say, in general, if you were to be starting a studio, would you place more emphasis on a wide microphone selection? or... a quality preamp selection?

orr....?


-quadaliachadoodilydoo

a beer.

wiggins wrote:say, in general, if you were to be starting a studio, would you place more emphasis on a wide microphone selection? or... a quality preamp selection?

orr....?
-quadaliachadoodilydoo

Well, it would of course depend on what you already had. But not knowing that...

I would say a really good preamp and compressor. There are many really good and inexpensive microphones on the market. The AT 4450 or 4433 is a great choice for an all around mic (better for somethings but not bad on most things). I got advice from my friend Barry about this subject. I told him I was starting to record more vocals in at my place (I make mostly non-vocal music) and I felt I should invest in a (very expensive) Neumann or the like as the mics I have are good but not super fine vocal mics. His advice was to get a really great mic pre and compressor that would make ALL of my mics sound better instead of having one killer expensive mic. He suggested the Universal 6176 (the combo with an 1176 and a 610).

me and my friend are planning on starting a studio, first thing we plan on buying is a 2" 16 track.

Mayfair wrote:....inexpensive microphones on the market. The AT 4450 or 4433 is a great choice for an all around mic...

I meant 4050 and 4033. My fingers betrayed me.

I'm all for microphones these days. Mainly because there are so many good and inexpensive models out there that can alter your recording for the better, and more drastically than a compressor or pre will. I am also buying mics that the studios I go to don't have. Also they take up so much less room than racks of stuff, but I'm not in to having my own studio. I also happen to own a good pre and a great compressor, soooo yeah.

i think im leaning more towards microphones simply because i dont think what we're recording to is worth having better-than-average pre's, and at least with a cabinet full of mics i can become more familiar with each of their characteristics for when i do win the lottery and buy a for real tape machine. . . and use the adats as some pretty hefty doorstops.

when I started my studio 5 yrs ago the first thing on my list was a good batch of work horse mics(nothing fancy)
2 inch 16 track(mci) and a fat and heavy Amek(british) Tac Scorpion mixing board and last was a 4 chanel Sytek pre(great for ribbons)
not only was I able to to record with out a patch bay for a year or need expensive wiring but was able to lease and commercial building for about the same price that i could have wasted on neve's?!
recording bands?...............stereo pre's.
you WILL get some cool gear in time if serious but starting out right will insure a great foundation for studio life!
good luck(sincere)

I think you're probably on the right track, but I would suggest getting at least one preamp that is better than the average cheapo mixer preamp. Then for important tracks like vox, etc. you'll at least have another option. I spent my first 2-3 years recording using just the stock preamps in an Alesis Studio 24 mixer. They weren't terrible, but once I got something better (RNP), it was like night and day, at least for some mics/sources. But I have to admit, I probably wouldn't have experimented nearly as much with different mics and positioning if I had started out with great mics and preamps.

I really think it's important to learn the characteristics of different mic pre's. Even if all you have is one stand alone preamp and the board pres. You'll notice a difference and that will carry over to when you've got much more expensive preamps at your disposal.

When I was in school for recording stuff they didn't even talk about outboard pres. About a month into my schooling I got an internship at a studio where they used almost all outboard pres. It was really amazing to hear the difference between the preamps.

Anyways, I just wanted to pipe in on that.

-n