Critical desicion: Need advice

[mad flows]

Hey everybody

I'm in the middle of making a critical descion on purchasing a recording console. and i need some help on which one to get. I'm thinking about a mackie 24/8 or a Behringer EURODESK SL3242FX-PRO but i cant decide can somebody please help. I heard benhiger's power supply died alot with the behringer mx9000 and was wondering if it was like that for all there systems. Also is it possible to hook the the mackie or benhiger up to a multitrack hard disk recorder. I think i'll do better with the anolog consoles because everthing is kinda laid out on the board, and i like to feel what i'm working with, but if you think that there's a digital board that has way better sound quality for 2-3 thousand then please suggest something.
oh and one last thing. is it possible some how hook the mackie or behringer up to a computer for further editing and polishing. I was thinking that if you hooked the console up to the multitrack recorder and the multi track to a computer then you could edit like that, but i really don't know. and if you can hook them up to a computer can you use pro tools or cubase for the editing software.

Sorry for the extreamly long post, i'm just a newbie and your suggestions will help alot. thanx

 

[manning1]

if you want to spend that kind of money (3k).
i would seriously wait for more reviews of the new mackie onyx.
ive never been a big fan of mackie mic pre's. dont know why quantitavely ,
just didnt like the sound of recorded tracks. but the specs on the new onyx look interesting.
another alternative you might look at is a used board from a larger studio.
but these sometimes require some upgrading and maintenance.
i would also throw a ringer into the mix.
a lot of people here on hr like yama mg series. you can get ones with lots of channels if you wish for very cheap ; and maybe supplement the mg with some nice high end mic pre's (check out the posts in the mic and rack sections). i would at least demo the very cheap mg on the way up to say a midas console and see if you hear much difference.
frankly there are a million and one options.
as i feel that gear is but a small part of the equation compared to learning
engineering techniques and writing songs i think you could do worse than start off cheap with a mg mixer, a few mics, and i believe in the computer approach as a good amd athlon for example will do 60 tracks plus.
and offers more flexibilty. BUT you have to be prepared to put in effort
to get the right configuration. a good sound card range to look at is
delta by maudio.
some inexpensive multitrack software i recommend you look at is
ntracks, multitrackstudio.com,powertracks, and magix music studio.(i use the latter two).
just search under my name for more tips and info.
or ask more q's and i'll try to respond.
but in conclusion....if were me i could put the whole shebang together
mics, board, pc,sound card,monitors,phones cables etc for 2 to 3k.
and get good sound quality. instead of spending it all on one console.
just some ideas. peace.

 

[mad flows]

thanx alot for the suggestions but how would i connect an anolog board to a computer

 

[manning1]

connection. one example.
the delta sound card for example that sits in a pci slot in the computer has
jacks for connecting the output of the mixer to.
so lets say the mixer has 8 group outs . you would connect each group out to a sound card input.
a KEY DECISION is to think about how many seperate tracks you want
to record to the pc at the same time.
to help you get an idea of sound quality.
now this song was done with a studio console in a big studio
whose price is way way above 3k.
check out the song "take my love"
at soundclick.com/bmanning
now check out the songs "limeyrap", i'm too old to rock and roll,hi tech man
all done with low end mic pre's i designed. that cost 20 bucks each to make.
not much diff is there ?
also check out the songs whole of london town is crying, and old folks sleepin in the streets,the wrecker and sly girls. done with mackie.
this might help you get a flavor of hi end to low end.
now whats interesting is ive had a lot more plays and positive comments with the songs that used lower end equipment.
in fact hi tech man done using my own mic pre's went to number 1 last year in the blues section. which proves what i'm saying. the song is often more important than the gear. the wrecker also went to 1 in the rock section awhile back. done on mackie.
frankly i think its a crap shoot. and its the overall presentation of the song thats important.
just some ideas.

 

[HangDawg]

For about $1200, you can get an Alesis HD24. You could use the rest $1800 to get yourself a really nice used console. There are always tascam boards on ebay. I bought a Soundtracs pc midi 32 off ebay for $1800. It kicks ass.


If you are thinking on spending 3k on a console alone. check this out
Sweet

Here's a soundtracs very similar to mine.

I bet you could score that for $1200-$1500 easy. Maybe less.


Another



I would certainly stay away from the behringer. And, really there is no reason to get a Mackie either. You'd be better served by getting something like I've listed. Those consoles will actually have a bit of character and add something to your mixes.

 

[HangDawg]

Holy crap, I need to quit browsing Ebay before I buy something.

Another nice looking console there.

 

[Farview]

Look into a soundcraft ghost. Worlds better than a mackie.

 

[mattamatta]

Please dont spend thousands of dollars on a behringer =(

Many forumgoers would cry.

 

[mad flows]

don't worry

Please dont spend thousands of dollars on a behringer =(

Many forumgoers would cry.

Don't worry, i going for a mackie or some of the consoles on ebay

 

[mad flows]

I went to soundcraft's website and saw the ghost. Man that mess looks tight!
i wish i could aford it but 7 g's is my max for a whole studio not just the console. looks like i might have to go with that mackie. but i'm cool with i saw that 50 cent recorded alot of his mixtapes with it and they came out hot.

 

[HangDawg]

I went to soundcraft's website and saw the ghost. Man that mess looks tight!
i wish i could aford it but 7 g's is my max for a whole studio not just the console. looks like i might have to go with that mackie. but i'm cool with i saw that 50 cent recorded alot of his mixtapes with it and they came out hot.

Everybody has a freakin Mackie. Get something else.

 

[manning1]

i agree with dawg. BE DIFFERENT !
check out a great river preamp sometime.
or jlmaudio.com. hope i got that url right.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

I got a 24x8 channel Allen & Heath 248 (older studio console from around 1984) for 960 bucks. Absolutely schools a Mackie. Don't waste your thought on the Behringer garbage... it would be like buying a hot rod Yugo.

 

[RD423]

If you get the mackie hd24 (hard disk recorder) if have to get the mackie d8b they go together like peanut butter and jelly that's what we use at the studio I work at when we are not using Pro Tools

 

[Farview]

I went to soundcraft's website and saw the ghost. Man that mess looks tight!
i wish i could aford it but 7 g's is my max for a whole studio not just the console. looks like i might have to go with that mackie. but i'm cool with i saw that 50 cent recorded alot of his mixtapes with it and they came out hot.

Look on ebay, they come up every once in a while.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Only the desperate, rich or stupid buy *everything* new. As a poor musician you need to learn to love OLD AND USED. Heck, everything in my studio was bought used.

Less than 1000 bucks got me a mixer that is awesome.

 

[MadAudio]

Holy crap, I need to quit browsing Ebay before I buy something.

Another nice looking console there.

Did you notice who that console's original owner was? Too cool.

 

[mad flows]

Only the desperate, rich or stupid buy *everything* new. As a poor musician you need to learn to love OLD AND USED. Heck, everything in my studio was bought used.

Less than 1000 bucks got me a mixer that is awesome.

Look the only reason i'm not taking ebay serious is because i'm still in high school and dont have a credit card and don't know where to go for cheep used gear. my parents aint buyin me nothin and i'm to young to work so i gotta hustle for mine. I'm not desperate, i'm definatly not rich and i sure as hell am not stupid! if you or some one else wants to give me some gear then i'll be glad to take it, but if not then what the hell am i supposed do?

 

[Scottgman]

Man, unless you are planning on opening a full-blown professional studio in the next couple years, then I think buying some big expensive console would be a huge waste of money. For $3k you can get a couple of killer preamps and mics. If you have $7k for your whole setup... you will have a killer home recording rig that will probably blow away the setup of your average homerec.com member.

Unless you really want to mix your songs on a mixer, having all those channels is kind of silly. While there are alot of people (especially old-timers) who like to ride the faders and who prefer analog summing-- it is undisputed that mixing in "the box" (the computer) is MUCH easier. It is sick how easy it is to fade-in/fade-out, punch-in, overdub, submix, edit, add effects, etc. etc. on a computer. Obviously, if you are doing it all in a computer, a huge mixing console is going to be kind of pointless.

I would suggest-- before you go blowing a couple grand on a console-- to consider what you really need. One of the big questions is how many tracks do you intend on recording at once? When I record drums, I like to use at least 8 mics. That means 8 preamps and (usually) 8 inputs to the computer soundcard or "interface". If you want a scratch vocal and/or guitar track, then add a couple more inputs and preamps. The point is that in most situations, you won't need more than say 10 preamps/inputs at any given time. Why would you want/need a 32 channel (or larger) mixer?

If you are a professional studio you need the flexibility and options a big console can give you. If you are just working at home to record your own material or your friend's band or whatever-- a huge mixing console is probably going to be overkill.

 

[AlfredB]

I went to soundcraft's website and saw the ghost. Man that mess looks tight!
i wish i could aford it but 7 g's is my max for a whole studio not just the console. looks like i might have to go with that mackie. but i'm cool with i saw that 50 cent recorded alot of his mixtapes with it and they came out hot.

My personal feeling is that you should do a whole lot more of research before you shell out $7,000.-

Seems that at this stage you really dont know what you want or need. I dont want to sound patronizing, but i got this feeling.

Check out rather inexpensive digital mixers (sub 1,000.-) w/ 2 or more ADAT outs and hook them up to multiple Terratecs 88Ds ... this way you can get full 24 digital channels for less than 1,500,-

that would be my advise
b.r.
alfred