Studio rack effects pointers please!

M

Mikeyprs

New member
Hey guys,

I'm planning to buy some rack gear in the future to be used in conjunction with my tascam 2488 portastudio mainly because the onboard effects aren't that good imo, money is tight (aint it always..??) so i want to take my time in finding the right gear for my needs whilst raising the funds.

What i would like is some suggestions on what type of effects would be useful in a home recording set up as well as what brands to look out for that manufacture good quality gear.

What I intend to record in my bedroom studio is Vocals, Guitars, Bass, keyboards and the style of music i am recording is Heavy metal/Rock. Whilst i have an acoustic drum kit in the room I will be using SD 2.0 for the drum parts and recording the drums at one of the nearby studio's

If anyone could define which products may be regarded as mediocre, semi-pro and professional and list their prices would be a massive help too!

Whilst i know everyone's studio is going to be entirely different to one another, in terms of the room itself and the gear - any experience with absolutely any piece of gear he/she has used would be helpful.

Thanks in advance for your time!

Mikeyprs
 
right right, reverb is one thing ima need......

what about other stuff such as EQ's
parametric or graphic?? which is better?? how many bands would i need to cover the majority of the sonic spectrum??

what about other effects such as compressors, limters, gates, chorus?

i'm also thinking about going down the "re-amping" technique route too. if anyone knows a good deal about this any suggestions and tips on the right products for this will be immensely appreciated.
 
anyone with other suggestions in terms of outboard effects & processors to work with my Tascam 2488 Portastudio??
 
If you look at Pomplamoose's YouTube vids they use all kinds of stuff, it doesn't have to be expensive to get music out of it.

I'd try looking on Craigslist. I still have my first effects unit, a Yamaha SPX90 I bought in the 80's. They are still good although admittedly antiquated. :(

There's been a zillion effects units made in he last while. Yamaha has been to music gear what Honda is to cars. Honda's angle is to sell you a Mercedes for 1/3 the cost, and Yamaha is like that. But I'd look at any brand. The thing is to be an opportunist and not "have to have " a certain brand if you don't have lots of bucks.

If you look around I'd bet you could see some effects units cheap. With your setup either you'd use them on the way in or take a recorded track and send it through an effect and then re-record it. Even cheap stomp boxes can be fun.

At some point you may want to start using a computer because all DAW programs have lots of pretty good effects. The compressors and eq on DAW's is very good. Personally. that's what I'd do. I got my computer for free from a friend, and reaper is free, all you need is an interface and I've seen them for $50 used.
 
Mikeyprs said:
anyone with other suggestions in terms of outboard effects & processors to work with my Tascam 2488 Portastudio??
Click to expand...

Have you decided what your needs are? How many channels at once? And in some cases for which type? Lets say start with some of the basics. eq, compression, delay, verb..?
One used pcm80 (4 delay/fx/verb paths with the PCMIA cards) covers a hell of a lot more ground than an eq if you get my drift..
:drunk:
 
dintymoore said:
..At some point you may want to start using a computer because all DAW programs have lots of pretty good effects. The compressors and eq on DAW's is very good. Personally. that's what I'd do. I got my computer for free from a friend, and reaper is free, all you need is an interface and I've seen them for $50 used.
Click to expand...

Yep. 'Porta is fine, convenient (simpler, less stress/learning curve true..) and let's not forget portable..:)
But you can still dump it into a DAW and fly with it.
Most of my rack stuff from MackieMixer days sits now.
 
Last edited:
The sort of effects i feel are going to be most useful would be an

EQ, Compression, Reverb, Delay mainly altho i have modulation effects on my pedalboard such as Flanger.. Chorus i think the first four would be the main effects.

as for the amount of channels and what types... im stumped to say the least lol, as mentioned their is a helluva lot of gear out there.. so if anyone could be point me in the direction to find the info of what is out there would be really helpful indeed!

As for a DAW, I use Cubase 5 for the superior drummer with TMF add on, altho I'm a self taught recording enthusiast and learnt a thing or two how to record in college on a yamaha 02 R studio desk but i've never used a daw to record and i've always preferred to record with physical faders and stuff rather then a PC and mouse.

I'm sure there is a way to link my Tascam up to my pc i'd rather use it for personal use rather then recording purposes.

has anyone used the re-amping technique at all? it sounds rather complicated.. but is it complicated in practise..?? does it really help in the recording process as it appears to be??

Thanks for all your help so far guys.. keep em coming!!
 
Mikeyprs said:
The sort of effects i feel are going to be most useful would be an

EQ, Compression, Reverb, Delay mainly altho i have modulation effects on my pedalboard such as Flanger.. Chorus i think the first four would be the main effects.

as for the amount of channels and what types... im stumped to say the least lol, as mentioned their is a helluva lot of gear out there.. so if anyone could be point me in the direction to find the info of what is out there would be really helpful indeed!..
Click to expand...

Sorry I missed that it's a digi-porta, so skip the 'PC detour. And presumably it has eq, comps(?), delay should be covered..(?) (I previously assumed you meant sending your tracks analog to a mixing board.
So to dial back in on the plan here :D -this stuff for tracking, into the 2488, mix in there, send some aux sends back out analog for fx and back in..(?), ..gather stuff to work entirely differently in the future?
 
lol, tis all good dude :D - i've recorded a couple pieces on it but still got much to learn =p

Yes, it does have said effects but as mentioned in the original post the onboard effects are a pile of crap =(

Hence why im thinking the outboard effect route will help...

Mixes will sound as good as you record them right? obviously the source of the recording is a key element if not the key element but surely i'd need some decent equipment to record with....
 
Mikeyprs said:
Hey guys,

I'm planning to buy some rack gear in the future to be used in conjunction with my tascam 2488 portastudio mainly because the onboard effects aren't that good imo, money is tight (aint it always..??) so i want to take my time in finding the right gear for my needs whilst raising the funds.

What i would like is some suggestions on what type of effects would be useful in a home recording set up as well as what brands to look out for that manufacture good quality gear.

What I intend to record in my bedroom studio is Vocals, Guitars, Bass, keyboards and the style of music i am recording is Heavy metal/Rock. Whilst i have an acoustic drum kit in the room I will be using SD 2.0 for the drum parts and recording the drums at one of the nearby studio's

If anyone could define which products may be regarded as mediocre, semi-pro and professional and list their prices would be a massive help too!

Whilst i know everyone's studio is going to be entirely different to one another, in terms of the room itself and the gear - any experience with absolutely any piece of gear he/she has used would be helpful.

Thanks in advance for your time!

Mikeyprs
Click to expand...

I know this is not what you want to hear but...

Honestly (IMO) since you already have Cubase you would get a much better return/results on investing in some good plug-ins (especially since you said money is tight) versus buying any cheap budget out board gear.
 
Last edited:
Yeah I hear you dude and I can understand the logic but I would still need to buy a mic preamp or interface for the pc... but then I could connect the Tascam to a daw on the pc but that would be even more of an pain in the ass lol

Despite money being tight doesn't mean i can't wait n save right?? as well as spend my time researching/reading up/asking questions on what gear is out there and what products might be applicable for what i want to do..

Which, as a reminder is to record Guitar, Bass, keyboards and vocals and the style in which I play is Heavy Metal

Thanks guys!
 
Right now everyone is purchasing plug ins and that means the price of really good out board gear is at a all time low for used.
I've been picking up pieces left and right. Nice, nice units!

Now to my minds ear the out board gear sounds better than plug ins. Maybe 3 to 7 generations they'll get the plug ins a lot better but, until then but, probably not even then.
There's just something that the circuity of a good out board unit delivers that a plug in (emulator) just doesn't have.








:cool:
 
moresound said:
Right now everyone is purchasing plug ins and that means the price of really good out board gear is at a all time low for used.
I've been picking up pieces left and right. Nice, nice units!

Now to my minds ear the out board gear sounds better than plug ins. Maybe 3 to 7 generations they'll get the plug ins a lot better but, until then but, probably not even then.
There's just something that the circuity of a good out board unit delivers that a plug in (emulator) just doesn't have.


:cool:
Click to expand...

No doubt, some (quality/vintage) out board gear has come down in price and although I agree that noting will "sound" exactly like it, you cannot dispute that quality plug-ins will give you a bigger band for the buck. Last time I checked, a vintage 1176 still run around $1200 (and lets not forget no 2 sound the same), LA-4As (silver) on e-bay right are $1200, and vintage LA-2A runs over 3K. Price a Manley MU lately (~4K)? That is so far out of the practical budgets of most home studios. Granted you can spend a lot less but you end up with mostly crap.

I can get good emulations of all of the above vintage hardware for a lot less than that. That pains me to say that because I am actually a hardware guy :( . Take reverbs for example; the Lexicon pcm series goes for about $1400 (expensive but awesome) but a good 408L is a lot more and they use the same algorithms, not to mention the lex 960 goes for more than $12K (and it's discontinued).
 
Simman said:
No doubt, some (quality/vintage) out board gear has come down in price and although I agree that noting will "sound" exactly like it, you cannot dispute that quality plug-ins will give you a bigger band for the buck. Last time I checked, a vintage 1176 still run around $1200 (and lets not forget no 2 sound the same), LA-4As (silver) on e-bay right are $1200, and vintage LA-2A runs over 3K. Price a Manley MU lately (~4K)? That is so far out of the practical budgets of most home studios. Granted you can spend a lot less but you end up with mostly crap.

I can get good emulations of all of the above vintage hardware for a lot less than that. That pains me to say that because I am actually a hardware guy :( . Take reverbs for example; the Lexicon pcm series goes for about $1400 (expensive but awesome) but a good 408L is a lot more and they use the same algorithms, not to mention the lex 960 goes for more than $12K (and it's discontinued).
Click to expand...

Then it's just around the corner then with the high end gear. It has to be. When I go into any music store now they all have next to zip for anything out board, just not stocking it anymore - special order, and are giving next to nothing in trade in value for used ... so it goes to ebay instead.







:cool:
 
In spite of all that has been said to which has been very useful I'm feel pretty content with buying some of the outboard effects like a compressor and then an effects processor of some description.. yet im still unsure. i don't know I dont intend on spending thousands of ££££ because I'm recording in my bedroom so to a certain extent i know the mixes aren't going to be great but at least it will give me a rough indication of how its sounding when the time comes to go into the studio with the band.

There are a few things i've been looking at and i was wondering if i could get some opinions on them...

DBX 166XL Dual Compressor/limiter/Gate
Lexicon MX-200
PreSonus Comp16 Compressor

These are just some of the products ive been looking at online via dv247.com

Many thanks for your time guys
 
Mikeyprs said:
In spite of all that has been said to which has been very useful I'm feel pretty content with buying some of the outboard effects like a compressor and then an effects processor of some description.. yet im still unsure. i don't know I dont intend on spending thousands of ££££ because I'm recording in my bedroom so to a certain extent i know the mixes aren't going to be great but at least it will give me a rough indication of how its sounding when the time comes to go into the studio with the band.

There are a few things i've been looking at and i was wondering if i could get some opinions on them...

DBX 166XL Dual Compressor/limiter/Gate
Lexicon MX-200
PreSonus Comp16 Compressor

These are just some of the products ive been looking at online via dv247.com

Many thanks for your time guys
Click to expand...

I have a dbx166XL & Lexicon MX-200 and they are not bad for the price. I use them mostly in a live rack more but have used each of those units while mixing in the studio. A better option then the dbx IMO would be the ART VLA II it is kind of like the poor man's LA-2 and has some color. Might be a good balance since your Tascam already has built in compressors.

Looking at the picture of the TASCAM you only have 2 effects sends so that is going to limit you when it comes to out board gear. However, it does have USB so you could always track into the Tacam and move the wav files into Cubase for edit/mixing. You can get free plug-ins that are at least as good as the outboard gear you are looking at and that way have the option to compair the quailty of your mixes in & out of the box.

Good luck

Cheers!
 
I'll throw in Chameleon 7602 then. Very good character pre -useful cleanish' all the way to soft clip, and eq -tracking and mix.
..and already mentioned -PCM80 +cards. :drunk:
 
right ok, The ART VLA II suggested above by simman doesn't look that bad at all certainly looks old school with the swing needle bit n all that jazz :D so thats cool.

I have been wondering how the 'effect send' ports on the back of tascam actually come into play... I mean I knew to a certain extent that other external hardware could be connected to the 2488 hence why I wouldn't be asking about rack effects in the first place.. so it begs the question how would I connect it all up if i was to buy the Art Vla II and an effects processor to work with the 2488???

I would mix/edit in cubase if i knew how to use the program properly, I mean i've used previous versions in school and at college as a sequencer with a midi keyboard but not in a recording situation =/ so in that sence im totally in the dark aha

I learnt to record on my own using similar multi-track recorders starting with a boss 864 when I was in my early teen's and then a yamaha 02r at college when I was 19/20 and then i got the Tascam on my 21st so my knowledge is not as great as i'd like it to be but hey.. there ya go lol

Cheers!
 
Mikeyprs I had a PreSonus Comp16 compressor. It actually sounded very good.

The down part is that it's all presets. Because of that I wouldn't recommend it in a studio situation unless you came across one real cheap.

The good part is that whoever figured out the presets knew what they were doing and it does sound very good and is a useful little box.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top