Compressing my studio

[hardmandez]

Hi everyone, I'm back after a short spell of doing a lot of DIY around the house, getting pished and generaly being a lazy shite recently and as usual I am after your first-class eadvice.

My studio setup is taking up too much room, too many desktop modules, not enough desktop space.

Currently running, JP8000, Virus B, EA1, ER1, TR606 all through a Soundcraft Spirit SX mixer. So as you can imagine that all takes up a lot of desktop space excluding my 17" screen and Tannoy monitors which is even more space and as much as I love all my hardware it is too much.

I am considering getting rid of everything but the JP and Virus B, getting a couple of flat screens and replacing the mixer with a soundcard with multiple inputs, I am not sure what card to get though that will be as good as the mixer I was thinking of the Delta 1010, it's reasonably priced or maybe something from MOTU. Has anyone got any recommendations?

Cheers

HDZ

[Merlot]

motu828mkII (http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/828/body.html/en)

It has some nice A/D D/A converters. Lots if inputs, mic pre's.

Why are you getting rid of the two better sound modules (IMO) in your setup? Why not keep those and get rid of the korgs, since software can do those sounds?

[hardmandez]

Yeah the MOTU would be nice. I will check out the used prices for these might be able to pick one up at a reasonable price.

I am keeping the JP and the Virus, it's the korgs I am thinking of getting rid of. I'm not sure I can get rid of the EA1 though. It was my first synth.

[Merlot]

it is my fault. I misread what you wrote. I did not see the "but" before the JP and VB.

[jasedee]

I would say maybe keep a mixer in your arsenal....maybe sell the soundcraft and buy a little Mackie 1202....much easier to balance levels with a mixer that through a soundcard, although the MOTU stuff does come with a cool little monitoring program called "Cue Mix DSP"

Get rid of the things that just gather dust, and spend the money on things that you will use for years....ie valve compressor/EQ (NOT shitty one..)

Im thinking of streamlining too.....too much useless crap in my studio

Good luck!!!!

[Panopticon]

I went mixerless a year and a half ago and wouldn't go back for anything. I have everything hooked up to my 828mkII, you can do different mixes on different buses, save/load mix settings, etc. It's really simple, intuitive, and time-saving. For what it costs, the 828mkII is really a huge value in my studio. The preamps are kind of on par with Mackie, so I use a Great River pre to track vox and live instruments, and with this preamp you can see the differences in A/D between the 828 and Apogee stuff is indiscernible in any kind of real life monitoring situation (e.g.- I don't have Genelecs and a $50,000 room to monitor in, but my control room is acoustically treated and I use HR-824's at reasonable levels, and can't tell any difference).

The RME stuff is also great, but expensive, as is Metric Halo.

[hardmandez]

There is the thought of selling everything and buying a T1 full size keyboard version and a half decent card like the Emulator X stuff creeping into my head. Would certainly cut back on space, I just wonder if I would end up buying more stuff again so that i would have a more varied sound available to me.

[MADSTATION]

hardmandez: I really wouldn't recommend EMU products.
Worst drivers ever, so buggy!

I really regret having my 1820m.

[hardmandez]

Cheers Madstation. I have read mixed reviews on this range of cards mostly good so it is good to hear it from someone who has bought one. I should really know better than to buy anything from a company linked to Creative after the Live/Audigy cards. Out of curiosity what don't you like about the cards.

[MADSTATION]

Well the sound itself is actually AMAZING, but what makes it really bad are the drivers. Expect a few crashes a day unless you disable the inputs(more stable this way, but I need my inputs lol) and it has lots of issues with the Powercore card as well...

Also, it doesnt have the same output and input latency(huge difference), means that it's barely usable in Cubase SX3!

So if you play to record real instruments and don't do much midi, I guess it's fine...But if you're looking for flexibility, ease of use AND stability, then maybe you should have a look for another soundcard.

I should have bought the motu 828mk2, but once again I don't know how are their drivers for pc.