I need some advice on a mixing desk

[2GooD Productions]

My friend has asked me to run his studio for him, and having only been a software based producer I would like to ask on your recommendations for a mixing desk.
Nothing too fancy, we aint going for a hd setup to make movie sountracks.
Looking for bang for the buck. What to look out for and what to avoid.
Just plain advice really. Thanks.

 

[thedreampolice]

Do you want an analog board or a glorified control surface?

 

[2GooD Productions]

Do you want an analog board or a glorified control surface?

I have a feeling we will end up going for the analogue. simply because of the price difference. I will have to discuss the analog vs digital pros and cons with him before he decides to buy anything.
I was just looking for some pointers from mainly you and formant.

Also ultimately he wants to hire out the studio, so build quality is pretty important too.

 

[thedreampolice]

Whats your budget?

 

[dacalion]

I see this was directed at dp and Formant and I agree 100% with that decision, but I'm still gonna offer a suggestion to consider =). I have a Soundcraft LX7 24 channel mixer. It's been used an average of 4 times a week for the past 8yrs with no issues, very rugged and reliable for me. They've discontinued the LX7 and came out with a LX7II which is supposed to be better...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/soundcraft-lx7ii-24-channel-mixer?source=3WWRWXGB

it's a dinosaur but it's been a tank, anyway here's mine...

 

[Formant024]

Since youre in the uk, look up soundtracs topaz project 8 24/24/8 inline console. They come with or without meterbridges, easy to maintain british eq's.

But it might be better if you have an estimate on your budget, so many solutions possible Also what interface are you using overthere ?

 

[Formant024]

I see this was directed at dp and Formant and I agree 100% with that decision, but I'm still gonna offer a suggestion to consider =). I have a Soundcraft LX7 24 channel mixer. It's been used an average of 4 times a week for the past 8yrs with no issues, very rugged and reliable for me. They've discontinued the LX7 and came out with a LX7II which is supposed to be better...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/soundcraft-lx7ii-24-channel-mixer?source=3WWRWXGB

it's a dinosaur but it's been a tank, anyway here's mine...

Dac, what separates live table from a studio one is the inline bit. Each channel on an inline table has a second input mostly called the tape input, along with a monitoring switch.

There are various ways to work with a table like this and doubles the actual amount of inputs (the topaz 32/32/8 has 144 inputs in mixdown). Mostly the tape input is used for the outputs from the audio interface, so if you record a bass you listen to the normal input of a channel -> once recorded you flip the channel to its tape input to monitor the recording from the daw.

 

[dacalion]

Thats why it's good to have you, dp and a couple of others around, very valuable info! The Topaz is nice!! I read a review on it from SOS and they liked it as well.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/jun94/soundtracstopaz.html

 

[thedreampolice]

Well I still need to hear budget and personally, I feel that with either Slate Virtual Console or some external summing you don't really need an analog console BUT The Toft console have blown my mind as of late.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ATB24a/

as far as a console with digital work flow, SSL has the Matrix but I am most interested to see where Steven Slate takes his new Raven Console

Man it looks sweet! If it is in my budget I think i will get one this year.

 

[Iron Keys]

Yooo, you should holla me in pm 2good, we both in LDN. Tell me 'bout studio. I been shadowing some top engineers n have picked some advice off them.

 

[dacalion]

Damn that Raven Console looks gooood!

 

[Formant024]

Nothing too fancy

Looking for bang for the buck.

just some hints guys,

and the atb are nice indeed

but vintec wins with 1539 valves

 

[Sucio]

Formant....shame on you taking pics of my new studio....I told you I wasn't ready to reveal it....you bastard.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Damn those two consoles made me cream my pants.
Sorry for the lack of response, but i still havent even seen his studio for myself and dont know what Im dealing with yet. So Ill post more when I know what Im dealing with myself. Im starting to think we may have to start from scratch.

 

[Formant024]

Damn those two consoles made me cream my pants.
Sorry for the lack of response, but i still havent even seen his studio for myself and dont know what Im dealing with yet. So Ill post more when I know what Im dealing with myself. Im starting to think we may have to start from scratch.

If you get there,

-make an inventory of whats already there.
-measure the room dimensions.
-talk exploit possibilities.
-get a budget estimate from him.
-post it here

 

[Step Soprano]

I go with the focusrite control 2802 for simple control and summing, plus UA 610-LAII preamp/comp. 2802 is all i need for control/monitoring.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Im not so sure about focusrite, we got a focusrite soundcard its a piece of shit.
We got a focusrite mic preamp, its a piece of shit.
Im going to steer clear of behringer too. So far because money is tight and we have spent loads with no return, we are going to make do with what we have, which is basically a PC, the focusrite interface, Shure SM58 and the Focal CMS 65's and do as much as possible with software until the money starts coming in, even if it means getting the tracks mastered outside.
The last producer took all my friends equipment when they fell out, and my friend isnt in a hurry to replace it all.
Got one of our tracks very close to a final master last night, just by comparing to a commercial cd. Out of around 30 tracks in rough copy its the first one we have gotten to the final hurdle, just 29 to go.
As for room dimensions...... 2m x 2m x 2m(Not exact, but not far off) The vocal booth is in another room. Will probably only spend around £400 - £600 on the desk, and get it from Ebay, seen some pretty decent ones around that range. I really really want an MP3 controller, either Numark N7, or Pioneer DDJ-S1 and thats another £700 - £1200, also want to get reason 6, the costs get high very very quickly. Why does music production have to be so damn expensive?

 

[Formant024]

actualy, the new behring console is quite nice since it has midas pre amps and i agree...focusrite is crap

what i dont understand is how you prioritize the budget on dj gear OVER the studio gear. If you have tt's and battlemixer than just get NI scratch duo, much cheaper and just as good for what you're doing.

 

[2GooD Productions]

actualy, the new behring console is quite nice since it has midas pre amps and i agree...focusrite is crap

what i dont understand is how you prioritize the budget on dj gear OVER the studio gear. If you have tt's and battlemixer than just get NI scratch duo, much cheaper and just as good for what you're doing.

the reason Im prioritising the dj gear is for our live performance, and we dont have tt's.
We perform at least once a month, my partner is a dj too, as soon as I get back up to speed, I will be dj'ing too.
We also have plans for an internet radio show. If we had tt's I would just use my Scratch Live, but it seems times are moving and I really like the Numark and Pioneer controllers. I worry about going away from serato as I like its tracking ability, its pretty damn tight, even on very aggressive cuts. Is scratch duo up to the same standard as serato?

Whats your opinion on Allen & Heath desks?

 

[thedreampolice]

Allen & Heath mixers are great, but boy they are much better built for live venues than for studio work. IDK, I still don't think we even know what type of sound you are going for.