Members Koopdaddy Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 If you were starting from scratch, what would be the minimum of devices you would get? For example, I have a Mackie Onyx 24.4. Obviously with a digital mixer these days you get all of that on every channel. But with an analog system and having to be selecetive about who gets what, where would you start? How many Comps/gates/GEQ/PEQ's would be the minimum to start off with for 5 piece band (drums, ac and ele guitar, bass, keys and 3 vocals) doing folk rock type stuff? The mixer does have an onboard compresser but its not super great so I am looking at outboard gear. So, which comp/gate would you recommend and how many?How many GEQ's (if any)? Thanks,Jared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loco_p_man Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 Hi JaredI'm sure plenty of people with more experience will give good (better) advice, but I would come at this from a different angle, which is about what problem you need to solve. We have fiddled around with effects units, feedback destroyers (hah !), 31 band eqs etc and in the end realised that we wanted to keep things as simple as possible. We ended up buying (and continuing to buy) the best quality we could afford, and that in itself did more to improve the sound than any number of outboard gadgets. In particular, from reading what people have written about compressors, I am sure that one can do as much harm as good to the sound if you don't really know what you are doing..... So what is it about your sound you are not happy about ? If you can lay that out clearly, then the experts here will guide you towards a solution.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 If you asking options I would trade up to a presonus digital then you have all you need in one package if I were in your shoes. Rack, EQ, comp, and cables are not cheap if good quality, by the time you do the math you could have purchased a presonus board. There are other digital mixing options as well, but the presonus seems like the best "all in one" digital board on the market right now. Opinions will vary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 How many comps and gates do I have? 8 of each. How many do I use? Whatever is really necessary to do the job. Usually, pretty much none. I find that with beginners (or inexperienced), and a digital console, the chief cause of sound problems (other than getting lost on the console) is placing processing in places where it's not needed and creating bigger problems than they THINK they are trying to solve. Nothing worse that trying to solve a non-problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 My old mixer I had a 2 channel compressor, and a GEQ for the mains and each monitor mix. (2) plus a dual 15 band GEQ I could insert on a channel if I needed it. I had this one guitar player I did sound for more than a few times. Metal band. I don't know what it was, but if he played a certain note, the room would vibrate sympathetically. Only that one note, only when he played it clean, so I was able to notch it out with the inserts GEQ. Handy when you needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Koopdaddy Posted March 29, 2013 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 loco_p_man wrote: Hi Jared I'm sure plenty of people with more experience will give good (better) advice, but I would come at this from a different angle, which is about what problem you need to solve. We have fiddled around with effects units, feedback destroyers (hah !), 31 band eqs etc and in the end realised that we wanted to keep things as simple as possible. We ended up buying (and continuing to buy) the best quality we could afford, and that in itself did more to improve the sound than any number of outboard gadgets. In particular, from reading what people have written about compressors, I am sure that one can do as much harm as good to the sound if you don't really know what you are doing..... So what is it about your sound you are not happy about ? If you can lay that out clearly, then the experts here will guide you towards a solution.... I am all about keeping things simple. I don't really have a problem I am trying to solve as I am like Aged...if I dont need to, dont. Perhaps the question should have been "what do you keep in your "toolbox" of eq's/comps/etc in case you do need them for a given gig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stangconv Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 How many channels do you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted March 29, 2013 Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 Depending on the gig ... but the biggest is:4 vocal channels1 ch guitar1 ch bass2 ch drums (electronic)2 ch backing tracks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Koopdaddy Posted March 29, 2013 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2013 stangconv wrote: How many channels do you use? 19 or so. Sometimes we add in another percussion instrument (glockenspiel) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted March 30, 2013 Members Share Posted March 30, 2013 Comps and gates? I'd be more worried about mics, stands, cables, cases, a van, gas money, food... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rob_H Posted March 30, 2013 Members Share Posted March 30, 2013 I agree on the comments about going digital as you get a lot for your money and can play around with various gates, comp, EQ and FX and then decide if you want specific external gear to solve an issue. It also depends on what you are doing, I have a lot of outboard gear that doesn't get used live as much as it does for recording; I am not doing sound in rooms with enough neutral accoustics that anyone is going to hear the difference between a digital compressor and a tube one or be able to hear the difference in the plate voltage on one of my external strips. I do like an analog EQ even though, maybe over time I will get the confidence to cut something quick on the 24.4.2 but it is sure not there today. In my opinion it is worth buying good quality 2 x 31 band with larger faders (dbx 1231 or 2231, Ashly GQX, Yamaha Q2031 etc), but you don't need a ton of them to ring out the room either. I think the most important part is to figure out a goal and a budget as early in the process as possible; it is a lot better in my opinion to rent what you can't afford to buy (even if it means renting a lesser brand because that is what they have available) than to buy something of lesser quality than you really want just because you can get it now. Selling used gear is a pain, unless you have high end pieces that a lot of people want. It is also really easy to spend 2 or 3 times to get a piece you want without thinking your goals through clearly up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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