Little expensive or lotsa cheap gear?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Roel
  • Start date Start date
Roel

Roel

That SMART guy.
With you guys talking Behringer stuff and 3 full big racks and everything, it started me thinking... At first I was thinking of buying a decent tube pre (TL audio 505x tube pre and compressor), because I mostly record one track at the time anyway. But that's untill now... Next weekend I'll be tracking a whole band. And I'll be doing more of this when my setup gets bigger...

So maybe I should not buy this more expensive gear, and just buy a Behringer Pro Mic 2200 and Composer Pro, and a patchbay. And I would still have money left to buy a flightcase... Wouldn't be as fancy, but instead of 1 hardwired mic pre and compressor, I would get 2 mic pres, and 2 compressors. And extra functionallity. Gate, expander, limiter. Tube pre can be used as a DI box or line driver. (What's the difference?)

Help me out...

My current recording setup: VS1880, behringer mixer (needed cheap keyboard mixer as a student...), alesis EQ230 (not used), AKG C3000 and SM58 copy, yamaha M2600 amp and alesis monitor one.
 
The equation for this is Equipment = Budget / Requirements. :)

You need to know what you need, and then buy the best gear your money can get. Not much help, I know... :)

In any case, I'd go for a stereo preamp and a stereo compressor. Why not the RNC compressor?
If you go for the Behringer preamp post a full review here!
 
Oh no! Don't be like me, I am a DEDICATED GEAR JUNKY to the HIGHEST Nth DEGREE! As a matter of fact i bought 2 more ADATS (for a total of 4) yet my board only handles 2 (A-32)! Most of the stuff I buy I get for DIRT CHEAP (I mean REAL CHEAP)at Sam Ash as I have some friends who hook me up, PLUS, a member of this BBS works in the ProShop who hooks me up with his corporate discount!
No, don't waste money buying a whole lotta gear! Buy what you need and buy intelligently carefully taking the time, if you can, to audition each piece of gear you want/need!
Me personally, I buy gear regardless if I need it or not
only if it's priced WAYYYY below what others charge,I'm gonna purchase it!
Just the other day, I bought a Crate GXM git amp with
digital efx. I sure enuff didn't need that amp,but since
it was on sale for $75.00 (it goes for 229.00,it was a display unit, practically brand-new condition) I just had to buy it. Does that sound like a gear junky or what!!??
 
As a matter a fact, I got 280 bucks on me, my credit cards are at ZERO, so what do you think I'm gonna do for lunch (I'm at work)??
Thats rite,take a walk over to Sammy's and see what deals they have!
Somebody,please STOP me!!!!!!
 
Well regebro... Don't know if I 'need' anything. Could use a mic pre. And an analog compressor instead of the stupid built in fake display-knobs. And more mics. And cables and mic stands. Hell I'm a gear junkie too. Just started working, so it doesn't really show. But I have to admit it... :(
Maybe we should start a workgroup:

I have been thinking about buying these things for over 2 months now. Can't take it any more... Completely stressed. Help!

The RNC... I checked it. The behringer would give me gates, expanding, balanced in and outs, and two seperate channels... And I can get it at the shop. And force them to give me some discount. Being a gear junkie (just mention A90 and VS1880 in the shop, and you've got them at your fingertips...), I can manage that too... They even know my name.

Really funny story, actually. Each time I get there, the new stupid kiddo's try to help me out. Pisses me off each time, cause I know it better anyway :) so they get some mean questions and answers, and then the experienced guy comes smiling along and sends the kid away. :) Aaah. I like that. Once I asked the kid what some button on a Gibson nighthawk was doing (phase/coilsplitting things) and I got the answer: "euh... that... euh... that's for putting different effects... euh... on... euh... it sounds ... euh ... different... " :D
 
............. And I just bought something!

........... A new pair of shoes and some jeans!
 
yes absolutly MRQ! We need to look as good as the gear in our studios, so dress appropiately.

Roel, as long as what you get is a step up from what you have, it dosen't really matter how expensive it is! You'll still have to learn how to use it. Think logically about your purchases. Whatever you get, be sure that it's something you'll still want to use in the future, if only occasionally. (unlike that EQ you got)

listen to my gear junky logic: I have a Delta 1010, a mackie 1402, Art tube MP, a bunch of dynamics (4 57, Beta 52, ATM25, ATM41HE, Cad 22) and one RoDENT1. I have only 7 mic pres, but with 10 inputs on the delta I really need more don't I? :D I was thinking about a dbx 386, I need something with spdif out to go into the 1010. BUt then I see this ART D I/O preamp for $250. NOt as good as the dbx probably, but half the price, gives me the spdif outs i need, plus leaves me $250 to go towards an even better single channel pre than I'd get with the 386... I'll probably order the ART D I/O next week and get a pair of AT 3525's for overheads. The D I/O seems pretty neat, it has mic pres of course, but it is even more tailored to direct inputs, has this variable valve thing that changes settings for guitar, bass... whatever... it will be happy pre-amping my acoustic in my live rig. seems like a versitle unit. Then after that, I can work towards getting my "Gold channel" and a nicer vocal mic. :)

I stated out adding gear in $150 chunks, then it went to $300 chunks, now it's in $600 chunks.... hmm... does sound like an addicts behavior desen't it? :D

We need help!!!!

-jhe
 
Misterqcue,
My only question is how are you paying for it all ?
 
The job gave me a very nice bonus, I sublet my apartment in NY to my niece (for a slightly higher price)
I did some recordings for a few bands,got my tax refund check...........and most of all, I sell Crack!! :)
 
The price tag is not always the best indicator...

I thought I might pipe in.

Its worth mentioning that cheap does not allways mean bad, and expensive does not always mean good. Though it is easier to get something good if you are willing to pay more.

For example, the RNC is known for being insanely good for insanely cheap. The focusrite platinum series is considered by some to be a little pricey for what it does sonically.

Another thing I recently read on this site is good advice: "if you can't hear the difference, don't spend the money".

If the less expensive equipment does what you need, and provides a result in keeping with the rest of the signal chain, then I would buy it confidently.

Mr. Que is welcome to his habit, but I personally would rather base my purchases on the job at hand, rather than whether or not it was cheap.

Function and sound should be the guiding factors, and the budget the gating one.
 
Welcome to the new gear junkie forum. "Hello, I'm Mr.Q and I'm a gear-aholic".

Roel - I think the TL Audio 5051 is the called the HHB Radius 40 over here.(only the color and power supply are different) That's a really nice channel strip and I think you should consider buying it. When you record one track at a time it is great to have a quality front end. The Behringer equipment is probably good too but it's ordinary. You can always buy more inexpensive preamps and compressors, but you have the money to really upgrade and improve your recordings with the TL Audio.
 
Yep, it's the same as the 5051. But it looks cooler. Darn.

But I was aiming at the 5050... Same without the EQ. (BTW How usefull is an equaliser in a channel strip?)
And I have the money, but I should start saving, for house and kids, you know...

Another thing to consider: with the VS1880, I can't use alot of external gear when mixing. So how much use is external gear? Maybe I should buy a second eff board? (I won't, external gear is more fun to learn) Maybe this is another reason to get good gear: learning. Isn't it easier to learn with one good device, than with 4 good-but-not-that-good devices?

I mostly want to learn, combine it with my musical background, electronics knowledge and synth-building experience and get a yet to be defined dreamjob... :(
 
I find EQ useful in outboard gear. Some people say you should keep things flat while tracking, but if you have enough experience with a certain mic and instrument then you can EQ it while tracking and get the sound closer to the way you want it to sound. We make decisions all the time about EQ. When programming synthesizer patches, adjusting guitar amps, and even microphone placement all affects equalization. I think the key is to not go overboard with EQ while tracking because a little bit goes a long way. If you are tracking for a long period of time you can lose perspective on EQ and can make too drastic of changes, and that is something to consider. That happens to me if I've been programming synths for longer than a half an hour.

You can use outboard gear with the 1880 by utilizing the aux send and returns. It's too bad they didn't put inserts on those. I have the Akai DPS16.....guess what, no inserts. Even the new Roland 2480 doesn't have them, and that thing is going to cost a whole lot of money. I wish the manufacturers would make the mixing sections more versatile and add some inserts.
 
Determine what gear you need as a priority (mic pre, vs compressor, etc) and try to buy the best you can afford (quality over quantity). For many years I bought "budget gear" and often ended up with "budget sound", but I did learn how to work the gear to its best ability. Lately I've been getting rid of this gear and buying better gear - but naturally, taking a loss on the budegt gear. As has been stated "buy cheap - buy twice".

By the way MrQ - you really DO need help! However, I can relate - I've got 5 drum sets (my main axe), 6 guitars, 8 keys/modules and more rack gear than can be reasonably justified. I gig alot and do sessions to pay for gear (that wasn't enough) - I finally got a part time job in a music store, for discounts (still not enough). Fortunately I don't smoke, drink or do drugs - which frees up a ton of cash.
 
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