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#1
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What I might buy...
I've got a hankerin' to spend some money on the studio and I have nice big
project starting in a month or so... a repeat customer signed to Metal Blade who should get (me) a big enough advance on the recording that I could buy a new choice piece of gear, maybe, to use on said project. Question is, what? Let me describe my studio in general and maybe some of you will have ideas that I can research etc... I have been running a mid-level analog studio for 10 years or so. It's based on a 1-inch 16-track deck, an MS-16, and a Neotek Series IIIf. I hae an Otoari 1/4" 2-track and of course DAT's and CD burners, etc. Anyway, I have some decent gear but I have kept my focus and tried not to spend money frivolously on what is franky a very hard industry to make a good living in. I have some nice mics: Neumann TLM 193; 2 KM184's; a M147. Soundelux U95 and Groove Tubes Md1a. 2 RCA 77DX's; 2 AKG 460b's and some other good stuff. I have Summit and Pultec tube EQ's, EL8 and Aphex compressors... for mic preamps I have Sytek and 2 VMP2's and the Neotek and a unit I built around the burr-Brown INA103 chip... I recently added Pro Tools LE on a mac G4 and have it expanded out to max I/O and with everything integrated into my patch bays... i routinely sync my MS16 to Pro Tools with SMPTE timecode. I charge $40/hr in a very competitive local market and manage to keep the wheels on the cart, doing mostly music recording of bands and solo acts. Anyway, I say all of that to give some feel for who I am and what I do. If I do spend some more $$ on gear, I want it to really be useful. I'm not doing this on a Visa card or spending dad's money. I have no delusions of huge financial success running a recording studio. Or that some piece of gear is gonna cure my cold. So, i want something that retains it's value and will get used a lot. I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Another option is something like a Rosetta, though that is boring. At $2600 for the 24/96 version, also very expensive and won't hold it's value real well. It would fall into the utility tool category. On the other hand, I will be doing a lot of digital conversions around here... Another boring but useful addition would be a control surface for my LE system. Yawn, and talk about not holding it's value. Also would get used a lot. Yuck. So.... any ideas out there? The project will bring in about $4K and of that I could see spending $2k on whatever it is I decide to get... Thanks!!! -jeff |
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#2
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"Handywired" wrote in message ... I've got a hankerin' to spend some money on the studio and I have nice big project starting in a month or so... a repeat customer signed to Metal Blade who should get (me) a big enough advance on the recording that I could buy a new choice piece of gear, maybe, to use on said project. Question is, what? Let me describe my studio in general and maybe some of you will have ideas that I can research etc... I have been running a mid-level analog studio for 10 years or so. It's based on a 1-inch 16-track deck, an MS-16, and a Neotek Series IIIf. I hae an Otoari 1/4" 2-track and of course DAT's and CD burners, etc. Anyway, I have some decent gear but I have kept my focus and tried not to spend money frivolously on what is franky a very hard industry to make a good living in. I have some nice mics: Neumann TLM 193; 2 KM184's; a M147. Soundelux U95 and Groove Tubes Md1a. 2 RCA 77DX's; 2 AKG 460b's and some other good stuff. I have Summit and Pultec tube EQ's, EL8 and Aphex compressors... for mic preamps I have Sytek and 2 VMP2's and the Neotek and a unit I built around the burr-Brown INA103 chip... I recently added Pro Tools LE on a mac G4 and have it expanded out to max I/O and with everything integrated into my patch bays... i routinely sync my MS16 to Pro Tools with SMPTE timecode. I charge $40/hr in a very competitive local market and manage to keep the wheels on the cart, doing mostly music recording of bands and solo acts. Anyway, I say all of that to give some feel for who I am and what I do. If I do spend some more $$ on gear, I want it to really be useful. I'm not doing this on a Visa card or spending dad's money. I have no delusions of huge financial success running a recording studio. Or that some piece of gear is gonna cure my cold. So, i want something that retains it's value and will get used a lot. I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Another option is something like a Rosetta, though that is boring. At $2600 for the 24/96 version, also very expensive and won't hold it's value real well. It would fall into the utility tool category. On the other hand, I will be doing a lot of digital conversions around here... Another boring but useful addition would be a control surface for my LE system. Yawn, and talk about not holding it's value. Also would get used a lot. Yuck. So.... any ideas out there? The project will bring in about $4K and of that I could see spending $2k on whatever it is I decide to get... Thanks!!! -jeff What about monitors and control or studio room acoustics? That is likely to hold its value quite well. Depending on what you already have in that department, the change might be more audible and it might influence the quality of your product more than any piece of equipment. The stuff you listed above is already quite decent. Predrag |
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#3
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"Handywired" wrote in message ... I've got a hankerin' to spend some money How about a Land Cruiser? (Saw your post in ramj+w...) ;-) |
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#4
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Handywired wrote:
Anyway, I say all of that to give some feel for who I am and what I do. If I do spend some more $$ on gear, I want it to really be useful. I'm not doing this on a Visa card or spending dad's money. I have no delusions of huge financial success running a recording studio. Or that some piece of gear is gonna cure my cold. So, i want something that retains it's value and will get used a lot. First send your AKG C460's to Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades for his mod. When you get them back you probably won't believe what fine mics they've become. This will consume a tiny portion of your upgrade budget and get you a pair of SDC's of an entirely different class than the stock C460's. Preamps are always fun, and Great River and Millennia are fine choices. The GR NV series, with the EQ, is extremely versatile, with class and balls to spare. -- ha |
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#6
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I'd sit on the cash and wait until something broke or a new piee of gear would
allow me to get a gig I would otherwise miss out on. Unless there is an obviously weak link in your studio chain, save the money until you *have* to buy something. Joe Egan EMP Colchester, VT www.eganmedia.com |
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#7
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Ribbons you say?
http://www.wesdooley.com/aea/R88.html Handywired wrote: I've got a hankerin' to spend some money on the studio and I have nice big project starting in a month or so... a repeat customer signed to Metal Blade who should get (me) a big enough advance on the recording that I could buy a new choice piece of gear, maybe, to use on said project. Question is, what? Let me describe my studio in general and maybe some of you will have ideas that I can research etc... I have been running a mid-level analog studio for 10 years or so. It's based on a 1-inch 16-track deck, an MS-16, and a Neotek Series IIIf. I hae an Otoari 1/4" 2-track and of course DAT's and CD burners, etc. Anyway, I have some decent gear but I have kept my focus and tried not to spend money frivolously on what is franky a very hard industry to make a good living in. I have some nice mics: Neumann TLM 193; 2 KM184's; a M147. Soundelux U95 and Groove Tubes Md1a. 2 RCA 77DX's; 2 AKG 460b's and some other good stuff. I have Summit and Pultec tube EQ's, EL8 and Aphex compressors... for mic preamps I have Sytek and 2 VMP2's and the Neotek and a unit I built around the burr-Brown INA103 chip... I recently added Pro Tools LE on a mac G4 and have it expanded out to max I/O and with everything integrated into my patch bays... i routinely sync my MS16 to Pro Tools with SMPTE timecode. I charge $40/hr in a very competitive local market and manage to keep the wheels on the cart, doing mostly music recording of bands and solo acts. Anyway, I say all of that to give some feel for who I am and what I do. If I do spend some more $$ on gear, I want it to really be useful. I'm not doing this on a Visa card or spending dad's money. I have no delusions of huge financial success running a recording studio. Or that some piece of gear is gonna cure my cold. So, i want something that retains it's value and will get used a lot. I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Another option is something like a Rosetta, though that is boring. At $2600 for the 24/96 version, also very expensive and won't hold it's value real well. It would fall into the utility tool category. On the other hand, I will be doing a lot of digital conversions around here... Another boring but useful addition would be a control surface for my LE system. Yawn, and talk about not holding it's value. Also would get used a lot. Yuck. So.... any ideas out there? The project will bring in about $4K and of that I could see spending $2k on whatever it is I decide to get... Thanks!!! -jeff |
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#8
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Handywired wrote: I've got a hankerin' to spend some money on the studio and I have nice big project starting in a month or so... a repeat customer signed to Metal Blade who should get (me) a big enough advance on the recording that I could buy a new choice piece of gear, maybe, to use on said project. Question is, what? Let me describe my studio in general and maybe some of you will have ideas that nice mics: Neumann TLM 193; 2 KM184's; a M147. Soundelux U95 and Groove Tubes Md1a. 2 RCA 77DX's; 2 AKG 460b's and some other good stuff. I have Summit and Pultec tube EQ's, EL8 and Aphex compressors... for mic preamps I have Sytek and 2 VMP2's and the Neotek and a unit I built around the burr-Brown INA103 chip... I recently added Pro Tools LE on a mac G4 and have it expanded out to max I/O and with everything integrated into my patch bays... i routinely sync my MS16 to Pro Tools with SMPTE timecode. I charge $40/hr in a very competitive local market and manage to keep the wheels on the cart, doing mostly music recording of bands and solo acts. Anyway, I say all of that to give some feel for who I am and what I do. If I do spend some more $$ on gear, I want it to really be useful. I'm not doing this on a Visa card or spending dad's money. I have no delusions of huge financial success running a recording studio. Or that some piece of gear is gonna cure my cold. So, i want something that retains it's value and will get used a lot. I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Another option is something like a Rosetta, though that is boring. At $2600 for the 24/96 version, also very expensive and won't hold it's value real well. It would fall into the utility tool category. On the other hand, I will be doing a lot of digital conversions around here... Another boring but useful addition would be a control surface for my LE system. Yawn, and talk about not holding it's value. Also would get used a lot. Yuck. So.... any ideas out there? The project will bring in about $4K and of that I could see spending $2k on whatever it is I decide to get... Thanks!!! -jeff I think preamps and better AD are the way to go. You won't be bored by the Rosetta when you hear it. I remember when I got mine & it reminded me of going from my Tascam 80-8 to My Ampex 2". Quite a jump in quality. You don't have to get 8 channels. I (ahem) am selling my 2-ch Rosetta AD 24/96, which I've put to good use on drum OH, LVox, Acoustic guitars, etc. I will email you off-list with details. The ribbon mic idea is a good one, too. I think the idea of modding the 460s is a good one as well. Think outside the box, too. What about comfort and appearance of your studio? That can make a big difference in the long run? (Let's not talk about how my place looks right now, OK?) Mikey Wozniak Nova Music Productions This sig is haiku |
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#9
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"Handywired" wrote in message
... I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Well, the Millennia and Great River preamps aren't character preamps, but I bet you'd use either one a lot. Alternatively, you want something with a lot of character, get a Universal Audio 1176 compressor. You'd use that a lot too. Peace, Paul |
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#10
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Duh. When I said the Great River was not a character preamp, my brain wasn't
thinking of the NV model. Gotta drink some coffee. Peace, Paul |
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#11
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In article ,
"Paul Stamler" wrote: "Handywired" wrote in message ... I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Well, the Millennia and Great River preamps aren't character preamps, but I bet you'd use either one a lot. Alternatively, you want something with a lot of character, get a Universal Audio 1176 compressor. You'd use that a lot too. Peace, Paul Yeah, if you want character the 1176 is the ticket. -Jay -- x------- Jay Kadis ------- x---- Jay's Attic Studio ------x x Lecturer, Audio Engineer x Dexter Records x x CCRMA, Stanford University x http://www.offbeats.com/ x x---------- http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jay/ ------------x |
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#12
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I see 3 things you could use (but not for 2K : )
A real nice vocal compressor (Urei LA3). A real nice mic pre (A GML. Or if you want a pre with an eq, then a Rupert Neve/Amek Channel In A Box, which go for less than $2k on ebay. Or for cheaper $, a Rupert/Amek 9098 eq.) Since you are mixing with a console, a Waves L2. Your final A to D is *damn* important, and you will def like the built in limiter as well. Plus you can also use it to A to D anything going into Protools. It will do a better job any Digidesign converter, including the 192K Interface. I would not want to do my everyday work without these guys. David Correia Celebration Sound Warren, Rhode Island www.CelebrationSound.com In article , Handywired wrote: I've got a hankerin' to spend some money on the studio and I have nice big project starting in a month or so... a repeat customer signed to Metal Blade who should get (me) a big enough advance on the recording that I could buy a new choice piece of gear, maybe, to use on said project. Question is, what? Let me describe my studio in general and maybe some of you will have ideas that I can research etc... I have been running a mid-level analog studio for 10 years or so. It's based on a 1-inch 16-track deck, an MS-16, and a Neotek Series IIIf. I hae an Otoari 1/4" 2-track and of course DAT's and CD burners, etc. Anyway, I have some decent gear but I have kept my focus and tried not to spend money frivolously on what is franky a very hard industry to make a good living in. I have some nice mics: Neumann TLM 193; 2 KM184's; a M147. Soundelux U95 and Groove Tubes Md1a. 2 RCA 77DX's; 2 AKG 460b's and some other good stuff. I have Summit and Pultec tube EQ's, EL8 and Aphex compressors... for mic preamps I have Sytek and 2 VMP2's and the Neotek and a unit I built around the burr-Brown INA103 chip... I recently added Pro Tools LE on a mac G4 and have it expanded out to max I/O and with everything integrated into my patch bays... i routinely sync my MS16 to Pro Tools with SMPTE timecode. I charge $40/hr in a very competitive local market and manage to keep the wheels on the cart, doing mostly music recording of bands and solo acts. Anyway, I say all of that to give some feel for who I am and what I do. If I do spend some more $$ on gear, I want it to really be useful. I'm not doing this on a Visa card or spending dad's money. I have no delusions of huge financial success running a recording studio. Or that some piece of gear is gonna cure my cold. So, i want something that retains it's value and will get used a lot. I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Another option is something like a Rosetta, though that is boring. At $2600 for the 24/96 version, also very expensive and won't hold it's value real well. It would fall into the utility tool category. On the other hand, I will be doing a lot of digital conversions around here... Another boring but useful addition would be a control surface for my LE system. Yawn, and talk about not holding it's value. Also would get used a lot. Yuck. So.... any ideas out there? The project will bring in about $4K and of that I could see spending $2k on whatever it is I decide to get... Thanks!!! -jeff |
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#13
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"Handywired" wrote:
I've got a hankerin' to spend some money on the studio and I have nice big Let me describe my studio in general and maybe some of you will have ideas that might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should Another option is something like a Rosetta, though that is boring. At $2600 First, Joe Egan has a really really good suggestion. Sit on the money until something breaks or a must have item crops up. That is a pretty good business decision. But for the gear sluts in all of us I'm going to list items that get used every day in my studio / acoustic lab. Great River MP-4 - works fine, lasts long time - very clean, repeatable gains Crane Song Trakker - one amazing compressor Waves L2 (hardware) - decent A/D - great limiter - good dither options Josephson 617 body + ACO 7046 capsule - accurate, reasonably quiet omni B&K 4231 mic calibrator Ok, those last two are for the laboratory which pays the bills here. The Great River MP-4 works both jobs: lab work & studio. bobs Bob Smith BS Studios we organize chaos http://www.bsstudios.com |
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#14
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"Handywired" wrote in message ... I am leaning towards mic's and mic preamps, since the front end is where I like to spend the most money and time. My Sytek is decent but a truly clean preamp might be cool. I'd be looking at Millenia and Great River; any others I should consider? As far as mics, I love ribbons so one of the newer ribbon mics is intrigueing. A client brought in a BLUE mis that was very nice; bright, crisp, and not harsh at all. Or...? Think character. I love character. Here's a few things for under your $2k target you might like: *For around $1700-ish new, you can get a Chandler TG2 EMI/Abbey Road edition mic pre & power supply (sold separately). Killer 2-channel mic pre with character to spare. Also has DI inputs and an impedance switch for use with ribbon mics. Once you record a vocal track with this you'll be hooked, and since you're doing a metal act coming up, you'll no doubt be doing a lot of heavy guitar tracking & this thing shines in that application. *For anywhere from $1400 used to $1900 new, you could get an Avalon 737SP - nice channel strip with a lot of versatility. Yeah, lotsa people have 'em, so it's nothing really unique or esoteric, but they're very useful & sound great, IMO. *For around $1600 new you can get a Focusrite ISA 428 preamp bank. 4 mic pres with variable impedance, DI's, inserts on each channel, and a digital i/o option (for around another $500). nice coloration. No, these ain't quite the ISA 110's, but they're very nice regardless; pretty clean with a bit of coloration. *You mentioned B.L.U.E. mics - which one did you get to hear? I've got a few of their mics & am a big fan. You can get Blueberry's used for around $600 on e-slay, I've seen Kiwi's going for around $1,400 recently, Baby Bottle's can often be had for around $350. BTW, if you don't have a B.L.U.E Ball yet, grab a couple, they're great on guitar - Swee****er has them on sale now for $99, IIRC. Neil Henderson |
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#15
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Paul Stamler wrote:
Duh. When I said the Great River was not a character preamp, my brain wasn't thinking of the NV model. Gotta drink some coffee. That GR stuff is just a hell of a deal in lots of ways, in my book. The original MP's are wonderfully clean for transformered inputs, the NV stuff has character and color galore. I think it's genius kit in a strong fun way. -- ha |
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#16
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hank alrich wrote: Paul Stamler wrote: Duh. When I said the Great River was not a character preamp, my brain wasn't thinking of the NV model. Gotta drink some coffee. That GR stuff is just a hell of a deal in lots of ways, in my book. The original MP's are wonderfully clean for transformered inputs, the NV stuff has character and color galore. I think it's genius kit in a strong fun way. -- ha Not to mention they seem to hold value very well...I see used ones going for close to what I paid new for mine a couple of years ago. Analogeezer |
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#17
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Linear Mode
