Have the facility, now I need the gear!!! Advice...

[Nate Tyler]

Hello all! I'm a newbie on the block and so I'm seeking advice from the experienced of the bunch.

Just recently purchased a 2300sf building as my recording studio.

I'm now in the process of deciding which way to go for my recording gear.

I currently own a "Layla"...still in the box.
I have read extremely different opinions regarding hard disk (computer) vs. ADAT. I'm looking to drop about $5k into gear to start with. I want to be able to do MIDI work, in conjunction with live recording. I have a band, and would like to try to get professional recordings (3 guitars, keys, bass, drum).

I'm a newbie when it comes to all the recording gear models and numbers. I've been a live player for too long...

Any advice would be appreciated...

Nate Tyler

 

[drstawl]

First step: Take the Layla out of the box and RTFM! I only wish I had your problem.
My creations are produced two tracks at a time, so the Layla would be superfluous; FUN, but superfluous!
Next get a MIDI controller (preferably USB)
and a decent external synth module. Roland, Yamaha etc. whatever has the sound samples you'll want to use. A nice mixer, some quality mics and some multitrack software with a wave editor and a good MIDI editor (CW6 is still my favorite for MIDI) and you're on your way.

 

[Dragon]

Yeah, you already have a solid-state ADAT, take it out and use it!!! ADATs are nice if you're a pro studio or working with people who also have ADATs but computers are the way to go for most of us who want to use digital. Just crawl all over this whole Web site and you'll be ready for anything...

 

[Grizzly]

Just wish I had a building like that.. But any way. I'm doing multitrack recording with a 400mhz AMD computer and 128meg of ram and 30 gigs of hard drive space. I'm currently using an Aardvark 20/20 interface and a Behringer 2642 mixer and a Tascam rw5000 CDRW. I get impressive results recording live, and When doing audio restoration from old tape and and albums. The nice thing is I don't have a ton of money in all of this.

 

[rj]

Keep the layla in the box and take it back.
The Layla is totally cool.. BUT... it is a 20 bit unit that actually records at 16 bit (Like and old ADAT blackface). If you want the best, for a few hundred more, get the Motu 2408. True 24 bit recording.
Dont get cheap Mic's or monitors either. Garbage in, garbage out. Or I guess I could also say, Quality in, Garbage out (with poor monitors).