I work for a blind guy's studio as his engineer. He just purchased a computer/software upgrade and we will be running MIX^3 on a G3 with lots of bells and whistles... We are currently using a Mackie 32/8 for inputs and a HUI for mixdown. We want some help deciding which direction to go from here. He wants to upgrade the board but is concerned about the realistic options. He's probably got about a $5-6K budget. We are trying to decide between the Soundcraft Ghost 32/LE (and keeping the HUI for mixdown) and the Control 24 and sending the HUI to the tracking room so we can stop running back and forth to hit the rec/stop button. I am haveing a hard time finding subjective stuff on either with the exception of obvious crap like... Soundcrraft stuff sux butt! and Control 24 is for wimps! Not very helpful.
The blind guy happens to be a winp that likes to suck butt. just kidding Mark. ow!
Oh this might help... he's a keyboard guy and has a large sampling rig...
does anyone have any usefull information for us?
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Thanks Kurt. Mixing with a mouse will not be an option. I can
Thanks Kurt. Mixing with a mouse will not be an option. I can but he cannot and he's the primary user. He likes the Ghost for its reputation and he's after the better inputs and eqs...and I like that it's semi-modular and will be less likely to bring his whole system down in the event of a channel problem. He likes the control 24 because of the routing flexibility and automation. We use the HUI a lot and we are wearing out the bank buttons. See, I'm kinda torn. The only other qualifier for the Ghost is that I wouldn't have to redesign the studio. It will fit right where the Mackie is. The Control 24, although better looking, more agile in its configurability, will require a complete overhaul of our system and space to utilize it. hmmm. i guess what I'm looking for is a quantifiable negative on one or the other that will help us weed out the technically unfavorable scenario..i.e. sound quality, dependability, serviceability, long-term benifit...etc.
It seems to me you answered your own question ... (with) the Gh
It seems to me you answered your own question ...
(with) the Ghost ... I wouldn't have to redesign the studio. It will fit right where the Mackie is. The Control 24, although better looking, more agile in its configurability, will require a complete overhaul of our system and space to utilize it.
i guess what I'm looking for is a quantifiable negative on one or the other
The Ghost will work in any system and will be useable for many applications well into the future. While not the best console, it is very useable for your application. It can be used as a PA mixer or anything else you can think of and it will be worth something in 2 years.
The Control 24 is limited to use with PT, is going out of production and will soon not be supported by Digidesign and will make a great door stop in about 16 months... How's that?
I'll add that the Ghost's preamps can be hot-rodded (the ones th
I'll add that the Ghost's preamps can be hot-rodded (the ones that the guys at Creation Audio Labs did on a local studio's Ghost are simply amazing) fairly cheap.
You can do 8 or 12 if you want just so you have enough preamps and leave the rest stock. It's an absolute night-and-day-oh-my-God-I-had-no-idea difference.
thank you all! Is there an alternative for someone in the $5-s
thank you all!
Is there an alternative for someone in the $5-say 7K price range? Digital or analoge?
We've thought strongly about going all preamp straigt into the I/Os but we really need at least 24 inputs. I haven't been able to find 24 channels of really good pres that would be worth forgoing the eqs and auxs on a board within that price range. Any ideas?
You can probably find a used MCI 24 channel console for under $7
You can probably find a used MCI 24 channel console for under $7K ... There's some pictures of one in [="http://recording.org/postp176710.html#176710"]this thread[/]="http://recording.or…"]this thread[/]. just be aware that there is a lot of maintenance involved in keeping these beasts alive (any real console, not just the MCIs) I recommend the 600 series over any of the others (500 and 400's) I call the MCI stuff, the poor mans Neve ... they are really very good for the money. Check with [[url=http://="www.blevinsaudio.com"]Blevins[/]="www.blevinsaudio.com"]Blevins[/] (that's "MR.MCI" to you...) in Nashville ... or subscribe to [[url=http://[/URL]="www.proaudiomarketp…"]Pro Audio Marketplace[/]="www.proaudiomarketp…"]Pro Audio Marketplace[/].
Another older console that sounds good is the Sony 3630's next generation MCI 600 console ... Wes Dooley (the guy who owns AEA in LA) deals in them ..
Do you need the mic pres in the Ghost? The pres in the Control
Do you need the mic pres in the Ghost? The pres in the Control 24 are pretty dismal ... the ones in the Soundcraft will be better but not by much. All of the options you mentioned HUI, Ghost or the Contol 24 are (IMO) a waste of money that will not really do anything to improve the quality of your work. For a person that is sight challanged, I can understand the need for a tactile surface to work with. In this is the case, he needs to check them both out to find which one works best for him.
Does this guy run the system by himself? If he does, the control surface is probably a needed option ... if not, consider mixing with the mouse ... Control surfaces are just one more thing that will be a doorstop after a few years at best. I personally don't understand the need for a control surface. Most people work on one thing at a time anyhow and the need to ride several faders at once is negated by the use of automation that is included in most of the better recording software programs.