Home Studio Upgrade Advice

J

joemintz

New member
I currently am running a home studio with a Digidesign Mbox as the core with no outboard processing aside from, occasionally, a Presonus Tubepre. I use a rackmount Alesis Multimix when I need to record drums. I have a decent set of mics at my disposal (AKG C414, AKG C460, 2 Oktava MC012s, SM57, Beta 58). I am saving up money to pour into a new rackmount full of gear and I'd like to make sure I want to keep what I buy. I'm a vocalist in addition to playing guitar and so vocal quality is very important to me, but I'd also like to be able to record drums and be able to mix each mic after the fact (premixing is difficult, especially with my room situation). This is the gear I am saving up for, in order of purchasing importance:

Digidesign Digi 002 Rack
M-Audio Octane
RNC
A patchbay of some sort
Avalon 737SP

Am I in the right direction with regards to my purchasing decisions? Would I be able to get a better sound by buying more acoustic treatment (I have 64 sq. feet of Sonex foam in a small square room in addition to four Microtraps on stands that I use as baffles and four Minitraps mounted in the corners of the rooms) or by buying more microphones (I plan on buying a D112 soon regardless)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I get the impression that you are focused on DigiDesign and ProTools, and heaven knows that the 002 rack seems to be a heck of a value. Now includes...


Whoa.

Given all of the connectivity of the 002 rack, not too sure why you need the Octane, but you know best.

If you are open to solutions other than those provided by DigiDesign, please advise. Also, is the RNC a short term fix until you get the Avalon?
 
I figure I could use the RNC to limit transients before they hit whatever mic preamp I'd be running the signal to. Also I've heard good enough things about it that I imagine I could use it even after I got the Avalon. I'd be getting the Octane so that I could have more than four simultaneous inputs.
 
That is why I asked if he was willing to look outside of the unholy DigiDesign/ProTools combination... as long as he is locked into ProTools, you can't lead him to the light.
 
002 rack(or other),mp2nv,dual channel adc. id ditch the avalon for something with 2 channels so you can record stereo sources and dual mic gtr cabs.
 
I would also ditch the Octane and go for a used Digimax for better pres(8) and a better clock (Using digimax as your master clock). You still have 4 more channels open for any flavor of pre,,,(Vintech Dual 72) is a nice choice. Then I would shoot for a nice clean, musical acoustic pre (avalon mp5) still one more channel left to fill. Not sure where I would go from here but the avalon 737 in my opinion is not a bad choice. Most people here would say go solid state, instead of a tube. I really dont have enough personal experience to say yeah or nay on the avalon compared to other solid states.

Hopefully others will chime with more experience because Im in the same boat. I already own the Vintech and the Digimax so basically have 2 channels left to fill on my 002 rig and my head has been spinning with what to do or what to get. I'm thinking on the Avalon mp5 from what I read. So please others chime in so we can get some idea on where to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top