and putting out friends' records going to school and working full time.

thank you so much in advance!
 
even though this thread didn't get any replies, it got me planning and now i've come up with this shopping list with ebay prices:

computer - $???
presonus hp4 - $75
maudio octane - $450
maudio tampa - $250
rme hammerfall 9636 - $250
rme aeb4-0 - $75


shure beta 52 - $150
beyer m201 - $150
sennheiser e604s (x3) - $200
oktava mc012 - $350
at4040 - $200


are there better bang for the buck mics than the oktavas nowadays? my experiences with studio projects and mxl haven't been bad, but they haven't been good enough to make me want to spend more money on their products.
 
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