I've been doing quite a lot of research and read lots of recording forums from different sites about the Apogee Rosetta 200 that i was thinking about purchasing it as my next gear purchase.
Well, first off here's my gear list:
OS: Windows XP SP2
Interface: DIGI 02R running Pro Tools 7
Monitors: EVENT ASP8 with Aurolex Mopads and Mackie Big Knob
Preamp: UA-610/Focusrite Octopre (thinking about selling this one)
Mic: RODE K2
Plugins and Softsynths: Waves/Antares/Native Intruments/Spectrasonics
Instruments:Fender guitar, Ibanez bass, a couple of keyboards and a Motif Rack
I just realized a few weeks ago that since I've been making music for a few years now and the reason my tracks didn't sound that good is because I don't have a very good converter besides the 002R.
Some say that the Rosetta is good only if you haven't heard of the others such as Lucid, Mytek, Lynx Auroa, UA 2192 and others...
I've been reading that people who bought other converters besides Apogees argues that Apogee is known for making high quality equipment that's why their stuffs are more expensive than the other guys. If the others are better than Apogee's, then why are 90% or whatever the number of records in America uses Apogee's converters? (as what I've read in other people's posts). Is this just personal taste? Can you really hear the difference between qualities? I mean they all do the same thing, don't they? That's where the confusion hits me. I also talked to a salesperson at Guitar Center about the Rosetta 200 and he said that it will make a huge difference in quality. I guess he kind of convinced me to believed him a little. He also stated that he was embarrassed and ashamed to even make music without one. I mean... really?
Well, while reading through so many of the posts, i've also come across where some people say that it doesn't matter if you have the top of the line converter, if your room is not acoustically treated right, the converter is not going to be of much a benefit to you or your sound. Is this true? Well, I understand the importance of having a nice treated room is. Say, if your room is not really that good does that mean your not going to hear any difference or improvement at all; even with a decent converter? If that's the case then i'll probably consider treating the room first. But the problem with the room is that I don't think it's a very good recording room. I live in a studio apartment unit that is shaped like an "L" with a living room dimension of 17'x10' and the kitchen 8'x7'.
So my plan is that if i go with the Rosetta 200 (assuming that i can hear the difference) then I'll go that route and continue making music until I move out and get a better room; because I really need good qualities going in and coming out and have confident that I know my tracks are good (or at least for my level of experience). Otherwise, if i can't hear any improvement in sound quality i'll probably go with treating the room first, which can be quite frustrating because i only rent the place so i don't know if there's much i can do about it here.
Please. . any recommendations or advice would really be of great help. Thanks for hanging in throughout! :D
Comments
Thanks so much bent. I appreciate your quick response. Yeah...
Thanks so much bent. I appreciate your quick response.
Yeah... I only have one mic. I guess your right. I should wait and try experimenting with something else too. Oh, btw I forgot to mention that the Neumann TLM 103 was another future upgrade option for me besides the Rosetta. What else do you think I should experiment with? So, are you saying that the Apogee is not what it's worth? Just curios...
Anyways, it's places like these that saves us from making big mistakes. Thanks bent. :D
Correctly done room treatment usually only needs to be done once
Correctly done room treatment usually only needs to be done once but affects all sound. If your a small project studio, that would likely be all sound that you record, mix and playback.
Converters only do one job. Great converters would just be another reminder that you are in a poorly treated room.
People in the know, know that the room you record, mix and playback in has everything to do with how you make decisions. Poor decisions always lead to less than optimal results regardless of the quality of the gear you use.
Thanks for the comments AudioGaff. I'm just curious... what do
Thanks for the comments AudioGaff.
I'm just curious... what do you mean by- "Converters only do one job. Great converters would just be another reminder that you are in a poorly treated room. "
I'm really new to this converter thingy. In this case, if you know exactly what you are doing, say... you make all the good decisions and have all the top of the line gears in a great room, is it necessary to have a converter at all?
I just realized I need more learning than I thought. :shock: :oops: :roll:
Please help! I appreciate anything you comment.
Think about for a while and let it seep in. What job does the co
Think about for a while and let it seep in. What job does the converter do?
Why is room treatment more important overall?
Great converters give you better detail, flater freq response depth, focus, imaging and many other atributes.
Why would you or anyone else place more importance on converters than the room that you are using those converters in?
Let's see if I can explain in more layman terms. If your room needs treatment, and all rooms do to some degree, than your room is lying and causing you to make choices that affect what, and how you record as well as yur final mix results. Having better converters than what you have now is not going to fix or change the way you can't trust what you hear because the room is lying to you. All decisions you make about your sound is being done in a room that is lying to you. Great converters or any other high end gear you use are not going to change that. Always focus on fixing problems first before upgrading.
The same goes for monitor speakers. If your monitor speakers are lying to you, then....
Well, you know the rest.
Let the search engine be your friend.
Thanks AudioGaff. Now I can rest. That explanation tells me a
Thanks AudioGaff.
Now I can rest. That explanation tells me a lot about what I need to do as the next step. Not easy but it's the only way.
So, about my monitors (ASP8), are they decent enough not to give me false results? Well, I thought they're pretty true to me. They might not be like the Genelecs but they work well with me. What do you think?
So far all the help I've got are pretty helpful. Thanks a bunch. 8)
I've made some great sounding recordings on Terratec EWS88MTs, a
I've made some great sounding recordings on Terratec EWS88MTs, and I've made some piss poor sounding ones with Apogees, and vice-versa.
To answer your question about Apogee: They're like Digi, got a lot of marketing prowess.
The A/D chain is only one small fraction of the whole picture; and for what it's worth, I know plenty folks who swear by their digi racks...
You only have one mic?
That really limits you.
Invest in some other flavors first, before you worry about your converters.
I wouldn't lose sleep over it if I were you.