I have two choices to upgrade(its a slow process)...A better console (Trident 80B) or full blown Pro Tools mix plus with G4, etc... Which combination would draw more business (or less)? A Mackie with Pro Tools or a Trident 80B with ADAT HD24? We already have thorough selection highend outboard and mics and A/D conversion, so the front end is taken care of. It will just be a matter of appearances really. But in today's studio market it seems that PT is as important as a nice desk.
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You have to be more specific about your needs, what market you a
You have to be more specific about your needs, what market you are in, what gear you have access to now and what your goal is in the future ?
These are two totaly different set up's.
The Pro tool's set up would be the best option if you are thinking of getting into the post production side of the buissiness which is probably the future for most small studio's, if you are specialising in the dance market you will find the Pro tool's rig more usefull, but most people making dance music are working at home on their own set up's and only hire studio's for the final mix down, and there are a lot of mid sized facilatys that have the Pro tools rigs and medeum sized SSL's that have very competative rates and are targeting these kind of cliants.
Are you selling more than your studio ? i.e. have you production or programing skills that could draw in cliants more than what gear you have ? Do you have a cliant base now , or is this a project studio that is growing into a commercial facilaty ?
If you are in an area were you have a lot of up and coming small bands or/and rock music based labels then Trident would definatly be the best choice, as you will find tracking far easier on a big analog desk with lots of mic pre's built in, the sound quality will also be far better suited to rock but will seem noisy compared to the Pro tools rig.
If you are going for the Trident I would recomend an analog 2" machine . The sound would be so much better in this role and its also not the kind of thing you will find in a project studio, so you will probably draw more work than with the Adats.
From the "tone" (if that's possible) of your question, I'd proba
From the "tone" (if that's possible) of your question, I'd probably vote on the Pro Tools option. I should say I did vote on that for my studio, and it really panned out for me.
Pro Tools is a pretty powerful tool, and can have a huge impact on your workflow, as it sure did for me. I like Tridents, but as for a draw, probably not. An A Range, yeah, but the B, probably not. If you've got some good "name" outboard pre's for the "marquee value" the console probably won't do much more.
FWIW
-RichD
Does your outboard selection include mic pre's? A little more i
Does your outboard selection include mic pre's?
A little more info about your studio and the work you want to be doing will help.