Members MrJoshua Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I have a dual-channel 31-band graphic EQ going bad so it's time to replace one piece of gear. In addition I've been thinking about putting together a live recording rig - I just upgraded my studio to a Pro Tools HD2 rig, so now I have a spare Digi002 Rack not doing anything. But I would need to find a new external converter to use with it to get it up to 18 channels again, since my outboard studio converters are staying in the studio with the new HD rig. So my question has become whether I should just bump up to a StudioLive 16.4.2 mixer or other digital mixer instead of replacing the graphic EQ and then buying outboard converters for the recording rig. It seems like I'd probably wind up being fairly close on the money, and then if I sold my current analog live gear (A&H MixWiz, and I'd also be able to get rid of a four-channel dbx compressor/limiter and 2-channel dbx compressor/limiter/gate) I might even wind up spending less money in total than by replacing the EQ and buying converters. Because I know myself well enough to know that I'd wind up spending more money on the converters than I really should - I'm running Apogee and Lynx converters in the studio now and they've spoiled me a bit. Any thoughts or opinions? I'm extremely happy with the A&H board, and might even be tempted to keep it around as a practice/spare board (which would allow me to sell off the old Mackie 1604VLZ that's been gathering dust). But I don't want to just throw money at something unnecessarily... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mutha Goose Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I love the reecording capabilities of my SL16. But, this is wholly dependant on your computer. Do you have a suitable Mac or PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 Size and space wize I don't think there is the advantage you do. I always use a 31 band EQ for L/R and 4 mixes, digital board or not. Basically what I've done is to make 4 FOH racks (I have multiple rigs): 2 are 8 comp/4gate, 2fx, CD player, 6ch EQ & rack drawer. 1 is Stereo EQ only, TC M300 verb, 8ch comp (mixwiz), CD player & rack drawer. and the 01V is Stereo EQ, ADA8000 (8ch pre), CD player & rack drawer. The 01V rack could fit into a 6sp but basically other than cables the difference between mixwiz and 01V is the weight of insert cables/FX cables. My advise is to really get comfortable with any digital board before you take it out live. Leave the EQ's in place, spend time with the board on a desk and learn it inside and out with the manual. Learn the routing, pre/post this/that, what means what and what the knobs do. An analog EQ is very simple and quick to adjust compared to an 01V (global aux EQ takes 3 buttons in the right sequence, one of the most complicated tasks) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 6, 2011 Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 What eq is it? What's bad? Why not just repair it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbs Posted January 6, 2011 Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 The company I work for just went digital and got the SL24...man is it awesome! Great for live, recording sessions, and live recordings. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to go digital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted January 6, 2011 Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 If you got a StudioLive, why would you bother with any extra converters at all? The Studiolive has a firewire port and converters built into it. If you're stuck on Pro Tools, PT9 allows you to use any interface, not just Avid hardware. Even if you wanted to use your converters anyways, you couldn't, because it doesn't have analog direct outs. -Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted January 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 What eq is it? What's bad? Why not just repair it? It's a Peavey two-channel 31-band GEQ that was about $99. I'm going to open it up this weekend to see if I can find the problem, but I don't want to spend too much time or money trying to repair a $99 item. If I can fix it in an hour or two with a cheap part, great, but if it's going to take a day of my time I'm better off ordering a new one and spending an extra half-day in the office. Basically, the level just dropped on it (this is on the first two monitor mixes off the A&H). With the EQ set flat and the monitor mix on the mixer brought up to normal levels, there is almost no sound from the monitor. Hit the "Bypass" button on the EQ and the level from the monitor jumps back up to where it's supposed to be. It started on one channel, then spread to the second. Really, it's the recording aspect of this that is making me consider the digital mixer. Otherwise I'd just repair or replace the GEQ and go on with my business. The MixWiz sounds good and has been very reliable so far. But if it's a choice between spending money on converters to finish the recording rig (and yes, I do have a suitable computer) or NOT buying converters and just using a digital mixer, I'm torn between which is going to be the better way to go. I figure my options are as follows: 1) Repair/replace the EQ, then purchase an outboard converter for the recording rig so I have enough channels to make it useful. 2) Purchase a digital board and use its onboard converters for the recording rig. Either one achieves my goal. I think I just need to sit down with a calculator and start working out prices, and see which one is going to come out to be more financially viable. If it's cheaper to go with option 1, I'll go with option 1. I need to start looking at hardware prices, I think, instead of just weighing fairly vague options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted January 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 If you got a StudioLive, why would you bother with any extra converters at all? The Studiolive has a firewire port and converters built into it. If you're stuck on Pro Tools, PT9 allows you to use any interface, not just Avid hardware. Even if you wanted to use your converters anyways, you couldn't, because it doesn't have analog direct outs. -Dan. I wouldn't. That's my question - whether I should stick with the analog board and purchase converters, or just purchase a digital board and be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 6, 2011 Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 The MixWis is a very convenient board and if you are doing live work it may be a better choice overall. Converters are a dime a dozen and even the "cheap" ones are pretty darn good sounding these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted January 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 Yeah, as I start digging into prices I'm leaning more and more toward replacing the EQ (possibly with the QF series or another brand; something a little nicer than the bottom-level Peavey) and then picking up a converter for the recording rig. I can do that cheaper than going to a digital board, plus that way I'm sticking with a board I know. I think I just let my eyes get bigger than my budget sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 7, 2011 Members Share Posted January 7, 2011 Look at the DBX 231's, pertty hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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