Mac Recording Help - Experienced Gurus Chime In

[Luiz Gustavo]

For pre go for .....

Great River, John Hardy, Neves, Vintechs, Sytek's, JLM's, Broadhurst's, Performance, Little Labsand and you'll be fine.

It depends on your budget.

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

Some cheap interface:

MAudio 1814

Presonus Firepod

Digi 002 or 003

Monitors, I'll suggest Yamaha HS80M. Good for the value.

 

[Duolos]

Some cheap interface:

MAudio 1814

Presonus Firepod

Digi 002 or 003

Monitors, I'll suggest Yamaha HS80M. Good for the value.

How about some really killer ones?

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

So, go for Pro Tools HD, with onde of 192 interface. 192khz 64 bits internal.

But you'll need to spend in a HD card.

To be in a mid budget I vote for Digi line, but you cant go over 96khz 24 bits (internal 32 bits floating point, that is just than enought).

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

It depends of how many input tracks at same time ?

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

MOTU gets my vote too (if you dont plan to go with Pro Tools)

 

[SteveB]

MOTU gets my vote too (if you dont plan to go with Pro Tools)

Luis,

Which Mark Of The Unicorn interface are you talking about? (BTW I've heard some of your recordings and they are impressive!)

 

[Elmer Imperial]

My (long-winded) 2 cents, FWIW...

I had a similar game plan a bit over two years ago. My budget wasn't quite as high (about $10K), but I'm a Mac fan and knew I wanted my setup to be Mac based. The Mac is a personal preference, and I earn a living with Windows machines and know all about 'em, so no Windows vs. Mac Holy Wars, please.

I ended up getting the following:

Dual 2GHz G5 Powermac: A step down from the fastest G5 offered when I bought it. An excellent platform all around (except for the "CPU Nap" issue - a minor annoyance that doesn't affect the Intel Macs), and I don't feel the need to upgrade anytime soon because it'll still handle anything I throw at it. Load 'er up with RAM and you're golden. I needed to be able to sequence and run softsynths and drum samples, so that's why I didn't go with a dedicated digital recording device such as a Korg DX32 or the like.

Logic Express: As I was just starting to dabble in recording, I didn't feel that I needed Logic Pro and couldn't justify the roughly $700 difference between the two. After 2+ years, I feel like I'm still just scratching the surface of Express's capabilities. Software choice is a "what features do I really want and/or need" kind of thing, so you might look at Logic, Digital Performer, Pro Tools, etc., before making a decision. Everyone has their own personal favorite.
True, Pro Tools can be found in most professional studios, but Logic isn't exactly unheard of. If your projected needs include interaction with pro studios, Pro Tools might be the way to go. I've used DP, Cubase, and Logic, but not Pro Tools. At the end of the day, Logic Express just does what I need to do and the price is reasonable. I got used to its interface fairly quickly, although there is a bit of a learning curve involved. Apple's website has a nice chart that compares the features between Pro and Express.

Presonus Firebox: This is where I tried to save a few bucks. I'll not bore you with the technical specs, and it has been a very solid and reliable interface, but after using a buddy's MOTU interface (a Traveler, I think) I wish I had bought that instead. It has a better feature set and IMHO better audio quality. It is quite a bit more money than the Presonus is. Going up even higher in cost, Apogee interfaces seem to get universal acclaim so definitely check those out as well if they're in your budget.

Mackie MCU: Mixing with a mouse sucks, period. I picked up the MCU as a store demo model at about half the cost of a new one. I would not want to run a multitrack recording application without a control surface of some sort - once you get used to the feel and ease of real faders-n-knobs there is no going back. I don't know what the current control surface market looks like, but I can say that I have been very happy with the MCU.

MXL 990/991 mic set: Hey, it was only $100 for the pair! Another place where I skimped and probably shouldn't have. If you pair 'em up and get 'em angled just right, you can get acceptable results with them. I've used a friend's Studio Projects C1 mic and been MUCH happier with the results (mostly used for guitars, acoustic and electric), and just recently picked up a Sennheiser e609 mic for guitar cabs. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but folks seem to love 'em and they're pretty inexpensive.

KRK V6: Another "store demo" item. I was offered the pair for just a few bucks more than the cost of a single, so I couldn't pass them up. I listened to many monitors before purchasing these, and I'd suggest checking out as many as you can in person before making a decision. It's a fairly subjective sort of thing, and a lot of personal preference comes into play here. Personally, I really like the sound of these monitors, but they could stand to have a bit better low frequency response. Nothin' a powered sub can't take care of...

That covers the big stuff. You'll also need a ton of cabling and connectors and such, maybe a desk of some kind, software plugins, etc. Room treatment (I have Auralex, but I got it VERY cheap) is a whole 'nother ball of wax, and a little Googling will give you more information than you can stand about the hows and whys of room treatment.

Above all, keep in mind that great results can be had with good material recorded and mixed by a skilled / experienced engineer, even on the most meager equipment. You might find (as I have) that gear can't make up for lack of knowledge or skills, no matter how hard you may try. And Lord knows how I try...

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Duolos]

Thanks Elmer Imperial....this type of information is what I was seeking. VERY VERY helpful and informative. I really appreciate your post.

 

[Bungo]

I am a mediocre guitar player at best and even worse as an engineer....lol.

This statement reminds me of me.

I would therefore recommend a kick-ass hi-fi system and a pile of CDs by people you really like listening to. Then play along with your guitar volume knob turned low.

Works for me!

 

[CodeMonkey]

I find that each recording software has it own merits, so really it's a matter of trying them out and figuring out which one has the GUI and features you want. Just about all modern recording software can line up your tracks on the left so you can export them and take them to any other software and import them relatively easily, so that shouldn't really be a concern. Audio interfaces have been covered pretty well. Good mics and preamps will go farther than a good interface.

Only thing I can stress is that you'll get better performance from an external firewire drive or raid than relying on internal bussing. You also won't eat up your drive, freeing you to continue using your computer for other things like surfing the web and such.

 

[CudBucket]

It depends on your budget,

Have you seen his amps? I don't think budget is an issue.

 

[Duolos]

Thanks a bunch for that info and help Code (thumbs up), I really appreciate that.



In reference to what Junior said regarding budget,I will spend what I need to to get it done right, I just don't want to be foolish one way or the other. I refuse to be penny wise and dollar stupid long term. My hope is to dial it really right the first time and not have to buy and rebuy again later. I never understood that. It costs more long term by far. I am fortunate enough to have some really nice gear and want to stay in alignment with that on this aspect as well but if I can get by without going insane on cost I am all for that too, but I will not skimp to save a buck if that makes sense.

Thanks again everybody for your feedback, help, advice. I really appreciate it

 

[SteveB]

Duolos,

I sure hope we can collectively provide enough feedback to help your decision. The thing that I dislike most is that recording technology is getting so wrapped up in computers. With the benefits of that integration comes the other side where perfectly good, functioning equipment becomes obsolete every three years for no good reason. This is what keeps me from spending any decent amount of money on computer-based recording gear.

I write code for a living, so don't get the wrong idea that I'm some anti-technology type! I just hate to bring that rat race into my musical world.

 

[Junior]

Have you seen his amps? I don't think budget is an issue.

Well if not, then I'd suggest top-of-the-line equipment: like a Focusrite preamp for the mics, RME Fireface 800 interface, Mackie HR824 monitors etc.

 

[Colin]

If you want to buy right the first time, then ProTools HD and a nice mic preamp.

 

[Duolos]

Duolos,

I sure hope we can collectively provide enough feedback to help your decision. The thing that I dislike most is that recording technology is getting so wrapped up in computers. With the benefits of that integration comes the other side where perfectly good, functioning equipment becomes obsolete every three years for no good reason. This is what keeps me from spending any decent amount of money on computer-based recording gear.

I write code for a living, so don't get the wrong idea that I'm some anti-technology type! I just hate to bring that rat race into my musical world.

That right there is the flipside to my concern. The idea of that just kills me and then makes me want to revert back to a Roland console system or something...lol. And I know there is NOTHING wrong with that idea. I have paid a fortune for my amps and guitars and to me, they are neer going to realy become useless. Some new strings, tubes, etc and keep care of them and you are cool. This arena on recording is a whole new ballgame for me personally for one (as far as do it yourself is concerned) and I don't want to get cool stuff only to have it be useless in a few years.

Decisions Decisions..........

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

Luis,

Which Mark Of The Unicorn interface are you talking about? (BTW I've heard some of your recordings and they are impressive!)

Steve this particular model:

MOTU.com - MOTU HD192 Overview

I was seeing it in Digital Cameras, Camcorders, TV's, Home Theater, DVD Players, Apple iPods and they are almost the same price of Rack Digi line, but go up 192khz and the clock are rock solid. No mistake.

By the way, this is one thing that I hate in Digi line, the clock is really crap.

I'm using one Digi 002 Rack with some toys here via digital, Focusrite Octopre and one Yamaha 01V96 and the clock gets lost time to time, when you chage aplications. Whit MAudio interfaces these things doesnt happens.

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

I'm with Colin.

Go for Pro Tools HD (1, 2 or 3 depends how many input track @ same time)

And a decent pre.

Neve is a good way to go if money isnt a problem.

But remember, every pre has it own voice and character, like pickups.

 

[Elmer Imperial]

Yeah, as CodeMonkey said, external FW drives are the way to go. I forgot to mention that. Good mics are definitely a must as well.

Keep in mind that no matter how killer your mics/pres/etc. are, unless you're going to tape you still gotta do the A/D conversion somewhere, and that's where a good interface will shine. Not only for audio quality, but for audio routing features too. For example, check out the CueMix DSP application for the MOTU interface Luiz mentioned - features like that make digital recording much easier.

I guess what I'm getting at is that it's all about finding the right balance and mix of gear for your needs. No point in having a great set of mics and then running them into a crappy pre or A/D converter. A killer pre coupled with mediocre mics probably won't get you where you want to go either.

Of course, if your budget allows for great mics, top-notch pres, and high end interfaces, then go to town!

I'd agree with SteveB that recording technology is increasingly computer-centric, but to me the bigger problem is that it's easy to put too much emphasis on the computer parts, taking focus away from all of the other aspects of getting good tracks recorded. Some days the computer parts are just more of a distraction than anything else.

Sure, obsolescence will be a factor eventually, but that'll be true whether you go computer-based or digital console-based.

Hell, some days I feel obsolete myself.