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Can u make a list of consumer equipment 400-500$ max that can actualy sounds suprisengly good. Post anything u can think of, eq, compressors, preamps.

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anonymous Sat, 12/20/2008 - 08:42

Ok than not consumer maybe that was wrong word... Yeah but i don't want opinion on what is good in budget gear... I was hoping to find some equipment like i said 400-500$ that any professional studio wouldn't be ashamed to have.
Like TLaudio compressors, i didn't saw noone mention tham in budget gear cos 500$ for compressor is still expensive to be budget gear but its still not expensive like some other compressors in pro studio

Jeremy Sat, 12/20/2008 - 14:43

This forum is composed of an elite class of gear-headed snobs. They are no nonsense crowd that will not entertain your question simply based on the fact you put no effort to make intelligent question. In fact it is a question that could garner some good replies. The moment a person reads "i didn't saw noone mention tham' it destroys brain cells. Make the effort, if you desire us to make an effort to answer your question. Obviously putting the $ after the numbers is a clue that English is a second language. This is a running problem not just on this forum, but in America as a whole. Just me venting.

Merry Christmas all

anonymous Sat, 12/20/2008 - 15:43

First u said i can't post intelligent question than u say it could garner some good replies... And why wouldn't those "snobs" "entertain" my question? Its not i'm discussing bout world peace or anything that is offensive to anyone here...
And no English is not my second language its not my language at all... I learned (and still learning) by myself and i really don't know why would that be a problem... I mean is this forum reserved only for american or english people?
In fact don't even bother to answer this cos u are clearly lowminded person. (or racist) whatever. And merry Christmas to u.

Davedog Sat, 12/20/2008 - 15:50

Make a list of the type of gear you want to know about. ie: compressor,preamp, converter etc etc....

Tell what kind of music you'll be using it on.....let us know what your level of expertise is at this time.....another thing would be how you intend to acquire these pieces as some of them may not be currently in production and they may have a limited range throughout the world.

ALSO....If you arent from America or some other English speaking country, it is wise to put this information in your signature and profile so others can see this. It helps in translation.

Now try it.

Cucco Sat, 12/20/2008 - 15:56

Please understand that I'm not the same 'Jeremy' - also, I do understand the question better now.

There are a lot of good gear manufacturers that make gear in your price range that is quite good:
dbx compressors
TLAudio stuff is quite nice
ART stuff is pretty nice
Aphex compressors and mic pres are nice
Summit makes a few pieces in the $500-$700 range that are great
The GT brick is excellent

Let us know what you have, what you need and what you hope to get out of it and how much you're willing to spend. That's about the best I can do without all the extra information.

Cheers.
J

anonymous Sat, 12/20/2008 - 17:29

First i wanna apologize for my reaction. I just don't like when someone insults or question my inteligence and especially racism and disrespection... I'm sorry but his "This is a running problem not just on this forum, but in America as a whole" is racist statement for me...
Ok now...
I wanna have at least 1 high quality "channel strip". Cos i mostly record only vocals.
In fact i would like to record acoustic guitar also so let it be 2.
So i would like to have preamp, compressor (yeah i prob don't need it but i wanna have it), eq and interface for 2000$ (all) with at least 2 outputs/inputs
I would also like to have external reverb or effect processor for 300$ max.
Right now all i equipment i have are mics: AT4033, AT3035 and sE electronic sE3 matched pair.
I finished S.A.E. institute(audio engineering). Cool school but we worked with equipment ill never see in my life again so that's not really helpful in my equipment choice.

MadMax Sun, 12/21/2008 - 06:04

I'll second the Langevin DVC. It's not very neutral or uncolored. But, for many things it's a great pseudo channel strip for the money.

The reason I called the DVC a "pseudo" channel strip is because the EQ is really shelving and not sweepable. The compression only has one adjustment, but seeing as the unit is designed for vocals, it's all you need. The limiter can do some nice crush, but I've generally tried to limit how much I use it... (sorry for the pun)

The gain structure you would get with the 4033 would be a great VO or general vocal chain. I've not worked with the 3035, so I can't comment, but probably similar results as with the 4033.

Until I got my 1073's, the DVC was my "go to" pre for two channel acoustic acts and I still use it for remote and acoustic acts when the 1073's aren't appropriate or are full up with other signals.

Jeremy Sun, 12/21/2008 - 10:02

Racist remark?!?!? I know for a fact what race you are because of the font you use!?!?! What I said was in no way a racist remark. Please don't play that card.

Having said that the HHb Fatman 2 I have found useful on bass guitar.
Rocktron makes some kickass budget stuff I really enjoyed the chameleon 2000.
The Peavey VMP2 is a great pre for the cash.
Grace 101 is a very clean pre and is on bang for the buck list, but limited by 1 channel. Grace 201 is a bit pricey but you do get 2 channels.
UA610 a single channel pre that smokes!
M-Audio DMP3 best pre >$200.

That should give you a place to start as far as pre's are concerned.

BobRogers Sun, 12/21/2008 - 15:15

I guess my one direct response to the question that has not been mentioned is the Brick. It's a decent piece in that price range. I like it as a direct box for organ simulations and for acoustic guitar piezos. (I second the RNC/RNP as well.)

With that said, I feel that there is not a huge quality gap between these pieces and the "mixer level" pres in my digi 002, A&H mixwiz, and Focusrite Octo. I felt there was a far bigger jump to the API 3124+ and the Langevin DVC. If it can be avoided, I think most people are better off making small incremental improvements in the quality of their equipment. It is usually best to be patient, save your money, improve your technique with the equipment you have, and wait to move up to clearly better equipment. (I admit that I've violated this rule far too often, but that doesn't make it any less true.)

RemyRAD Sun, 12/21/2008 - 17:35

A list of decent sounding equipment would be a Signetics 5534 IC chip microphone preamp. That's all you need. 100% adequate. Don't believe me? I mean that microphone preamp only cost five dollars! Is a single IC chip. You'll find it as the microphone preamp in the SoundTracs 16-8-16 from the 1980s. I'd be happy to post some examples from 20 years ago that I made. Remember, it's not what you've got but what you do with it. So what really is "good enough"? I think a five dollar microphone preamp 5534 & SM58 makes really sweet recordings. Everything else you want is done in software. Total cost $500. There you go. Simple. Keep it simple. Purity in a McDonald's kind of way. It's a happy meal!

I've made a lifetime of recording. One of my favorites? A recording I made when I was 14. Grand piano with soprano soloist singing Jerome Kern's "I dream too much". 2 Electro-Voice 636 Omni-directional microphones on the piano with a $3.98 Sony dynamic cardioid with 1/4" connector passively loaded across the stereo pair. Plugged into a Sony TC-630 R2R, Scotch 206, 1/4 track, 7.5 IPS and no noise reduction, no compressor, no limiter, no EQ. It's one of my favorite recordings I made 40 years ago. I'm still proud of that today. Yup, on a couple of high notes one can detect a little tape saturation. Oh well. So what really makes a recording professional? It ain't the equipment but the performer & engineer.

It's easy. You'll get it.
Ms. Remy Ann David

anonymous Mon, 12/22/2008 - 18:42

And i must say im doing rely well and only thing i do is working mostly with "rapper wannabes" and Hip hop producers. So they need to see more equipment not just langevin no matter how good it sounds.
I also have nice collection of synths (Nord Lead 1 Rack, Yamaha motif, Roland Phantom X6) so good interface is important

Jeremy Tue, 12/23/2008 - 08:57

I really did enjoy my Mackie Onyx 1640. Cucco J is right about those other interfaces, really good converters but short on the number of pre's. I did a lot of drum recording, therefore I needed 16 channels with pre's. You on the other hand could do some really great stuff With that RME or TC since your main clientele are vocalists.

Cucco Tue, 12/23/2008 - 11:25

Well...the fireface 800 has 4 preamps (of pretty good quality) as well as 8 analog inputs (2 of which are mirrored by mic pres so if you use the 8 analog ins, you lose 2 of the preamps.)

Anyway - it's a very nice unit - one of my favorites. It will give you a very strong base to build on.

Cheers-
J

anonymous Thu, 12/25/2008 - 16:29

.
"A list of decent sounding equipment would be a Signetics 5534 IC chip microphone preamp."

You go girl!! There are a million hi fi snobs that hate the 5534/5532 because it doesn't cost enough but if you know what you're doing it is sweet. If you know what you're doing. And it costs pennies.

You can get an ADK small condenser mic, a DMP3 preamp, some dinky M-Audio interface and Audacity. You're out maybe a few hundred bucks and you can make records that sound as good as a lot of hits sounded.

PB