Requesting your wisdom

  • Thread starter Thread starter Spelling Bee
  • Start date Start date
S

Spelling Bee

New member
First off, Id like to thank the many talented people that take their time to browse through these boards and answer peoples questions. In my short time here I have learned a lot and seen some very creative and skilled people.
Id like to ask a few questions but first would like to explain the current situation so that the answers can be specific and concise. Please bear with me...
Im new to this board but not totally new to recording. I recorded some demo cd´s for an old band of mine and did some light editing as well. Im by no means an expert and my previous equipment and experience is limited. Luckily many community colleges in my area offer in depth hands on classes in recording techniques and pro tools. I am planning to build myself a much more serious studio (relative to past setups) in my home for recording my solo projects (think Nick Drake/Elliot Smith as well as some indie influences), the projects of friends, and a band that Im trying to organize at the moment(indie rock). Ive been studying various options and even the setups of others to see what the most practical and cost effective way to build a “prosumer” studio for up to five thousand dollars. There is just something about DYI that intrigues me.
I have all the instruments and amps that I will need. So that is covered. I will be obtaining the following:
Building a DAW for editing purposes. Est 1000-1500.
DIGI002R for all I/O with four mic pres and Pro Tools. 1000
Monitors are 300 to 500.
Various Shure 57/58´s would be 300 to 500 as well.
The gear I already have are:
Mics are an Oktava condensor (the number escapes me right now) and some piece of junk that came from a buddies basement (Prob Radio Shack – gasp!)
Small Behringer Eurorack (which Ive actually been pleased with)
Various other nic nacs that arent of any real importance.
After adding up the costs listed above I would have about 1500-2000 to play with.
So, given the above information, my questions would be the following
1. What is ADAT and its purpose? Essential? Advantageous? Necessary? Convenient?
2. What else would you recommend in terms of compressors/mic/de-essers/more pres/etc etc etc? Im talking things that are ESSENTIAL to the functioning of the studio. Not things that you would just buy for kicks. Im trying to establish a baseline of what is required.
3. What are any tips you´d give me as I start this ball rolling? Anything you can suggest is appreciated.

Again, its great to have people to talk with here on this forum. I thank all of you ahead of time for your informative and helpful answers. Have a great day! Thanks, Travis.
 
My modest advise to you is to get your computer built, get your interface & software (the Digi is fine if you really like Pro Tool- some around here do not- you decide) get a decent preamp or two if whatever interface you get doesnt have em, hit the mic forum for advise on mics to start with, buy some nice monitors ($500 or up), and then stick that extra $2000-$3000 in the bank. Once you start recording you will learn what you really need and what you can do without- I think most people around here (myself included) have bought a few peices of gear up front without really giving much thought to why exactly we needed it- and it it ends up being a waste- only to be sold used at a loss.
Its kinda like a house- you should live with it for a little while before you start renovating.

Oh yeah, an ADAT is a recorder and if you're going the computer route then you dont need it- Im sure someone cold tell you to go ADAT over computer- but thats a different story. And, as far as other outboard equip, you'll need a mic->pre->recording media (again could be a computer or ADAT or real to real)->monitoring system. Thats the bare minimum. You can do dynamics processing and effects in the puter, although its sometimes nice to have a decent outboard compressor to tame the signal from certain sources.

Good luck
 
Hey, huge thanks for that info you gave me. I will be sure to pop into the mic forum and see what is being recommended over there. The ADAT info was also helpful and you answered my questions perfectly. I do have one more though. If you go straight into an ADAT how do you go about doing the editing? Im assuming you would then transfer it to the PC or Mac and do editing in there. Am I correct?
I understand the build as you go mentality. Its what I did basically with my previous setup and you do loose a bit of money buying things that end up not being of much practical use. Hopefully I can avoid some of those purchases with the information I find here. Again, thanks for the post and if anyone else out there has any advice I would still love to hear it.
You did mention something about some not liking Pro Tools. Ive seen that around here but it seems to me like some swear by it also. What do you personally use kermit? Have you used a protools system? If so, what were your impressions. Im a pretty technically saavy guy so if it has anything to do with a steep learning curve I dont think that would dissuade me at all. Thanks for the info!
 
look into this. a athlon pc running powertracks (48 tracks for 29 bucks).
some good mics, a good mixer and a delta sound card.
search under my name for details. also suggest you talk to some very knowledgeable usrrs who use everything at pgmusic.com powertracks forum.
peace.
 
im one of those people who swear by protools... but its all a matter of opinion, if i were you i would go with the digi002R, and get nice preamp with ADAT out so u can have more ins on the digi002R... M-Audio makes a 8 channel mic preamp called the octane... http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Octane-main.html

You get line out and effect return inputs on every channel, phase switch on every other channel, dedicated High-Z instrument inputs, M-S encoder, couple other nice features... and best of all its ADAT in so the Digi002 will reconise it and give u all 8 channels... you get these...
ADAT 1
ADAT 2
ADAT 3
ADAT 4
ADAT 5
ADAT 6
ADAT 7
ADAT 8

so u will have 12 mic inputs rather than just being stuck with 4... plus the m-audio pre's are IMO better than the ones on the digi002...
 
Beleive it or not there was audio recording and editing before there were computers :). Some people choose to leave the computer completely out. They just use a mixer, a recorder (such as the adat) and all outboard gear / compressors effects, etc and a note book to write down everything. Thats what track sheets are for.

I use Cool Edit Pro (now Adobe Audition) on a pretty old P3. I have a Soundcraft M8 mixer that i use for preamps, record through a Delta 1010lt and i mix everything in the computer. I have never used Pro Tools so i cant really give an opinion, but i do hear alot about upgrad-ability and compatibility issues with the Pro Tools stuff- Its knida like askin whether you should use a PC or MAC- there is no right answer for everyone to agree on.

If you are going to record on the computer you dont need an ADAT. And stick around here and some of the other forums- If you havent been here lurking and reading for the last year or so then you have ALOT of reading to catch up on.
 
when i say adat i mean lightpiped into the digi002 using one of those obtical calbles...
 
I knew what you meant- I guess I could have clarified for the Bee though ;). There are ADAT recorders (Alesis digital audio tape- i think) recorders and there is ADAT lightpipe which is what your talking about NTN- which is a transfer protocall. I'm pretty sure thats fiber optic.
 
I realize that there were days without computers. Dark days they were. No, its really amazing to me what they used to produce analog. Not that digital is better than analog (quite the contrary) but its just too slow for someone as inpatient as me. Now, its really becoming easier and easier for the average guy like me to invest some money and do what they love to do themselves. I love recording but I could never affor to go to a studio to record my stuff even though I have several aquaintances with good studios. Not to mention I the satisfaction I get from hearing the finished product
I was originally referring to ADAT in the recording medium sense. Thanks for the link to M-Audio. Definantly something I will have to consider also. Just 4 mic inputs seemed a little limiting to me. But with the octane that would give me 12 mic ins with pres and 6 possible line ins. Definantly worth considering. Well, youve all aumnted my knowledge today. I appreciate your responsiveness. This is bar none the best forum I have ever visited. Thanks.
 
...Not that digital is better than analog...

I don't think analog is better than digital. It's more expensive, slower, destructive to edit, and often -- don't forget -- the noise is louder than the music. Let's not leave out frequent and expensive downtime to repair, calibrate, and put out fires. Digital gets a bad rap because people are lazy and they expect the gear to do the work for them. I'm not inclined to apologize for the results I get because it doesn't have some imaginary "analog" mojo. Analog has its place -- I have a room full of tube amps to prove it -- but to say "analog is better than digital" is the equivalent of saying "outhouses are better than indoor plumbing".

Look at it this way: my digital studio would not exist if I had to convert everything to analog hardware.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top