500 Series Startup Question

[ramtazz]

for YEARS I've wanted to get into the DIY 500 series preamps/comps/eqs
etc. Question is how does everyone here route these? Do you have Pres
into EQs or does everyone have a seperate enclosure for each type...
meaning one rack of Neve 1073s, APIs and SSL 4K Pre's then another
encol of Compressors and another encl of EQs...

TIA!!

William Burns
Rampage Sound Studios
Lancaster Pa.

[Mike Rivers]

On 1/19/2014 7:02 PM, ramtazz wrote:
> for YEARS I've wanted to get into the DIY 500 series preamps/comps/eqs
> etc. Question is how does everyone here route these? Do you have Pres
> into EQs or does everyone have a seperate enclosure for each type...
> meaning one rack of Neve 1073s, APIs and SSL 4K Pre's then another
> encol of Compressors and another encl of EQs...

How you do it depends on how much money you have to spend. Most people
who are getting into signal processors in this form factor have one rack
and start filling it as their gear lust and wallet demands or allows.

The "official" 500-series rack has just an input and an output for each
module space. You might plug together a "channel strip" chain with a
preamp going to a compressor going to an equalizer and finally out to
your computer audio interface. You can leave the patch cables in place
and swap a Neve for an API preamp module or a Harrison for a Tonelux
equalizer module.

When you get enough modules, you'll probably want to add a patchbay to
your setup so that you can rearrange modules as the need arises.



--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be operated without
a passing knowledge of computing, although it seems that it can be
operated without a passing knowledge of audio" - John Watkinson

Drop by http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com now and then

[Scott Dorsey]

ramtazz > wrote:
>for YEARS I've wanted to get into the DIY 500 series preamps/comps/eqs
>etc. Question is how does everyone here route these? Do you have Pres
>into EQs or does everyone have a seperate enclosure for each type...
>meaning one rack of Neve 1073s, APIs and SSL 4K Pre's then another
>encol of Compressors and another encl of EQs...

Well, what are you using them for? Are you going to be using them always
in the same configurations, in individual tracks, or are you going to be
using them on groups or on the 2-buss?

My inclination is that for a permanent studio install, all processing ought
to be routed through the patchbay, but then again I am not one of those
people who need to have a vast amount of processing in every channel.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[ramtazz]

On 22 Jan 2014 08:44:30 -0500, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>ramtazz > wrote:
>>for YEARS I've wanted to get into the DIY 500 series preamps/comps/eqs
>>etc. Question is how does everyone here route these? Do you have Pres
>>into EQs or does everyone have a seperate enclosure for each type...
>>meaning one rack of Neve 1073s, APIs and SSL 4K Pre's then another
>>encol of Compressors and another encl of EQs...
>
>Well, what are you using them for? Are you going to be using them always
>in the same configurations, in individual tracks, or are you going to be
>using them on groups or on the 2-buss?
>
>My inclination is that for a permanent studio install, all processing ought
>to be routed through the patchbay, but then again I am not one of those
>people who need to have a vast amount of processing in every channel.
>--scott

I wanted to have 2 api maybe 2 73 styled pres for recording in and
remotely

Bill

[Scott Dorsey]

ramtazz > wrote:
>On 22 Jan 2014 08:44:30 -0500, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
>
>>ramtazz > wrote:
>>>for YEARS I've wanted to get into the DIY 500 series preamps/comps/eqs
>>>etc. Question is how does everyone here route these? Do you have Pres
>>>into EQs or does everyone have a seperate enclosure for each type...
>>>meaning one rack of Neve 1073s, APIs and SSL 4K Pre's then another
>>>encol of Compressors and another encl of EQs...
>>
>>Well, what are you using them for? Are you going to be using them always
>>in the same configurations, in individual tracks, or are you going to be
>>using them on groups or on the 2-buss?
>>
>>My inclination is that for a permanent studio install, all processing ought
>>to be routed through the patchbay, but then again I am not one of those
>>people who need to have a vast amount of processing in every channel.
>
>I wanted to have 2 api maybe 2 73 styled pres for recording in and
>remotely

Okay, if it were me, and I was in a conventional studio installation with
everything going through a console, patch bays for line level signals, but
no mike level patchbay, my inclination would be to do this:

Run four more mike lines into the tracking room, either on the same plate
as the mike lines going to the console, or on a different plate. Plug them
into the API rack. This means someone in the tracking room can plug a mike
into any console input, or into any of the outboard mike preamps as they
wish.

Then route the outputs of the API rack into the patchbay, so you could route
the output of any one of them into any tape/DAW input or into any console
line input as needed.

There are other possible configurations... you could hardwire into a DAW
input, or you could have a mike-level patchbay. I don't like microphone
patchbays because they seem like an additional place for things to go
terribly wrong, and usually running a few more cables into the tracking
room isn't a huge deal.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[hank alrich]

ramtazz > wrote:

> On 22 Jan 2014 08:44:30 -0500, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
>
> >ramtazz > wrote:
> >>for YEARS I've wanted to get into the DIY 500 series preamps/comps/eqs
> >>etc. Question is how does everyone here route these? Do you have Pres
> >>into EQs or does everyone have a seperate enclosure for each type...
> >>meaning one rack of Neve 1073s, APIs and SSL 4K Pre's then another
> >>encol of Compressors and another encl of EQs...
> >
> >Well, what are you using them for? Are you going to be using them always
> >in the same configurations, in individual tracks, or are you going to be
> >using them on groups or on the 2-buss?
> >
> >My inclination is that for a permanent studio install, all processing ought
> >to be routed through the patchbay, but then again I am not one of those
> >people who need to have a vast amount of processing in every channel.
> >--scott
>
> I wanted to have 2 api maybe 2 73 styled pres for recording in and
> remotely
>
> Bill

I am still surprised that when I got a pair of the Speck ASC
semiparametric EQ's I stop wishing I had my old API's back.

http://www.speck.com/asc/asc_2.html

I have them racked with a Great River MP2-MH, and it's a capable
pairing.

--
shut up and play your guitar * HankAlrich.Com
HankandShaidriMusic.Com
YouTube.Com/WalkinayMusic

[Scott Dorsey]

hank alrich > wrote:
>ramtazz > wrote:
>
>> I wanted to have 2 api maybe 2 73 styled pres for recording in and
>> remotely
>
>I am still surprised that when I got a pair of the Speck ASC
>semiparametric EQ's I stop wishing I had my old API's back.

Now you just wish you had 16 channels of the Speck ASC?

>http://www.speck.com/asc/asc_2.html
>
>I have them racked with a Great River MP2-MH, and it's a capable
>pairing.

How are they wired? Straight from tracking room to DAW? Patchbay so you
can use them for mixdown too?
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[ramtazz]

On 30 Jan 2014 19:14:27 -0500, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>hank alrich > wrote:
>>ramtazz > wrote:
>>
>>> I wanted to have 2 api maybe 2 73 styled pres for recording in and
>>> remotely
>>
>>I am still surprised that when I got a pair of the Speck ASC
>>semiparametric EQ's I stop wishing I had my old API's back.
>
>Now you just wish you had 16 channels of the Speck ASC?
>

Don't we all now...