Adding final touches to home studio

M

Milkfaj

New member
I recently invested about 4K on a nice home studio and I have about $500-$1000 more I can spend to put on the final touches. Ive been using four tracks my whole life and i am amazed at the difference in quality i can get. I was wondering what suggestions people have for me based on the equiptment i already have, which is:

Tascam TSR-8 (8 track reel to reel)
Allen&Heath 16 channel Mixer
M-Audio audiophile 2496 soundcard
2x Audio technica 4040s
MD421
Beyer M201
SM57
D112
DBX 266 2 channel comp/gate
Berenger headphone amp
Furhman power conditioner
Alesis M1 active monitors

some things i am considering are:
one more real nice mic (KSM44, Beyer M160, SM7)
another SM57
antares vocal processor
a large graphic EQ
a two track tape machine for mixing down to
a unique sounding mic pre
a bass POD as a direct box
a seperate (inexpensive) reverb/FX unit

what do you guys think?
 
RNC compressor. Extremely useful for a wide variety of applications. Buy two.

Waves Masters Software Bundle: Linear EQ, multiband compressor, L2 Limiter.

Just my 2c.

Tim
 
Invest in some nice gold plated high end wiring.

But just as important, invest in a nice mic of your choice. Alot of times, people come to record when they know what mic's you have.
 
That's one hell of a nice start you've got there! And you've got an ANALOG 8-track in there, too! TOO COOL!!!! :cool:

I've just got a few comments and suggestions for you to consider.

First, a Bass Pod would certainly get the job done for you, but for the same money, you could get a SansAmp RBI, or for much less money, their stomp box version, the Bass Driver. Either would work just as well, if not better than the Bass Pod. Another idea would be to get something like the Groove Tubes Brick as your "colored" mic preamp, and then just use THAT as your bass DI. Anyway, that would free up some money to spend on other goodies, such as more mics.

A comment on the mic selection. While the Shure KSM-44 is certainly an excellent mic, I suspect that it may sound almost identical to the two LDC mics that you already have. I've heard from more than one source that the KSM-44 sounds almost identical to the AT4050 and, if I'm not mistaken, the AT4040 is simply the single diaphragm version of the 4050. In other words, the KSM44 = AT4050 and the KSM27 = AT4040. So, you might choose a mic that has a tone that is more distinctive from that sound, to give you maximum flexibility during recording. The ADK Hamburg or the ADK Vienna might be the ticket (the Vienna being the brighter in tone of the two.) Or, a Studio Projects C1 if you want a brighter sounding vocal mic or the Marshall V-67 or V-69 for a darker color (the V-69 being a tube mic). But, you would certainly want your next mic to move apart, sonically speaking, from the AT4040's, in some way. If you get the SM7 (an excellent choice, btw) then you might want to move more toward the "bright" side with the other mic to move it away from both the 4040's and the SM7. In that case, the C1 or Vienna might be the way to go.

Either way, you've definitely got a really sweet system started, already. :)
Brad
 
I was considering the KSM44 because it has switchable pickup patterns. Ive only ever worked with cardiod mics (all of the AT 40 series are cardiods i believe) and the KSM44 has the option of omni and figure-8. although i would have no idea what to do with these new pickup paterns, I figure i should have them in my arsenal. although, i really love the sound of good dynamic mics and i would LOVE to hare a nice ribbon like the M160 (I origanaly wanted a royer, but I decided that $1100 is too much to spend on a mic for me right now) I hear theyre great for amps.

Ive heard about the sans amp bass pedals and that sounds like a really good idea.

Im not ready to buy any more compressors because i have yet to figure out how to use the one I have.

working on the room acoustics is another great idea, but i am getting ready to move, so it might not be neccisary if i move in to a good sounding place. then again, i might need to buy a lot of foam.

I love my A&H mixer, but ive only had it a little while and i want to figure out how to link an outboard delay unit (there doesnt seem to be an FX loop) and still use the onboard FX (A&H has a killer gated reverb) it has 6 aux sends, but no aux inputs. im a little confused.

I also need a new snare drum.
 
Just a question, why would you want the 2 track tape machine if you already have the means to transfer your tracks to pc: M-Audio audiophile 2496 soundcard and the Allen&Heath 16 channel Mixer?

Just wondering...

Everything else looks like a great setup. More XLR and TS and TRS cables. You can never have enough.
 
I was thinking of getting the other tape machine for a little extra tape compression, archiving recordings, and also having the option of going strait to vinyl from the tape masters (i think thats possible if you pay some $$$)

Its a low priority though.
 
Looks like you could use a nice matched pair of small diaphram condensors. Acoustic treatment is an absolute must if you haven't got it. Maybe another set of monitors for reference?
My .02
 
Bob Keelan said:
I would just hold onto the money for the time being. What you 'need' will make itself apparent soon enough.
Click to expand...

BING BING BING!!!

We have a winner!

Bob's right. Start using your stuff and see where your biggest frustration lies...
 
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