Vicarious Purchasing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kottke
  • Start date Start date
K

Kottke

New member
Let's play: you want some new home recording gear, and right now all you have is an AKG 414 B/ULS and your PC. What would you buy?

Pretend you are a singer-songwriter a la Mike Doughty, Paul Simon, or Nick Drake. (But maybe you hit some hard times, so instead of bundles of cash and a record company, all you have is 4,000 to spend.)
 
$400 on an M-Box (software is included)
$1600 on a used Avalon 737
$1000 for CD duplication

With a 414 that would be enough to make an awesome sounding CD to sell at shows and make more money. Then you can start the cycle all over again when you have sold enough CDs. Thats how I would do it.

H2H
 
Thanks, Hard2Hear.

Say this is just for recording gear, though, and CD duplication is separate. Same gear as what you posted?
 
Definitely a good preamp to go with that 414. H2H's suggestion is a good one. If you'll be mixing yourself, get some good monitors. You'll also need an interface (like the MBox, or similar) + software. Those are the basics.
 
It sounds like what you need is a front end for your recording. That means: mic(s), preamp, converter, soundcard/interface. So that's what I would suggest you focus on, and you can certainly get a great sounding front end for $4,000.

You might consider adding another mic or two. Kind of hard to know what to recommend, but you should definitely check out some mics to add to the 414.

Preamps. You need a great preamp. There's some excellent preamps by Great River, Grace (201), Pendulum Audio, Millennia Media (HV-3b or HV-3c), John Hardy, the list goes on and on. Basically, plan on spending about a $1,000 per channel and you'll be in the ball park as far as budgeting.

Conversion. The importance of high quality conversion can't be overestimated. So take a look at the Apogee Rosetta 200, UA 2192, Lavry Blue series, and maybe a few other 2 channel converters. A lower priced entry would be the Lucid 2496. But I think you can fit one of the pricier ones into your budget.

If your current soundcard has SPDIF or AES inputs, then you probably don't need to upgrade that. But if it doesn't, then you should get a professional grade interface for your PC. The M-Box works well, although I do prefer the Digi 002R. There are aton of interfaces out there, so just get what works with your software.

So really, that's my opinion of how you can spend $4,000. You can make first class choices and still get everything you need. Congratulations!
 
kottke.
if you want a high end signal chain i would definitely look at good mics/pre's feeding a lynx or RME sound card.
a good inexpensive pre is a rane ms1b. test it out sometime.
if you dont believe my choices check around the net what folks say about
these products.peace.
 
But why bother with a good inexpensive pre if you can swing a great expensive pre? =D
 
matt...
just demo a rane sometime versus a more expensive pre.
it stands up very well. but you do your own independent tests.
 
most people on here would be pretty stoked at the thought of having 4 grand and not absolutely NEEDING something with it
 
treymonfauntre said:
most people on here would be pretty stoked at the thought of having 4 grand and not absolutely NEEDING something with it
Click to expand...

Heresy. There's *always* something to need. :)

But seriously, if the budget is $4,000 and nobody is going to starve if it is all spent, then in my opinion it is a good thing to go first class and spend up to the limit.
 
OK. A few questions come up for me based on all the informative posts:

Monitors: to buy or not?

My Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card. Not good enough or yes?

SPDIF or AES inputs: I'm tech illiterate in this area. How can I check?

What breakdown do you suggest for focusing my funds in order of importance (or irrelevant) Preamp, converter, (interface), additional mic(s)?

Thanks a ton!
 
Whoops, that budget just tightened up!

Yes you need monitors, and yes you need to upgrade that soundcard. I'm not up on PC soundcards, so I'll let others make some recommendations there. I do like the Digi 002R and Pro Tools, but there are a lot of options to choose from. I'm sure you can search a ton of threads here on the subject of DAW's.

As far as breakdown of your budget, I would say something like this (approximate numbers of course):

$1,000 for a channel of great preamp.

$1,750-2,000 for an excellent converter. OR--get a soundcard with "good enough" converters. This would still be a huge upgrade over what you are using now. OR--get a relatively inexpensive soundcard and pair it with the Lucid 2496 AD converter. This would cost you about $1,200-1,400, leaving you more money for the monitors.

So in that second scenario you'd have about $1,500 or so left over, enough for a very good pair of monitors and an extra mic or two.

In your situation I'd probably go for that second option, i.e. saving a little on the soundcard and converters and going for the upgraded monitors and another mic or two.
 
kottke.
1 audigy card. if you want a hi end signal chain - this is not the card to use imho. try the rme i recommended. for more affordable look at maudio.
for ultra budget i keep on hearing good things about emu sound quality.
but apparently some folks have had set up issues/drivers while others have not.
but very cheap.
2. monitors. demo lots - but i suggest you at least try yorkvilles.
inexpensive and favored by lots of smaller budget studios.
ps..a lot of big studios ive been in also use little auratone cubes to spot check mixes on.
all the best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top