Critic my gear plan

anonymous 6 October 2006

Hey guys, we're almost done with construction on my studio, and it's almost gear time.. this is what I have planned out, just to get us started -

We start with a Mackie 1604-VLZ Pro, which goes to a MOTU 192HD, which goes into our computer via the MOTU PCI-424 card. We will then he using Cubase to work with all these tracks. We're getting Behringer TRUTH B2031A Active Monitors, and a whole bunch of those direct sound extreme isolation headphones, for people in the tracking room to hear the metronome, backing tracks, etc.

as for mics, just to start out with, I'm looking at getting a whole bunch of sm57's obviously, a couple MD421's, the Audix D-6, two R0DE nt-1000's, and a Shure KSM27, along with the collection of mics we already own, a couple of CAD's and a Nady or two.

What I'm really looking for advice on is the DAW section of equipment, the Mackie and motu, etc...

Thanks

Comments

I'm no professional, but I'd say spend a little more money on th

anonymous Fri, 10/06/2006 - 12:35

I'm no professional, but I'd say spend a little more money on the monitors...

It was 4-5 years ago when I was shopping for mixers in this pric

BobRogers Fri, 10/06/2006 - 13:39

It was 4-5 years ago when I was shopping for mixers in this price category and I thought the preamps in the Allen and Heath Mixwiz were better than the Mackie VLZ series. From what I have read, the Mackie Onyx preamps are better still, and that mixer is not that much more. The mixer is probably one of things on your list that will be used the longest before upgrading, so it's worth putting a few extra pennies into it, especially since there seems (to me at least) to be a pretty big jump in price from the onyx to a substantially better board. On the other hand, my impression is that the quality of monitors varies almost continuously. It seems that you pick a price point, find the best gear at that point, and there is always something better for a couple of hundred more. So as long as you are in the budget range, you might as well pick a price point and stick with it. You'll end up upgrading pretty soon no matter where you start.

If you planning to mix ITB, there's no need for mixer. Here's my

Groff Fri, 10/06/2006 - 15:05

If you planning to mix ITB, there's no need for mixer. Here's my opinion (for maybe 200 $ more):

http://www.jlmaudio.com/TMP8.htm

http://

Groff wrote: If you planning to mix ITB, there's no need for mix

anonymous Fri, 10/06/2006 - 15:57

Groff wrote: If you planning to mix ITB, there's no need for mixer. Here's my opinion (for maybe 200 $ more):

http://www.jlmaudio.com/TMP8.htm

Link removed

theres also the onyx 8 channel preamp.

(Dead Link Removed)

Groff makes a good point, but it really depends on your situatio

BobRogers Fri, 10/06/2006 - 16:38

Groff makes a good point, but it really depends on your situation. If you are completely focused on recording, the mixer is probably not the way to go. But my mixer is one of the hardest working piece of musical equipment in the house. Yes, its mostly used for live sound, but it has really come in handy for recording. It was nice to have sixteen reasonable preamps when I started collecting recording gear. Makes it easier to be patient and wait for the funds to buy better stuff.

BobRogers wrote: It was 4-5 years ago when I was shopping for mi

anonymous Fri, 10/06/2006 - 22:35

BobRogers wrote: It was 4-5 years ago when I was shopping for mixers in this price category and I thought the preamps in the Allen and Heath Mixwiz were better than the Mackie VLZ series. From what I have read, the Mackie Onyx preamps are better still, and that mixer is not that much more. The mixer is probably one of things on your list that will be used the longest before upgrading, so it's worth putting a few extra pennies into it, especially since there seems (to me at least) to be a pretty big jump in price from the onyx to a substantially better board. On the other hand, my impression is that the quality of monitors varies almost continuously. It seems that you pick a price point, find the best gear at that point, and there is always something better for a couple of hundred more. So as long as you are in the budget range, you might as well pick a price point and stick with it. You'll end up upgrading pretty soon no matter where you start.

I just looked into the Mixwizard, it looks really incredible, I LOVE the direct outs on every channel, that really works well for plugging into the MOTU unit. I wasn't quite sure how we were going to do it with the Mackie.

Mackie vlz has only 8 direct outs. You can use inserts (half plu

Groff Sat, 10/07/2006 - 08:06

Mackie vlz has only 8 direct outs. You can use inserts (half pluged) as direct outs.

Do you realy need 16 inputs or just like to watch the lights?

Well the MOTU has 12 inputs, so I would like to be able to match

anonymous Sat, 10/07/2006 - 11:30

Well the MOTU has 12 inputs, so I would like to be able to match that, you know?

The quality of recordings depends more on room, mics and pres th

Groff Sat, 10/07/2006 - 13:09

The quality of recordings depends more on room, mics and pres than converters. In my opinion it's better to invest money in good pres than converter. If you don't need all those AD/DA ins/outs, get the 8 channel converter and better pres than in Mackie/Heat mixer.

I would definatly get some better monitors, since you will be sp

anonymous Sat, 10/07/2006 - 18:11

I would definatly get some better monitors, since you will be spending all that money a little bit more on better monitors would be worth it, I keep seeing my friends with Events and they love them and they sound pretty good, especially for the money. The ONXY board is more the route you are going to want to take if you want the board. Many people say that mixes just sound better in general when they are mixed on a board and not in the box, that is up for debate between lots of people, it is all on how much you want to spend now, and what you are going to pay later if you want higher quality gear. I made that mistake with a Roland 1824 DAW that I am trying to get rid of because at the time is was great, but my ability and want for better sound projects made it not last long... so if anyone wants one I will sell mine! The nice thing about the ONXY board is you can do live shows later down the road if that is your thing, because it is very portable and a nice little side business.

I do want to have the full 12 channel capability... I've been lo

anonymous Sat, 10/07/2006 - 23:19

I do want to have the full 12 channel capability... I've been looking at the Onyx 1640, and I like it a lot, but it only has direct outs via DB-25? I don't like that.

Basically, we want to have a board to work with, along with the best possible pres, and we want it to be able to plug into the 192HD easily. The Mixwizard is the best thing I've seen yet, for this purpose. Maybe I'm wrong?