OK, I've Changed My Mind - This Is What I'm Buying

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MichiganMan

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Seanmorse79 helped me change my mind, a bit. I'm passing on a "scratched or dented" Mackie 32x8 and will buy a Mackie 24x8. Though I know very little about recording (even though I've been writing songs for many years), I like the 8 bus configuration and the VLZ pres. The money I save on the 24 is $400. With that I will make 2 small purchases that seem to be favored in these threads; a Behringer Composer and a M Audio DMP3 pre.

I have 4 sets of stereo guitar signals, 2 stereo synths, 4 tracks for a Roland RM8-MKII drum machine. As I said in my last (and first) post, I'd rather not have to change my connections. This is all in a home studio, going into a Roland 1680.

Does this setup make sense?

What kind of wiring should I purchase to hook the pre-amp and compressor to the mixer?

I really would like input. As you can tell, I am confused and many of you know quite a bit.
 
the DMP3 is very much of the same "flavor" as the Mackie pres....its a great preamp for the price, but even as a M-Audio plant, id have to go with a Joe Meek or the Studio Projects VTB-1....

the Composer is great for limiting and some mild compression but gets nasty when you hit the compressor hard...i have the autocom.....if you need serious compression, look at the RNC.......
 
Well now, what do I do? I've already taken a look at the Joe Meek. Many people describe its British sound and it seems like you either like it or you don't. I'll take another look at the RNC, but I am only getting more confused. Maybe this boils down to buy one and if it doesn't sound good, look for something that sounds completely different.
 
MichiganMan said:
Well now, what do I do? I've already taken a look at the Joe Meek. Many people describe its British sound and it seems like you either like it or you don't. I'll take another look at the RNC, but I am only getting more confused. Maybe this boils down to buy one and if it doesn't sound good, look for something that sounds completely different.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as a single do it all - mic,compressor,pre.
Everything has its use for different applications.
Some compressors are "Yankers" some are "Smooth"
Some work well for a mix while some are perfect for bass.

Even for a home studio, a single mic just cant bring high quality results. A single pre brings the same color and dimensions to the mix....I'm sure you get the point.
 
Hey, Shailat, I know what you're saying, plus you know way more about this than me. But (here's the 'but') here's an idea that makes some sense to me: if you use the same pres and mics on an album, it will help the album to hang together, because of the sameness of the sound. For a homer who can't afford mastering, that's a plus, no?
 
dobro said:
Hey, Shailat, I know what you're saying, plus you know way more about this than me. But (here's the 'but') here's an idea that makes some sense to me: if you use the same pres and mics on an album, it will help the album to hang together, because of the sameness of the sound. For a homer who can't afford mastering, that's a plus, no?
Click to expand...

Say you have 2 guitar tracks in your mix. You tend to want to have them play a different part and register and many people will choose a different sound or guitar so that they can work against each other but at the same time blend in together. If they were the same, they would blend in So well that you would lose one or the other or parts of each. To different?.... and its all over the place...
Its like cooking....different spices but all in the same pot to blend together. To spicy ?.. and it's in the garbage
We work so hard in making a clean clear mix so all the parts stick out yet blend together....Panning left and right and cutting EQ to make space and compressing to help keep it defined and sometimes reverb in side another reverb....To much processing and we've killed it....

The RNC is not the answer to all compression needs but along side another different compressor and you have opened your options widely. Same with pre's.
And on the other side of the coin.... a $3000 compressor wont answer all your needs in a pro studio. I use a DBX 160 to yank down on some tracks, where as using a different very expensive compressor fails to respond in the manner I would like.

A homer would do himself a favor if he acquired different mics, compressors,and pre's (budget allowing). Even two different pre's can do wonders to a mix.
Bottom line is Michigan man shouldnt be confused as if there was the ultimate single one compressor then I would probably be a lot richer and my wife a lot less pissed at me for buying gear all the time.

HEY !... if guitarist can own 35 differnt guitars...why cant we own more then 2 compressors ?!?!!?
 
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The mixer is fine. It already has preamps so you don't need any extra preamps, unless you want the specific sound that preamp.

The RNC is the most versatile compressor you find, start with that, and here is the same recommendation: Get other compressors because you want their specific sound.

Are you going to use the mixer as an input mixer when recording to the 1680, or as a mixdown mixer?
 
Hey Shailat, part of the problem is that I am a guitarist. That's a bad enough disease. I own too many guitars, but somehow seem to play them all. I don't want my recording habits to be influenced but my never-ending needs for guitars.

What kind of cables (brand and length) do you all suggest I use to connect the mic pres and compressors?
 
"A homer would do himself a favor if he acquired different mics, compressors,and pre's (budget allowing). Even two different pre's can do wonders to a mix."

Thanks, Shailat.
 
MichiganMan said:
I will use it as an input mixer.
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Then I'd just go with the mixer and an RNC, and see what happens after that. Having different mics and compressors and preamps is probably a good idea, but get them one by one when you need them. :-)
 
First of all, it really seems that there are many ways to do things. So I made a choice and here's what I did.

I bought:
Mackie 24x8
FMR RNC compressor
Behringer MDX2200 Composer
MAudio DMP3
Studio Projects VTB-1

Now I have 2 compressors and 2 outboar pres. I can compare the 2 compressors in different situations and the 2 pres against each other and the Mackie pres. This should keep me busy.

Now, REGEBRO has a good point of using one item and if it isn't satisfying, try another one. My problem is that I truly need to do an A/B comparison to know the difference.

This is a good thread, at least for me. If anybody has any thought of using these items in conjunction with each other, let me know. I will be using 4 outputs on the R8-MKII drum machine and will have to figure out which compressors work with which instruments. I also must go back to writing songs. That's what this is all about, isn't it.
 
MichiganMan said:
Maybe this boils down to buy one and if it doesn't sound good, look for something that sounds completely different.
Click to expand...

That's about the best advice I've heard so far in this thread.

. . . Or you could just buy everything, make sure you keep the receipts, and take back whatever you don't like (as much).
 
dobro said:
if you use the same pres and mics on an album, it will help the album to hang together, because of the sameness of the sound. For a homer who can't afford mastering, that's a plus, no?
Click to expand...

While your concepts may not have much to do with practical audio reality, i gotta give you credit for some original thinking, dobro! :D
 
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