My studio project thread

This thread has been fairly neglected by me of late. Mostly because not a whole lot has happened over the past six months. I'm about to enter a fairly big step forward though. Now I've gotten the tracking room sorted I'm keen to start working on a mixing space.

To kick things off, I've just acquired a Tascam M3500 and a Tascam M3700. I was having fun today using the M3700 as a MIDI controller with Reaper. It's nice to mix ITB with real faders :D. Can't wait to have a crack a mixing OTB. I picked up the pair for $500 +$50 for three LA3500 balancing kits and all manuals (including the manual for the LA3500 :cool:).

My plan is to use the 3500 as parts to ensure the 3700 is fully functional. At present all but two channels are working on the 3700 and the faders don't feel as smooth as the ones on the 3500 although this could be because of the automation. I can't wait to crack it open and have a look inside. I'll be upgrading all the OPamps, rebuilding the PSU, re-capping and star grounding it to reduce the noise floor.

All in all, I would say I'm going to have some fun over the next few months :D

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Enchilada said:
To kick things off, I've just acquired a Tascam M3500 and a Tascam M3700. I was having fun today using the M3700 as a MIDI controller with Reaper. It's nice to mix ITB with real faders :D. Can't wait to have a crack a mixing OTB. I picked up the pair for $500 +$50 for three LA3500 balancing kits and all manuals (including the manual for the LA3500 :cool:). All in all, I would say I'm going to have some fun over the next few months :D


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That was a hell of a score at that price!
I'm still looking for an LA3500 kit for my M3700.
Good luck with them and your studio.
 
Make me an offer ;-)

I can send you the balanced out boards (there are 2 on the kit) and a copy of the manual. Postage should be around $40 if you're in the USA.
 
Received a shipment of OPA2604 and OP275 chips this week. Still waiting on OPA2132 and NE5532. Already pulled out 8 channel strips, can't wait to get busy!!!
 
Just a quick update, 8 channels and the master section are all now re-chipped and re-capped. There is no way I'm re-capping the rest of the channels. I'm about to start re-chipping the remaining channels. There's definitely a massive difference between the stick channels and the re-done ones. Just have to buy a few more snakes so I can run all 32 ins and outs from my computer to the console and be able to mix OTB if I want to :). Not sure if I mentioned it earlier in this thread but I also got the console working as a MIDI controller.

That's all for now, I'll try to get some new photos up soon.

Kris
 
I was having fun today using the M3700 as a MIDI controller with Reaper. It's nice to mix ITB with real faders
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Midi controller?? Outstanding. I too have an M3700 and Reaper. Can you tell me how you connected the 3700 Midi capability with your Daw? What are you using for an Interface? I'm using an Maudio 1010lt. So, exactly what does the faders control in Reaper? Are there other features in Reaper that can be controlled by the 3700? You are only the second person I've come across that has done this. I'm just on the verge of wiring my system up and I'm just blown away that this can be done.

btw, did you sell the converters? I'm currently looking for the unbalanced to balanced units...er...I think. I'll have to check that again. Anyway, I'm glad I found your thread.

Also, I can't even fathom you got BOTH those mixers for the price you paid. Unbelievable.
Good luck and have fun with your studio.
 
Hey mate, it does take a bit of doing and it's hard for me to explain (also I'll need to refresh my memory :cool:). I'll be heading out to my studio this week to take some photos with my new camera so I'll make a little video on how to do it while I'm there.

At the time I too was using a Delta 1010LT but now I have four Terratec Mic-8 interfaces (32 balanced ins and outs total) so I can mix fully OTB. The only MIDI controllers on the M3700 are the faders (all long faders, not the small ones) and the mute buttons (not the actual mute buttons, the MIDI ones down the bottom). I've created a template in Reaper with 32 channels and linked them to the faders on the 3700. At first I linked the mute buttons to the arm/disarm feature in Reaper but it's much more useful for mixing having them linked to mute.

I've been reading the manual because I'd actually like to be able to use the total recall feature on the mixer with the floppy disk but I haven't given it a go yet.

Regarding the balancing kit, VESSEL2020 has expressed interest in my 0.5 kit so I do still have one full kit. I've had some low offers but I'm very aware of how rare these are and I'm in no hurry to get rid of them. Ideally I'd like to trade a kit for a decent reel-to-reel tape recorder but I would entertain other trades. I'm not really interested in throwing a dollar figure on them although offhand the kits were over $1000 new. The only thing to keep in mind with the balanced ins-outs is that the ins use a DB-25 connector so you'll need to buy the correct cables to use them.

Keep an eye on this thread :)

Ench
 
Here's a few updated photos of the studio project. I really need to do something about the tin to the right of my console. Surely it can't be good for my mixing. I have absolutely no idea what to do about it aside from making a massive panel to put there so I'll have put some time and thought into it.

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I think I mentioned earlier that I decided to only keep the M-3700 and sell the M-3500. I've updated my interface from a single Delta 1010LT to four Terratec Mic-8 interfaces (co-designed with SPL). I still have to buy some snakes though so I can connect all 32 ins and outs. I've picked up some other new gear now too. Above the 4 Mic-8 units is my DIY GSSL bus compressor (above that is a patchbay). I've upgraded my monitors to ESI nEar05s and a pair of Auratone 5cs to use a grot boxes. I've also upgraded my CPU in my DAW to a quad core Phenom II x4 965. My DIY plate reverb is in the back there too. DIY wise, I still have a 1073 clone and an 1176 clone although I want to buy some parts from Hairball before building it.

I also now have an electric drum kit I'm using as a MIDI controller for BFD. If anyone has been considering this type of setup I highly recommend it. I'm planning to do some recording soon using real hits and cymbals with the e-drums to see how that would sound to record as an alternative to real drums should I be recording a band with a rubbish drum kit.

After picking up my Alctron MP-100 preamp, I need a new vocal mic so that's where my next chunk of cash is going to go. Looking at getting an Alctron HST-11A (Apex 460), popping in one of Tim Campbell's capsules, a new trafo, a NOS GE 6072 tube and then go ahead with the Far minimod,.

So that's where I'm up to and where I'm heading. I'm hoping to start recording demos for bands within 6 months :D Here's a fun little track I recorded the other day (also posted in the mp3 mixing clinic)
 
I've been reading the manual because I'd actually like to be able to use the total recall feature on the mixer with the floppy disk but I haven't given it a go yet.
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Howdy again. Thanks for the info. Yea, I've researched a bit on the floppy thing, but to tell you the truth, all this retro older tech stuff is bogging me down. The more I try to bring it back to working status, the harder it is to find stuff to do it. Even the floppy thing. We'll see though.

Looks like you are really putting together a nice setup. Although, after viewing your pics, I get the feeling you don't know much about studio monitoring geometry/treatment/etc. Just seeing your monitors set within a fixture, offset to one side of the room tells me you might wanna consider looking into real Studio design, and what it's about.

For instance, ....

I really need to do something about the tin to the right of my console. Surely it can't be good for my mixing. I have absolutely no idea what to do about it aside from making a massive panel to put there so I'll have put some time and thought into it.
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Well, it's relatively an easy solution. However, it would depend on other room factors, such as isolation, centering your monitoring setup equi-distance from the sidewalls, what the opposite wall is like, room width/length, and a few others. If you can post a plan of the room and a few other pics I'd be happy to help you with some of the more basic aspects of setting up correctly. But to give you a clue, that tin wall is what's considered an "early reflection point"...so to speak. And as such, you really need some absorption there..but it doesn't do any good if the opposite wall is a different distance from your engineering position. You really need Left/Right "symmetry", and an equilateral triangle between your monitors and engineering position. Also, your present monitor location
within that fixture isn't a good choice, even if you think your present monitoring sounds good to you. That's not what it's about. Is this a "one room" studio affair? Or do you have a "live room" as well? Well, that's all the time I have right now. Let me know if you'd like some input on your Studio itself. The gear thing isn't what I'm really interested in, although for my own studio it is. But this forum is about studio DESIGN.:D
And I am a designer...hence the offer. For instance..here was my original design for my studio....(note...this site is fucked up when it comes to loading pics...we'll see:facepalm:)
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but over time I finalized the acoustics aspect. Here is MY current design. It's half built right now.
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Hey Man, ta for the pics. Your studio looks a lot more professional than what I'm shooting for.

The skinny on my space is that it's a tin shed with a small room built inside which I've fitted with some bass traps and absorption panels. I've done a fair amount of reading on studio design although I will freely admit that I'm no Ethan Winer. The trick when it comes to where I'll be mixing is that I share this shed with a band who use most of the tin area as a rehearsal space. I've tried listening in the centre of the room although the shelving that's there created some horrid reflections and made any music I listened to sound kind of hollow and distant. This shed is also rented as a storage unit so there's a limit to what I can do. I've put a fair amount into my tracking room because that's used exclusively by me. The roof of the shed is tin, the side walls and the back wall are tin, the floor is concrete and the surface behind the console as you can see is wood veneer. For my mixing room, It's not really about designing and re-fitting a space to be the perfect studio. I'm more just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Have a look at page one of this thread for more photos.

With my monitors, you can't really tell in the photo but they are positioned in a perfect equilateral triangle to my listening position. I checked it with a tape measure to make sure. Having those monitors in the recessed area, although not ideal, did seem to reduce the amount of audible reflections from the tin and made music sound full again. When I said I have absolutely no idea, I meant more that I hadn't really put any real thought to it. Obviously I realise that a panel at the reflection point would cancel that reflection but the rest of the room is still tin.

I have thought of buying some cheap timber and building a small enclosed mixing room in my corner although that would be more trouble than it's worth. Another thought I've had is to do all my tracking first and then shift all of my gear into the treated room and mix in there because the bass response in that room is excellent.

Another idea I had, I've not seen done before so I'm a little doubtful regarding how effective it will be. I have an SM Audio Mic thing. In the same way it cancels out a room for a mic, could I not design a similar thing to go around both my chair and deaden the recessed section the speakers are currently in and create a reflection free zone at my listening point? I've thought about just using the Mic Thing to isolate my ears but it isn't really big enough...
 
It's been a while since I've posted here. I've been flat out building microphones so I haven't done a whole lot. I've built a pair of Gyraf G7s with RK47 capsules, a pair of C12 clones with CK12 capsules and a C12 clone with one of Tim Campbell's CT12 capsules which is a truly outstanding mic.

Back on topic of building, my old man lives next door to a cabinet maker and he's building a nice hardwood desk for my M3700 console. Here's the first draft:

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I'll be making some revisions over the next few days to incorporate some rack space but the basic design will be much the same. Can't wait to have it built! :thumbs up:
 
Still waiting for my desk to be built. In the meantime, I've got some new monitors. By that, I mean a new computer monitor which I've mounted on adjustable stands and a new pair of Behringer Truth B2031A monitors I picked up $260 seeing as my nEar05 monitors packed it in. Truth be told, for me the mighty B are definitely a step up from the Near05s.

Looking at this photo though I'm disappointed in myself because of the messy cables.

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