A few annoying questions

[CanopuS]

Of course I'm just saying that so you won't flame me, but it's really in vain cause I'm sure you will anyway

1) Got our C4's and DMP3 today. We have no means of recording other than combining the two mics onto one line into a minidisk player. Will something like an MOTU 828MK1 sound substantially better? (It did actually sound pretty good, if only it was in stereo).

2) Noise, I've just realised how damn sensitive mics get. It was literally picking up stuff I couldn't hear myself, especially the phlegm in my mouth (lovely to hear on tape) and the rustling of clothes. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to minimize these kind of sounds?

3) Not really mic related, but if anyone can help me out on this one: What REALLY is the difference between the 828Mk1 and the 828Mk2? Other than 96k etc I can't really find much difference.

Sorry in advance for wasting about a minute of your time.

 

[Armistice]

Canopus

for the average home-reccer there's no simple answer to #2. I've had the clothes rustling and breathing problems when recording acoustic guitar - I've had to teach myself to breath deeply and slowly through my mouth rather than nose, as that's quieter - as for clothes, I've found T-shirts and tracksuit pants or shorts generate less rustle noise than your average shirt & jeans etc. The short answer is you'll have to figure out ways not to make the noises unfortunately.

Unless someone's invented a 'subtract incidental human sounds' plug-in I haven't heard of yet.

Luck!

 

[bgavin]

Record naked. I read somewhere that some famous folks work this way.

 

[tdukex]

Of course I'm just saying that so you won't flame me, but it's really in vain cause I'm sure you will anyway

1) Got our C4's and DMP3 today. We have no means of recording other than combining the two mics onto one line into a minidisk player. Will something like an MOTU 828MK1 sound substantially better? (It did actually sound pretty good, if only it was in stereo).

A $149 M-Audio Audiophile will sound substantially better.

 

[CanopuS]

Daniel Beddingfield or whatever his name is does, but I can't really imagine myself standing in my mates house without any clothes haha.

 

[CanopuS]

Re: Re: A few annoying questions

A $149 M-Audio Audiophile will sound substantially better.

Cool, thats good news, since the Minidisk did sound alright. Will the 828 be much of a step up from the Audiophile?

Cheers

 

[geet73]

I think they have the same quality... but the MOTU is going to give you alot more inputs.

 

[dwillis45]

The MOTU 828mkii offers a firewire interface which is helpful if your computer lacks an available slot for a soundcard. It also has a variety of inputs/outputs including optical, coaxial, etc. And it has wordclock in/out if you need to sync multiple digital devices to a single high quality clock source. In addition, the 828 comes bundled with AudioDesk, which is a nice recording package similar to Digital Performer without midi and with fewer plugins. At nearly $800 I hope it sounds better than the Audiophile, but who knows! I don't see alot of people doing shootouts with interfaces at this level!

On the downside, I've read numerous horror stories regarding the 828mkii. If you are serious about this unit, you need to check out the MOTU user's group forum at Unicornation.com. Take a close look at the MOTU hardware forum and you will find numerous compliants about the unit. The most glaring issue seems to be a known problem with the 828's LED meter. Many users report that it dims and eventually dies. There are also loads of issues with various computers not recognizing the 828 on startup and installation. At any rate, check it out for yourself before buying. I have an older 828 (pre mk) and it works fine, at least on a Mac. But I would think twice before upgrading to the mkii series.

 

[CanopuS]

Yeah I was actually thinking of going cheap and getting the original 828 To be honest I don't really know much difference between them (or anything that I would need)