Am I making the right choice?? (NEWBIE)

N

ninjasuperstar8

New member
Hello all,

I'm new the site and new to recording. A few years back I bought a Studio in a box system Roland 2480, which was alright to use but over time and talking to people I gradually started to get into computer recording. I have a Mac Pro and use Logic 9, I have a tascam 1641 interface with a few preamp mounts and a behringer bcf2000 and krk monitors. This setup seems to be a lot more user friendly and more compatible then the 2480.

I know recording is all "depends on the user" but do you think I made the right decision getting away from the 2480 (which I plan to sell) any suggestions for upgrades or necessities that I may be missing?? I have a pretty good budget so dont think that everything has to be behringer or anything lol

In the mean time I am reading up on the Tweakheadz guide and recording books I purchased, learning what I need as I record and youtube... unfortunately I live in such a remote location that there isnt too many people in town to ask these new and dumb questions to.

Thanks
 
I know I said I am new to the site and that my registration is from 2006 haha.. but that was when I bought my 2480.. after my few posts I stopped recording for several years. Forgot I even had an account on this site haha
 
There's all kinds of tools...if you feel more comfortable with one set over another...that's your choice, it matters not what someone else prefers, unless you just want to hear their opinions.

There are a LOT of recording setups...almost no two alike...
 
Depends how you like working...

As to what else you need, we'd need to know what you actually have in terms of mics etc. and what instruments you're intending to record in what style of music, and indeed what those instruments actually are...

BTW I still use a SIAB set up and get perfectly acceptable results... it's the witch, not the wand, as the saying goes...
 
Armistice said:
we'd need to know what you actually have in terms of mics etc. and what instruments you're intending to record in what style of music, and indeed what those instruments actually are..
Click to expand...

Sorry, I guess I should have specified what my setup is. Besides the basic recording setup I listed above I have multiple sm57's and 58's.. a Blue baby bottle mic that I got off ebay and a couple of cheap mics from behringer. What differences will my newbie ears hear from a mic like the baby bottle and one thats around $2,000... thats one topic I have no idea about.

I record mainly punk rock music but dabble with other tracks. I play a bit of everything so I mic my guitar / bass amps and the drum kit which is why my interface needs to have at least 8 inputs for the drum mic setup (around 8 to 9 mics). Any other instruments I have like a keyboard etc. are normally USB where I am just dabbling with it.
 
Sounds like a decent setup. I would record with your setup for awhile before buying anything else so you can identify weak links in your chain before thinking about upgrades.

That said, how are the preamps in the 1641? My first thought toward upgrades, when you are ready, might be a tube preamp to go with your Baby Bottle, especially if you can bypass the 1641 preamp for this. Solo 610 would be my choice for this. Might be the quickest route to a tube vocal sound.

I would keep the Roland for field recording applications.
 
gehauser said:
Sounds like a decent setup. I would record with your setup for awhile before buying anything else so you can identify weak links in your chain before thinking about upgrades.

That said, how are the preamps in the 1641? My first thought toward upgrades, when you are ready, might be a tube preamp to go with your Baby Bottle, especially if you can bypass the 1641 preamp for this. Solo 610 would be my choice for this. Might be the quickest route to a tube vocal sound.

I would keep the Roland for field recording applications.
Click to expand...


Thanks, yeah it seems like I am starting to realize the gear I need as I go. As for preamps and the 1641.. to tell you the truth I don't think the 1641 has any preamps. This is another area where I lack in knowledge big time. I don't know what differences I will hear between a $2000 preamp and a $300 one.

I do however have a ART dps II preamp and a ART prochannel preamp that I have been tinkering with... with my lack of knowledge of preamps I haven't been able to find sounds or the major differences I am looking for. I will definitely check out that solo 610 tho, like I said I have a decent budget (nothing close to major studio budget tho hahaha)

As for the Roland, I thought about keeping it for that purpose but I also have logic on my macbook pro and I found it easier to take the 1641 and my laptop somewhere then setup the 2480. I think if I can, I will sell it and put that money towards some of these suggested upgrades :)
 
The Roland is a great deck, but yes, it does get a bit cumbersome.
I just sold mine last summer after years of using it exclusively for tracking. I used the money to upgrade my studio to 64bit DAWS (I use Sonar) and a Tascam FW1884... I did have the Roland setup as a control surface for my DAW, but the change to 64 bit pretty much shot that dead.
I still help folks with their 2480 questions, but I'm satisfied with my decision to let it go :)
 
ninjasuperstar8 said:
Thanks, yeah it seems like I am starting to realize the gear I need as I go. As for preamps and the 1641.. to tell you the truth I don't think the 1641 has any preamps. This is another area where I lack in knowledge big time. I don't know what differences I will hear between a $2000 preamp and a $300 one.

I do however have a ART dps II preamp and a ART prochannel preamp that I have been tinkering with... with my lack of knowledge of preamps I haven't been able to find sounds or the major differences I am looking for. I will definitely check out that solo 610 tho, like I said I have a decent budget (nothing close to major studio budget tho hahaha)

As for the Roland, I thought about keeping it for that purpose but I also have logic on my macbook pro and I found it easier to take the 1641 and my laptop somewhere then setup the 2480. I think if I can, I will sell it and put that money towards some of these suggested upgrades :)
Click to expand...

The 1641 has preamps for all those XLR inputs on the front. And you can use your higher quality external preamps thru the line inputs on the back of the 1641, so you are probably good for preamps. All the equipment you have is decent. I think you should use the equipment you have and learn it well before adding to it - learn enough to hear and discern what your weak points in the chain are before upgrading anything.

Sounds like you can surplus the Roland.

What kinds of stuff do you record, and what mics do you have?
 
You're in the same boat I'm in. I started recording on the computer in just the last year and a half. It's much easier and flexible. I also have a Fostex VF160EX SIAB that I used for 5 years that I've been trying to get rid of for the last year. I don't think I could give it away! Once you record via computer there's no going back IMO.
 
And BTW, don't be so quick to put down Behringer Mic's. I have some XM 8500's. I believe they are competition to the Shure SM 57/58's. They have a nearly identical frequency response and SPL level and I'm pretty sure you could hammer nails with them all day long and they'd still work. I've used them to record drums along with 57's and I can't hear the difference to be honest.
 
leaningpine said:
I also have a Fostex VF160EX SIAB that I used for 5 years that I've been trying to get rid of for the last year. I don't think I could give it away!
Click to expand...
Oh but you could ! If you lived down the road from me, I'd take it off your hands quicker than you could say "Grim, would you like to take this off my hands ?" !!
 
lol, maybe the wrong choice of words! I can't get what I want for it. I've been trying to sell it with a Behringer ADDA 8000 so you can record 16 tracks at once and it comes with a Fostex gig bag, a lightpipe and 16 4 foot patch cordsfor $$450-$500 but people have told me they'll buy the whole lot for $200 . I paid $650 for the Fostex and I think $200 for the Behringer, I realize they're pretty much obsolete now, but damn! I don't want to give it away!
 
gehauser said:
All the equipment you have is decent. I think you should use the equipment you have and learn it well before adding to it - learn enough to hear and discern what your weak points in the chain are before upgrading anything.
.
What kinds of stuff do you record, and what mics do you have?
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks.. I think I am going to do what everyone is saying and record with the gear I have until I realize more precisely what I want so I wont go out and buy the wrong piece of gear for hundreds (thousands) of dollars lol.

I mainly record punk rock stuff, acoustic rock etc. I just started dabbling with throwing in some USB keyboards and different effects to get a different sound with mics...
For mics I have a bunch of sm57's and 58's, a blue baby bottle mic, behringer B2 pro and a few xm1800s's, and I also have an audio technica at3035. Alot of these mics were obtained through ebay or people selling gear etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top