Building totally portable low cost studio!

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Disease8

Disease8

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So I have started buying equipment for my business idea of having a completely portable studio for bands/artists to record in their own home or rehearsal space...
I have a Lenovo t60 laptop with the impiortant TI chipset on the express card..
Intending on buying an Alesis io26 because it has an amazing monitoring set up so I can send out four completely tailored mixes...
Going for low low cost gear the most I'm spending on a mic is around £200..

So far I have tested: SE2000 large diaphram condensers.
Studiospares own brand: Drum mic set SD800, S1100 large condenser..
Studio Projects B1...
Also the Studiospares own brand headphone (closed back)..

I am sending the Headphones back and the SD800 drum mic set..
I have to say I was very dissapopinted with both.. The Headphones were only £25 but they were like cheap toys you wouldn't even give you kids, I was surprised that there was a sound coming out! They didn't sound that bad but I haver to say I bought a pair of Behringer HPS3000's and they were better than the Studiospares Accent ones!!

The SD800 drum mic set was £180 and the first thing I wanted to test was the three over head condensers S900.. I was not happy at all.. They seemed to pick up everything in the room even from behind.. Like they were omni not cardoid! I didn't really test the rest of the kit that much the snare mic sounded tinny though.. I compared the s900 condenser in the kit with an AKG c900 (I love this mic sounds good on everything acoustic guitar aspecially).. And the s900 sounded very tinny and way too sensitive from behind!! Pointless for live work it would feedback straight away!! Tested the s900 on guitar drums and vocals and sounded bad on all of them! My Behringer xm8500 sounds better!!! lol

I was impressed with the Studiospares 1100 with omni and cardoid pattern it is a large diaphram mic and has a nice warm sound!! The omni was very good in that its volume was very similar all the way around the mic so usefull for certain applications.. I put it in the middle of a drum kit and had one kik drum on it.. Sounded good a nice way of micing a kit with two mics!!! Need to listen to it more but was very pleased with the quality.. Seemed like it wasn't very sensitive though..

I also tried out SE 2000 which I thought sounded tinny again, way to bright you can tell from the frequency response chart they supplied it is to bright!
I think it was not that bad but not my style I like depth and clarity in the lows and lower mids!!!

I am going to keep updating this thread when I buy new gear so you guiyus know what is good out of the cheapest of the cheap!
 
Order from thomann

Expecting this order from Thomann over the next week got it delivered to my work place at the Tate Modern! My neighbour is evil and sometimes steals my post! I have heard bad things about Thomann's customer service so m a bit worried!
I couldn't use my debit card and had to do a bank transfer which requires going into a branch! Had to do it in my lunch break :mad:

Anyway this is what I ordered:

1 piece(s) order code 189091:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone CD 56 Beta dynamic snare/tom microphone - from
the t.bone DC 4000 set, super cardioid, 50-16,000Hz,
300ohm, max SPL: 150db, fixed 3/8" mic holder. Weight:
165g. ATTENTION: MICROPHONE DOESN`T INCLUDE RIMCLAMP! Just
regular 3/8" screw for micstand. HUOM: Mikki ei sisällä
kehäkiinnikettä, vain tavallisen ständikierteen.
Price: 36.00 EUR each, 36.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


3 piece(s) order code 141195:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone MS180 pop shield (clip on) with 20cm elastic
arm. Diameter: 15,5cm (incl. border), 14cm (nylon screen).
Price: 13.70 EUR each, 41.10 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 175241:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone SC180 stereo set, containing two matched SC180
condenser microphones with cardioid pattern (48V phantom
power required), with low cut and pad switch. Excellent
for drums (overhead, percussion) and stringed instruments;
includes shockmount and stereo bar. Frequency response:
30Hz-20kHz, sensitivity: 10mV/Pa, impedance: 300 Ohms,
equivalent noise level: 17dB (A-weighted), max. SPL @
0.5%, 1kHz: 137dB
Price: 138.00 EUR each, 138.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


4 piece(s) order code 128513:
------------------------------------------------------------
The Sssnake SM10BK mic cable, 10m, XLR male-XLR female
Price: 6.10 EUR each, 24.40 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


4 piece(s) order code 128512:
------------------------------------------------------------
The SSSnake SM6BK, 6m mic cable - XLR male-female, black.
Price: 4.60 EUR each, 18.40 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


10 piece(s) order code 128550:
------------------------------------------------------------
the Sssnake IPP1060 mono 1/4" jack - Mono 1/4" jack cable.
Length: 6m
Price: 3.22 EUR each, 32.20 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 176585:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone MB45 dynamic microphone - cardoid pattern,
on/off switch, ideal for drums, vocals and guitar amps.
Includes 3mtr XLR to jack cable.
Price: 11.90 EUR each, 11.90 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 149640:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone MB85 Beta universal dynamic microphone -
cardoid, 50Hz-17kHz frequency range, no switch. Ideal for
vocals, drums & guitars. Includes plastic box and clamp.
Price: 36.00 EUR each, 36.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 225039:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone Retro Tube II, professional large
diaphragm-tube condenser microphone in a Retro-Bottle-
Design enclosure, 35mm large dual diaphragm capsule,
vacuum tube preamp, nine different selectable polar
pattern ( including omnidirectional, cardioid, figure-8)
from the power supply unit, 10 dB pad switch, hi-pass
filter switch, frequency range: 20 Hz - 20.000 Hz,
sensitivity: 25mV/Pa +2dB(0dB01V/Pa 1000Hz), impedance: <
200 Ohm, equivalent noise level: 20dB (A-weighted), max
SPL: 134dB for 0,5% THD, including poweresupply, 7-pin XLR
cable, wooden box for microphone and case for microphone
(in wooden box) and all accessories.
Price: 229.00 EUR each, 229.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


4 piece(s) order code 156232:
------------------------------------------------------------
Millenium M1.E5 - microphone holder with 5" flexible
connector. Ideal for drums or percussion.
Price: 9.00 EUR each, 36.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


4 piece(s) order code 107914:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone SRM 1 drum clip - for all drum rims.
Price: 5.40 EUR each, 21.60 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 141191:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone CC75 cardioid mic - for brass, drums etc,
balanced XLR connection, 250ohm, requires phantom power.
Includes clip. Weight: 170g.
Price: 36.00 EUR each, 36.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 152215:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone HD880 studio headphones with neodymium magnet,
1W, 20Hz-20kHz, 64 Ohms, 1/4" stereo jack with minijack
adapter.
Price: 22.90 EUR each, 22.90 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 198642:
------------------------------------------------------------
the t.bone HD-990D stereo closed back dynamic headphone,
impedance 35 Ohm, sensitivity 105 dB, frequency response
10-20.000 Hz, cable lenght 1-4m, coiled connecting cable,
isolation from ambient noise (22 dBA), weight 260g, spark
plug 3,5mm, 6.3 mm jack plug screwable, recommendable for
drummer
Price: 30.62 EUR each, 30.62 EUR total
Availability: available in stock


1 piece(s) order code 184483:
------------------------------------------------------------
Behringer MicroAmp HA400 - ultra-compact 4-channel stereo
headphone amplifier, output level control for each
channel, 1x 1/4" TRS stereo input (100kohm), 4x 1/4" TRS
stereo outputs (80ohm), includes 12V DC power adapter.
Dimensions: 46.5 x 103.6 x 57.2mm (HxWxD).
Price: 27.00 EUR each, 27.00 EUR total
Availability: available in stock
------------------------------------------------------------

Mental eh? Never had spending power like this lol!
 
Blah Blah

I have bought random selections on top of what I definitly need because I want to try out a load of different mics because I now in amongst all these cheapies there will be some lovely mics!! :D

And yes it is a £200 T.bone (Thomann own brand) valve mic for my main vocal mic, I wanted to try out something different and have heard really good things about these mics! If its crap I may just get a Rode NT-2 but I wanted a valve mic and heard that the Rodes sound quite clinical and cold.. I really want a uniques warm thick full sound :cool:.. I want the mic to add character :eek:.. Can't wait to see if its any good! :rolleyes:

Any way will get back to you guys once I have my order..;)

BTW I'm testing everything in a mash up squat studio so not exactly the best environment but these are only rough tests anyway to establish what I need to return.. :(
 
Thomann order arrived!! Tube mic flimsy!

OK so I haven't really tested anything just got delivery at work (where I'm typing this on break!)....

First thing the £200 T.bone Retro Tube II mic I bought!! Looks well flash when taken out of box but...
Build quality is awfull won't even bother listening to it!!! I'm definately sending this one back for a full refund! The Capsule where the diaphram is is wobbly! The whoe thing was loosely screwwed together when I openednd it!! Not cool for £200 would expect very good build structure!! I'm sure the mic sounds really good because of all the positive review I have heard but I just want something very reliable I can trust... The dial for changing polar patterns seems to have broken after turning it once! How will it fair after 10 years? LOL

The HD 990D headphones are really really good!!! £28! They have amazing isolation! you cannot hear a thing once they are on and are perfect for why I got them for recording mnitoring...!! Well worth it! (sound quality seems good! too need to test more though)

The HD-880 headphones I haven't bothered listening too they feel so so cheap and the screws aren't even screwed in properly!!

The Millenium Mic clamps (M1 E5) (for drums and guitar amps) are tacky and cheap plastic. They would be ok but the actual thread the mic holder screws on to is made of plastic!!!?? I am sending them back they are not cheap as mic clamps go for £9 each.. I know solid metal ones that cost less and are good build quality...
Funny because they cheaper ones I bought from Thomann (SRM1 £5) are nice build quality and have METAL THREADS! So may just get more of those but liked the idea of having some that have a goose neck for ood positioning and versitility...

I haven't tried the stereo set of mics yet (SC180) they are T.bone too but they are well built and solid and look really nice.. Will test in studio later..

This is all I know so far will update when I have tested..
I cancelled the 56 beta, MB85 vocal mic and the jack to jack leads I ordered so no review on those.... Can't wait to hear the stereo set so I will know how much I have to return!! lol Gonna cost a fortune in P&P :-( ....
 
Last edited:
Jeff_D said:
:confused:

200 for a tube mic is nothing. Try it- maybe you like the way it sounds and can tighten up the loose screws.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is an amazing price and I'm sure it will sound amazing because of the review of other mics in the same range... The thing is I'm on a really tight budget and already have 4 similar condenser mics although they are not valve so will prob get drum mic kit I need instead I need more dynamics...
Good idea though I would have done that if I wasn't so tight n a budget
 
Returns !!!

I sent the Retro Tube mic and the 880 headphones back on monday it cost me £54!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :(
A quarter of the cost of the mic itself.
DON'T ORDER HEAVY STUFF ONLINE FROM ABROAD!! lol
Have contacted Thomann asking for some sort of contribution but no response so far (obviously) so bit gutted.. Thats 3 x Behringer XM8500's and they were better mics because you can use them without breaking them!!! My budget for my portable studio is running low still need to get my Alesis io 26 and some AD converters... :-(

Sending back 2 of the Millenium M1.E5 mic clamps because from the materials and build quality (again) I can tell they will snap at some point. For £9 I don't find this acceptable but because they will be very useful up until they break due to the goose-neck design I have decided to keep two. I have a gig to engineer this weekend and they will be well needed...

Hope this thread helps people stay away from certain models out of the cheap manufacturers and won't reflect the company as a whole.. Thats what you get with cheap gear unreliability, some of it sucks and some is such good value it makes you wonder why you paid £100 per mic and above..

I'm worried about the SC180 small diaphram condensers hope I will not have to return..
 
Disease8 said:
I sent the Retro Tube mic and the 880 headphones back on monday it cost me £54!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :(
A quarter of the cost of the mic itself.
DON'T ORDER HEAVY STUFF ONLINE FROM ABROAD!! lol
Have contacted Thomann asking for some sort of contribution but no response so far (obviously) so bit gutted.. Thats 3 x Behringer XM8500's and they were better mics because you can use them without breaking them!!! My budget for my portable studio is running low still need to get my Alesis io 26 and some AD converters... :-(

Sending back 2 of the Millenium M1.E5 mic clamps because from the materials and build quality (again) I can tell they will snap at some point. For £9 I don't find this acceptable but because they will be very useful up until they break due to the goose-neck design I have decided to keep two. I have a gig to engineer this weekend and they will be well needed...

Hope this thread helps people stay away from certain models out of the cheap manufacturers and won't reflect the company as a whole.. Thats what you get with cheap gear unreliability, some of it sucks and some is such good value it makes you wonder why you paid £100 per mic and above..

I'm worried about the SC180 small diaphram condensers hope I will not have to return..
Click to expand...
If you had contacted thomann, they would have arranged for those products to be picked up, free of charge! I had a fault with a PA speaker I bought from them. I contacted them, they had it picked up the next day, sorted it and returned it within a week or so, all for free.

That is the only problem I have experienced with any gear from thomann, and it was sorted superbly.
 
Gutted but got new mics Superlux DRK B5C2 £209

:mad::mad:
Damn!!! I just found that out today before reading this post man am I pissed off!!!
I realy hope they will try and donate towards the postage I can't believe I lost that much! If only they had responded to my email earlier...

Any way will learn from my mistakes!

Got to try out my new drum mics this weekend!! Superlux DRK-B5C2 7 mic drum set in plastic case (£209). Glad it came in a plastic case without accessories means more money went into the mics! lol
These are to replace those crappy Studiospares Drum mics SD800. And boy are they bettter! Only £22 difference. The SD800 was in a really expensive flight case and had one more mic!

The Superlux kit looks very nice and feels professional too. It has three tom mics, one snare mic (tiny), two overhead condensers and one kit mic.
I used these mics on Saturday for a wedding I engineered.

At first I used the snare mic PRA 288A on a guitar amp, the over head and kick on the drums. It was a very small area in the corner of a marquee so not many mics needed! It was hard to tell how good the drum mics sounded as they were very quiet in this small area, but I could tell that the snare mic PRA 288A, was nice on the guitar. It gave a very clear sound and was detailed.

I tried the mics again on a much bigger PA in a big hall with lots of echo and reverb, same gig different band. The drummer was a lot louder so I could hear all the mics louder this time and could judge their quality better in my headphones. I liked what I heard as I told the drummer to play the whole kit after individual mics had been sound checked, this time I used two over heads, one snare mic and one kick mic. And this time I did put the snare mic on the snare, under it in fact as Superlux recommend.

I was shocked at the amount of high end in the snare mic!! Perhaps to much but you can see from the frequency response chart (on the mic:p) that it goes high from around 2K to 9K and seems to have massive output I hardly put any gain on at all before clipping! Even though I thought it was very bright I EQ'ed some high end out and heard the same clarity I noticed on the guitar amp earlier.

With this same band I used XM8500's on all three vocals (singer had a SM58 beta lol) and the Tom mic from the Superlux kit on the guitar amp!

The tom mic PRO 228A was less bright but I didn't notice anything odd about its sound pretty much an SM57... and gave a good sound for guitar. :)

Apart from the very boomy hall I was impressed with the overall sound of the mics.. I have used the XM8500's many times before alongside SM58's and never had any complaints! I'm totally stoked about having 7 nice instrument mics :D For £209!!!

I must admit they were not the best listening environments but some could say that that is a better test and the fact that it sounded good and the clients were very happy and impressed means they passed the first test..
 
Recorded drum kit with Superlux DRK B5C2

Did a very basic recording for a friend.. Set up all 7 mics... Got pictures and audio will put up soon... overall I couldn't of expected a better performance any mics regardless of price considering the un-treated room I was recording in.. I have to say I am very impressed with the kit so far after using it twice once for recording and once for live..;)
 
Recording session

started other post on recording sesh got a link to the audio and lots of pictures. Feedback would be appreciated.. Cheers
 
hey,

i've been thinking of something along the same lines, and i'm just wondering,....

have you thought about things like portable acoustic treatment? gobos and the such?

from the three sessions i've done so far, the biggest problem has always been the untreated rooms so thats something that i've been thinking about, cos if you can get a decent room sound, you can get even cheapo mics to sound really good.

any thoughts, apart from lugging around massive amounts of foam?
 
Hi fello portable cheapo studio head

Yo man I know this will be an issue but I am hoping to use geurilla tactics and use whats at hand.. Duevets (comforters if your yank) and pillows are always everywhere and can be lent up against walls over shelves or doors.. Also some areas in normal buildings are already quite well acoustily treated. I have had good results from cupboards. They are uasually full of coats and jumpers etc.. these are great for acoustic treatment.. . I think using whats around is a great way to avoid carrying loads of foam, pillows, deuvets, cushions jackets, boards, table tops (lent against wall with deuvet over it) anything to hand really!! Please PM me to discuss any other portab le studio ideas I'm well up for sharing knowledge.. What sound card did you go for?
Cheers,
Dom:)
 
guerilla tactics indeed, i'm taking the use-what-you-got methodology rather than picking up expensive stuff right now as i'm starting out, but also i'm at the point of wondering if this will take off you know.

having said that, i picked up a motu ultralite a few years ago, and i've found it very usefull now since it gives me 8 ins and outs. its got some problems being that i'm on a pc, but when i'm only recording its been stellar so far. the cuemix stuff is not bad either. but the driver support on pc is horrible and even though at the time it was the best thing for the money, if i were buying today i would save up a bit more for an RME.

so far i've done acoustic recordings with the venue's dynamic stage mics, and they've not been bad, for live recordings that is. i've got free reign of the venue, i recorded the owner, which is why i'm wondering about portable treatment, thats one thing that could turn the room sound into something really nice.

i mean i could build some folding panels and leave them at the venue, but since i'm targetting other venues as well, it would be nice to be able to take them along. i would imagine that you'll be thinking of something similar as the room will make all the difference to your recordings. i mean its like the monitoring set up question, the biggest difference is the room treatment not the price of the monitors right?

so i see it as something that would seperate you from some other kid with a laptop and an mbox. as it is, in my area (smallish area), treatment alone would seperate my studio (to be) from the local "recording studios" simply because they all have no treatment and their rooms all sound shit.
 
ysmgj said:
guerilla tactics indeed, i'm taking the use-what-you-got methodology rather than picking up expensive stuff right now as i'm starting out, but also i'm at the point of wondering if this will take off you know.

having said that, i picked up a motu ultralite a few years ago, and i've found it very usefull now since it gives me 8 ins and outs. its got some problems being that i'm on a pc, but when i'm only recording its been stellar so far. the cuemix stuff is not bad either. but the driver support on pc is horrible and even though at the time it was the best thing for the money, if i were buying today i would save up a bit more for an RME.

so far i've done acoustic recordings with the venue's dynamic stage mics, and they've not been bad, for live recordings that is. i've got free reign of the venue, i recorded the owner, which is why i'm wondering about portable treatment, thats one thing that could turn the room sound into something really nice.

i mean i could build some folding panels and leave them at the venue, but since i'm targetting other venues as well, it would be nice to be able to take them along. i would imagine that you'll be thinking of something similar as the room will make all the difference to your recordings. i mean its like the monitoring set up question, the biggest difference is the room treatment not the price of the monitors right?

so i see it as something that would seperate you from some other kid with a laptop and an mbox. as it is, in my area (smallish area), treatment alone would seperate my studio (to be) from the local "recording studios" simply because they all have no treatment and their rooms all sound shit.
Click to expand...

yes i agree with you about the treatment being more important than the quality of the gear at this level of recording.. You could have a Neumann and get awfull recordings.. If its a venue what about step ladders with sheets or curtains hung over them? or moving the recording set up (it is portable) to a corner or smaller room that already has a better sound? I am intending on most of my recodings being in homes so as I said sound proofing is in abundance in the form of blankets and pillows etc... It is a tricky one but I think experimenting is very important you could end up getting your best sound in a really unusual looking area of the venue.. is there a cloak room? this could be good? do you have a van or transport? then light weight panels wouldn't be too much of a problem to move around... Getting my Alesis io 26 today can't wait!! and got a Focusrite Octopre LE to put extra 8 channels woo!!!
 
got a Zoom h4n, and Superlux Shotgun mic so I can provide field recordings for video and other....
Alesis io 26 is working now! So pretty much got everything I need for my studio!!!
Just need some clients now! lol
 
Great thread! Glad that it's still going, because I am sort of in a similar situation. I do a lot of home recording but I can't treat the room I record in - everything has to be temporary. Additionally, I am looking into doing some recording elsewhere, ie in some other folk's homes. So I'm looking for portable treatment ideas.

You know, I'm surprised someone hasn't done this: At football games, lots of people bring the portable tents that are pretty much just 4 poles and a roof, no walls. The whole thing fits in a bag. Why couldn't someone make a portable vocal booth using the same concept, but use some type of thin, sound absorbing fabric? It wouldn't be fabulous but it would be a big improvement over the average square bedroom. I'd buy one.

Since there aren't any for sale, I wonder about making one? Hmm. 4 lightweight aluminum poles, maybe each one is in two sections for easy breakdown... what to do for the ceiling... some really lightweight packing blankets, some velcro and hot glue... I dunno. I suck at that sort of Macgyver stuff. I should probably go do a Google search to see if someone has already done this...
 
Not too long ago there was a camper for sale on ebay...someone turned into a mobile rig and wanted 14k for it.
Scott.
 
scott free said:
Not too long ago there was a camper for sale on ebay...someone turned into a mobile rig and wanted 14k for it.
Scott.
Click to expand...

COOL! My homeowner's association would frown on that, though, sadly. It's a bunch of stay at home moms with nothing to do but make sure no one is leaving a cooler on their porch. On the plus side, I don't have to live next to some hillbilly who has an old Ford truck up on cement blocks in his driveway...

If I had a bigger garage... and I didn't have anything in it... I could park the camper in the garage and have a mobile studio indoors. They couldn't complain about THAT. All I need is a small camper and a lot of money and someone to explain the whole thing to my spouse. But since I like sex better than recording, I guess that's out, too...
 
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