Advice on my setup?

[dickiefunk]

Hi. I have a small setup here that I've been using to do simple demos. I would like to do an album this year and would appreciate your thoughts on what you think is the weakest link in my setup. I mainly only record vocals and use VSTi's for the rest. However, on ocassions I do record acoustic/electric guitar. Even rarer I sometimes record upright/electric bass and sax or trumpet.

Computer:
Carillon 2.4gHz Core 2 Duo, 4gb 800mhz RAM
Dell Inspiron 1300 1.6gHz, 1gb RAM

Hardware:
Echo Layla 3G, Tannoy Reveal 8D monitors ,SM Pro Audio M-Patch 2, M-Audio Keystation 88ES ,Korg Pad Kontrol, Behringer Powerplay HA4700 headphone amp, Behringer BTR 2000 tuner, Tapco Blend 6 mixer, 3x Sennheiser EH2200 headphones

Preamps:
ART MPA Gold, M-Audio Tampa, M-Audio DMP3, Yamaha MLA7 x4

Mics/accessories:
T.Bone Micscreen, Oktava MK-319, Rode NT1a, MXL v67g, Studio Projects B1, SE1000, T.Bone RM700(ribbon)

DAW:
Cubase SX3.1

VSTi's:
Garritan Steinway Pro,True Pianos, Sampletank 2XL, Garritan PO, Superior 2.0, EzDrummer + Vinatge Rock & Latin Percussion EZX's, ManyBass, Many Guitar, Mr Ray mkII, Steinberg Virtual Guitarist + lots of freeware

VST fx
IIEQ Pro, LP10, T-Racks, Voxengo Voxformer & Elephant + LOTS of freeware!

A lot of my stuff I've only just got which were secondhand bargains such as:-

MPA Gold, Superior 2.0, Oktava MK-319, SE1000

Here are a few rough demos done before I bought the MPA Gold, Oktava MK-319, MXL v67g, SE1000 and Superior 2.0.

I'm mixing in a room that has very little acoustic treatment because I'm only using this room temporarily and can't stick any stuff to walls/ceiling etc. My monitors do have Activ-Assist™ room compensation which is a poor substitute but does help.
I record vocals in another room which has duvets hung all around and I also use a T.Bone Micscreen for vocals.

Realisticaly I'm not going to be able to do anything more towards room acoustics until I move into proper premisses.

What are you thoughts on the hardware and software I'm using?

Is there an obvious weakness in my chain (apart from the obvious temporary acoustics situation)?

Is there anything you would advise I change or purchase (smallish budget £100) or am I good to go?

[antichef]

You're low on dynamic and/or ribbon mics - you might want one for the sax or trumpet, or for your voice (including background vocals if you're doing that).

Do you like the MK-319? Is it stock?

[dickiefunk]

Originally Posted by antichef

You're low on dynamic and/or ribbon mics - you might want one for the sax or trumpet, or for your voice (including background vocals if you're doing that).

Hi thanks for the reply. I have been thinking of getting another ribbon at some point. I have been thinking about the phantom powered Superlux R102:-

http://www.superlux.us/specialty.html

It received a great review here :-

http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/reviews/r102

Originally Posted by antichef

Do you like the MK-319? Is it stock?

I've only just got the Oktava MK-319 and haven't really tried it out yet. This is the stock version.
Also, the tubes in the MPA Gold are stock. I'm gonna get a long plate GE12AX7 for one channel and hopefully get a Telefunken later in the year.

[pohaku]

Biggest bang for the buck is probably improving your mics. Try the Oktava first and see what you think, but you could probably improve your vocals with a high end dynamic like an SM7, RE-20, M88 or MD441, especially given that you don't really have a well treated room. The dynamic would likely also work quite well for eguitar, sax, trumpet and bass. For acoustic guitar, the dynamic could be OK, but you would probably be better with a couple SD condensers.

Edit: OK, you're in the UK. See if you can find a pair of used Beyer MCE93s at a good price. They are a very decent SD condenser that appears to be going for very cheap used over here in the States. I picked up a pair on a lark for @$150USD (for the pair!) and was pleasantly surprised -- so much so that I bought another pair when they came up on e-bay - for about the same price. I think the list for these was @$499 each. The MCE94 is the same mic except it can run on batteries. Here's a review:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun9...s/beyermce.htm

At this point, getting better mics will probably make the biggest difference in your sound for the amount you would be spending. Sure you could get better pres or converters, but the improvement would be more incremental and you would have to spend a significant amount for it to be more than a lateral upgrade.

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah this is what I figured!

I've tried the Shure SM7 and liked it. Very nice mic!

I don't really have the budget for the SM7 though as it's very expensive over here in the UK as is the RE20. I tried an Heil dynamic and didn't like it.

I may sell my RM700 ribbon mic and get a Superlux R102 instead. I'm also gonna upgrade the tubes in my ART MPA Gold.

I might then leave it at that for a while!

[pohaku]

Are Beyer and Sennheiser more affordable in Europe? The Beyer M88 and the Sennheiser MD441 and MD431 are all very good dynamic mics.

[dickiefunk]

The Beyer is £230 and the Sennheiser is £260. Unfortunately these are more than double my budget.

[darrin_h2000]

I have the Yamaha 8 channel pre too...mine was a gem at what I bought it for...I negotiated it to 120 bucks.

[dickiefunk]

Originally Posted by darrin_h2000

I have the Yamaha 8 channel pre too...mine was a gem at what I bought it for...I negotiated it to 120 bucks.

I was fortunate enough to be given 4 of them!

[mamm7215]

NOS Mullard tubes in your MPA Gold. Mics..you should have an SM57 or 58. Other than that there's nothing you need. Your list indicates a decent mid-end type of home studio. Anything else at this point and you're going to be spending BIG$$$ for not much more. Also, you need a treated room before you drop any more $$ on gear.

[dickiefunk]

Originally Posted by mamm7215

NOS Mullard tubes in your MPA Gold.

I was thinking of getting a long plate GE12AX7 in one channel and possibly a Telefunken 12AX7 in the other.

[dickiefunk]

Originally Posted by mamm7215

Other than that there's nothing you need. Your list indicates a decent mid-end type of home studio. Anything else at this point and you're going to be spending BIG$$$ for not much more. Also, you need a treated room before you drop any more $$ on gear.

I'm not surprised to hear this!

[pohaku]

What's the used market like in the the UK? I own all of the mics I've mentioned and all have been bought used at a very significant discount from new.

[dickiefunk]

Used market is normally fairly expensive but I have picked up a couple of real bargains along the way e.g. :-

Garritan Steinway Pro £75
M-Audio Tampa £95 (normally start £150 upwards secondhand)
ART MPA Gold cost me £150 which was quite a good deal, only recently came down to £300 new from £500!

[dickiefunk]

Just out of interest, what would be the next worthwhile stepup for a preamp for vocals?

[mamm7215]

Maybe a Grace m101, after that, if you REALLY need to spend some more then get a Great River MP1-NV. Last pre you'll ever need for a home setup. As far as tubes goes, telefunken's if you're not going Mullard, otherwise I personally wouldn't bother.

[dickiefunk]

Because I generally only record 1-4 tracks of vocals and do everything else with vsti's, I don't think the Grace would warrant as a step up as I'm not stacing up loads of audio tracks.

[dickiefunk]

I've just sold some gear and have a little cash to spend on my setup.
I'm currently using an ART MPA Gold (stock), M-Audio Tampa and DMP3 for my preamps and am torn between spending my money on Telefunken ECC83 tubes for my MPA Gold or sell all my preamps and use this money to buy a better preamp.

If I sold my preamps I would have around £350 to spend. I noticed that in this price range there is the Audient Mico and Sontronics Sonora preamps.

The Audient looks like a good option as I've heard nothing but praise for it. Question is would it be a wise move to sell all my pres and get the Audient Mico or should I use the money to put some Telefunkens into my MPA Gold?

[kojdogg]

If you only record one or two channels at once and don't foresee that changing, why not shift from quantity to quality? You have a bunch of extra channels of pres that you probably don't need and a number of mics of the same type. If you're just recording yourself for now, maybe you can pick the combination that suits you best, sell some of the rest of the stuff and pick up something that will help you to get better results for your stuff.

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the reply.

I mostly only record a vocalist so I only need up to two channels. Thing is I've heard some recordings through the MPA Gold with Telefunken ECC83 tubes and it sounded great! I occasionally record acoustic/elec guitar and bass but generally do these one at a time.

Would the Audient Mico be a noticable step up over my ART MPA Gold (with Telefunken tubes), M-Audio Tampa and DMP3?

[kojdogg]

Originally Posted by dickiefunk

Thanks for the reply.

I mostly only record a vocalist so I only need up to two channels. Thing is I've heard some recordings through the MPA Gold with Telefunken ECC83 tubes and it sounded great! I occasionally record acoustic/elec guitar and bass but generally do these one at a time.

Would the Audient Mico be a noticable step up over my ART MPA Gold (with Telefunken tubes), M-Audio Tampa and DMP3?

I'd think that the vocalist, mic and acoustics of the room would have had more to do with the quality of the recording than the tube upgrade. I'm definitely sure that the tube upgrade helps though.
I have no idea about the Mico. It has a nice A/D built in and a bunch of features for sure. Personally, from my experience with pres and going through similar process to the one you're describing, I'd go with a simple transformer-based (input and/or output) preamp and get one solid mic like an SM7, but YMMV.
Ever try an old Joe Meek pre? If you see any Bricks for sale at a reasonable price, that's a nifty little unit.

[dickiefunk]

One thing I do like about my setup at the moment is having different pres that offer different tones. I noticed that the ART has a smoother less harsh top end than my Tampa. Part of me is reluctant to sell my pres for the Mico as I may really miss having the choice.

Has anyone on here had experience with any of my pres and the Mico?

[MOFO Pro]

I've sold a lot of equipment in the intrest of "upgrading" that I later regretted.

It sounds like your reasonably satified with what you have now... so I'd suggest patience over everything else... hold on to what you have... you'll find uses for it for years... and save up for the next purchase...

I don't sell anything until it's out of the rack gathering dust for at least a few months...

[dickiefunk]

Hi guy. Thanks for the replies again!

I'm wondering if anyone here has tried the Focusrite Liquid pres?
I noticed that the new Focusrite Saffire 56 costs £649. If I sold all my hardward I could afford one of these.

Would this be unwise or are the Liquid pres a serious step up in quality?

[MOFO Pro]

Originally Posted by dickiefunk

I'm wondering if anyone here has tried the Focusrite Liquid pres?

I'm curious too, but generally anything that seems too good to be true... is.

I did some research on this a while back, and the general conscencious is that it's a good pre, if you don't expect the emulations to mirror the actual hardware it mimics...

Doesn't seem to be a lot of owners... including myself