Ok I've pretty much decided to keep saving my money up for a Crane Song spider. Like most people I havent actually heard one but have heard other Crane Song products and love them. As of now I dont have any big name gear (I record on a digi 001 with Mackie pres). The only problem is if and when I do buy the spider I won't be having any extra money for a long time. My mic collection is severly lacking any really nice mics (I have 57's, 421's, a pair of Oktava 012's, a RODE NTK and various AT/Shure, etc). Would it maybe be a better idea to buy a couple royers and a soundelux or two and wait for a spider? I plan on one day owning it all but am just wondering what I should buy first. Even though i dont really have any money id rather not buy anything middle of the line and figure in the long run the cheapest way to get 8 nice mic preamps and converters would be the spider. I'd love to hear you guy's opinions on what order to get the stuff. I'm in no hurry to get the stuff, and ill probably have the money for the spider by xmas, hopefully its being mass produced by then. Thanks in advance.
Andreas
Comments
Yeah altogether I need about 12 to 14 channels of mic pres but a
Yeah altogether I need about 12 to 14 channels of mic pres but am completely happy with not having good mic pres for toms and other not so important things i might not end up using in the mix. The type of bands I normally record like to play live and overdub vocals and go back and fix mistakes. So all 8 channels of the spider would be used pretty much all the time. One of the reasons I'm interested in the spider is because in the end i'd end up saving money, and getting a really good product. If i went out and bought a lucid 8 channel converter, an api 3412, and a couple flamingos it'd be near 9 to 10k.
I just really want to buy stuff I'm going to use when I get more stuff later. The funny thing is is when I do get a couple nice LD condensors I'll still be using my 57's but wont be using my NTK, that right now is my best mic. I dont want to make the same mistakes when it comes to pre's and converters. I dont want good for the money, i just want good, even though itll take me forever and i'll be eating a whole lot of ramen noodles.... damn.
I wouldn't buy the spider first. The Spider is a piece of digit
I wouldn't buy the spider first. The Spider is a piece of digital gear. The price WILL drop. How much cash do you have? Why don't you buy a single channel pre and a decent mic and compressor. Then after you've amassed some crap, go for the big bug I mean buck digital stuff.
Originally posted by Faeflora: I wouldn't buy the spider first.
Originally posted by Faeflora:
I wouldn't buy the spider first. The Spider is a piece of digital gear. The price WILL drop.
It does indeed have 'digital components', but the great bulk of the unit is "analog". Fully 'class A discrete' analog circuitry isn't getting any cheaper to build, in fact, quite the opposite. So while the A/D and "tape" processor sections of 'Spider' are indeed digital, and while it has 'digital outputs', it's not like a computer where the cost of manufacture will drop every 6 months.
id rather not buy anything middle of the line That's exactly m
id rather not buy anything middle of the line
That's exactly my philosophy, even though I don't have a great deal of money either. I do take comfort in the fact that when I hear something I don't like, then I'm pretty certain that it isn't my gear's fault. I has saved me a great deal of time.
Getting my first top-flight mic pre was a real eye-opener. The later parametric EQ and compressor was also enlightening. Good gear will open your eyes (ears) AND boost your confidence.
Now as to whether you should spend the $$$ on the Spider or mics, well it depends on what kind of work you plan to do.
Do you track with lots of live channels? If so, then the Spider might be completely the right thing. Since it looks like you already have some pretty useful mics. If you get the Royers first, you might not be able to hear all their magic through the 001. They need a lot of gain and so you need super quiet preamps with loads of gain. A Soundelux would probably cut through fine, but I haven't heard the 001, so I wouldn't know.
On the other hand, you might want to look for a setup with fewer channels that will let you have the best of both worlds. You can get a fine mic pre for about $1K/channel or better (if you by 4s and 8s instead of just pairs). Get fewer channels (4) of better conversion, and I think you'd still have enough money leftover for those Royers.
And just like you, I've never heard the Spider, but I plan to get one myself for a live rig very soon.
-Dennis