If you had $1000 and my setup, what would you do?

P

parkbirds

New member
Well, I have about $1000 that I have set aside for new gear, it's been a while since any new gear has been purchased, so I'm really open to ideas. I've been out of the loop so to speak.

My set up:

Behringer Eurorack Mx 1604a
Alesis ADAT XT-20
Electrix Filterfactory & Mo-FX
Event Project Studio 6 (monitors)
Akai S1000HD (sampler)
Shure 57,58
AKG C1000S
PC with lightpipe connection, running SoundForge 6.0 & plugins, Samplitude for mixdown.

So that's about it, sadly.

Mostly thinking I need a new board (Maybe an M8) pre-amps and maybe another budget condenser.
 
I don't know exactly what kind of stuff you record with your current set-up, so telling you what to buy next is a little difficult, but for starters, I think your hunch to pick up the Spirit M8 mixer might be a good one. If you look hard on Ebay, you can get 'em for around $500. When I was looking to buy a mixer a few months ago, a bunch of folks told me to seriously consider the M8, but it was a little bit out of my price range (wound up with a Yamaha 12/4), so I passed. Then, just a few weeks ago, I got to hear one in action, and I was pretty amazed. The on-board preamps sounded pretty amazing to my ears, so you may even want to think about holding off on buying standalone pres until you've had a chance to get to know the ones on the mixer.

That leaves you with around $500 to play with, and depending on what your needs are, you could either put together a nice budget pack of mics, like, say:

Studio Projects C1 $200
Marshall MXL 603s (pair) $150-200

That would leave you with around $100 to play with....either for cables or stands or other not-so-exciting stuff.

The other thing you could do is look to make one bigger mic purchase. If you think you'd get more use out of a really nice LDC you could check out the BLUE Baby Bottle or one of the higer end Audio Technicas. You could also look to get a pair of SDCs -- maybe a pair of Shure KSM 137s?

You've got a ton of options, so have fun!
 
Mike BL said:
I think your hunch to pick up the Spirit M8 mixer might be a good one. If you look hard on Ebay, you can get 'em for around $500.
Click to expand...

I got my M12 at Full Compass for $590.


I'd probably pick up an SM7. On ebay you can get one for about $300. I've heard nothing but great things about them (Michael Jackson used one for Thriller).

I also hear great things about Senn 441.

Either could be used as a vocal mic.


Really to make any guesses we'd have to know what you're trying to record?
 
I'd get rid of the ADAT and get yourself a 24 bit soundcard. Since you have lightpipe into your PC already, all you really need are some converters that output to lightpipe, like the Alesis AI-3 or the Presonus Digimax. Selling your ADAT would also bring in some money and increase your spending budget a bit.

A better board is also a good idea, one with better preamps built in. Or, the Presonus Digimax actually is eight preamps. So using that you'd bypass your board during tracking, and record straight into the PC. The board woiuld then be used just for monitoring. As a monitoring board, the Behringer might be okay, saving you the expense of buying a new mixer right now.
 
yeps, try to selll your Adat and upgrade to a better soundcard.

you can also sell the behringer to upgrade to a better mixer, and of course this depends on your music style, a large diaphragm condensor mike
 
WOw!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking into a bunch of them right now (doing my research, you know).

I record mostly fun experimental/inde/garage/glam rock/new wavish; anything hot, runs the gamut I guess. I have no room to work with, only my apartment (street noisy), a couple dead practice rooms (for rent), a huge garage (my friend’s), and that’s about it. (San Francisco is tough). I’m keeping the ADAT, because it’s highly portable; and just straight easy.

Anyway, thanks for all the help so far, keep it coming!
 
I really like that Shure SM7 idea. That mic looks like just the thing I need!

Also, I'm looking into the RNP! That would really improve my sound!

Would those be a good combo? The only thing I'm worried about is I'm really into bouncing, and without a new mixer that would be really hard to pull off. It would kind of defeat the purpose of the RNP.

If you send return channels through the Aux sends/returns, pre-volume (pushed in), would that make my signal weaker?
I guess, what I’m saying is I am only going to try to use my mixer as only monitoring. I could just unplug the return (playback) to my outboard gear everytime if I wanted to eq or something, I guess I should just get a patchbay huh? I’ve never used one, and they confuse me a bit though. Any suggestions?
 
Why do you guys suggest he sells his ADAT? At the very least he could use it as a front-end for his computer! The XT20 is 20-bit and the converters are certainly usable enough....

To get a soundcard that will give him the same calibre I/O will run another $800 or more......!
 
I don't think it's hatred. I just think many of us who use completely DAW based systems ask "why?" when it comes to ADATs. If you're ultimately going to put the music on your hard drive, why record it to tape first? A sound card puts it directly where you want it. ADAT just seems like an unnecessary step in a DAW based system.

I agree with Bruce, though. Replacing his ADAT with a soundcard is more a matter of convenience than quality. If he can't afford the extra convenience of a soundcard without sacrificing sound quality, then it's better to stick with his ADAT.

Thomas
 
barefoot said:
A sound card puts it directly where you want it.

Replacing his ADAT with a soundcard is more a matter of convenience than quality. If he can't afford the extra convenience of a soundcard without sacrificing sound quality, then it's better to stick with his ADAT.

Thomas
Click to expand...

I don't want it on computer to begin with! My recording is partially a creative process, and I don't feel creative staring at waveforms on computer. I mean, sometimes I do, but I like to do it outside of the computer first.

A soundcard is super inconvenient, for me at least. I can just bring my ADAT anywhere! I don't have to lug an ugly PC. And, I do a lot of recording in different places. Plus, an ADAT is just like a soundcard, and can work great as one, 20 bits is enough for me, I think it's pretty good actually.
 
Cool. Then definitely stick with your ADAT.

It can't be stressed enough how big of a role the acoustic environment plays in the sound of your recordings. You're cooking shit if you don't get that right. I would strongly suggest using most or all of your $1000 for acoustic treatment. Since you're working out of a couple spaces, you might want to build units that are somewhat portable. Check out John Sayers site for tons of great information on this topic. http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

Thomas

http://barefootsound
 
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Thats a cool site!

I would spend $1000 on treatment, if I could buy an isolation booth!

I could imagine one of those in my living room, it would be a great conversation piece. After dinner parties, and a few glasses of wine, guests could take turns screaming at the top of there lungs.

Not to mention I could do most of my recording in my apartment, aside from drums.

I found a place that sells them for about $2200 for the cheapest, does anyone know a cheaper place? I would love to build one myself if I had a place to use tools.
 
Take some time and carefully read through the posts on John's site, as well as the Studio Building forum here. I think you might come to realize that most of those commercial iso booths aren't worth their weight in cow patties.

I was thinking more along the lines of bass traps and diffusors. You can build a lot for $1000. If you don't have tools or a workshop, make friends with someone who does - preferably a musician. Then you barter. Offer to record some of her music if she helps you build your studio treatment. I'm sure you know there are lots of multitalented people living in the city. Or have they all moved to Oakland? ;)

You might also want to post this question on John's site. Describe your studio situation(s), your budget, and ask for suggestions. As important as what you build is HOW you use it. Ask and learn as much as you can. Because ultimately, what's in your head is light years more valuable than any tangible thing you can buy.

Thomas

http://barerfootsound.com
 
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I don't know, a lot of people are moving to Oakland for some reason. ha ha.

I realize how important it is to have good rooms. It was a big step for me to move out of my old apartment into a place with a cement floor underneath (uptop a garage) and carpet. Before that, 3rd story Victorian hardwood floor boomy cracky nightmare!

I actually love the way some things sounded in that apartment. It was impossible to mix in, no matter what I did. I figure now, and it may sound un-orthodox, I have at least a lot more furniture and carpet, using dynamics without bass traps and all that is not that big of a deal for me. I’m into the John Cage philosophy. My monitoring is more important to my ears, and I love the way it is right now.

Drums on the other hand are just way too complicated; I have two completely opposite types of rooms and a lot more equipment that is not mine (and I don't know always what to do with.) I prefer the huge, shitty, garage to the soundproofed practice spaces. I’ve cooked a lot of shit in my time, in a lot of different rooms, but a couple days after, the wiff most often smells sweet. And people go, ‘where the fuck did you record this, how did you do that.?” Well, it’s drums in a fucking garage, they sound like shit in real life, but always fantastic on tape.
So I don’t know whats broken. I'd just like some nice things of my own, and maybe an iso booth, no not really.
 
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