Their is no substitute for killer mic pre's, proper miking techniques, really accurate monitors, and a room you are familar with.

The pevious equipment suffered from the use of the Monitor ones (with that "mud motor" for a woofer) and the Mackie mic Pre. Along with the nasty eq lacking headroom and the poor bass translation one can get from the monitor one...yep the tools to get great results must be looked through with that equipment. VS 880's get ugly when used at unity...a -8 is fairly clean. The 3630 is a tricky piece...can be brought to good results but again...I see you replaced all of that. Really good engineering is knowing the limitations of the equipment and brain thinking through it all...like let's see:

Monitor ones are really muddy between 80 and 150 hz...and again from 500 to 2.3 K so I would have to compensate for their compression. 3630 has it's problems, after compensating, good results could be achieved. Mic pres in the Mackie...hum...can't push those hard...eq's get squeeky so cannot push those...that kind of thinking.

Your new equipment once you have enough time to really get a grip on it's limitations (all equipment when combined has new limitations down to the room acoustics pre and post)should be earier to work with.

With the exception of outboard mic pre's, and outboard line amp...yes you can kick some booty with a stand along workstation. You will need a monitor system for your clients (mic monitors/foldback)...and your JBL's can be worked with as well.

It can be done and has been but it is very important to learn ALL of the limiting factors and varables of your equipment.

As far as media, I think you're fine. I did a bunch of successful (and good sounding) records last year where I switched between DPS16 (which I also used to fly vocals a lot back then), Analog, & protools. No one that I asked could tell the difference. This might have had a lot to do with the outboard gear I used, which you are limited on. So, make sure everything is recorded VERY WELL. Make sure to trash the 'fix it in the mix' mentality'.
Personally, I don't care what the speakers sound like as long as I know what they will sound like elsewhere. Esspecially the mud factors of the M1's. This can be tricky & time comsuming, so make sure the learn the hell out of your speakers by a/bing cd's to your stuff.
My 2 cents.
E-cue

Hi BlueSteel,

You may want to check out http://www.gravelband.com

They recorded there dubut 6 song demo completley on a Roland VS-1680 in their jam room and it turned out awesome!!!!!! They couldnt quite dial in the snare the way they wanted but they did take there time and too me it is good enough for a commercial release after a little mastering.

They are currently doing there first full length independant release on a Roland VS-2480 but in a better tuned room.

These guys are friends of mine here in Vancouver so I agreed to lend them a number of mics from my studio because I have confidence they can outdo themselves on this recording.

Check it out if you wish!!

Cheers.

Thanks for the info Jeff...that's was exactly what I'm after.

I would love to hear from anyone else who uses one of the stand-alones for commercial recording.

Thanks,

BlueSteel

hey blue steel

my band,The French Broads put out a cd last year that was recorded on a Fostex 8 track digital recorder,Art Mp pre and shure57,Rode Nt1,akg3000,akg1000 and very careful planning.We cut basic tracks first usually just keeping drums(5 mics on drums)and then overdubbing Gtrs,Bass,whatever and Vox.Weve gotten several nice reviews and given our limited equipment it sounds pretty good(there should be some Mp3s at mp3.com)

It is possible to do just takes some decent ears and most importantly good songs/arrangements,dont let equipment hold you back.It is extremely satisfying to do a project like this on your own terms and own schedule.

rivers

I heard that the latest David Grey record was recorded almost entirely on a Rold VS-1680.

I just read the EQ article that covers recording with the Roland VS Series. According to EQ, Victor Wooten's last album was recorded on a VS using high quality pres. The album was also mastered outside of the VS.

I've been aproached by a couple of companies regarding my music, however I feel that I'll probably gain a lot more attention if I produce a quality project on my own. Why not capitalize off of your own talent???