need some help with starting over.

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self-appointed title
Member Since: Aug 18, 2005

till this day i've done a few recordings on my PC useing sonar (which i like very much). i did all band recordings on my INCA88 soundcard guiding the mics first to a mixer and then to my soundcard. i've realized that with such simple set up (my PC is really cheap) i could catch some nice sound and then premaster it useing sonar (i love the thing that this plug-in "tape simulation" does to a track). i never did true mastering so far, but i'm sure that from where i've got with my tracks that sound is really not far away. so naturally i started to think about a recording studio. i did some research and found out that some bands don't record in studios, but for example in a house. a house ... that gave me an idea to start up a mobile studio. one that arrives to your rehersal place, and records (of course i have to upgrade my gear). i don't know if it's a good idea, but i'm just willing to give it a try. BUT WHAT I WANTED TO ASK HERE IS : should i go for a duo core powerbook (i belive that i won't be able to use sonar anymore), or should i find a notebook with windows system and stay with sonar? this question bothers me the most, and i can't make up my mind.

the idea of this studio is to be able to go to someones home and record as well as held a set station studio (with even better quality) with some nice gear and some old shool touch.
going back to a gear set up i was thinking about aiming at the most warm, the most tube focused system i could get with my money. so...
recording:
*a notebook (the question still remains)
*a (1, or even 2 i need about 10 tracks for the drums) USB/FireWire interface (8in/8out) i found MOTU system, but thet's just too much money for me. back in the day when i wanted to upgrade my PC i thought hoontech cause it was my budget, and had nice quality. any help here?
*mic preamps - i was thinking behringer tube ultraflex (at least for the condensers, so two of those) and ultragain pro-8 for the rest.
*mics - i won't save here. for the overheads i was thinking in pairs one of: rhode, AKG, MXL, oktava (ribbon mics) i havent made up my mind yet, but at least 4 mics (a pair for overheads (ribbons?) +2 for room ambience) ; a shure B-52 for the kick ; and shures sm-57s for the rest. all those mics can be used on other instruments, so that saves me a lot of trouble. oh ... do you think that spending cash on ribbon mics for overheads will pay off?
premastering and mastering:
*i was thinking about some reel recorder (at least 1" 8 track but if i can get 2"... well :) to beef up my tracks after recording. i did some reading about this, and it just might be what i'll focus on.
*behringer tube ultra-Q - i think that this is a nice peace if you want to get your drums sound just right.
*behringer tube composer T1952 - you need a compressor, so why not a valve one?
*behringer tube eultraflex T1954 - multiband

so as you see i'm thinking as much tube, warm mics and add some real tape to it. please tell me what you think about that, and keep in mind that i'm a young person so i can be wrong from time to time, thus my gear may have holes in it. cheers!

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Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


May 29, 2006 07:35 pm

Well, the laptop thing can absolutely be done in Windows, so you wont have to loose Sonar just to do that.

As far as a portable audio interface either USB or Firewire, you wont find any in the 8 in/out range for a whole lot less then MOTU. There are some at lower prices, but not too far below what the MOTU is. So that is a tough call. But it is the fact you can use the interface on the desktop PC in the studio as well as the laptop that might make it a little more attractive.

The ribbon mics can be used as overheards as well as room ambiance. But you may want to start out with large diaphragm condensors to save some money for now.

The other mics in you list look fine, you cant go wrong with a 57.

The tube pre's are nice, but you might want to look around a little before investing. I love Behringer gear and own lots of it. But I am not certain you couldn't find a little better for you money.

And as far as investing in a 1 or 2 inch tape machine just to warm up the tracks. Honestly proper use the tube pre's and the simple fact that there are tons of saturation pluggins for software now almost eliminates the need to run out to tape.

Yes there are those who will scoff at that, but I havent used a tape machine in years here. I simply spent some time learning how to make the DSP effects give me the sound I wanted, to warm up the tracks.

self-appointed title
Member
Since: Aug 18, 2005


May 30, 2006 11:17 am

i was thinking about that reel tape because i found this article somewhere from a guy that used a 1" 8 track machine during recording. he send his signal to the reel and send it back to his soundcard all in session, and that saved him a lot of tape. i just thought i'd give it a go this way. i found a couple of cheap 1" here and there. but yes i've seen some nice plugins that could do that still i can't get that machine out o fmy head :)

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


May 30, 2006 12:39 pm

what's your budget? like total money for computer adn everything else....

how much cash on hand can you spend today, and how soon can you come up with the rest?

what gear do you already have?

i wouldn't set my heart on a laptop just yet, you can rack mount a pc and get more performance at a cheaper cost.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


May 30, 2006 09:43 pm

Well I have to admit tape warmth is very nice. I grw up on Tape machines and was a die hard analog guy for year. That is untill I learned how to really dig deep into the digital stuff and make it do what I wanted.

It isnt an easy learning curve by any means, I will tell you that straight away. But it can be done. And no, there isnt any magic setting I can give you either to make it happen in the digital world. It is all trial and error really.

But yes, there are still those who will fly the digital out through an expensive console or tape machine to get that warm sound. But today it really has come to the point it is not an absolute must do to get a warm signal.

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