eq question

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CDT-sHaG

CDT-sHaG

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I record on a Tascam 424 or into ntrack studio.

for home demos and song creation....

acoustic guitar and vocals through:

*a Marshall v67m, ART studio mp pre...

*a sm57 through same pre

*a clip-on AT condenser through same pre

*an emg soundhole PU through same pre..

I record alone, one track at a time for now...

i have no outboard effects except for some bass pedals: flange, chorus and eq...but i don't use these when recording....the bass eq is great for bass through an amp but i dont think it's freq. would be good for recording acoustic and vocal.

I really believe I need an eq (to tweak the tones of my various inputs), but have no idea where to start...I tried to search for previous posts on eq's but "EQ" is under the 3-letter minimum for search terms.

any advice on units?

parametric? graphic? multiple chanels?

would it help to run it through effects loop or in-line?

over 15 bands overwhelms me but i'm willing to learn if i need more.

I don't want to add a lot of eq just tweak some frequencies..

a combo unit (eq, preamp or reverb...whatever) would not be out of the ?...

i just don't know about rack gear to be honest.

I wouldn't want to spend over $100 - $200 if possible...

thanks guys:D

CDT
 
The 3 band EQ in the n-track mixer section is selectable high pass,low pass,para EQ.Right click on an EQ knob to change its settings.
Tom
 
thanks guys...

yeah..in ntrack i know about that eq..and that's fine..

but i use my 424 more often because im setup better away from my pc (when i do pc recording i have to plan it..)..so i'd like an external unit..

i've seen units for $99-$199 at musicians friend but i don't know about the brands...

i did search for "equalizer" but i only got a few recent results and none addressed different units..i tried "topic only" and got no results..."search entire posts" brought up just a few...

Thanks again...:D
 
You can get a cheap ten band at Best Buy, Circuit City etc. Less than $100.00,

Ten bands may prove to be enough, without breaking the bank.

This may be a good place to start, and maybe even finish!!

GT (Cheap Bastard Productions)
 
I think the reason you dont hear much about outboard EQs around here is bec there arent any under $500 (the homerec max per item) that are worth talking about.

Heres a solution for you: Sell your Tascam and art and get a small M series board for $450. The pres smoke art and the EQ is the best youll do until you get to +$1200..as far as outboard goes. I do most of my EQing with plugs but vocals in particular sound incredibly natural through soundcraft EQ.
 
Btw, CDT..

Your post in the B1 thread was pretty damn funny.




:D
 
hehe..thanks..i cracked up typing it..seems as though i pissed off some folks though..

lighten up i say!!

i have a close family member in chemo therapy right now, they don't have long i believe..very sad and depressing...

it's taught me that life is short and you better have some fun with it....

anyway, back to topic...

..i wouldn't need to sell anything..i could just pick up that board as is.....only $450....and even use it in a PA setup?..i've been working toward that also..just so i'm claer..your talking the soundcraft M-series board? i'll check it out..


thank you :)
 
That's the beast. You might want a bigger M if you think you will ever need more pre's and channels. It's cheaper to go bigger now then have to buy a whole other mixer in a year. If you plan on it using it live I would recommend more channels also.
 
thank tex...i would be using it for solo acoustic gigs...one guitar and vocal..

the most i see happening would be the addition of another acoustic guitar/vocal...4 channels..so a 6 channel would probably be better...

i've been looking at powered mixers also...but i think it may be better to get the mixer and a power amp and some speakers...

Yamaha seems to have nice quality/performance ratios...as well as carvin.

im not cklaer though on matching speakers to power amps..if a speaker is rated at 500w and the powered mixer/poweramp is 300w what will that be like? better than getting 300w speakers to begin with?

here's a mixer i've been looking at:

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/love.music?p=p.YAMEMX660&z=1366343682545
or

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/love.music?p=p.YAMEMX68S&z=1366343682545



thanks...:)

CDT
 
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DONT GET A POWERED HEAD like that Yamaha. Compared to the Soundcraft it would sound like crap. Those heads are okay for jamming but I definately wouldn't use it for acoustic and never for recording.

Get a seperate mixer, amp and speakers. Then you can use them for live and recording without having to make too many sacrifices.

Check the ohm rating on the speakers and amps also. Speakers are often rated at 8ohms but most power amps are rated at 4ohms because they can use a higher wattage rating. 200W at 4ohm is about 100W at 8ohm. Get more power than you think you will need. It's better to have the amp running at 75% than having to push it to the max.

For amps check out Hafler, QSC, Crown.
For PA speakers check out EV and JBL.

yamaha's are okay but I think their small PA systems sound like crap. A friend of mine has one.
 
Thanks man...:D

I've never used a powered head....always a board, power amp and speakers (as for PA..i never have owned any pa equip. though..just band members)...

glad you told me your experience...Mackie also makes them but their a little higher in price of course...

what do you think about powered speakers and a mixer? as compared to a powered mixer (or mixer/power amp) and non-powered speakers?

I'm thinking about $$ here..

I could use the mixer for recording and hook up powered speakers for gigging?

Again, I'm solo now so I can't rely on anyone else...I don't need more than 300w probably, but to be safe I would want at least 600w....

there are the acoustic 2-channel amps but the only decent one I've played through is the SWR california blonde and it's $800 + tax or shipping...for that amount i was thinking that the powered mixer would be better...because an amp is a one-shot pony....but i digress lol...

thanks again tex for flowing a little off the "EQ" topic with me...:)
 
Powered speakers are fine. The JBL Eon's come in a powered version and the one's with the 18"s are great. If you want to keep things compact I would go with powered speakers over a powered mixer.

The advantage of a seperate power amp is that you can use it power PA speakers live and studio monitors for recording.

This does apply to EQ somewhat because a Soundcraft or Mackie will have useable EQ whereas a PA head usually wont be worth putting your signal through. They just dont need to be that quiet for what they are designed to be used for.
 
I've been using a powered Soundcraft mixer in my setup. The preamps are pretty darn good, the eq is very useable, and the amp is very clean. Get a little hum though, but that's 300 watts per in a bedroom through large Crate PA speakers. Does the job for me.
 
TexRoadkill said:
This does apply to EQ somewhat because a Soundcraft or Mackie will have useable EQ whereas a PA head usually wont be worth putting your signal through. They just dont need to be that quiet for what they are designed to be used for.
Click to expand...


I wouldnt put mackie EQ and soundcraft EQ in the same sentence. Soundcraft EQ is heads and shoulders above anything under $1k. Mackie EQ isnt much better than Behringer EQ. Soundcraft EQ is not just "useable", it also sounds very good.
 
Steven- does the hum show up on the line outs or just when using the power amp?
 
Just to clarify. When I say soundcraft EQ I mean M series EQ in particular. I cant vouch for their other mixers.
 
I got my Soundcraft M12 about a month ago for the pre's and EQ. I got a great deal on it; £430 (about $650).
 
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