Recording Gear for student graduating university.

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nybbles

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OK, I posted a topic that's similar in the mics section, but need help with a mixer, so I'll just post that stuff here:

OK, here's my story and what I need and am looking for:

(Keep in mind, I will do mostly recording of classical music which requires different setups, etc.)

ALSO keep in mind, I don't want to spend over $200 for a mixer.

I am a classical violinist who has gotten into recording/editing and have started my own little recording business. However, I am looking into expanding my range of equipment. My main recording purposes are recitals and auditions for fellow classical musicians at the university I am attending.

What mixer would you reccomend that I purchase? I have looked all over and done some research, and asked a few people I know.

I've come down to the realization that I need at least 4 XLR inputs, so at the least probably an 8-input mixer. I would like sliders not knobs for adjusting levels. And I know, I know, people seem to hate Behringer (and for the reaons I've read, um, ok, they stole ideas), but I found their UB1204FX Pro to be the closest to what I'm looking for feature-wise. I don't need the FX, but I do like the 2 sliders on the ALT 3/4 vs. the 1. Plus it's only like $30 more for the FX model, so what the heck...

BUT, I've also heard that Behringer doesn't have a good sound.... My friend has the UB1204 NON FX, and I've listened to some recordings he has done with it. It sounds perfectly fine to me, AND don't forget I'm a CLASSICALLY trained violinist, I know what sounds good.

But then again, he just bought it, do they tend to die over time...

Thanks for taking the time to read through all of this... I really appreciate all who take the time to read through and respond.

THANK-YOU!
 
well with that budget, its very very tough, given violin is a delicate sensitive orchestral instrument i n audio terms.
i would suggest a good mic like a CAD mic into a yamaha mg mixer as the cheapest decent solution i could suggest.
but if you could go a bit more money i would recommend , but much higher price a decent ribbon mic like a beyer into a decent mic preamp like a rane ms1b or an fmr really nice preamp. but this is going to cost lots more.
frankly i would demo these solutions i suggest as well as many others.
very tough given the budget.
if you want a dirt cheap solution but i dont know how good this will sound ,
only cost you 20 bucks. google for tape op diy microphone using panasonic mic capsule. take the output into the mic input of a cassette deck ,
and feed the output into line in of sound card. you might be happy with this rock bottom idea, but maybe not. just an idea to save money.
another idea is the cheap mca sp1 condenser mic (about 50 bucks) into the mg mixer. (which has 48 volt phanton power)...should come to around 200 bucks or less if you shop wisely.
just some ideas.
peace.
 
I think you may have misunderstood my price ranges...

I'm considering spending about $200 on the mixer. And was hoping for under $500 for 2 mics. Preferably each individual mic shouldn't be over $200. I eventually would like to expand to 4 mics, so I'll take suggestions on both mics for X-Y on a tripod and for close up micing for extra kick on solos (where and when needed).

Would you make the same recommendations as far as the CAD mic into a yamaha mg mixer. And, if I get a mixer, would I necessarily need preamps, since most mixers I've used have had preamps built in (or are those only in the better mixers)...
 
nybbles.
you really have to demo a bunch of mics. some of the cheaper ones can "sizzle" in the upper mids.
for 200 bucks for the mixer . the mg falls in that price range.
but you are going to have to try it out and see if the sound texture with violin is to your liking. but i can tell you a lot of folks seem to like the
mg built in pre's. just dont expect a million dollar big studio console result.
but certainly good.
you can spend a lot of money on "the quest for great sound" and as many on the bbs have commented sometimes instead of buying cheap solutions repeatedly its best to save up for a really good solution. this was drummed into me years ago by senior audio engineers i met.
for 500 bucks for 2 mics that is 250 bucks a piece. its tough.
i would ask on this topic in the microphone forum and see what some of the pro's there say. i'm at a loss to suggest anything decent.
other than the cheap solutions ive already suggested.
 
If this was violin.com and some one posted saying they wanted a violin that sounded really good and played really well but they would not pay more than $200 for the violin and not more than $50 for the bow.

You have pretty much asked the same kind of question here. Unless I was doing a cheapo demo tape there is no mic that I would use on a violin that costs less than $500 for one mic. You are much better off spending money on one good mic and recording in mono. You can then just use one mic pre amp and record straight into what ever you are recording to (tape? computer? DAT?) Of all the instruments out there the violin is probably the one that will expose the flaws of cheap mics the most.

If youa re willing to spend $600-900 on a mic you can get your hands on somethign that sounds really good on a violin. shure KSM32, AT 4060, Microtech geffel UM70...

Beyond that it really depends on the room you are recording in.
 
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nybbles, you might not even want a mixer. A good two-channel preamp will get you a lot farther for that sort of thing.
 
thanks all!

I don't expect "studio" sound quality. Just need semi-pro quality for my purposes. I don't plan to make BIG money with this.

And Ronan, I understand from your perspective exactly what you're saying. But, I do realize what I'm asking is "cheap" stuff.

I'll be graduating from university quite soon, and just want to be able to continue what has become slightly more than a hobby for myself. I don't consider myself a pro, and would never advertise myself as one. I just want the equipment I'm purchasing to be as close as possible to being a pro level in a price range that I can afford.

once again, thanks everyone for your comments.
 
nybbles said:
thanks all!

I don't expect "studio" sound quality. Just need semi-pro quality for my purposes. I don't plan to make BIG money with this.

And Ronan, I understand from your perspective exactly what you're saying. But, I do realize what I'm asking is "cheap" stuff.

I'll be graduating from university quite soon, and just want to be able to continue what has become slightly more than a hobby for myself. I don't consider myself a pro, and would never advertise myself as one. I just want the equipment I'm purchasing to be as close as possible to being a pro level in a price range that I can afford.

once again, thanks everyone for your comments.
Click to expand...

OK, your best best is to buy good equipment that you won't outgrow rather than large quantities of equipment. When you say you need an 8 channel mixer, I wonder why? You don't need 8 channels to record a recital.

The problem with 8 channels is that you need 8 good ones, and that gets expensive. But you can probably afford 2 good ones, and that with 2 good mics will get you a long way for what you want to do.

When you are ready to expand, you add 2 more of each, etc.

I am currently trying to set up a mobile rig for a very similar purpose, I'm going to have 8 channel record at a time, and let me say it gets expensive. I've budgeted $5K to get going and I already have a pretty good mic collection. $500 per channel (mic + preamp) is a safe bet for good (not top) quality--and then you still need a recorder and monitors.
 
nybbles said:
What mixer would you reccomend that I purchase?

I've come down to the realization that I need at least 4 XLR inputs, so at the least probably an 8-input mixer. I would like sliders not knobs for adjusting levels.

...BUT, I've also heard that Behringer doesn't have a good sound.... My friend has the UB1204 NON FX, and I've listened to some recordings he has done with it. It sounds perfectly fine to me, AND don't forget I'm a CLASSICALLY trained violinist, I know what sounds good.

THANK-YOU!
Click to expand...

Your ears are probably well trained and you're going to find that many of the differences people describe as massive are in fact very, very subtle. That's why the Behringer might be fine...

Also, you may want to consider a used Fostex VM88 or VM200. The VM88 was reviewed in FutureMusic (UK) and it's findable on their site. These have a great reputation.

By the way, what are you recording on? I missed it if you indicated. I ask because have you considered an all-in-one DAW? The Korg 1600mkII has 16 tracks and 4 XLR inputs (plus 4 other 1/4" inputs). In other words, these units, and others like them, have a mixer built-in.
 
hmmm... that Korg looks interesting, though is a bit pricy... I'm currently going to be recording onto my laptop (which i know probably makes things worse, I'll probably end up buying a minidisc deck in a few months... As a soon to be university graduate, I probably won't have the money to buy really "good" stuff. So, I'm just trying to get semi-pro to low-end pro stuff.
 
nybbles said:
hmmm... that Korg looks interesting, though is a bit pricy... I'm currently going to be recording onto my laptop (which i know probably makes things worse, I'll probably end up buying a minidisc deck in a few months... As a soon to be university graduate, I probably won't have the money to buy really "good" stuff. So, I'm just trying to get semi-pro to low-end pro stuff.
Click to expand...

OK, then check out the Fostex VF160 with the built-in CDR. These are great machines, easy to learn and will produce a great finished CD. With a laptop PC there are going to be latency issues (delay between what you hear, and where you are in the recording). So if you're adding tracks, this can be a real problem, unless your sound card is up to the task.

I own the VF160. It's cheaper than the Korg, but will do an excellent job. Also has built-in phantom power if you use condensors. Still, it only has 2XLR inputs, But you can get an M-Audio DMP3 external pre and use it as well...
 
nybbles, the recordings I sent you with the ECM 8000 went into my VF160.
I also use the ECM 8000 mics into a PreSonus pre amp or a DMP3 then into my portable micidisc recorder and get great results.

You should be able to get a minidisc setup for around $350.

2 ECM 8000 mics for $100
1 MAudio DMP3 pream $150
Sony Portable Minidisc recorder $100

I use this set up to record concerts that allow recording. I use a battery pack to run the preamp.

TimboZ
 
hi
it doesnt matter which mixer you buy...if its behringer or soundcraft or yamaha or or..
today quality is quite the same for this range youre lookin at.

a few years ago behringer was not really good. but now...there are some fairy tales around that behringer instruments crackles and and... not true... a tc effect crackles more than a similar unit from behringer... what i want to say is...go and hear it with your own ears!! of course other marks are more performant than behringer!

check my site.
 
I've done some 'draft' classical music recordings. Basically regular recitals. It mostly depends on the room and the mic settings how it'll sound on the recording, not that much of the 'price' of the equipment.
I used 3 cheap Samson mics and a ART Tube MP preamps. All that through my Behringer UB1202 mixer and to my laptop.
So, you can get a fine set of equipment (mixer+mics+preamps) for less than $400. You just have to make some reading about mic setups to be able to catch the instruments' characteristics and make the recording sound good.
 
If you want a mixer with which to EQ on the way in - Yamaha MG10/2 or, for more options, MG12/4. It's not true to say they're similar to Behringer - they're closer to Mackie, which is a big jump at this price point.

I would be more tempted to go with a simple, clean preamp unit - either the DMP-3 or the FMR RNP (Really Nice Preamp).

Carry on with you laptop, and pick up a firewire (if possible) or USB interface (if not) for it, and some cheap software.

Don't be buying any Samson mics.

I like the SE Electronics mics in the very cheap end, but haven't used the Studio Projects equivalents. The CAD M179 seems to be the mic at the next level, Massive Master also likes the M-Audio Solaris in the same price range.
 
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