What should I get next?

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laptoppop

Musical Technogeek
I'm looking for opinions on what I should get next to enhance my recording. I'm looking for microphone suggestions or outboard gear. I record country/folk/pop/rock and school bands/jazz bands/choirs. I've got a collection of low-cost mics at this time.

Budget for this round: $2,000.

Here's what I use now:

Preamps - Aardvark DirectPro 24/96 (8 channels)
Compressors/eqs - UAD-1 and Cakewalk Sonar plugins
Monitors - Fostex PM-1

Microphones (in no particular order):
Marshall v67 (2)
Marshall 603 (2)
Behringer ecm8000 (2)
Shure 57 (5)
ATM 25
SP C1
SP B1 (2)
Oktava 52 ribbon

Some of the things I'm considering:
RNP
RNC
Different monitors
Neuman 103
Sennheiser 441

I've got the ability to borrow at will:
AKG 414
BLUE Dragonfly
Neumann 193

What should I get next?
Thanks,
-lee-
 
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You have good mics for country and rock music, but if you are serious about recording choirs and live jazz groups, a good quality pair of small diaphram condensers should be a priority. I'm not really an expert on what to buy for that application.
 
You've got access to enough good mics.

Invest in some better mic pres, perhaps. Get a Sytek 4-channel or something along those lines. That would make for a nice enough upgrade for now.

But before you do any of that, make sure our monitoring system is addressed. Are you using ideal monitors in an optimal (or as close to optimal) accoustic environment as possible?
 
Ideal monitors? Hardly ;)

The PM-1's I have are a nice active monitor, flat +/- 2 dB from 50 Hz - 20 kHz, +/- 10 dB from 38 Hz to 23.5 kHz. They are biamped, with 45 watts for the highs, and 75 watts for the lows. 0.016% THD from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, 86 dB s/n, 15 V/uSec slew. I like them, and my mixes translate well into a lot of different listening environments. But lets get real - they are still relatively cheap monitors.

Environment?

Thats a whole different set of posts. I'm currently building my new environment (you can see the plans on John Sayer's site www.johnlsayers.com in the under construction area). Its a "bedroom" studio (10' by 16.5' with a sloping ceiling 8' up to 13.5'), but its dedicated completely to recording, and I'm hoping by the time I finish building all the acoustical treatments it will sound pretty DARN good.

Thanks for the input so far!

-lee-
 
I vote for monitors. Since you are having your environment improved considerably you should start researching the best set of main monitors to complement your room. Get the best (for your room) you can afford. A great room with great monitors--that's a dream we all have.
 
Yep having a good sounding room/environment outweighs any equipment purchases by far.
I recently built a new studio and treated it and the difference is massive. Playing back old mixes you can tell straight away all the errors from a poor room.

I agree with getting better monitors. Even then you still have to learn how they translate to others systems. And make sure you set them up correctly otherwise they'll sound like crap.
Check this out:http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/Mar02/articles/monitors.asp

Tukkis:)
 
1 - RNP
1 - RNC
1 - pair of Event TR5N powered monitors

thats $1000 so far




save the rest.....I cant see anything you HAVE to have at this point.......maybe you may wanna address some room treatment you have with some of it, or maybe even take a look at your cables and wires which is often overlloked while upgrading......
 
Gidge - thanks for the monitor reference. Seems to me the events would be in about the same class as the ones I have. The specs are slightly worse, and the price is slightly less. They might be a small improvement or not - but probably not enough to make a huge difference.

I might get a set of ADAMs, or 824s or Genelecs or some such, but truth be told, I'm pretty happy with the current ones for the moment.

Talking with Harvey, he mentioned a couple more small diaphram condensors (either 603s or a matched pair of octavas mc012), a Shure SM7, 2-4 RNCs, and 2 DBX 242 parametric eqs. I'm having a hard time finding the DBX units, but I like his thinking. Having good alternatives for the time that I'm capturing the signal makes a lot of sense.

I'm also leaning toward one or two preamps. The ones I have in the Aardvark are *great* - clean, quiet, uncolored. I might get a different one or two specifically to add color. The RNP gets rave reviews -- but I'm not decided, because it has a reputation of good clean amplification - it might be too similar to the ones I already have. Maybe a Joe Meek one, or the studio projects tube one. For $129. the SP vtb-1 might give me some options at low risk.

Thanks again,
-lee-
 
If you are doing choirs and school bands then you are doing a lot of location recording. This caused me to wonder what you had the sound card in?

Recently I have seen, from shuttle and others, some really compact cases that have one PCI slot that could hold the sound card. If you are currently lugging a full size computer case one of these could be darn handy. I have also observed that some of these cases are darn quiet too.
 
what about getting a pair of KRK active monitors, like the V8's? They're definitely light-years ahead of the TR-5's or PM-1's and would run you about $1200, leaving almost half of your budget free to get some pre's or whatever.

Also, I'm a little confused about what you said regarding Harvey's recommendations...don't you already have a pair of 603s mics? Or are you just looking to have more of them to use at the same time?
 
ditto on the monitors

Without trying to put down the Fostex monitors, I would try to get my hands on a pair of NS-10's or something of the like.

Carlos
 
Oh, and a nice Tube preamp might be a good addition for color. You can get a Presonus Blue Tube or maybe an ART for under $150 and having a tube pre will give you a broader range of possible sounds.

Carlos
 
Carlos - no problem at all in putting down my Fostex's -- they're working OK for me now, but I know they're cheap! ;)

I'm a bit puzzled by your NS10 recommendation though - they're rapidly passing from the scene - Yamaha doesn't make them any more, and studios are moving on. Besides, they aren't typically used for primary monitoring, but for checking out how a mix would sound on the typical hyped home system.

I wonder if I should wait for my ear to develop more, or if better speakers would help them develop faster... ;) oh well! :D

In terms of the tube preamp - yeah, that's one thing I was leaning toward with the VTB1 -- its a tube amp too. I like the thought of a different preamp or two because they would change the color/flavor of ALL my microphones - instead of just adding one more flavor, I'd multiply the effect.

-lee-
 
Innovations - thanks for the suggestion. Right now, my remote recording is typically done with other equipment, although maybe with a couple of my microphones. We typically use a Mackie d8b mixer hooked up to a SDR hard disk recorder. I have a compatible removable hard disk carrier in my PC, so I just take the disk out of the SDR and bring it home to mix. Sonar imports the broadcast wav files that the SDR writes just fine.

Tom,

Yes, I have two 603s, but the small diaphram condensors are really versatile. I'm leaning toward some Sound Room Octava mc012 with all the capsules for variety and flexibility. Unfortunately, they are pricey. Maybe the SP C4's, but I haven't heard enough about those yet.

-lee-
 
I would go with Gidge's list, except that I would add another preamp, like an ART or a Blue Tube, for some coloration and variety, and if you're recording acoustic instruments I'd spend more time with the 603s. I think the RNC is a must.
 
Go for the RNP and RNC together. Then get the best monitors you can afford. You have enough good mics for now. Maybe you can get a DMP3 while you are at it (for drums).

Happy Spending!!
 
Definitely the Sytek pres. They are the most open pre I've heard for the cost.

For vocals (if you have the cash) any of the Vintech preamps.
 
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