Advice on analog setup.

R

Robertobly

New member
Hi, first post! Sorry if it's long & apologies in advance for my primative understanding.

I'm looking into recording a small acoustic band using analog equipment, hopefully using a 'reel to reel' multitrack tape recorder. Eventually I want to make CD's & maybe vinyl pressings of the recordings. The sound doesn't necessarily have to be of the highest, 'cleanist' quality as I fully intend the final recordings to sound like it is actually a RECORDING! I am looking for good, solid working equipment that is efficient at getting the sound I'm looking for.

The band will consist of vocals, Martin acoustic guitar, small vintage acoustic drum kit & 1977 Fender Mustang bass played through a small vintage bass amp. I will post elswhere for advice on which mics to use for this setup, but any advice here would be most welcome (good condenser for guitar? / SM57 for bass amp? / SM57 for kick drum & snare? / not sure for drum overheads?)

I am quite new to the whole recording process. Thus, I'm not actually 100% sure of how I should seteup a rig to achieve what I'm after. I have been reading around the subject for a week now & my best guesses at the moment are:

1. Various MICS > stand alone PREAMP > analog MIXER (connected to monitors) > reel to reel RECORDER > Then back through the mixer & out to > stand alone HD master recorder & CD writer -OR- good ADC/AI with good ADCs & DACs > PC with DAW > CD writer

2. Various MICS > anolog MIXER with good PREAMPS built in (connected to monitors) > reel to reel RECORDER > Then back through the mixer & out to > stand alone HD master recorder & CD writer -OR- good ADC/AI with good ADCs & DACs > PC with DAW > CD writer

Firstly, are these correct or am I missing something important? Could I use a mixer with a built in Audio Interface? External master clock? Would I need an anti-aliasing filter anywhere here?

From my various readings here are some ideas I have for equipment:

Reel to reel mulitrack recorder- Tascam 38 or 48 / Tascam 80-8 / TSR-8 / Otari machines?
Mixer- Mackie Onyx 24 Mixer / Mackie ONYX 1620 / or an old Tascam M series, M-30? (I have a Behringer Eurorack UB1832FX-PRO at the moment but will sell it on if its not adaquate)
versatile Preamp if not in mixer- no idea!!
Stand alone HD master recorder & CD writer- Alesis ML-9600
DAW- SONAR / Ableton Live / PRO TOOLS (not the HD version, to expensive!)
Audio Interface/ADC - RME Fireface 800 Firewire. Firewire/PCI/usb? Do I only need a A/D converter since I won't be connecting any MICs into the Audio Interface? (I currently have an m-audio fast track pro that will be sold on)​

With regards to the reel to reel recorder. I am aware I should aim to get the best working machine I can find, over any particular model. I know it could be the most difficult piece to maintain to ("At a minimum you will need an aalignment tape, a signal generator, an o'scope, and the machine's manual. All bets are off if you are not willing to deal with these issues"! From a previous poster named RRuskin). Any advice on what 'ips' speed I'm looking for. 15 or 30 seems the standard. Whats the difference in a 1/4" 4 track to 1/2" 8 track to a 2" 24 track? Is it just the fact that you can record more tracks due to the increasing tape size? Would something of less 'quality' suit my needs better? Should I be looking for DBX noise reduction or staying away from other kinds of noise reduction? (e.g. Dolby A) What's the advantage of mastering to 2 track 1/4" tape?

Since I do have a PC (256 MB Intel Celeron 2.30 GHz WindowsXP SP2) I was wondering if its cheaper to get a good analog-digital converter/Audio Interface & make the CD from the computer rather than getting a good external 'all in one' device such as the Alesis?

I will be posting elsewhere for equipment advice but any advice here would be greatley appreciated: monitors/leads/mics/DAW's/analog-digital converters/CD writers. I'm more inclined to take advice from people with years of analog experience!

Making a vinyl recording from the reel to reel recorder is something i know nothing about. Any ideas on this?

Thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to give me some advice. I'm looking to really understand what I'm doing here & will be reading & teaching myself along the way. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm way off the mark with my current basic understanding.

Rob.
 
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You're asking many questions, and I'll do my best to address each one. Overall, keep in mind that you are starting a new studio. Unless money is no object, you probably want to start off with only a few pieces of decent sounding gear. You can always purchase more equipment later as you become more experienced at recording.

1- Mics: SM57's will work great for your purposes. If you want to try and save money, you may want to buy a pack of SM57 imitations from speakerrepair.com (http://www.speakerrepair.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=microphones&cables) A buddy of mine has bought these and says they sound great, I haven't had the chance to hear them yet. A great vocal, and all purpose condenser mic for the money is the Studio Projects C1. However, this mic requires phantom power, which will either have to come from your mixer (if it is equipped with it) or a separate, stand alone power supply.

2-Mixer: The Behringer mixer you currently have is not meant for recording, it is a live board. Recording boards generally have individual tape ins and outs for every channel, that way you don't constantly need to repatch the cables every time you want to hear your recordings back from the tape. You seem to have a decent grasp on what type of mixer to buy, but in my own experience I'd avoid the Mackie equipment. I think you can get better sounding used boards. A great board I used for a few years was a Tascam 2516. Try to get at least 12 channels, but no fewer than 8 since you're likely going to be recording on an 8 track. Make sure each channel has ins and outs, and isn't a live board. 2 ins and outs isn't going to cut it for your purposes.

3-Reel to reel: You have some good machines listed. Since you are just starting out, I'd also have to recommend the Tascam 388. The 388 is a combined mixer and 8 track recorder (on 1/4" tape) that is capable of producing high equality recordings, and uses a very high quality noise reduction to eliminate tape hiss. With the 388, you won't have to purchase a separate mixer, nor will you have to buy snake cables to connect a mixer to the recorder. In regards to tape speed, 15 ips is standard at the semi-pro level, I don't think it'd be worth it for you to spring for a 30 ips machine, and the ones you listed aren't 30 ips machines anyway. There is no technical difference in quality between a 1/4" 4 track and a 1/2" 8 track; the advantage is only a greater number of tracks. With that being said, the quality between a 1/4" and 1/2" machine will differ between manufacturers. Personally, I'd stay away from the Tascam 80-8, 38, and 48, as they are a bit older. The Tascam TSR-8 is a great machine, and although I've never used any of Otari's 8 track machines, I own a MX-50 (1/4" 2 track) that sounds amazing. Another great, non reel-to-reel machine is the Tascam 688. This machine records 8 tracks onto a cassette, produces some decent quality recordings, and again, is a combined mixer/recorder.

4-Mixing down to digital: You could purchase a stand alone unit like the Alesis Masterlink, but at this stage in the game I think you should save the $800 and just record your mix onto your computer, since you already own one. There really isn't any need to purchase any expensive digital recording software at this point, since your tracking (recording) will be done in analog. There are free programs such as Reaper, and the very affordable N-Track, with which you can produce your mix-downs and do some mastering and CD burning. Using the M-Audio Fast Track will be fine for your digital end of things; if you really think the sound quality is missing in between your tape machine and your CD, then and only then should you even consider looking into a different digital audio interface, be it a Masterlink or a new sound card.

5-Advantage to mixing to 1/4" 2 track tape: This is a step that is totally up to you; personally I don't think you should start off mixing to tape, particularly since you're going to want to produce CD's in the end. Mixing to tape first can "soften" the conversion to digital a bit, but it also adds one more generation along the way, and you'll need to purchase more tape in order to mix to tape. I personally do mix to tape before making a digital copy of my recordings, but I don't think it is a wise investment for a beginner.

6-Vinyl: If you are serious about releasing works on vinyl, then you might want to disregard what I just wrote in #5. Mixing to tape in this instance keeps everything in the analog realm, which in my opinion is the point of releasing vinyl recordings anyway. However, I don't think a beginner should be concerned with releasing anything on vinyl for quite some time. Your recordings are only going to get better and better, so you're better off honing in on your recording skills first before putting in so much money into releasing a vinyl record.

7-External pre-amps: Don't be concerned with that type of equipment right now; use the pre-amps on your mixer and I doubt you'll be disappointed. The equipment will be more limited by the user's ability, not the other way around.

8-Effects: Although you didn't ask about this, you should consider it within your budget. I'll say it's much more important than purchasing pre-amps! Get at least a 2 channel compressor (Behringer makes a decent 2 and 4 channel compressor for the money), and some kind of all in one multipurpose delay/reverb unit. Alesis makes some good ones for the money, like the Midiverbs III and IV. If you're not sure what compression is and why you'd need one, Alesis does a great job of explaining it in their manual to their 3630, which is available on their website, but having said that I wouldn't purchase a 3630 as I've only heard bad things.

9-Monitors: KRK's are good for the money, but also make sure you have a good pair of headphones. I'd argue at this point that the headphones are more important than the monitors.

10-Misc. Equipment: Some equipment that's good to have on hand would include a direct box, a headphone mixer, and possibly a rack for the effects that you'll start collecting. However, for the type of music that you want to record, you should be able to get by without these things for awhile.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask if you've any more questions!
-MD
 
Rob,

Good advice from MD but I'd like to add and perhaps underline a couple of points, so if I repeat, please forgive..;)

I personally like to keep things real simple, get to the meat of things and forget needless details and unnecessary distractions.

Before you decide on anything, don't ever purchase a machine sight unseen, where you have to get it shipped. That's a major 'NO'.

While I agree that a nice 1/2" 8 track machine or the 388 would be great, I'm generally more open to expanding on the models. I'd pick mostly on condition and, of course, on local pickup, where you can actually do a 'test drive'. Trust me, you want to think of this as a car purchase. You want to check it and pick it up in person. It's a complex mechanical / electronic device and it needs this line of care and due diligence.

Thus, I believe that any of the major models from TASCAM would be great and would include TASCAM 38, 48, 58, TSR-8, 388 and the TEAC 80-8. To that I'd add a TASCAM mixer [with the exception of the 388, which is an all-in-one deal], like the M30, M35, M200, M300, M500 series, among others. Get more channels than you need. [Don't be concerned about outboard mic preamps - you don't need 'em].

Add to the lot a compressor, like perhaps the RNC from FMR or even cheaper [which still sounds good] alasis micro limiter [in fact the whole alesis micro series is good for the money], several SM57 mics and maybe find a good deal on a reverb box, like maybe a used microverb off eBay or maybe an LXP-1.

I personally think, if you wish to distribute CD's, that your 'line in' on your soundcard would suffice, if it's of decent quality. If you wish to do vinyl then I'd want to preserve your master onto a half track tape.

I'd really not have said it all if I didn't recommend this book:

The Musician's Guide To Home Recording by Peter McIan and Larry Wichman

Buy it and you'll do amazing things with your gear.

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I agree that you should start with the basics, this can all add up especially when you add things like cables, acoustic treatment etc. Soundcraft mixers have a good rep, the M series's preamps & eq section are really well regarded on this board. The M series also have direct outs. Bear in mind you can use your inserts to feed your tape machine!! If you purchase a patchbay it's easy to patch in a compressor between the mixer & recorder, so using your inserts in this way will have no real disabling impact. There are many mixers out there that combine built in effects which would be good to get you started, many now have a USB out so that you can directly connect your PC without the need for any external conversion.
 
Hello, thanks for the replies! :) It's good to know there is a 'place' where I can get some experienced advice on my analog undertaking. I've gone through the posts & here are some things I don't fully understand & some more questions I have.

Firstly, I am looking to record to a good standard. Although I'm a beginner in some respects I will be teaching (& hopefully learning from yous!) myself to a good standard before I buy/use anything. Please don't get the idea I'm looking to start off basic & build up over years & years. I want some kit soon thats gonna be able to work well for producing CD's/vinyl to sell. Money is an issue of course, but I'm interested in what, if any, big differences there are in dropping certain pieces of equipment, "to get later".

@ themaddog

Mics At the moment I have a Shure SM58 & a Rode NT3 condensor. I was thinking I could use these between vocals, acoustic guitar & maybe drum overheads. I'll probably go down the SM57 (or imitation) route for mic'ing the snare, toms, kick & bass amp.

Mixer Ok, the mixer I have (Behringer Eurorack UB1832FX-PRO) is for live. So I will probably sell this on & get a mixer for both recording & live use, unless I end up with a Tascam 388, in which case I'd possibly keep it for live gigs. I've noted down the Tascam 2516 mixer you advised & will look at 8-16 channels, all with ins & outs, when looking at other mixers.

Reel to reelI've had a look into the Tascam 388. It seems like a nice piece of kit. I found some albums that used it but I can't post the urls since I havn't made 5 posts yet. They were Kelley Stoltz - Under The Branches & Oliver Buck - Prodigal Son. You can hear their stuff on their websites. I saw that one came up on eBay this morning with a 'buy it now' price of £400, It's already been removed!

Mixing down to digital "At this stage in the game"? So are you implying that it is actually a higher quality conversion wth the Alesis Master Link? Or is it overkill & the M-Audio Fast Track Pro is sufficient for most conversions? I noticed it supports 24-bit/96Khz. Cd's are 16 bit arn't they?

Mastering to 1/4" 2 track tape So you're saying its a negligible difference? If so what is the reason people do this? Is it something like it 'cos your binding it all onto 2 tracks it sits better together as a final mix'?

Vinyl I think if I were to get vinyl of the recordings I would master to 1/2" tape & get a proffesional to do the rest, wise? ;)

Effects Ok so I need a compressor & maybe a reverb unit. I'll read up the link you mentioned to understand compression & why its used. But where is it in the recording flow? Just after mics or after mixer?

Monitors The KRK's look decent. I will probably start off with some good headphones & see how that goes, since I won't need to 're-shape' my monitoring room with just headphones (but I understand this has drawbacks)

Mis. Equipment I've got 2 x Lynx Pro D.I. boxes (passive). Doesn't the mixer already have the ability to change the levels going into the headphones? Why would you need a seperate mixer just for headphones? Also I suppose I'd need a stand alone power supply for the condensor mic if the mixer hasn't already got one.

@ cjacek

I definatley won't be buying anything that has to be delivered. I'll buy close(ish!) & try & get a demo when I get there, & check the parts myself. Anything vital I should be looking out for? Obviously re-wind/fast-forward...With regards to the reel to reel models. They all look like good pieces of kit. I suppose I've just got to get one of them at the best price/close/& in the best condition I can find. There is a Tascam 38 only 1 hour drive away in Leeds, UK thats on eBay. I can't post the link, maybe you could search it & advise if it looks any good?

I asked maddog about where compression fits into the recording flow? Could you shed any light on this? Likewise with the reverb box.

I'm looking to buy a book, that one looks good. Would you consider this the definitive home recording 'bible'? Are there any others I should be looking at?

@ _brian_

I've noted down the Soundcraft mixers you advised (is that the 'spirit' m series?). I'll have a look into mixers with a USB out for digitasing the recordings.

General things

So compression is like an 'auto' mixer, automatically pulling down any unwanted peaks out of the red (unless you're trying to get tape saturation) according to how you set it? :confused:

I was also wondering, arn't there ANY reel to reel machines still in production? It would be good to buy something new, & for parts etc. I came across a website (seach 'audiotools reel to reel' on google, second link down) that advertises machines made now.

Thanks for your time guys,

Rob
 
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Mixing to digital: A quick analogy to answer your question -- have you ever gone to the store to look at HD TV's? You may have noticed that some 720p TV's looked better than certain 1080p TV's. Although 1080p is the higher standard, it doesn't always mean that recording with a deeper bit rate or wider frequency will yield better results. The actual quality of the digital recording rests in the quality of the analog to digital converters. Stick with what you have for now, because at this stage in the game it's really splitting hairs. CD's are 16 bit, and some people would argue that even recording at 24 bit is a waste since it will be dithered down to 16 bit for the CD. The dithering process might end up yielding a lower quality recording than recording at 16 bit initially. However, this is a highly debated topic in the recording world. In fact, just mentioning it here might get me shot! :P

Mastering to 1/4": Many people who employ this step also use MIDI triggered synthesizers that don't actually record on the their multitrack unit. Instead, a digital timecode (very similar to the sound a telephone modem makes) "plays" the synths, much like a player piano. As a result, these synths aren't actually put onto tape, unless the entire mix is recorded to tape. Many people record onto analog tape because "it sounds better." It's kind of the same argument Hollywood uses for still making movies on film: "it looks better." Why it looks better, and what makes it better are both irrelevant, because you'll find support on either side, but it is a very subjective issue. Again, someday down the line you may want to mix to tape in your studio, but I would hold off, it's definitely not a priority.

Vinyl: Did you really mean master to 1/2" tape? I know that this is done sometimes, but 1/2" tape is expensive for this purpose! Still, don't release anything on vinyl till you've made at least a few recordings. With every album you'll produce, you'll think it's the bee's knees... until you make a new one. Hone in on your skills first!

Misc. Equipment: A headphone mixer is a pretty small unit, either one rack space or smaller in size. They allow you to use one of the headphone outs on your board and split it up, usually to four headphones. Each user can set his or her own volume. It's not like a full on mixer per say; they can usually be had for about $40-$100.

Cjacek is right. You should definitely go local if you can. That being said, I wouldn't hesitate buying a smaller unit, like a Tascam 688, and having it shipped to my location. I have purchased a couple of MSR-16's over eBay that turned out OK (iffy track 16 on one of them though). I did get burned on a 388 shipped to me, but had good luck with a 488 (great machine, but I don't think it'd be adequate for your purposes), a 414, and a 464. The only issue with the 414 and 464 is the noise reduction is a bit off, but that could also be due to the age of the machine. Otherwise, they function perfectly.

If you can afford a Soundcraft, go for it. I have a Soundcraft Ghost. It sounds amazing and I'll never look back!

Good luck!
-MD

PS Whenever possible, buy used. That way, if it comes time to selling your gear, you should be able to sell it for about what you paid for it.
 
the spirit m series does not have a usb out though, the only digital out it has is a S/PDIF, but I agree that you can just feed a good pc soundcard with the mixer's main outs. the spirit m series gives you a reasonable preamp & eq section with 100mm faders & good amount of sends & returns. it doesn't have any busses other than the main out stereo bus though.

I wouldn't buy the most expensive gear when your just starting, unless money really is no object!! Buying new musical equipment is like buying a new car, it severely drops in value once it has been used. It's better IMO to get used to working with lower mid level equipment, if you do something silly, match something up wrong & blow something up it'll be a lot easier to replace. The fostex R8 is also an option ;), I have one & love it, but if you can find a good tascam reel to reel go for that, it's easier to locate spare parts & they're more robust in general.
 
Robertobly said:
I found some albums that used it but I can't post the urls since I havn't made 5 posts yet. They were Kelley Stoltz - Under The Branches & Oliver Buck - Prodigal Son. You can hear their stuff on their websites. I saw that one came up on eBay this morning with a 'buy it now' price of £400, It's already been removed!
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I'd never heard Kelley Stoltz before. Great stuff! Man it's inspiring as hell to know that a guy's doing that at home on his 388.
 
Kelley Stoltz

is fantastic. I bought Under the Branches on vinyl and have been listening to it obsessively for the last 6 mos. Another good one is East River Pipe, What are you on? Both are incredibly inspiring as recordings and songwriting. Puts to rest the debate of 388's being used for recording professional and comercially distributed music!!:):D
 
Instroverb said:
is fantastic. I bought Under the Branches on vinyl and have been listening to it obsessively for the last 6 mos. Another good one is East River Pipe, What are you on? Both are incredibly inspiring as recordings and songwriting. Puts to rest the debate of 388's being used for recording professional and comercially distributed music!!:):D
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I have a friend who has a studio with a 2 inch Otari. He started out on a 388, and says that if he ever does an acoustic album, he'd do it on his 388. There is something about the way the 388 makes clean tones sound...

-MD
 
Looks like quite good condition. Quite a drive from me & probably not going to be buying for a while...Food for thought though! And yeah its not the prettiest machine ever made...There's a lot of AKAI machines listed on eBay, what's the script with them? Fostex A-8?

Rob
 
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don't know a lot about the fostex a8, although it looks in great condition you'd probably be hard pushed to find parts (which you will eventually need ;)), I think the akai recorders are more consumer based machines, I'm no reel to reel expert though - where's dave the porta-clollecto-maniac when you need him?? :eek: :p I'm not even sure if akai made 8 track recorders. there are a couple of r8's on ebay, i got mine for £130 but it came with the midi sync unit. Can't see any tascam multiple track reel to reels on ebay - that's a first!! Won't be long until they come back on though ;).
 
Robertobly said:
I definatley won't be buying anything that has to be delivered. I'll buy close(ish!) & try & get a demo when I get there, & check the parts myself. Anything vital I should be looking out for? Obviously re-wind/fast-forward...With regards to the reel to reel models. They all look like good pieces of kit. I suppose I've just got to get one of them at the best price/close/& in the best condition I can find. There is a Tascam 38 only 1 hour drive away in Leeds, UK thats on eBay. I can't post the link, maybe you could search it & advise if it looks any good?
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Yes, I took a look at the 38 auction. Prior to going further with it, ask the seller to send you a clear, large and closeup photo of the heads and also the tape lifters and guides near the heads. Post the photos here and we'll have a look. If it's in reasonable shape then I'd recommend pulling the trigger and bidding but prior to picking it up, have the seller test it for you, every channel, as insurance. The only thing you may need to do is change the pinch roller and belt, if this hasn't been done. I'm getting ahead of myself though. First ask for the picts.

I asked maddog about where compression fits into the recording flow? Could you shed any light on this? Likewise with the reverb box.
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Compression is like automatic volume adjustment, so that you have more control over dynamic sources like many instruments including voice. There is an art to applying compression correctly. There is a variety of ways to use a comp but the basic premise is that you insert one to your recording mixer for the channel you intend to pass your signal through, adjust and press record. That's a simplified version.

I'm looking to buy a book, that one looks good. Would you consider this the definitive home recording 'bible'? Are there any others I should be looking at?
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I went through a fair bit of books over the years and I can honestly say that this one is indeed 'IT', when it comes to this stuff. In fact I really do believe everyone starting out must read it.

--
 
"The Musician's Guide To Home Recording" great book, not only for it's analogue information but for things like recording technique, mic placement etc. I'm actually surprised that no other books have gone on in the same vein as it's very useful & easy to read. I also have a book "mixing, recording and producing techniques of the pros" by rick clark. I was nearly put off by the title myself :rolleyes:, but it's actually a very good book. In it's self it contains no information. It's a compilation of interviews of respected engineers over a wide range of musical styles that go into equipment, techniques & little known tricks!! I've learned a lot from it, but get the afore mentioned book first, too much information will stunt your learning as you really have to record to really learn!!

Don't have compression too high on your buying list!! You can create a great recording without it and it's not really a necessity especially with analogue gear. Although it's important to learn compression techniques it's very easy ruining a mix by using too much of it, or using it in the wrong context. I prefer using little compression if any as I like dynamics to sound natural. If you're recording a skillful band that are instrumentally good then there is even less reason to use it. The only thing you may really need compression for is bass guitar, but it's less important to have a high end compressor for this. If you have a good vocalist that can control his vocal volume & doesn't whisper one minute then scream the next you could do without it for vocals. If you need a vocal compressor, you'll need a fairly good one that's pretty transparent.

Compression is not essential, get the building blocks first. If you've got a poor room acoustic treatment ranks higher than compression in my book!! ;)
 
I want to know why I wasn't notified by ebay about that 38!!! :mad: I have about 8 email notifications setup for finding tascam gear & not one of them flagged for this recorder :confused: :mad:
 
_brian_ said:
I want to know why I wasn't notified by ebay about that 38!!! :mad: I have about 8 email notifications setup for finding tascam gear & not one of them flagged for this recorder :confused: :mad:
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I don't trust the 'system' to notify me so I just do it manually.:D;)

---
 
_brian_ said:
cjacek where does the 38 rank in your recorder list? Do you have one?
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Quite honestly, as it's already quite difficult to score good condition machines, which are local, I don't go by the 'which is better' questions any more... I just get the one in the best of condition, that I can pick up.

Nevertheless, to answer your question, the 38, while not necessarily built like a tank, will still deliver the goods, if in good, well maintained condition. It was TASCAM's entry level 1/2" 8 track. The 30 series is more plentiful on the used market, many parts are the same for the series and they're easy to get.

I have recorded with the 38 but don't own one. I have the 34, from the series. I own the 48 and have owned the 58.

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I have owned and used alot of these machines (48,38,388,ms16) and thought they were all great. I still use my ms16 a few times a week and love it. There is a guy here in cleveland (Pete Tokar) who makes house calls for repairs, etc.

I have also owned a fostex a8 and g16 that I didn't like nearly as much. They just weren't as solid as the tascams (especially the a8).

Rob, I think you should really look at the 388 for your application. I used one alot when they first came out and bought another one a couple of years ago for a more compact option to my other set up. As a mater of fact, I sold it to Oliver Buck. Who cares what it looks like? You wont have to mess with cables and patching, It has good Mic pre-amps and an especially good eq section for the money. If you are just starting to learn it is very intuitive. tape is easier to get as well.

As far as effects go, I have alot of nice ones (pcm 80, eventide) and I still use my lexicon alex. You can get these for $50 or so on our side of the pond (and I don't mean lake Erie). what is that like 10 pounds on your side? IMO they are quiter than the others mentioned and easy to use.

For comps please stay away from the 3630 unless you want to use it as an effect. It has a "sound" of its own. I like the fmr really nice compressors. I'd learn to get a good recording and mix down without one and then learn to use the comp to enhance. I use mine sparingly.

I'd also recommend a SDC mic (the peluso's are great for the money) for your guitar and try going direct with the bass.

Just my all analog thoughts..............
 
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