And what type of musical genre will you be recording mostly? So I assume you're not recording loud distorted overdriven guitars? Are you practical or impractical? Are you recording worms burrowing through the ground? This could be a factor?

No recording is complete without being completed
Ms. Remy Ann David

Maybe he will record ear worms?

obviously I'm missing something here?

new to this 500 series jargon...

ear worms?

once again a little lost...

Sorry, ear worms are another name for a musical hook, like something that gets stuck in your head. (or 'ear')

haha It's cool. I thought you were poking fun...

as you can clearly see I'm pretty new to these forums and such.

I'm looking to do all genres, I just want high quality pre's without the burden of a gigantic console that costs more than M.C. Hammer's first pad...

I understand the 500 series isn't super cheap but once again cheaper than most large format consoles I would be interested in.

I was just wondering if you can have the modules in place of a console??

I like loud guitars, beat machines, and synths. Should I go with a whole outfit of 500 series modules?

I guess the question is a little more clear now.

thanks guys!

You cannot go wrong with a lunchbox. 500 series modules give you so much bang for the buck in most cases.

Having a console is something rather different. I has EQ and mic pres but also routing, monitoring...

I have a 120 input analog console and I still use 500 series modules. There are lots of options out there to get into great gear, but starting with lunchbox is a good way to go. You can get a few great modules and be on your way. Once you get a little more experience, it will be easier to decide what is right for you.

As Remy says, it depends on the type of music. For the type of music I do most often - jazz/folk/blues/country, etc. A studio that used only 500 series preamps would be fine - I'd love it. For classical that's probably not the optimal way to go - though it certainly wouldn't be bad.

The Tree Audio console is a cool concept, but I'd be worried about confining yourself to twelve channels. It's a pretty expensive system to lock yourself into unless you really know what you want and exactly the type of recording you will be doing while making enough money to justify its cost. A more common way to go for startups, weekend warriors, et. al. is to replace a console with a pile of component gear: computer interface, mixer, headphone amp, monitor system, and a collection of outboard preamps.

But to directly answer your "is it sensible" question - since I love 500 series style preamps, if I were recording only bluegrass groups or jazz trios or other situations where I never came close to using 12 channels the TA 12 channel console would be a sensible alternative. If I ever planned to mic a rock drum kit it would only make sense if I knew that I would never want to track a whole group at the same time.