Seeking some suggestions for equipment?

[mustang5]

Greetings to all!!,

I have spent the past 4 years using cubase on a PC, and I want to take it to the next step.

I am by no means a professional, so please excuse my inconsistencies!!

I have 3 bands which we really only do it for fun and get our music heard. I am involved as a musician in all these bands (Vocals and guitars. Death/Heavy/Black Metal).

I do all the mixing and so forth!

Basically, I want a setup where I can record separate tracks at the same time (IE drums through 5-10 channels or so forth). And have each separate track recorded in the program.

I have about $4000 to spend upfront, and I am hoping to get a suitable apple system, and upgrade to pro tools. Question one is, can someone suggest an apple system/processor/sound configuration to look for which will more than suite my needs? (I hate latency.) ?

Secondly, I see in recording studios the producer is working pro tools through a mixer type control? What are these??? Noob, yes I am. Im not ashamed to admit it. But if someone could simply tell me what they are called so I can research them that would be much appreciated! Alternitavely, if you could suggest one that would suite my needs I would be much more greatful!!!

Thirdly, Can someone explain to me what is the best way to get a quality final audio mixdown??? I upgraded PCs a while ago, and the mix down on this PC compared to the last is like chalk and cheese! A vast improvement. Does this have something to do with the bit rates of the sound cards? Or is it a program/memory issue?? (Using Cubase).?

So basically I have plenty of the recording/Live equipment and mics and so forth, but at present have been recording drums through a mixer/PA and only one channel going into a PC through a sound blaster audio interface! I want to make the next step.

Thank you for reading and I expect to spend and learn a lot on this forum!!!!

Cheers!

Nice to meet you!!!!

 

[Steenamaroo]

hi there! first up,,,welcome

2nd,,,$4000 is a hell of a starter budget, so good stuff from the start

3rd. Apple and digidesign/protools are the two best ways to make your budget disappear really really fast! lol...


there are often guys passing through here who seek advice on protools, and more often than not it's because they've been led to believe that it's the industry leader and that nothing compares.

if you think you fall into this category, have a look around for (cheaper) alternatives on here and elsewhere, but, if you know/like/ really want to use protools, there's no reason why you couldn't get set up with an apple imac and a digi003 rack and an 8 channel adat expansion unit (like focusrite octopre) with your money.

any modern imac is going to be powerful enough to handle reasonable mixes (something like 3.0 c2d / 4gb ram?)

buying the digi would give you protools, and you'll have 4 mic inputs on the digi and a further 8 mic inputs on the octopre which is plenty for drums.

the above will give you an immense increase in quality when compared to anything that runs into a soundblaster sound card.

although protools LE doesn't have ADC (ie, it will produce latency), the latency should be manageable on a good computer setup with the right settings.
personally i use protools le with a 003 console, and latency has never been an issue. i just keep the hw buffer settings at 256 or 512 when recording.

you asked about control surfaces? for the most part, what you're seeing is an interface crossed with a big mouse

for example, my 003 console has exactly the same ins and outs and controls as a 003rack, but as well as that it has faders and pan knobs and that kind of thing.

the bigger consoles like c24 are different in that they aren't an interface. to use a c24 you'd need a protools HD setup, or a 002/003 rack to use as an interface with it.

the latter option means you can use your c24 as a control surface, but you loose the 24 preamps that are built into it, which in my opinion is a huge waste of money. (sounds stupid, but i've seen it done)

other options include command 8, which is an 8 fader control surface and that's all!
this would be used in conjunction with any PTle or hd setup.

in terms of your mixdowns sounding different on different machines, i would say it's less about the hardware/settings than it is about how you went about recording and mixing.

if your mixes sound different, it's more likely down to inconsistency in instrument tones, mic choice, mic position, effects settings etc etc.
if i'm recording an album, i tend to set up a session, and all my mics for drums. i'll record the drums for all of the songs in one or two days with the same setup. these are all recorded into one session (just my preference) so that any volume changes or effects that get added, get added to all of the songs.
rinse and repeat for bass/guitar/vocals etc.

obviously, you don't always want everyone song to sound exactly the same, but if you're doing a consistent sounding album, this eliminates the possibility of working on 10 different song mixes, then discovering at the end that they all sound nothing like eachother.


if you're not dead set on protools, hang around cos there are plenty of alternatives that people on here have experience with.
hope that's useful.

 

[moresound]

You have yourself a novel going on here Paul.

I have pro tools as well, but if I had to do it all over again I would probably choose to have Reaper instead....And may still get it payed for here soon....A heck of a lot cheaper (free down load and if you think that it's what you want --the cost $60.) and does just about the same thing when you come right down to it. Plus plug ins aren't limited as with pro tools.

 

[nate_dennis]

I'd say if you're set on PT then go here. Spend a decent chunk of your extra money on room treatment. Like he said, an octo-pre would give you additional mic pres and you should be set. 4K is a good budget, no reason you can't get what you're looking for. Hell, you could get a killer analog set up with that budget, but I'm sure I'll get flamed for that. So, yeah, I'd say for your money the 003 is where it would be. Plus room treatment and decent monitors.

 

[moresound]

I'd say if you're set on PT then go here. Spend a decent chunk of your extra money on room treatment. Like he said, an octo-pre would give you additional mic pres and you should be set. 4K is a good budget, no reason you can't get what you're looking for. Hell, you could get a killer analog set up with that budget, but I'm sure I'll get flamed for that. So, yeah, I'd say for your money the 003 is where it would be. Plus room treatment and decent monitors.

No flaming here!! Every set up should be a hybrid of analog gear and digital.

 

[Steenamaroo]

i really did get carried away didn't i

sorry OP,lol.

but if you do wana get into HR, be prepared to do a lot of reading