Author Topic: SoundKitchen Recording Studio (Read 25140 times)

KitC · « **Reply #25 on:** March 15, 2006, 06:54:56 PM »

You will soon discover that the Pultec, LA2A, 1176, and EMT 140 will get the most use...

starfugger · « **Reply #26 on:** March 15, 2006, 09:00:20 PM »

i have no doubt Kit

it's still money well-spent for the other plug-in's. i heard really good things about the cambridge, fairchild 670, and Dreamverb as well. it will be a while though before i can afford another ultra pak, and perhaps the next time i will just get either flexi or studio pak.

i'll be posting about the sound quality of the uad-1 tomorrow. cheers!

hazel

KitC · « **Reply #27 on:** March 15, 2006, 09:06:13 PM »

I think you will find the UAD Boards to be quite helpful while you're setting it up. I'd like to hear the EMT in action myself; heard it was smooooth.

starfugger · « **Reply #28 on:** March 16, 2006, 12:49:00 PM »

ok, i tested it last night in the studio. now i understand why most people swear by the LA2A. Kit, it's AMAZING. i tried it on a rather problematic vocal track i recorded and mixed several months ago. i chose to test this plug using that vocal track because there were so many peaks and dips in dynamics it would take forever to automate it. i have tried alot of dynamic plug in's and nothng seemed to work on this particular track. it would be one hell of a test for the UAD-1 LA2A. a few clicks later ... HEAVEN. i couldn't believe my ears. Man, this thing has 2 knobs. how much easier can life get?!??!?!? they call the LA2A a "leveling amplifier" and that's right on the money. it smoothened out the peaks without changing the sonic quality of the vocals so much (unlike most plug-ins that muddy up a track or don't seem to catch the transients in time). it was just magic! now i don't really know what the hardware LA2A sounds like (although they say it's really close, the difference being slightly noticeable only when soloing the track), but if it is even better than this then i really did miss out these past few years. time to catch up!

as for the other plugs i havent tested them yet really (the la2a kept me up till 2 am!). i'll make sure to check on the EMT soon and give you some feedback. there is one native plug modeled after the EMT 140 that sounds quite good. timeworks.

anyway, i'll be back soon

ANNOUNCEMENT: the studio will be ready for recording next week. Most prpbably monday. we are now fixing up the place so that the recording process is painless and FAST

see you there!

glassjaw_jc · « **Reply #29 on:** March 16, 2006, 02:59:15 PM »

what bass amp are you using?

starfugger · « **Reply #30 on:** March 17, 2006, 04:17:10 AM »

hi jc. i record the bass direct through a Joe Meek VC1 studio channel as DI box. it's really great with the bass guitar. Then I blend the direct sound with an amp simulated one. with bass its not very difficult to get great sounds even without an amp (most people really prefer DI). But recording rhythm and lead guitars is a different matter altogether

i still haven't gotten around trying the other effects. still in love with the La2a. tested it with an even more difficult vocal track. i have never heard native compressor plugs work this way. maybe i'll post mp3 clips here in the next few days

glassjaw_jc · « **Reply #31 on:** March 17, 2006, 10:21:41 AM »

i'll see if i can get my band to travel to lagro. i'm curious about the joe meek

starfugger · « **Reply #32 on:** March 18, 2006, 09:46:19 AM »

hi jc. carpentry work should be done by the end of the day. i will be posting pictures of the place and the gear tomorrow. also, i'll try to post sound clips in the next couple of days.

The Joe Meek is pretty popular for bass and low end stuff. i have yet to hear the VC1 in its full glory through the RME converters. im guessing it will be fun

the VC1 is pretty popular on bass if you do a search on google. One producer actually said it's the best bass pre he has ever used. Here's the link to his site, take a peek under BASSES:

http://www.playgroundstudio.com/studio/equipment.htm

here's a review of the Joe Meek VC1:

http://www.joemeek.com/vc1-parreview.html

particulars about the unit can be found in the manual:
http://www.joemeek.com/pdf/vc1hb.pdf
(right click and choose "Save As")

regards

glassjaw_jc · « **Reply #33 on:** March 18, 2006, 11:09:03 AM »

yeah, i've been reading good things about the joe meek since way back. i'm not familiar with the newer models though. pls do post sound clips.

good luck with the new and improved soundkitchen. kahit nung dati pa solve ako sa ginawa mo dun sa mga samplers sa site mo eh. lalo na dun sa fuseboxx yung may maikling bass solo. what more with the new equipment.

KitC · « **Reply #34 on:** March 18, 2006, 12:36:33 PM »

Hazel,

Is the VC-1 still a Ted Fletcher design or a newer version? Fletcher left the company about a couple of years ago to start up his own so I wonder about this voice channel.

Btw, JoeMeek is also making some mics now... waiting for a review but I've heard some good comments.

starfugger · « **Reply #35 on:** March 18, 2006, 07:20:52 PM »

thanks jc

Kit, yes, i believe this is one of the older models, either '96 or 97. it doesn't even look exactly like the one in the joe meek manual or site. it's still a Ted Fletcher design. I don't know the story, but PMI which was the Joe Meek distributor in the UK took over in 2003. Fletcher's built a new company called TFPro.

regards

KitC · « **Reply #36 on:** March 18, 2006, 07:31:51 PM »

Quote from: starfugger

Fletcher's built a new company called TFPro.

regards

Yeah, I know. The 2 preamps on my Emu 1820m were designed by TFPro and they sound ok.

Don't you just love it how the Joe Meek's dials go up to 11?

starfugger · « **Reply #37 on:** March 18, 2006, 07:39:47 PM »

Quote

Don't you just love it how the Joe Meek's dials go up to 11?

LOL, i never noticed

will take a good look tomorrow. the compressor on this thing is also very nice and very useful during tracking.

starfugger · « **Reply #38 on:** March 20, 2006, 07:52:24 AM »

you're right Kit, it does go all the way up to 11. i heard joe meek stuff have different dial settings than other boxes.

i'm waiting for the finishing touches to be done in the studio. cleaning up time din mamaya. dust dust dust everywhere! im glad i boxed all my equipment before construction began!

tomorrow is the official first day of operations

for bookings and reservations please call me at 4172967 or 09177894940.

pictures to follow shortly!

cheers,
Hazel

abyssinianson · « **Reply #39 on:** March 20, 2006, 11:49:57 AM »

i can speak for Cubase SX 3 and what it can do but I particularly love its ability to integrate well with MIDI. I've been with Cubase since version 3.1 and Steinberg just keeps on putting more and more useful stuff into their products. I currently use Nuendo 2 and SX 3.

starfugger · « **Reply #40 on:** March 20, 2006, 02:38:59 PM »

yes, cubase and nuendo are extremely powerful. i tried downloading the free version of protools and checked it out. took me a couple of minutes to realize it was too difficult for me

i don't really know how much better or worse it is compared to steinberg products because i didn't seem to want to find out after the first 5 minutes. when i ran cubase the first time, i got it to work the way i wanted without having to search the user's manual. that's how intuitive it is in my opinion.

so my vote goes to steinberg

abyssinianson · « **Reply #41 on:** March 20, 2006, 02:49:58 PM »

protools is a bit harder to digest, i think, and the interface is weirder - I was able to adjust to it on my HD system fairly quickly because I had been doing Cubase for years so no big deal there. Still, I maintain that Cubase is a much faster working environment as a sequencer than ProTools even though I use both.

Congrats on the upgrades! I am particularly excited about the UAD-1 - that is a wonderful piece of kit to have in your studio.

starfugger · « **Reply #42 on:** March 20, 2006, 03:04:54 PM »

wow, u have a pro tools HD rig? do educate me about pro tools as i am very curious and am eventually planning to get there sooner or later (hopefully sooner than later). but it is all too confusing for me. all those accel cards, and what about conversion? where do i plug in all the cables? will it accept conversion from other sources (apogee, rme, etc)? do i need a mac for that? or can i run it on a pc? or will running it on mac be wiser? finally, the overall cost (including the computer and the cards an what not). will the system (hardware) work with other DAW softwares or is it exlusively for pro tools only? thanks!

the uad-1 is simply MAAAGIC (ala bugs bunny singing "MAAAGIC"). hopefully by the end of the day everything will be up and running

KitC · « **Reply #43 on:** March 20, 2006, 03:27:49 PM »

Quote from: starfugger

i tried downloading the free version of protools and checked it out. took me a couple of minutes to realize it was too difficult for me

You tried out PT Free? That only works with Win 98/Win ME - won't work with XP no matter what you do. The full PT suite (what I call the REAL PT) does work with WinXP, so does PT LE though I find that version somewhat hobbled. IMO, PT works best when paired with Digidesign hardware. Then you have to factor in the plugs needed to make it shine. Sure it is the industry standard, but then you have to pay top dollar for the whole kit and caboodle.

You're better off with Cubase and the UAD; as a matter of fact, I prefer mixing audio in Cubase (inspite of the dongle).

abyssinianson · « **Reply #44 on:** March 20, 2006, 04:36:15 PM »

Quote from: KitC

Quote from: starfugger
i tried downloading the free version of protools and checked it out. took me a couple of minutes to realize it was too difficult for me

You tried out PT Free? That only works with Win 98/Win ME - won't work with XP no matter what you do. The full PT suite (what I call the REAL PT) does work with WinXP, so does PT LE though I find that version somewhat hobbled. IMO, PT works best when paired with Digidesign hardware. Then you have to factor in the plugs needed to make it shine. Sure it is the industry standard, but then you have to pay top dollar for the whole kit and caboodle.

You're better off with Cubase and the UAD; as a matter of fact, I prefer mixing audio in Cubase (inspite of the dongle).

I agree with KitC, although ProTools is the industry standard, it is handicapped by the fact that it is solely proprietary. My TDM system is great to work under, however, the freedom of working with Logic, Sonar or Cubase is a much more lucrative option because you are free to upgrade specific parts of your setup as you wish AND you have the option of accepting VST and DX plugs. There are not as many thirdparty people coding VSTs for TDM systems so you are limited with what you have. With VST compatible systems, you have companies as well as smaller independents who are very creative just churning out lots of wonderful pieces of programs. In my opinion, as long as you have reliable converters, you should be doing great. As far as the cost for Hd systems, last time I checked HD 1 went for around 7K US, the HD 2 for about 9 or 10 K and the HD 3 for about 11K. The price should vary but I don't know how much vendors can play around with prices on HD systems.

starfugger · « **Reply #45 on:** March 21, 2006, 08:01:40 AM »

Kit, yes, for a while there i would not use xp even if it had been out for a couple of years. i was pretty comfy with 98 because most of my softwares ran happily and you know how the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." i shifted to xp around 1 and a half years ago. something mustve broke though i don't remember what exactly. or perhaps it was the LE version i tried? i remember downloading it from the net so it must've been the free version.

i'm happy with cubase. really. correct me if im wrong, but i am under the impression that with pro tools HD, latency, hiccups, and hardware problems all magically go away. i'm guessing that you can record and play so many tracks, insert fx to your heart's content, automate, etc etc in HD without experiencing so much as a blink.

my experience with ordinary sound cards and cubase were very painful

inserting a couple of plugs and mixing 24 tracks or so will cause the cursor to jump from time to time, play back stops once in a while, and then if you're really lucky everything hangs in the middle of a mix (actually not in the middle, more like when ur 5 minutes away from hitting the "mixdown" button).

now with the rme i really don't know how it will perform. perhaps quantum leaps better than the old setup, but i'm guessing i will hit the limit sooner or later, as most of it is still dependent on pc hardware. is there a big difference in performance using HD? or is it the same thing with yopur cubase and sonar setup (what hardware do you use with your cubase and sonar rig)? i'm under the impression that HD is so much more powerful in terms of simultaneous record and playback tracks, the ability to insert plug in's etc. if that is the case, then the $$$ expense is justified. if not then im sticking with the reason why i did not purchase digi 002 in the first place ---> there are better options for the same money.

thanks everyone. almost done. clean up proves to be the most daunting of tasks

abyssinianson · « **Reply #46 on:** March 21, 2006, 09:02:43 AM »

yeah, the HD does have the benefit of having the DSP engine take most of the load when yoou do recording. I don't have sonar personally, but I have worked with it on other people's setups. I run a Nuendo 2 and Cubase SX 3 setup under a Creamware Scope Pro platform. It works well for me and I have not had problems with that setup since I put them together.

KitC · « **Reply #47 on:** March 21, 2006, 02:18:38 PM »

The beauty of ProTools?

Gapless editing - audio hardly ever hiccups, zero latency monitoring, excellent converters, and easy portability from one PT studio to the next. If a system ever goes down, a Digi rep will be there in a couple of hours and he'll make sure the problem gets resolved before he leaves.

I'm the one with Sonar. Hardly a problem but I anticipate better performance as soon as I go dual core.

abyssinianson · « **Reply #48 on:** March 21, 2006, 03:38:34 PM »

I admit, the HD hardly ever hiccups but I really do feel silly with the rep support. I mean, unless someone has an ICON or something, I would imagine phone support is alright. I do my own tech work on the stuff but its so hardy that you really dont ever touch it once you've set everything up.

KitC · « **Reply #49 on:** March 21, 2006, 05:02:59 PM »

If it's just a little problem that you can DIY without voiding their warranty, I guess that's ok (what they don't know won't void your warranty

). I have a friend here who has a HD Accel system and his G5 suddenly crashed and PT wouldn't launch. Now THAT required a call to Tech Sup. And who said Macs don't crash?

News:

Author Topic: SoundKitchen Recording Studio (Read 25140 times)