My big WTB list! check it!

[todd]

blue,
unless money is no object to you it's going to take you a while to collect such an assortment of gear. it takes LOTS of shopping around to get the deals i assume you're looking for. bid carefully on ebay, search for gear shops you havn't been to before...believe me they pop up everywhere, call trusted shops and brokers like blevins audio, check "for sale" messageboards, join pro audio marketplace (online) and shop there.

the point is, take your time...this is a lot of gear to be aquiring (and learning to use) at one time and it's a lot to lay on us to help you find. you gotta do the majority of the legwork, sweet deals don't just fall and fall and fall into anyone's lap.

honestly, i'd get that 1" mrl tape ordered and start learning to align (and operate, and maintain) your 3m before immersing yourself in all of this other stuff...but if you have to, you'd better get to work on your shopping!

good luck,
todd

[wing]

blue,
unless money is no object to you it's going to take you a while to collect such an assortment of gear. it takes LOTS of shopping around to get the deals i assume you're looking for. bid carefully on ebay, search for gear shops you havn't been to before...believe me they pop up everywhere, call trusted shops and brokers like blevins audio, check "for sale" messageboards, join pro audio marketplace (online) and shop there.

the point is, take your time...this is a lot of gear to be aquiring (and learning to use) at one time and it's a lot to lay on us to help you find. you gotta do the majority of the legwork, sweet deals don't just fall and fall and fall into anyone's lap.

honestly, i'd get that 1" mrl tape ordered and start learning to align (and operate, and maintain) your 3m before immersing yourself in all of this other stuff...but if you have to, you'd better get to work on your shopping!

good luck,
todd

i am, i want to do it one at a time, personally i believe the best and most fun way to learn about your gear is to learn it gradually piece by piece, and not all at the same time. i just like to get good deals on things whenever they pop up so i can jump on them! that way when someone offers me something from this list, i can definitely think about it and get back to them. like a compressor, i'm really not so concerned about that. i can deal. i have tape, that's enough for me anyway...

though i really do want some compression, but probably not an 1176 just yet... just since it's so expensive. but i want a little more than an FMR RNC.

but yea, i have had a lot of offers to record other people. this means needing monitors, and some nicer gear here and there, something to mixdown to, some nicer/more versatile mics, etc etc.

i'm not opening up a studio business so to speak, but i just want to make it worth anyone's while to come and pay me to record here.

in any event, while there are some essential things i think (monitors, cabling, patchbays, isolation headphones, etc), other things are just items i'd like to acquire at any time if someone has them available.

really, i didn't make that list so clear. i guess i made it sound like something in BOLD i must have tomorrow... when really, i just meant the things in bold are the ones i'm most interested in acquiring and finding offers on. but no, i'm taking my time... for the most part.

you also have to understand that i have a whole month off from college this winter break, so i want to make the most of it, and so i'll probably be invested here and there in some new gear.

perhaps i'll revise my list to not sound... so.. well, stupid. sorry about that!

[meblumen]

Most of that gear isn't cheap, where are you getting all that money on a college student budget?

[wing]

Most of that gear isn't cheap, where are you getting all that money on a college student budget?

magic

(aka working and saving crazy hard)

[todd]

blu,
as joel h has pointed out before, the most important thing about monitors is being able to understand what they're telling you (i.e mixes translate well to other systems). the first pair of monitors i bought were the event ps6 speakers. they were worlds better than trying to mix through my stereo, but they were a little harsh and fatiguing over time. i returned them and pick up some tannoy active reveal speakers (the blue ones...like you!) and i've had a much better experience with them. i feel that they are reasonably flat for my purposes and i've learned to understand how they work. any near-field is going to be lacking the bass of a large system which is why some people track with near-fields and mix with mid-fields. i can't afford the gear or the space that this would require at the moment so i do what i can.
tha point on buying monitors is: find a place with a good return policy so if you find out after a week or two that you can't work with what you've got, you can return it for something hopefully better.
as far as headphones go, i've got a pair of the sennheiser hd-280's that Really isolate the outside sounds. they're a little midrange heavy but they're great for tracking. i would never recommend anyone use headphones Only for mic placement, it's just too inaccurate...however these seem to so the trick for most of what you'll need. i also have the sennheiser evolution h2200 headphones (3 pair). they are cheaper (around 50 bucks). they're closed back as well but not as large or isolating as the hd280's. they are really good for live tracking though and overdubs where the material is not super sensitive (with lots of quiet or say...vocals or something). i like their sound quality a little better than the hd280's too...a little flatter.
look for patchbays on ebay if you want to get good quality for less. i recommend (and i'm sure others will agree) that you look for adc patchbays. they're high quality and durable. i got a patchbay (273 points) off ebay from a trident console (perfect match for my trident 24) for like $220 bucks. all adc points. i built a producers desk to house it it at the end of my console (to the shape of the console so it looks decently nice and not out of place). all switchcraft connectors. it took about a month to solder it all up and reattach all of the patchpoints to their mounting board. if io were you i wouldn't plan on doing anything for a while to wire up your bay too when you get it!
i'd follow the advice that soundguy dave and joel h have supplied about cabling.

good luck!

todd

[JES]

Hey Blue,

As far as treatment goes, it would be high on my list for "hearing what you're doing" while mixing.

The best deal on fiberglass appears to be throught realtraps.com .

The best deal on foam I've found is foambymail.com, though I haven't personally used them. There were reports on an acoustics listserv that it was not noticeably worse than Auralex.

Good luck!

Best,
--JES

[wing]

bump

[jimmyjazz]

Blu, I have two pairs of those Oktava SDCs that Guitar Center blows out from time to time. I'd sell a pair. I'd be happy to even throw them up on an acoustic guitar player and "match" a set as best I can -- they're not doing me any good, as I never use them. (Frankly, I don't know why I bought them. Well, that's not true. I bought them to try to modify them, as I thought that would be a fun project, and a friend wanted me to modify a pair from him. However, I have a pair of Neumann KM184 mics and another pair of Microtech-Gefell M300 mics, so the Oktavas haven't gotten a workout. I'll happily keep one pair around for that odd live jewish klezmer act that might drop in, but the other pair would be permanently wasted in my studio.)

[daveaux]

i think TC Electronics makes some kind of programmable switcher (for God knows how much), for sh*ts & giggles you might do a search at Sweetwater, they had some unit in their last (december) mailing.

G'Luck!

DR

[bigtoe]

Teleisgear.com has a pair of UREI 7110 for 485.

Mike

[JGriffin]

by the way, what kind of unit do you need in order to automatically switch monitors when listening? for instance, i want to hear the mix on some ns10's, then i wish to hear them on some realistics or something... what kind of gear do i need in order to be able to just automatically switch at the push of a button?

Samson makes a unit called the C-Control that's supposed to be good for this. It's about $100 and also has a talkback and a seperate 2-track input. I'm thinking of getting one at some point. I think there was a thread about it awhile back.

[cyrusjulian]

Hi Blue,

I'm actually selling my UREI 1176 reissue. My band, Edria will be releasing our first full length early next year and we need cash badly to finance the release. But I don't know what you consider a good deal. But I'll try and help anybody who's a Smiths fan. I'll be posting the 1176 with some other stuff up a little later on.

Oh, and if you haven't purchased that MRL tape yet, here's a link to a place in the Bay Area that I think actually makes the things. Plus there's tons of info on that website. There's actually many different types of MRL tapes so you might wanna read some of the info on there before buying.

http://home.flash.net/~mrltapes/

Good luck!
Cyrus

[wing]

thanks for the help everyone

bump.. cause i still want some more items...

[tateeskew]

Teleisgear.com has a pair of UREI 7110 for 485.

Mike

mike, this url isn't working for me. is it correct?

[marcusb]

blue,
but yea, i have had a lot of offers to record other people. this means needing monitors, and some nicer gear here and there, something to mixdown to, some nicer/more versatile mics, etc etc.

Oh gear lust .. and its wonderful ability to force you to put things off

You sound really keen and enthusiastic so i'll chuck a few cents into the discussion

IMHO if people have heard your stuff and are keen for you to record with them then do it! Don't put it off because you don't have <insert boutique audio hardware here> .. ultimately it doesn't matter half as much as you doing the best job you can with what you have. You already mentiioned you had a tape machine, and i'm assuming you have a basic board/pre's and a few mics. So just get stuck into it! Let the bands buy all your gear for you! Developing your ears with gear that isn't your 'dream' gear will really help you appreciate what the boutique stuff can do for you.

Also, when it comes time to do vocals or even other parts of the tracking process .. hire in a nice pre and comp .. that way you can try it out, deliver a great product and everyone wins. The bands like you and tell their friends, next thing you know you can start buying some of your dream gear.

Monitors however .. you must get some now .. they truely are the most important interface between gear and ear. So hook yourself up with something and get stuck into recording.

Don't obsess thinking that because you don't have a,b and c that you can't turn out decent product.

Cheers,
Marcus