What to buy with all this money...

[UstadKhanAli]

If you are so inclined, you could check out the Lawson L251 instead of the Soundelux 251. The Lawson is half the price. I don't know which one is better or more faithful or any of that. I do know that the Lawson sounds really great, has continuously variable polar pattern adjustment, and is almost half the price of the Soundelux (~$2500). Consider comparing these two and keeping the one that works better for you. And if you do compare these, please post here and let us know which one you prefer.

[Jamplified]

Thanks UstadKhanAli,

I'll keep that in mind.

I've heard a few good remarks about Lawson mics, but I can't remember what specific models.

[EngineGuitarist]

Originally posted by Jamplified All this money being spent on gear has to be spent on things that will bring in clients, and ultimately pay for themselves. All I'm really saying is... I have to get the clients in the door FIRST, then second I can impress them with the awesome sound.

 

usually its the other way around, at least from an engineering standpoint. but i hear ya about the name brand stuff.

 

keeping that in mind id be surprised if people knew of groove tubes vipre. even the manley. a pair of Neve 1073's would give you that magic word that all the brand name lovers enjoy.

 

neuman, neve, ssl, pro tools. i dont think i've ever heard a brand name lover asking for anything else. so yeah having that stuff will satisfy them. and anything with the name on it allows you to say you have ____ gear.

 

good luck with it.

[Warhead]

Definitely grab a 1073 Neve and a Sony C800G, at least after that $10k you can tell everybody you've got Dre's setup.

 

War

[Jamplified]

Thanks guys!!

All your opinions have been very helpful.

 

Here is the current list (still open to suggestions):

 

Converters: - Apogee Rosetta 800 AD/DA $2700 or Lavry 4496-7 $4300

Pres: - SSL E Signature Channel Strip $3600, Neve 1073 DPA $3100, Avalon AD2022 $2700, API 3124 $2500, UA 6176 $2200

Compressors: - UA LA2A $2900, SSL G Series (Stereo Buss) Compressor $3515, Distressor EL8SX $3000, UA 1176 $1600

Mics: - AKG C414 BXL2 $1000, 2 x U87 $5800, Sony C-800G $6700, Soundelux 251 $4800 or Lawson L251 $2500, Telefunken U47 $7500

 

Monitors: - Dynaudio BM15A (pair) $2600

Headphones: - AKG K171S

Plugins: - Waves SSL Plugins $1500

[seaneldon]

what's the point of getting lower quality plugins of outboard gear you're expecting to have anyway? get a patchbay and use that {censored}.

[Jamplified]

We already have patchbays.

I can't patch four compressors onto 50 plus tracks when I'm doing a mix, so I still need plugins to back me up when I run out of outboard stuff.

[seaneldon]

why not get a different flavor for your plugin compression, was more what i was asking...

[Jamplified]

Oh. Ok.

What do you recommend?

We already have the other Waves stuff.

[seaneldon]

if your computer system has available PCI slots i'd say to go after the Universal Audio UAD1 with a couple of cards and every plugin available. leaps and bounds ahead of most of the waves plugins, and they don't tax your processor. the fairchild 670 emulation, for instance, is completely {censored}ing insane as far as anything digital goes. pultecs and other classic eqs and dynamics processors. very soon they'll have neve eq plugins available, though if you can't wait for that URS has a 1073 eq plugin in their Everything EQ bundle.

[Jamplified]

Thanks alot. I don't know how I forgot about those. I actually have it on a list of things to buy for another studio

 

What do you think of the TC Powercore firewire?

I've heard both good and bad, but I don't know if they've worked out all the kinks yet.

[Bluzpickr]

Originally posted by Jamplified All this money being spent on gear has to be spent on things that will bring in clients, and ultimately pay for themselves. All I'm really saying is... I have to get the clients in the door FIRST, then second I can impress them with the awesome sound.

 

I am by no means trying to be a wiseguy here Jamplified, but it seems like you're putting the cart before the horse. "Awsome sound" will get way more clients in the door than a list of impressive equipment. If you have a budget of $30k just for mics and pre's, I would strongly suggest hiring a top notch engineer for consulting purposes alone. A really good engineer can help you save a ton of $$$ on equipment and show you how to use it as well. I've done session work in studios with loads of high end gear with a half ass engineer and almost felt like telling the client they were throwing their money away. I've also watched some great engineers get some amazing sounds out of less than top notch equipment. An impressive list of studio gear isn't what gets clients in the door. Great sounding recordings do. Word gets around fast about which studios are hot and which are not. Try to remember that all the high end studio equipment in the world is only as good as the person who knows how to use it. Do yourself a favor and find a good recording engineer before you spend any of your money on gear. It's the best investment you'll make.

[umkcprof]

First off, there is a lot of fine gear on your list, but some of your choices just don't make any sense. Why get a UA 1176 AND a UA 6176? In that case, you end up with two compressors that will be an absolute bear to link and only one preamp. If you want the 1176 sound, you ought to be buying the Purple Audio 1176 clone which allows you to link the units perfectly. If you want the UA tube preamps, buy the UA 2-610 and get two of them.

 

I am surprised that no one has included what many people consider to be the best outboard gear made: Crane Song. I would HIGHLY recommend the Crane Song STC-8, which is a killer stereo compressor and which can do just about anything. It is a truly superlative unit. The Distressors are "nice," but I sold mine to buy the Crane Song and haven't missed them one bit.

 

While the DPA/Schoeps debate will run endlessly, I would recommend getting a pair of CMC6 microphones with MK4 or MK41 capsules. That way you can add other capsules down the road for minimal added expense.

 

I would also highly recommend the Soundelux ifet7 microphone, which has two distinct sounds (one vocal and one instrumental) and may be the best single microphone value out there.

 

For headphones, for monitoring purposes, at least, you simply cannot beat the Sennheiser HD-650. I can't begin to describe how good those puppies are. Many headphone specialists consider them the best in the world.

 

Anyway, good luck.

 

Stephen

[Phil O'Keefe]

As Where said, first thing - the room(s). If they're good to go, then monitors. Yeah, I spent the bux and got the ADAM S3-A's, but I've always considered that to be money very well spent. After speakers, then it's mics / preamps / outboards / converters. Probably in that order.

 

All that stuff is up to personal preferences and subjective tastes. And if we're talking the really nice stuff, a lot of it gets very expensive, and that $30K budget can get spent very quickly.

 

Hmmm... what would *I* want to do with $30K if I was in your shoes? Because that's pretty much what it comes down to when you ask us for our opinions, right? Well, I'd probably stick with Soundelux and maybe Brauner for LDC mics. IMO, the two best production mic lines going at the moment. I've got two Soundeluxes - an ELUX 251 and an E250, and they're both outstanding mics. Those two mics will handle 90% of the singers / vocalists / screamers out there. But there goes about $7K (street prices, not list) of your budget. But I personally would like to eventually get one or two iFET7's.

 

SDC's? The Gefell M300's are very nice, and cost less than the Schoeps, which are amazing... but Stephen can tell you that they don't come cheap. I have always dug the classic Neumann KM84's (not to be confused with the current KM184's, which I don't like as much), and a used pair of those, like the Gefells (new), is probably pushing the two grand range. Of course, there's always DPA and Earthworks too... which may be perfect for you - or completely wrong, depending on what you're recording and the sound you are after...

 

Dynamics and ribbons... you should have a few of each IMO. Dynamics that rawk in the +/- $100-150 price range (Shure SM57, Audix i-5 / D2, Sennheiser e609 / Audio-Technica ATM25) are great to have, get used a lot, and are great bargains that you'll find being used daily even in megastudios. Of course, there's the more expensive stuff, such as the E/V RE20 (one of the best mics ever IMO), Shure SM7, Sennheiser MD421 / 431 / 441. All are worthy of your consideration. For the ribbons, it's hard to go wrong with the AEA and Royer mics. I also like the Beyer M130 and M160 a lot.

 

Preamps? Neutral or colored? Doing rock? Neve, UA and API and all the classic names are your friends. Hardy M1's are great stuff, and I love Dan Kennedy's work at Great River. Great River does both "flavors" of preamps, and although it seems they get more love for their flavored stuff online, their neutral stuff kills too. A lot of folks dig the Millenia preamps too. The Earthworks stuff might work for you too if you're looking for neutrality. Manley Labs has plenty of great preamp options. Vintech does good sounding Neve clones for considerably less money than the real thing. RTZ does a great Neve-esque pre (the 9762), but with a nicer top end. DW Fearn kicks serious butt. Don't forget GML. If you have the means, it doesn't get any better. But IIRC, a GML 2020 will set you back about six big ones.

 

On compressors, I do like the Distressors. Very versatile. I like 1176's a great deal too. Laugh at the pricetags if you'd like, but with some spare change, get a few FMR RNC's and RNLA's too while you're at it. Speaking of pocket change, I blew way past your budget several suggestions back.

 

So you have to prioritize, and apply the money where it is needed most. And in order to tell you that, I'd need to know a bit more about what you already have and what type of situation you're in and what you're trying to do.

 

So, what type of stuff are you working on usually?

[soapbox]

 

Originally posted by Jamplified: Monitors: - Dynaudio BM15A (pair) $2600

 

 

I'm pretty happy with my BM15As, but I plan to eventually replace them with ADAM S3-As and a sub. Here's a thread I started, after I listened to them side by side:

 

Dynaudio Acoustics BM15As and ADAM S3-As: A Comparison

 

Good luck, Jamplified.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[seaneldon]

i never understood adding a sub to regular studio monitoring. it's not going to be in perfect time with your nearfields unless you spend enough money on other stuff that you could have bought speakers that just have a better low end. i for one don't think AT ALL that the S3As need a sub in any control room, anywhere. if you think you can't hear bass with those speakers in your room, your acoustics are screwed up and it's simple as that. and {censored}, if you REALLY need more low end than S3As...buy S4As.

[soapbox]

Sean, I concede that my comparison of my BM15As with Dave Bryce's ADAM S3-As wasn't done in an acoustically treated environment. In case you didn't follow my link, I'll cut to the chase about bass response:

 

 

Originally posted by Geoff Grace: While I felt that the S3-As did a noticeably better job at letting me hear most sounds more clearly, I sometimes missed the deeper bass sounds that my BM15As could better produce with their 240 mm woofers. (The S3-As do a remarkable job at producing lower frequencies with 186 mm woofers though.) Therefore, when wearing my arranger/songwriter hat, I would probably prefer to monitor through my BM15As for creating dance music and then track my keyboard and drum sounds while monitoring through the generally more accurate S3-As. I also feel that, emotionally speaking, I would usually rather hear the sound of my BM15As when creating dance music. Don't get me wrong, though. I actually feel that kick and bass sounds in general were clearer through the S3-As, and under the majority of circumstances the S3-As could reproduce the entire frequency range that one would want to hear. As a result, the only thing I would be hesitant to trust these ADAMs for would be 808 kicks, sub bass patches, and the like.

 

 

So, I take it that you're saying that one should be able to trust the S3-As' pair of 186 mm woofers to correctly reproduce "808 kicks, sub bass patches, and the like" in a properly acoustically treated environment. Is that correct?

 

You mentioned that you, "never understood adding a sub to regular studio monitoring." Perhaps, then, you wouldn't consider my circumstances to be "regular." As a composer for film & television, I believe that it would help me to have a monitoring system that can approximate the wide variety of listening environments available for sound to picture, many of which include a sub. I could also turn off a sub when I don't need it, leaving me with the unhyped sound of the S3-As