Setups

[Nick_Black]

I was wondering what is your studio setup (who ever is reading this) maby it'll give me or other peaple insperation on how to set up or modify their own rig

currently my setup is this

2 YSM2P yorkville monitors
8ch bherenger mixer (UB1204)
Delta 10/10LT sound card
cubase SX
P4 3Ghz processor
748MB of RAM
80G hardrive (2x 40 gig's)
Samson's drum mic's
and Apex vocal mic's

and my plan's for up grading is to get another delta, a 16 ch mixer, an 31 band stereo EQ, 6 ch headphone mixer & pre amp and finally a compressor (well I would actually want evrything but thease are my short term goals.

[ssscientist]

Originally Posted by Nick_Black

an 31 band stereo EQ

EQ's are typically for live use. A good compressor like this one probably costs less than a bad 31 band graphic EQ and will do your mixes a hell of a lot more good...


.

[MadAudio]

I'm guessing you're a drummer. So am I.

My current set-up uses 2 rooms - the control room and the studio. The studio space doubles as rehearsal space for my band so it's fairly dead and not the ideal for recording. But I still manage to get a good sound.

In the control room I have a Mackie 1604, and I use the channel inserts to send channels 1-8 to my first Layla 24/96. I also have an M-Audio Octane which I use as the pre for my drum mics. Those outs are connected to my second Layla 24/96.

A 16-channel snake runs between the control room and the studio. The snake also has four 1/4" balanced returns, so I can send headphone mixes to my Oz Audio HM-6 heapdhone amp.

I generally try to get the best sound I can with mic placement. In fact, with my drums I'm going straight from the mics to the pre to the soundcard, so all eq'ing is done in the mix. But I will add some eq or compression while tracking if needed. So it's a mix of analog outboard gear and in-the-box processing.

I have 3 sets of monitors, 'cause it's nice to be able to make quick comparisons. My passives are NS-10s and Rat Shack Minimus 7s. They're both powered by a Crown PB-1 (I use a Bryston speaker switch box). My actives are a piar of Wharfedale 8.2a's. I also run a KRK RP-10S active sub with them.

External drives are a must. It's generally not a good idea to record to your apps drive, as there is the possibility of interruptions and even overloading the processor. I have 2 different FireWire drives that I use exclusively for audio files. One is a 120GB Western Digital, the other is a 300GB Seagate. They both work well, though the Western Digital seems to performs a little better. The Seagate tends to "go to sleep" to quickly.

I use MoreMe headphones for tracking, and Sony MDR-7506's for critical listening.

I've got a decent selection of mics, both dynamics and condensors. Probably close to 20 mics by now.

Main software used is Vegas 5, though I still use Acid Pro 4 on occasion. Sound Forge 6 for editing/"mastering" and CD Architect to burn discs.

[Nick_Black]

thanks MadAudio, in actuality I'm a guitaris/singer but drums come into high priority in my recordings (plus my drummer is a whiney b*tch) but anyway, there is some interesting stuff in there, I din't know that USB drives had any advantage (in fact I thought they were worse off) and I'm now looking to see if i can find any Layla's in my area. any one else wan't to post their setups?

thanks

[MadAudio]

Originally Posted by Nick_Black

I din't know that USB drives had any advantage (in fact I thought they were worse off)

They don't. I use FireWire, which is different than USB.

Originally Posted by Nick_Black

and I'm now looking to see if i can find any Layla's in my area.

They don't make the 24/96 anymore. The newest model is the Layla 3G. But you should check out other soundcards, like ones from M-Audio and MOTU, for example. There are many options these days, and you don't want to get more than you need.

[kojdogg]

my setup is in my signature, which admittedly is a bit lame. it's basically at the limit for # of characters, so i figure once i get enough gear, i'll have to take it out anyway. my main computer is a turion 64 1.59 Ghz laptop with 896 mb ram and a mackie onyx 1220 mixer with the firewire card, but i also use a p4 2.8 Ghz desktop with a gig of ram with an echo mia interface at times. i track in sonar 4 and, like madaudio use acid pro 4 (for mixing) soundforge for wave editing and "mastering" and cd architect.
i track on my laptop drive, but use a usb 2.0 external harddrive to backup and transfer most of my working files there once i start mixing a song.
i currently have m-audio sp5-b monitors (admittedly the weak link right now-- looking at the blue sky 2.1 $500 system, some wharfedales, or the tascam vl-5x's). i also have a crapulent rolls headphone amp and some cheap headphones which are mostly used for tracking, though sometimes they offer an interesting perspective on a mix when you think of "lowest common denominator" in terms of play back systems.
i track in my bedroom, which actually has pretty good acoustics as it is kind of large and has a curved ceiling. i use some auralex xpanders for baffling for a little more control here and there, but am pondering either buying or making some 703 baffles.
i just sold my main vocal mic (a rode ntk) to help buy this m610 that i got today, but have a bunch of new mics that i think can fit the bill-- the karma k-58, my rode nt1000's which are excellent all around budget mics and the karma k-6's (ribbons for vibey or sibilant singers). i'd like to add an sm-7b at some point for variation.
i use mostly modelers for guitar and bass (pods) as a concession to apartment living and my girlfriend, but am also thinking of either getting an epiphone valve junior (which are supposedly great for the money) or something more just for recording like a zvex nano amp and a cab w/ a nice speaker or a songworks 1/4 amp.
i play keys too so i use my casio px110-- a consumer level digital piano w/ a nice action, as a controller, record midi and then use soft synths or modeled pianos to render the track i use in the mix.