Hybrid studio

[lloydy]

Hello now this is a how.
I am coming to a situation in life where i am going to have money to spend on my studio after years of being in debt.
I want to start adding bits and pieces of hardware but am unsure of what to get.
I have been reading and am pretty sure i will start by adding decent a/d d/a converters which i was thinking apogee ensemble.
I currently have a motu 828 mk2 which has been playing up a bit of late so that i will be getting rid of.
If people on here had a wish list of hardware they could buy what would it be and why would you want it.
The rules are we are talking processing here not dj equipment or anything like that,i want to know about compressor's/limiters,distressor's,outboard effects processors and anything else analogue.
I already have a monitoring system so i have this covered.
Very interested in anything tube or valve related,when it comes down to hardware i'm clueless so any help would be appreciated.
Also please post links if you can to specs,prices....etc

[Disco Nutter]

Getting acoustic treatment would be a good thing to do!

[lloydy]

Getting acoustic treatment would be a good thing to do!

Already have.My room is treated with gik acoustic bass traps.

[nowaysj]

Gotta say more about how u work. What type of outboard sound sources do use? What do you want to do with this gear? I don't think anyone can answer this for u, with the info provided.

That motu is pretty good, do you do a lot of quality type recording? W interfaces, once you cross a certain quality threshold, it's all good unless you are doing serious recording. In my opinion that motu is on the good side of of that threshold.

For general out of the box processing, I recommend a stero eq, compressor, and preamp. You can get this with a quality channel strip. But u need out of the box sounds to process. You certainly can take sounds out of the box for processing, but trust me you're going to do less of that then you think (if you've got some good plugs). But all of your out of the box sounds can very easily run through the above signal chain on the way into the box.

So, if you don't have out of the box sound sources, that's what I'd get before getting out of the box processing.

[Sharmaji]

apogee ensemble is great, especially if you use logic. if you don't need all the multichannel stuff though, it's a bit overkill. Look at things like the metric halo uln2.

build yourself a solid mono or stereo front end and you can't go wrong. a/d/d/a, pre, compressor, eq. do you really need stereo? you could go affordable with a grace 101 pre, a dbx160, and software eq. You could go anywhere from there, i just worked on a record cutting demos with an api 3124+ and a distressor as the front end, and loved every second of it on mic's, di''s, etc.

been cutting horns w/ a chandler germanium pre through a distressor into an apogee duet and similarly fucking loving it-- if what you need is coloration and vibe, the germanium's a great piece.

in my setup i base everything around my metric halo 2882 and great river mpv2 pre-- lots of options, from pin-drop clean to really dirty, between the 2.

also look at cheap mic's and amps-- quite often the biggest bang-for-your-buck, after getting rock-solid front-end gear you can depend on, exists well below $100. i got this great used vox guitar amp for $60 that gets used ALL the time to reamp midrangey stuff...

[lloydy]

Gotta say more about how u work. What type of outboard sound sources do use? What do you want to do with this gear? I don't think anyone can answer this for u, with the info provided.

That motu is pretty good, do you do a lot of quality type recording? W interfaces, once you cross a certain quality threshold, it's all good unless you are doing serious recording. In my opinion that motu is on the good side of of that threshold.

For general out of the box processing, I recommend a stero eq, compressor, and preamp. You can get this with a quality channel strip. But u need out of the box sounds to process. You certainly can take sounds out of the box for processing, but trust me you're going to do less of that then you think (if you've got some good plugs). But all of your out of the box sounds can very easily run through the above signal chain on the way into the box.

So, if you don't have out of the box sound sources, that's what I'd get before getting out of the box processing.

I work completely in the box now,with the gear i want to get i want sound coloration,i want analogue warmth that people talk about,I just want to mix my studio up a bit with in the box and out of the box possibility's.
I have friends who play instruments,i have a wife who can sing pretty damn good so like i said i have plenty of idea's and ways i can go but no idea what's good what's not and in what direction to go with getting what equipment.
In all honesty i thinking a quality outboard compressor/limiter/distressor,pre and outboard effects like reverb/delay....you get my drift.I would eventually like to start adding mic's and stuff but for now i just want decent processing gear.
Also my motu 828 is starting to play up so i thought why not get some of the best a/d /d/a converters so in the future if i need them i have them already and the apogee is pretty fairly priced for what you get and apparently works flawlessly within logic which is my daw of choice.
On the plugin front i have a few i have waves api and classic compressor bundle,izotope ozone 3/4 trash,ohmicide,psp mastercomp then use mostly logic stock.Once i get where i need to be i will be adding plenty more before getting any outboard gear so maybe i will stay in the box but i still wouldn't mind opinions on what people are using and how they find it.

[outbound]

Specific for production?

I'd go crazy on synth's get some virus, nord's and some yamaha motif rack's.

For processing (specific to mixing) I'd be looking at distressor / fatso, lexicon reverb's. Roland space echo. Summit DCL comp oooh and a focusrite red 3 (sound awesome on vox)

But for mastering we're now looking at manley massive passive, gssl buss comp (having a custom clone built atm so at least I'm most of the way there on that one ) Pultec (although I'd imagine this would get some use in the mix area too ) and finally a Weiss EQ1

I forget the question but am always happy to share my gearlusts Oh if you don't have any acoustic treatment yet then that 1000x over. Nowhere near as sexy as a new box but If I had to choose between anything off that list and my acoustic setup then I'd pick my room in a heartbeat.

good luck on your gear quest

[lloydy]

apogee ensemble is great, especially if you use logic. if you don't need all the multichannel stuff though, it's a bit overkill. Look at things like the metric halo uln2.

Yeah i see where your coming from,i bought the motu 828 and only use firewire and the spdif ,i think it has like 22 in/outs.I will check out the metric halo.

build yourself a solid mono or stereo front end and you can't go wrong. a/d/d/a, pre, compressor, eq. do you really need stereo? you could go affordable with a grace 101 pre, a dbx160, and software eq. You could go anywhere from there, i just worked on a record cutting demos with an api 3124+ and a distressor as the front end, and loved every second of it on mic's, di''s, etc.

Pretty much what i want to do,i was looking at the the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor / Limiter,read really good things about making your drums really slam and there is some cheaper second hand ones knocking around the net.

been cutting horns w/ a chandler germanium pre through a distressor into an apogee duet and similarly fucking loving it-- if what you need is coloration and vibe, the germanium's a great piece.

in my setup i base everything around my metric halo 2882 and great river mpv2 pre-- lots of options, from pin-drop clean to really dirty, between the 2.

I had a look at the germanium pre and a lot of people say it is capable of some insane tones from clean to really dirty,its bit high on the price size but still will have a look.Will check out the mpv2 pre.

also look at cheap mic's and amps-- quite often the biggest bang-for-your-buck, after getting rock-solid front-end gear you can depend on, exists well below $100. i got this great used vox guitar amp for $60 that gets used ALL the time to reamp midrangey stuff...

If i can do it cheaper and it still be worth doing then i will,it is something i want to get into just to make my hobby a bit more interesting.
Cheers for all the advice sharm it's appreciated.

[nowaysj]

Think you need a hardware synth or sampler or even a mic before you need hardware eq, comp, preamp, fx. Like You'll have really nice i/o and a great chain, but nothing to run through it. Check out the mini brute shit is cheap analog goodness... I hope. Also, some type of tape based recording device would go a long way towards texture, and would be worth a trip out of the box for.

[lloydy]

Specific for production?
I'd go crazy on synth's get some virus, nord's and some yamaha motif rack's.

Had a virus c sold it to get my ti then sold that because of adding my monitors.Both times i bought the desktop version,wouldn't mind getting the snow.

For processing (specific to mixing) I'd be looking at distressor / fatso, lexicon reverb's. Roland space echo. Summit DCL comp oooh and a focusrite red 3 (sound awesome on vox)

But for mastering we're now looking at manley massive passive, gssl buss comp (having a custom clone built atm so at least I'm most of the way there on that one ) Pultec (although I'd imagine this would get some use in the mix area too ) and finally a Weiss EQ1

Read good things about the fatso and also the pultec.Will have to look at the lexicon reverb's and roland space echo.

Mastering gear i'm not ready yet just mainly looking for outboard processing but will still wright all the kit down on my list to have a read about it.

I forget the question but am always happy to share my gearlusts Oh if you don't have any acoustic treatment yet then that 1000x over. Nowhere near as sexy as a new box but If I had to choose between anything off that list and my acoustic setup then I'd pick my room in a heartbeat.

good luck on your gear quest

My room is treated and will (don't tell the wife)be getting treated more at a later date.Still get a bit of trouble with bass at one end of my room so bass traps and the like will be added.Also need to treat the sides of my room by my desk and need some heavy velvet curtains for my glass doors behind my desk.

Thanks for wishing me luck i'm very excited about my quest but just don't want to waste money on stuff i probably am not going to use.

[lloydy]

Think you need a hardware synth or sampler or even a mic before you need hardware eq, comp, preamp, fx. Like You'll have really nice i/o and a great chain, but nothing to run through it. Check out the mini brute shit is cheap analog goodness... I hope. Also, some type of tape based recording device would go a long way towards texture, and would be worth a trip out of the box for.

Tape based recording device is on the kit list,i have owned a mpc 2500 and a z8 both sold for reason i can't remember.
Synth i will be adding,i don't just want to go straight for a virus because i've used them so will shop about see what else could be worth getting.

[lloydy]

Check out the mini brute shit is cheap analog goodness... I hope.

Just checked it out mmmmmmmmmmmm i want one

[dublerium]

Editing this post, after reading up i'm debating on waldorf blofeld, xoxbox and virus ti snow. All would be nice additions for me, vary in price depending on where you get them, check them out

[dublerium]

Oh if you don't have any acoustic treatment yet then that 1000x over. Nowhere near as sexy as a new box but If I had to choose between anything off that list and my acoustic setup then I'd pick my room in a heartbeat.

I'm relating to this so bad, I want to pick up the XOXBOX when I got a bit more £ around my birthday time, acoustic treatment I know is the sensible one to go for when I got the money but the synth is the much more sexier option to go for! To be fair I could afford both, might just treat myself !

[ZankUSA]

My studio consists of,

HP Laptop with 640 GB hardrive, 4GB RAM with an i5 processor.
KRK monitors
Ableton live and a pair of headphones for on the go..

Nothing too crazy, sure my productions aren't the best but still, works well for me. In need of a midi

[Mazak]

If i could i'd get one of them there sherman filter banks.

And a virus anything.

[billybuxton]

I want a focusrite liquid mix 32


Thats the next thing I'm getting, when/if i get some money...

[lloydy]

If i could i'd get one of them there sherman filter banks.

And a virus anything.

Yeah i like the look of them badboys.They are pretty damn cheap too.I really want a virus again because my sound design skills have improved no end so i think i would make good use of one now.
I am gonna buy a fuck load more software first and get a new computer+desk but then who knows,i will read and buy what i think i will use the most.

[lloydy]

I want a focusrite liquid mix 32


Thats the next thing I'm getting, when/if i get some money...

I have read really good reviews on the focusrite,i was going to buy one a while ago but didn't have the money but again another good suggestion.

[paosciante]

wish list...

ART PRO VLAII: great valve compressor, my friend has one and for drums and bass is amazing! its not overpriced by the way... if not an FMR RNC, another cool cheap compressor that can get pretty interesting
OTO Biscuit: crazy EFX processor plus a small synth (has bitcrushing, waveshaping, analog filter, delay, pitchshifting, tremolo, vibrato, ...)
Probably either an EHX Memory Man or a boss re20: first one analog delay... second one, digital remake of the roland re201 (some good dub vibes)
And if i didnt had my synths, I would probably get a Nord Modular and either a Moogerfooger filter or a Slim Phatty (to process the nords output and to make big and deep bass... also im starting to do a lot of chords layering the Moog, and my gooooooood, what a sound)

and MORE MODULES!

but thats my wishlist...