Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Help: Setting up a studio


Beedster
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi beedster!

i've got a studio in Bracknell with a colleague and you are welcome to come and have a look at how its set up, the gear and so on. The studio is used by a lot of local and national acts for anything from demos to proper records. it has got a recording room, a control room, all the gear you can imagine and more. it even has got a very nice metallic red Tokai Jazz Sound from the early 80's.....not sure if you remember but I got the bass from you in a PX long time ago :)

Please feel free to get in touch if you are in my neck of the woods or just fancy a trip to the country.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='carlosfandango' post='951026' date='Sep 9 2010, 08:17 PM']Hi beedster!

i've got a studio in Bracknell with a colleague and you are welcome to come and have a look at how its set up, the gear and so on. The studio is used by a lot of local and national acts for anything from demos to proper records. it has got a recording room, a control room, all the gear you can imagine and more. it even has got a very nice metallic red Tokai Jazz Sound from the early 80's.....not sure if you remember but I got the bass from you in a PX long time ago :)

Please feel free to get in touch if you are in my neck of the woods or just fancy a trip to the country.[/quote]

Ah, one of the many Jazzes that came and went! That was a particularly lovely one with a matching red headstock and that lovely leather case. Glad it's still with you.

That's a really kind offer, and one that, one cold day in mid winter when you just want to get home to the kids and the hearty fire, you might really regret! Many thanks, and please feel free to contribute any thoughts here

Cheers

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Beedster' post='951025' date='Sep 9 2010, 08:16 PM']Cheers mate, re cans for mixing, I think it's another reference point really, especially given how much music is listened to via that media these days. Might be wrong for sure, I know the old conventional wisdom was 'never mix on cans', but I don't think there's any harm in referencing what you've done on them.

C[/quote]

I think I'd just be worried about tripping myself up on too many mixing mediums. I dont think I'd be happy with something that sounded great through the monitors and not through cans, Im sure you could get a mix like that to sound great on both but you'd have to have the patience of, well, a studio engineer!

Here's hoping! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want headphones as just an idea of what theyd sound like to a user (i did this a bit with some panning experimentation) id go for cheapo in ear. If you want something a bit more serious then id probably pick up somme beyerdynamic headphones (best cans ive used). Or the sub 30quid option is probably some akg headphones.

Re the hs50ms, theyre pretty good imho will give you a similar mix to that of ns10s. They can go pretty loud and they look good too :). If you struggle with bass at all i believe there is a matching sub that you could add at a later date.

Once you get all the gear set up please put up photos :rolleyes: im starting to miss engineering a bit now lol. Your giving me studio gas! oneday when i have my own place eh? :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Beedster' post='950849' date='Sep 9 2010, 05:28 PM']Wow, didn't think I'd ever catch you out Charic! It's NS10s or HS50s at the moment, the benefits of the latter being that I don't need a power amp, the benefits of the former that they will clearly teach me a lot about monitoring very quickly![/quote]

im not a sodding encylclopedia you know :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grado.

[url="http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser/76/Grado+Headphones.htm"]Scroll down for the 'inexpensive' models[/url] :)

The SR60i, SR80i or SR125i would be more than adequate. I have the SR125i. These are all open backed so may not suit use for personal monitoring by band members when recording quiet vocalists or some acoustic instruments, but for another device for checking a mix they are astoundingly revealing. The best range of headphones I've heard so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Beedster' post='951495' date='Sep 10 2010, 09:23 AM']LOL, well you've been very encyclopaedic to date mate. Thanks for the info re cans, I'll have a look online at the weekend

Chris[/quote]

You do music tech at Uni for 3 years you get a bit of experience and opinions were always asked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the above guys, I'll take a look at those Grados

Right, could I go back to mixers for a second or two!

I am currently using a one-room solution, that is, the equipment is in the tracking room with no separate control room. When sitting at the desk I have my back to the area in which the musicians will be playing (although for the time being this will mostly be me plus others from my band). The 1640i allow several options for mounting and for routing cables. I'm currently using it on a table (it's actually a desk but to avoid confusion with the Mackie we'll call it a table!), and in the configuration in which the Mackie leaves the factory, this means that all the IPs/OPS are on the back facing a wall (OK, I know I'm really asking a lot here, but if you go to [url="http://www.mackie.com/support/downloads/manuals.html"]http://www.mackie.com/support/downloads/manuals.html[/url] and then to page 34 of the 1640i manual, you can see what I mean. I tried to cut and paste but had no luck). I have the option of buying a mount which will allow me to flip the 1/O pod though 90 degrees and thus have the I/Os on the same plane as the desk (i.e., facing upwards), which will provide easy access to them whilst no doubt ruining the clean aesthetic somewhat and possibly causing cable mayhem. The other option s to run the cables out of the back of the Mackie, over the back of the table, to the floor and then run all in to the performing area that way. Of course a third option is to rack mount which, in a small space, seems an increasingly good idea. Although I've been in and around studios a lot over the years, I've never really paid much attention to where cables go after the desk, or how they're routed out to the musicians, so some thoughts would be useful?

As an aside, does anyone have any pics of a rack-mount mixer in their studio, and some thoughts on pros and cons?

Cheers

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='charic' post='951581' date='Sep 10 2010, 10:20 AM']You do music tech at Uni for 3 years you get a bit of experience and opinions were always asked.[/quote]

LOL, the irony is that I did music tech at Uni for three years, albeit some time ago!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need a stage box (or 2 to spread them out in the room), and a patchbay.

If you had seperate rooms you would have the stage box as a wall mounted panel.

Otherwise you will spend you life trying to see the back of the mixer, regardless of its configureation. Which is a rubbish way to work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='cheddatom' post='951636' date='Sep 10 2010, 11:14 AM']It might be worth getting a "stage box" to keep cabling tidy. I wish I had one. IME it's near impossible to avoid spaghetti on the floor.[/quote]

+1 multicores are fairly expensive for what they are though. It will save you a lot of work though and your going to want your table to look as tidy as it can. Remember that you will spend a lot of time at that table.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='51m0n' post='951716' date='Sep 10 2010, 12:16 PM']Yes.

....but its balanced innit, so it should all work out in the end....[/quote]

Good point!

Right, enough daft questions for one day!

Cheers guys

C

PS Tom, I don't need cables to fall over, I'm clumsy enough without them mate, I'm already getting into some quite serious stability-challenging situations, and that's without anyone else in the room :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Beedster' post='951719' date='Sep 10 2010, 12:19 PM']PS Tom, I don't need cables to fall over, I'm clumsy enough without them mate, I'm already getting into some quite serious stability-challenging situations, and that's without anyone else in the room :)[/quote]

Heh, I don't enjoy falling over my cables!! I'll be very envious of your studio when it's done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='charic' post='951732' date='Sep 10 2010, 12:32 PM']No fact questions at all mate. This is going to prove useful to many people I expect.[/quote]

I hope so, it's been so for me for sure.

[quote name='MythSte' post='951824' date='Sep 10 2010, 01:57 PM']Chris,

I have some of the Grado SR80's as suggested above. If you want me to send them over so you can give them a whirl just let me know. :)[/quote]

That's really kind of you mate. I think as I've done with everything else, I'm going to ask loads of questions, read, think, and then just buy! Appreciate the offer though.


[quote name='cheddatom' post='951908' date='Sep 10 2010, 03:16 PM']Heh, I don't enjoy falling over my cables!! I'll be very envious of your studio when it's done.[/quote]

I fell over about 10 times in our last session, and in a huge studio as well. Studios, it seems, just have things designed to trip humans up!

Guys, I'm probably being a little lazy here (I'm sure it'll tell me in the Mackie manual somewhere), but to clarify, should I be able to use phones direct from the returns of a standard snake/stage box, or am I going to need powered phones, phone preamps or similar?

C

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Beedster' post='952025' date='Sep 10 2010, 05:16 PM']Guys, I'm probably being a little lazy here (I'm sure it'll tell me in the Mackie manual somewhere), but to clarify, should I be able to use phones direct from the returns of a standard snake/stage box, or am I going to need powered phones, phone preamps or similar?

C[/quote]

This is the mackie onyx 1640? I think you should just be able to use the headphone output on the desk. A headphone pre might be an idea if you want more than one headphone feed otherwise i don't think you should need any particular special object to make them work.

Also about the cables, unfortunately if you're going to be recording acoustic drums then having a mass of cables about the place is going to be pretty difficult to avoid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HELP!!!!!

Software and hardware are not on speaking terms and seem resolved to keep it that way! See [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=102398"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=102398[/url] (a new thread seemed like a good idea for this problem)

All help gratefully received

Cheers

C

PS could you reply to the other thread on this issue to keep things simple!

EDIT: now sorted. Bloody Mackie manual!

Edited by Beedster
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...