I am about to buy the recording setup of my dreams......last minute sanity check that there is not a better option out there for me.

S

Spectro_Acousto

New member
After ~30 year of recording, I am in a financial position to purchase my 'dream' setup. I am putting together my first (and only) proper digital home recording setup in my basement, I will NOT be wanting to move this out of the house to record live performances. Of course, I am getting a little nervous that I am making the right decision, since I am only going to do this one time. If you can envision a better setup (in any aspect) or anything else I should consider, please don't hesitate to sound off!

This setup will cost about $1200...I could be convinced to up the cost by a few hundred if a different setup would be that much better.

Here is the heart of the setup:
Presonus Quantum 2626
Two Behringer ADA8200s connected via ADAT

I belive this setup would allow of 24 independent simultaneous inputs....more than I will ever need at one time, but 16 will likley not be enough (I hope!). Initially, I will have to use a Macbook Pro for its thunderbolt port, but once the PC market rolls out USB4 en masse I will get a desktop PC as well. I think I may need a simple headphone system like a Behringer Powerplay Pro-8 HA8000, but that can come at a later date. I currently use Caewalk as a DAW but I think I will try the DAW that comes with the Presonus.

I am largely ignorant about digital mixing boards that might? be the main competitors to an interface/DAW.

Any and all advice will be considred and greatly appreciated!

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Have you considered that you could buy a Behringher X32 rack for not too much money that gives you more flexibility and all sorts of possibilities - no need to tweak gains as you can do them from the app on the computer, more inputs, etc. Same Midas preamps as in the two 8200 units. Perhaps also worth considering would be a second hand X32 - because you'd then have a control surface that would interface to you DAW and the faders could be mapped so you'd have real faders. 44.1 or 48 sampling wouldn't worry me although some people like 96 and above - I think it's pointless, but it's a thought. what you are planning is workable - but a little routing unfriendly but I'm sure you'd settle to it pretty quickly and of course, you could run just the Presonus if you ever needed the higher sampling rates?
 
I've only ever used a single ADAT device with an interface but you'll need to have all 3 running off the same word-clock. I honestly don't know if when you specify a device as accepting the WC from another device, it turns that around and sends it through the output. If it does, you'll need to daisy-chain the devices in some manner. If not, you'll also need a master word-clock generator. Something like this:

www.sweetwater.com

Black Lion Audio Micro Clock MKII Master Clock

Master Clock with 3rd-order Crystal Oscillators, Ultra-low Jitter, and a High-current Parallel Drive Circuit
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com
 
wow...two posts and already so much to consider..... thank you very much!

1. Rob Aylestone: I have not looked very much into this option....largely just because it looks and seems very different than the tascam 424 I am most used to. The Quantum2626/ADA8200 combination makes sense to me. Just looking at photos of the unit....I see only 16 XLR inputs on the back of the unit. To my mind, this is a critical limitation of this unit. Is this incorrect?

2. Kieth.rogers: I had not thought this much in depth about clocking.....i just assumed it would all synch up...and we all know what happens when you assume. So, my first naïve question is if another external unit would mess with the very low latency of the quantum2626. I guess I may inquire with Presonus to see their perspective on the clocking issue.
 
Wait a second - you are setting up your first digital in-home recording space in your basement - did you use analog previously?
Is the recording room already set up with acoustic treatment?
What are you recording where you need more than 16 XLR channels at one time?
 
well...I said first "proper" digital recording setup. I currently use the 1/8 input on a cheap HP laptop and cakewalk. I have mics going into a eurotrack mixer with its output to the DAW in 1 track....pretty limiting. As I said, this is something I have dreamed about for decades...not something I truly need. Its totally overall and all for fun....I have 11 mics for the drum kit, so a few guitars, keyboard, bass vocals etc....I could likely get by on 16, but its another 200 to achieve 24.
 
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The rack does have 16 ins, but the full size desk has the full 32, or of course you can add an extra 16 to the X32 rack with the S16. I'm lucky enough to have lots of inputs, but it's rare for me to go over 16 - drums might be 8, bit often less - but if you're planning on getting bands in, then I can see more being useful. I really don't know much about wordclock - but syncing multiple devices is rarely trouble free till you hit on the correct solution. If you buy from a suppller willing to take things back, you could try - and if the system works, that's it done. All I do know is that I have an X32, and X32 rack and Midas M32, and I can connect all of them to my macbook pro and press record for 32 tracks with no faffing around. However, they spend most of the time in their cases. In the studio, I'm using just a few inputs on a tascam interface at the moment - despite having the Midas sitting there!
 
Many modern digital desks will take the place of all those separate interfaces and be more efficient. Almost all of them are expandable too so you could get a 16 or 24 input desk and if you found yourself needing more inputs add the rack mount interface from the same mfg. PreSonus, Behringer/Midas, and Mackie are some of the more popular "budget friendly" Allen & Heath and Tascam make some equally good digital desks which I mention since you have 424 experience.
 
As an alternative I would suggest an RME Digiface USB with 3 of the ADA8200s. RME have a really good reputation for good drivers and long term support - they are still supporting devices that they first introduced 20 years ago. The ADA8200s may be relatively cheap but they are versatile - just set them all to sync to their ADAT input and then connect optical cables from their inputs and outputs to the respective inputs and outputs on the Digiface. Set the Digiface as the master clock and you'll be ready to go. Don't worry about the fact that the Digiface only uses USB - RME's drivers make that irrelevant. You also get access to RME's Totalmix which is a very versatile way to set up monitor mixes and it can also work as a digital patchbay.

If, at some point in the future, you decide that you would like to use different mic preamps you could substitute one of the ADA8200s for a Focusrite Octopre or Audient ASP800 (or 880) to give you a slight improvement in sound quality.
 
I have ADA8000 units (which probably are the same), and they have BNC connectors for wordclock out and in. If you need the same wordclock on multiple devices, you can buy BNC 'T' connectors so the signal visits each site. These were used on lans in the old days.

$1200 is pretty low for a dream setup, I could blow a much bigger budget than that.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
$1200 is pretty low for a dream setup, I could blow a much bigger budget than that.
Click to expand...
With that budget you might be able to afford an AKG 414.

I bring this up because it’s a microphone (obviously) ;)

But in this dream studio, with the desire for lots of inputs, has there been any consideration to microphones?
The AKG is just one mic. Sounds like you need at least 16 mics.
Then the issue of mic stands. And cables.

What about monitoring? Or headphones for the talent? You’ll need 4 or 5 sets if you’re recording a band.

1,200 bucks is gone in a heartbeat unless you already are equipped.

If you don’t have all the extras already, that stuff will nickel and dime you to death.
 
Okay, let’s slow down a bit.

Why will you need all those inputs at once? What will you be recording at one time? I have home studio that I have a few clients for that only has 6 inputs. Only six...but hey, it’s two more than the Beatles got! I can make do with that few inputs.

Having more can’t be any worse no doubt, but it’s worth asking yourself if you truly NEED them. RFR is right in asking if you have the mics. Do you already have them? If not, then you’re going to have to expand your budget.
 
^^^Right^^^ 11 mics on drums is probably total overkill at this point in your recording life. Are you recording a whole band playing live, hence the need for more inputs than that? With the bleed you are sure to get in a basement situation, you're not going to want to record vocals the same time as the band, nor use that many drum mics.
 
Everyone, your advice is very much appreciated! I should say that this is just a fun hobby, I know this setup is not about what I "need" .. ... I have been dreaming for decades about this and I am at a point in my life where buying it won't break the bank. As a hobbyist, everything about this is overkill!

I have 2 main use cases:

1. recording songs solo. I will record each instrument independently. Here the most tracks I could reasonably use at 1 time is 12 mics for live drums.

2. Recording live sessions that would include drums, 2-3 guitars, bass, keys and 1 or 2 vocals. Here is where I might need more than 16 tracks (most inputs are XLR from mics).

I have tons of other gear already, large drum sets, many amps, guitars.

As far as mics I have plenty to get me started....over a dozen with stands cables etc.

All I really need is a great recording setup!
 
At my friend's home studio (which I run for him), he's got a 24 channel mixer and 18 lines from the recording room to the control room. The interface has a potential of 32-48 inputs. We often record the whole band at once using 14 channels, and sometimes using all 18. Even when we build up by tracking one instrument at a time, it's a lot more convenient just to have everything hooked up and the gains already set. And it allows us to have the whole band in the headphones (with guitar and bass direct) while tracking the base drum tracks, so it is nice to have all those inputs.

Up until recently, I had 8 channels on drums: kick, snare, OH L, OH R, floor 1, floor 2, rack 1, rack 2. I recently added a bottom snare mic, so that's a legitimate 9 channels on drums.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
I think I have 17 mics on my drums.
Click to expand...
I don't think 24 tracks is enough. :unsure:

iu
 
My point was that in a basement not otherwise set up for recording, $1200 is not going to go far, so think where you can save money. Do you need a separate mic on every drum and cymbal? Do the singers really need to track live with the band?
A big drum kit, bass, up to 3 guitars, keyboards - how large is your basement? What's the ceiling height? What acoustic treatment do you have or are you planning on?
 
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