Looking to add more channels: suggestions?

[metanoiastudios]

Hey everyone,

Looking to add 8 more channels that I can send back into my Steinberg MR816CSX interface via ADAT or SPDIF. Looking for nice pres, regardless of whether they are clean or colored.

Currently looking at:

PreSonus DigiMAX D8
Focusrite OctoPre Mk II
ART TubeOpto 8

Any recommendations?
Thanks!

[Sean Sullivan]

For the money, I think the OctoPre is hard to beat. The dynamics is a nice feature as a peak limiter.

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

Pricier than the 3 options you mentioned, but the Audient ASP008 would be pretty sweet.

[metanoiastudios]

For the money, I think the OctoPre is hard to beat. The dynamics is a nice feature as a peak limiter.

I've looked at the dynamics version, but I didn't know what to make of the compressors. Have you used them extensively? if so, I imagine you used them sparingly, and not with the intent of being obvious about its use?

Pricier than the 3 options you mentioned, but the Audient ASP008 would be pretty sweet.

Yes...yes it would be

[T-rex]

I added a Presonus digi fs to my RME based on Andy Hong's
(I think?) review and I am super happy with it. They can be had dirt cheap which freaks me out because they sound really good imho.

[williamsongs]

I got a Digimax FS for exactly that reason, mostly spurred on by the TapeOP review as well. It's pre's sound fine for some things. The coolest thing about it I have found is that it adds 8 more OUTs as well as INs. I'm doing all mixes OTB now and that was a cool bonus. I think it was about $600 when I got mine. So far, so good. Hasn't fucked up once. I don't really use the pres for anything hi-fi so I wouldn't say I've really paid much attention to how they sound. I guess they sound pretty literal if that makes sense.

[T-rex]

I got a Digimax FS for exactly that reason, mostly spurred on by the TapeOP review as well. It's pre's sound fine for some things. The coolest thing about it I have found is that it adds 8 more OUTs as well as INs. I'm doing all mixes OTB now and that was a cool bonus. I think it was about $600 when I got mine. So far, so good. Hasn't fucked up once. I don't really use the pres for anything hi-fi so I wouldn't say I've really paid much attention to how they sound. I guess they sound pretty literal if that makes sense.

Just now saw this thread again, but yes that is exactly what I use mine for, the extra 8 outs for mixing. Sounds pretty freakin close to my RME at 96k. I can't say how the pres are but for the money its a great unit.

[jgimbel]

I don't want to gush on and on about it here because I've done just that on a number of other threads, but I can't say enough good things about the Firestudio Tube. It screams of things that should make it crappy, but it's not at all. It's basically got a starved plate kind of thing where you can dial in "drive" - I don't use that too often but it can sound really great. Overall the preamps are really clean and neutral but not at all sterile or cheap sounding. The thing I really wasn't sure about was the limiters built into the two "super channels". I expected them to be pretty useless, at most being good to help stop clipping on louder sources, but they actually sound great! I don't usually track with much compression/limiting on the way in, occasionally an RNC or RNLA, but I actually use the Firestudio Tube's limiters pretty often. They sound great on dynamic guitars, and to smooth out vocals a bit. Usually when I use them I find I don't need much processing in the mix at all. They only have a knob for limiting (turn it up for a lower threshold) and makeup, but it's rare that I've tried them on a source and had them not sound right.

I got the Tube as an upgrade from the Project for the extra channels. A full slew of nice built-in preamps, and 8 line-ins for your external present. I've got two pairs of external pres that I keep set up with it, so setting up for a session is super easy.

Great box with really nice features, nice neutral preamps, two very useful channels of limiters, and a bunch of line ins. Converters sound great to me too. It transformed my studio to be able to record bands live together rather than just being an overdub studio. Highly recommended!