I need some opinions on new setup

[rnelson]

HEy guys, I know this forum probably sees a lot of these threads but i was wonderin if I could get some opinions about whether or not someone could achieve studio quality recordings with the following setup:

-E-MU 1616m interface+ Octopre LE through ADAT

-Waves Mercury Bundle

-Cubase SX3

Thats it, keep in mind, its a hypothetical situation where mics, engineer, producer, instruments, band, have been taken out of the equation.

Basically just imagine that we have a great engineer, great band, great room, great mics, monitors, everything to make a good recording.

So I guess the bottomline is, will the preamps and converters in the octopre/1616m do? and will the waves mercury bundle supply a mixing/mastering option for commercial quality recordings. I really just want to start a software vs hardware debate of studio technology because as you see a studio like this does not have a lot of hardware. Again, just a hypothetical situation (but a possible glimpse of my future studio depending on the outcome of this discussion)

...Discuss

 

[Mr Clean]

Studio quality is debatable. Some bands have recorded some terrible sounding music in some top quality studio's with the best gear.

I personally think it's the people, not the tools. A lot of great albums have been recorded on less quality stuff than you list and sound amazing.

Prouction is a big word in a big world.

 

[357mag]

You should be able to get good quality with that. I've got the E-MU 1212 sound card, and they use the same convertors as Pro Tools.

 

[Massive Master]

You spent $8,000 on plugins (which mean nothing against things like preamps, monitoring, room treatment, interfacing, experience, etc.) and you're asking a question like this?

As Mr. Clean eluded to, it's the people - But beyond that, it's the hardware. In this case, the front end.

Basically just imagine that we have a great engineer, great band, great room, great mics, monitors, everything to make a good recording.

Then the software won't matter at all. The great room, mics, monitors, preamps and interface will be (as they always are) the deciding factor on how well the great engineer can do his job. The hardware you're using now, as ill-advised as it would be considering your investment in plugins, can produce reasonable quality recordings with the right engineer and monitoring chain. But without question - I'd rather have $4k in monitoring and broadband trapping, $2k in solid conversion** and $2k in decent preamps and a bunch of native or freeware plugs.


** There are about a zillion converters out there that use the same chip as PTHD. E-Mu is the only one that feels that it's worth advertising that fact. As important as the chip is, it's a single, tiny piece of the pie. It's the circuitry supporting it that makes a great converter - and how many people do you know with a PT rig that actually use the stock converters anyway?

 

[wheelema]

HEy guys, I know this forum probably sees a lot of these threads but i was wonderin if I could get some opinions about whether or not someone could achieve studio quality recordings with the following setup:

-E-MU 1616m interface+ Octopre LE through ADAT

-Waves Mercury Bundle

-Cubase SX3

Thats it, keep in mind, its a hypothetical situation where mics, engineer, producer, instruments, band, have been taken out of the equation.

Basically just imagine that we have a great engineer, great band, great room, great mics, monitors, everything to make a good recording.

So I guess the bottomline is, will the preamps and converters in the octopre/1616m do? and will the waves mercury bundle supply a mixing/mastering option for commercial quality recordings. I really just want to start a software vs hardware debate of studio technology because as you see a studio like this does not have a lot of hardware. Again, just a hypothetical situation (but a possible glimpse of my future studio depending on the outcome of this discussion)

...Discuss

Studio quality is debatable. Some bands have recorded some terrible sounding music in some top quality studio's with the best gear.

I personally think it's the people, not the tools. A lot of great albums have been recorded on less quality stuff than you list and sound amazing.

Prouction is a big word in a big world.

Absolutely. 'Studio Quality' is a marketing term and nothing more.

You spent $8,000 on plugins (which mean nothing against things like preamps, monitoring, room treatment, interfacing, experience, etc.) and you're asking a question like this?

As Mr. Clean eluded to, it's the people - But beyond that, it's the hardware. In this case, the front end.

Then the software won't matter at all. The great room, mics, monitors, preamps and interface will be (as they always are) the deciding factor on how well the great engineer can do his job. The hardware you're using now, as ill-advised as it would be considering your investment in plugins, can produce reasonable quality recordings with the right engineer and monitoring chain. But without question - I'd rather have $4k in monitoring and broadband trapping, $2k in solid conversion** and $2k in decent preamps and a bunch of native or freeware plugs.


** There are about a zillion converters out there that use the same chip as PTHD. E-Mu is the only one that feels that it's worth advertising that fact. As important as the chip is, it's a single, tiny piece of the pie. It's the circuitry supporting it that makes a great converter - and how many people do you know with a PT rig that actually use the stock converters anyway?

$8000 for Mercury Waves!?! Holy soundwaves Batman!!

Massive,

When I win the lottery (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!) would you be willing to set up my studio for me? I'll just toss 'ya the money!

 

[rnelson]

Calm down guys, I think some of you missed the fact that it was a hypothetical situation. What I was going for was a debate between having a rack full of gear or a plugin pack such as the ones made by waves.

Trust me I dont have the money to spend 8000 dollars on plugins. all i have as of right now is my trusty 1616m, cubase sx3, and a couple of pretty decent mics and instruments.

I asked the question because I pretty much know how to handle the tracking part of the process (and yes im aware that preamps, converters, etc... do play a big role in this). What I still dont have a very good handle on is the mixing/mastering process. I personally would like to get to a point where not only can i record my tracks but mix them and master them to match a studio recording. To do this I will obviously need an array of tools, including, but not limited to, eqs, compressors, limiters, delay,, reverb, and modulation effects, gates, etc..

I was simply wondering whether to go the hardware route or software. I personally prefer software because of the flexibility but just wanted some opinions on the subject.

P.S: yes studio quality is debatable, but you have to agree that studio recordings do have a quality that clearly distinguishes them from home recordings, regardless of shitty mixing or mastering.

 

[Massive Master]

And much of that is because of the most important part - The front end and core sounds during tracking.