All In One Box

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willythekid

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Hi,
I would like to find a good "all in all" package for portable high quality recording. In other words, a unit containing good preamps, + good AD and DA conversion, + firewire or usb to the computer. Many people here including Sonic Albert seem to prefere to buy seperate units and they have good reasons, but I want to be able to use this unit on the road w/ my Apple laptop so I do not want too many parts. I mainly do stereo recordings so I don't really need more than 2 preamps. But if the "AD/DA"-Soundcard section includes more channels it would be great, because sometimes i want to record drums, and then i could just rent the extra preamps i need but still use my machine.

Apoge MiniMe seemed like a good solution (without the multi channel option though). But it seems like it does not include a DA Converter, so how can you listen to what's in the computer while overdubbing? It seems a bit much to spend the same amount of money on the MiniDac just for monitoring purposes.

The new Apogee Ensemble seems great, but insanely expensive.

Grace Design has a solution called Lunatec V3 that seems cool but - it doesn't have neither firewire nor usb so how can i hook it up to my laptop?

The solution I found that seemed to cover my needs the best was the RME Fireface. But when i read this forum, i get the impression that people are not 100% happy with the preamps.

Another solution is the Mackie Onyx mixer w/ Firewire card, but people seem to either hate or love Mackie, I don't know what to think. Also, this mixer is quite big to carry around.

Any suggestions? My pricerange is 1000-1500$

(i'm a hobby recordist but i still want good results. I record mainly pop/rock with lots of overdubs and lots of acoustic instruments. Going to get a AT4040 for vocals and a pair of good small condensors for instruments).


Best regards/
WTK
 
Hey WTK,

I am probably going to invest my money into a channel strip as well in the somewhat near future. What i've been reading heavily about in that category is the Mindprint Envoice MKII. It's a tube preamp and compressor built in germany i believe. It is definitely something to look into as well as maybe hear some samples recorded using it. I think there's a few hardcore fans of mindprint's gear, so I don't see why you couldn't get some positive responses about it. take care, hope that helps you out.

mat
 
You know what sounds very good to me.............The MOTU Traveler. Read the review in Sound on Sound. Very impressive. That plus a laptop and you're in business. Or another idea is the Mackie 400F plus the traction software.

You could also get a SIAB (Studio in a Box). The preamps and a/d converters aren't gonna be as good but you still get a great production out of them. Look at Roland and Korg models. Akai probably makes the best model on the market but it's very big and heavy and expensive.
 
Grace Design has a solution called Lunatec V3 that seems cool but - it doesn't have neither firewire nor usb so how can i hook it up to my laptop?
Click to expand...

Looks like it's supposed to be hooked up by SPDIF, Toslink, or AES/EBU. You'd need a laptop with SPDIF in, and I don't think I've ever seen one.. outside of a separate PMCIA port.
 
For an all in one, ya might check out the Akai DPS 24.

Great converters, onboard pres are quiet and clean, and quite powerful. MBCX, effects are good (some require a little tweaking to get em right) and an all around solid workhorse. Had mine for 4 years now...Not even a hiccup. Hooks up with a computer like a breeze. Not sure about Apple tho...

Worth checkin out mang..............
 
thank you guys for all of your input - I appreciate it a lot!
:)

/wtk
 
Good Question

I'm in a similar boat. I have two basic recording needs.

1. I'd like to record our live shows.
2. I'm dabbling in the world of Podcasting and need a mobile solution.

All the suggestions so far seem to insinuate the need for a Mac or other laptop to host the actual tracks as they are recorded. Doesn't this greatly increase the cost of the solution? Sure it's nice to have a pretty graphical interface to look at. But I'm looking for something simpler, cheaper and less likely to be stolen at my gigs.

If you have the IO and mixing component nailed, all you really need is a hard drive right? You just need something that you can store the tracks on and then take back to your studio at home and mix. Is there a solution out there what would work with the MOTO Traveler or RME Fireface without a laptop? Actually, I have a nice portable Mackie mixer. What I really need is the hard drive to go with it that I can also connect to my desktop in studio.

I have found two possible solutions. One is overkill and ridiculously expensive. The other is only two simultaneous tracks. They are:

1. Alesis ADAT HD24 Hard Disk Recorder ~ $1,500 new
http://www.alesis.com/products/hd24/
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--ALEADATHD24

2. M-Audio Microtrack ~ $500 new
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MicroTrack2496-main.html

Now, maybe my Google skills are weakening, but I haven't found something in the middle ground. I'd like to record about 4 simultaneous tracks for the podcast maximum. A live gig, let's say 10 max. Surely there's something out there that's portable and rackmountable and handles about 12 tracks for under $1K? I mean, it's just IO and a hard drive and possibly some meters.

If anyone has any suggestions on products I should look at, please let me know. Also, if I'm way off in the weeds here and need my assumptions adjusted, please do that too.

Thanks,

Michael
http://www.texasmojoblues.com
 
Roland VSR 880

You should be able to pick up a Roland VSR 880 for under 500. It's only eight track, but might fit your needs... Google for specs

I sold mine a while ago... too proprietary in a studio environment, but as a stand alone... a fairly decent piece...
 
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