Getting a Home Studio Together!

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Kyou

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Hey,

So it's my first time getting together a Home Studio, and reading articles with so many terms I don't understand is quite confronting so thought I might post in a forum.

So pretty much, I've got in my head the microphone and preamp I'm purchasing.

Being the U 87, with the Avalon VT737 Preamp.

I've already got Protools 9; which doesn't require an mbox but for maximum quality, I know I'll need one so any suggestions on an mbox to go with the system?

I'll be running all recording through a laptop straight to a external hard drive so space on my computer won't be an issue, but yeah.

And will connecting the U 87 with the Preamp then Mbox be a confusing thing, or is it fairly straight forward.

Thanks for any help!
 
i don't mean to sound rude, but if you're purchasing a u87 and an avalon pre, and then thinking of running it into an mbox, you might need to do a little more reading.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, but I'd say there are much higher quality interfaces available for use in this setup.

Maybe someone else will recommend.

Best of luck.
 
Hm, I don't really need an Mbox if I've got the Avalon Preamp, would that be right?

I know the two basics I need are the Preamp and the microphone, and I wish to use Protools since I've heard it's up there;
All I need is quality sound for commercial voice over purposes, and being brand new to the equipment side of it, I have no clue.

So to run Protools, will the Avalon and u87 be enough, or do I need an mbox or can skip it, or what better interface would you suggest.

Sorry! I know it's a pain trying to explain things to people who really know very little.
 
Well it depends on what you're going for. U87 isn't exactly a first mention voice over mic. RE-20, SM7b, and other common broadcast mics are more familiar in that role. Generally the signal chain goes something like this:

Source (you) -> Microphone -> (cable) -> Preamp -> (cable) -> Interface (converter) -> (cable) -> Computer (recorder / DAW)

Or the short version:
Mic -> Preamp -> Converter

Many interface are both preamps and converters. Although generally not the best of both. If you want to record, you need a converter in there to do the analog to digital conversion. If you just want to DJ, then you can opt out. Although it'd make it a little difficult to put together a demo that includes you without one.
 
Oh, the U 87 isn't the favourite? I keep reading it's one of the favourites for voice over, especially when paired with the Avalon preamp... should I reconsider that?

And Okay, I get it alittle better, thanks for the simple breakdown, Shadow!

Do you have any suggestions for what converter I go with to get the best quality sound, so I won't be wasting my mic and preamp's potential?
 
Well for voice over you likely don't need to multi-track. So any interface should work. Korg MR-1000 is the better option in my inventory. But it really depends on what you need / want. And what you mean by voice over. If by voice over you mean conversation english to promote a product. Or by voice over do you mean the voice of bart simpson? If you're doing the voice OF, then the U87 is likely a good choice. If you have a decent room / space to record in. If you're just doing some radio advertisement, something else would likely suit as I don't know of many radio talents that use U87's. They're all mics, they all pick up sounds and convert sounds to something that can be recorded.

IMO, if you're going to be putting that kind of cash down on the mic, you might want to try one out first. I know I'd be a little peeved if I spent several $K on something I could get roughly equal results with something $1K-ish or less. That $1K+ difference is a lot of beer. Or fishing supplies, or whatever perks your other interests.
 
shadow has it sussed.

I've used all the mics mentioned ;u87,sm7b and re20. If the RE-20s good enough for frasier, it's good enough for me! i know moresound's got my back :P:P

Seriously though,,

personally, the u87 would be my last choice for voice over work. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but i reckon it's a lot of extra money for maybe not a lot of benefit.

If you have haven't actually bought any of the gear yet, maybe you could try to audition some of these mics, and look into a better quality interface that has a built in preamps.


I haven't used the combination myself, but maybe a big dynamic into something like an apogee duet would be cheaper and simpler, and most likely every bit as good.
 
Well yes of course.
The first time I used an EV RE20 I thought that I died and went to that BIG studio in the sky!
I had fallen into all of the hype of other microphones (which are good don't get me wrong) but the RE20 had what I was looking for and I'm sure if you are able to A/B it up against want ever microphone you care to you will come o the same conclusion.

And I'm still in the BIG studio in the sky! ;)
 
I really value all your opinions! You know your stuff so well, it's fairly complicated so the knowledge here is pretty impressive!

I'm definitely leaning towards the RE20 now.
Drops the price significantly, and you guys are agreeing it's pretty good, so I'm probably going with the RE20.

The voice over work is a bit of a range, pretty much whatever comes my way, more work is going to be in the commerical voice over, like product, but I get more hard sell scripts then anything.

Which probably takes the Avalon VT737 Preamp off the table, since I read everywhere it was pretty good with the U87 hence why I was going for it, so can you guys suggest another preamp, and I'll probably go wit the Korg MR-1000 now if you think that's suitable for high quality home recording (I keep hearing it's good at portable aswell, but since I won't be using portable I wonder if there's better option or if it's just good at both sorta thing), does that manage both, or will I need a preamp and the Korg. And does the Korg function with Protools, Protools 9 doesn't require the mbox or anything, can run through the soundcard pretty much any computer so I'm hoping they function together, if not, I've got Adobe Audition..
But yeah, any suggestions for a preamp and interface for the RE20. Would the Korg manage both? And protools functional with it or not?

Thanks alot for all this!
 
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If you don't need the portable, don't go with the MR-1000. Unless you want a really big MP3 player.

Lots of decent interfaces to be had out there. Not like just five years ago where doing anything better than CD quality was quite the leap.
 
I've ran my RE20s through many different preamps that I have with great results.
If your looking for mid priced preamps look at the chameleon Lab 7602 MK11, Golden Age 73pre, or the RNMP in that order.
But if you get an interface with good pres you may not need a separate preamp at all!
 
Alright,
So I've got the mic planning on purchasing the RE20 with all your good comments on it, for an interface I'm caught between the Apogee Rosetta 200 or the MOTU UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid, any suggestions, I know the Apogee is more expensive but if the benefits are worth it, sure as heck going with that one!

Then as a preamp, you reckon the Chameleon Lab?
 
Chameleon Lab if you want more EQ capabilities on the way in ..... if not the Golden Age.

There are mods to both of these as well if you get them through Zen Audio but ... the hype is just that Hype.
If you are going to have one modded just get the input transformer upgrade and that will be fine on either one.
 
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