What would you spend $3,000 on?

JWL · Post by **JWL** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:46 pm

I'd probably go for a 7th Circle Audio kit stuffed with the neve and api clones. Or possibly 4 of the apis, 2 of the neves, and 2 of the jensen twin servo clones.

I mean, since you have your acoustic treatment out of the way....

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:37 pm

if i had $3 that i had to spend on gear, i would get a pair of 512Cs in a lunchbox and spend the rest of it on a few mics and cabling to go with it all.

freddiefreeloader · Post by **freddiefreeloader** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:37 pm

No, I like looking at the long term investment of things. It's a smart way to go in my opinion. I found an API 3124 for $2000 near me, and at $500 a channel of API, that seems like a mighty fine deal to me. I'm definitely interested in the AT series mics as well. Forgot about those. I'm still stuck a bit on the lunchbox idea. I love the flexibility, but I can probably only get about 2 channels of pre's with the lunchbox for $2000, where as with the 3124 I can get 4. Hmmm...

Danly · Post by **Danly** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:44 pm

i think the dangerous summing box is a good idea. except, keep the mackie big knob and get a 2-bus lt instead.

or you could get a vintech 473 for 3 grand.

i'm looking to invest about that much into preamps right now as well. I am deciding to not go the lunchbox route because I really don't think it saves that much money...
6 space box + 4 512 c = 3124 anyway.

i can recommend a tech who is racking up some adm preamps for me for probably the same cost as what the seventh circle stuff would cost. you can find him on ebay.

also a possible cool idea which i'm really considering is buying a bunch of circuit boards and rack cases off of prodigy-pro, sourcing the parts myself, but having a tech wire it up to make sure it just works properly.. just sucks that you have to wait so long to be able to use it.

in short, vintech 473, or 3124 and a few beers, or 2 bus-lt and maybe some diy.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:46 pm

freddiefreeloader wrote:No, I like looking at the long term investment of things. It's a smart way to go in my opinion. I found an API 3124 for $2000 near me, and at $500 a channel of API, that seems like a mighty fine deal to me. I'm definitely interested in the AT series mics as well. Forgot about those. I'm still stuck a bit on the lunchbox idea. I love the flexibility, but I can probably only get about 2 channels of pre's with the lunchbox for $2000, where as with the 3124 I can get 4. Hmmm...

If you like the "investment idea", get the lunchbox. Less pres now, more pres later. I'd get the 2 channel of lunchbox going and I'd start rereading my "What's the best LDC for $1000 threads."

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:29 pm

you don't know what you need?

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:49 pm

trodden wrote:you don't know what you need?

apparently.

themagicmanmdt · Post by **themagicmanmdt** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:08 pm

yay! imaginary money!

i would:

$500 - build about three big packs worth of gobos (27 panels worth) for protability and various isolation

$1000 - buy all the parts and build 8 channels of tube preamps. v72's with an input and output attenuator.

$500 - take the UTC mic transformers and mic preamp circuit out of my scully 8 track (since I only use the line ins) and re-construct that preamp circuit into 8 channels with input/output attenuators

(this means i'm now at 16 channels)

after these all work, i sell my existing board.

with the last $1k and the board money, I'll solder and mimic the passive EQ that the board has along with a 16 or 24 channel passive mixer and bussing board.

i think i could do it.

optional transistor or tube preamps; adjustable drive on all of them; the v72's double as mic or line preamps; passive fader mixer and maybe a nice simple analog summing circuit inside.

as long as i build it myself, i'm sure i could be within budget.

my fictional extended budget.

gotta save gotta sell gotta save gotta sell...

lefuquaire · Post by **lefuquaire** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:16 pm

a nice 2" tape machine, in good shape.

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:10 am

A really bitchin' vacation!

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:03 am

Hookers and single malt.

And a new Jazz bass.

lotusstudio · Post by **lotusstudio** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:48 am

A pair of virgin ears and a new peehole

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:12 pm

drumsound wrote:A really bitchin' vacation!

fuck yeah.... and some good drugs, not that capital hill crap thats cut with baby laxatives and smells like gasoline.

and a vespa.

honestly though... I have no clue what YOU need for your studio.. but i can think of a dozen things i could use it on.. either something boring like tt bays wired and ready from redco... or a downpayment for an hd system... yay. oh an throw a pair of beyer 160's in there or a pair of coles 4038's...

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:36 pm

I really like the sound of the PreSonus ADL-600.
That's a truly great Pre that has to be heard.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:00 am

DrummerMan wrote:I've seen the API A2D mentioned here a couple times, which I don't doubt is a great piece, but in terms of long term investments, does anybody else think that permanently attaching a classic design like an API pre to a converter, whose technology is still evolving and will most likely be out of date in a few years, isn't necessarily the best "investment"? I can see that if you really had everything else you needed and you had way more than enough money to spend on one, that it could be worthwhile, if even just for your current needs.

I dunno, am I crazy to think this way?

I think digital converters have kind of plateaued. There was a good stretch of time when any converter you bought was obsolete within a year. You would buy a bitchin 18 bit converter and a few months later there was a 20 bit box from the same company, for the same price!
Then you sold your 18 bit box and got a 20 bit box, only to find out that a new 20 bit box just came out, at twice the sampling rate!

For the most part they seem to have settled at 96/24. (dan Lavry wont even make a 192k converter!) Sure you can go out and buy 192/24 but most folks I know dont hear enough of a difference to justify the cost and storage size. Besides, there isnt a 24 bit converter on the planet that gives you all 24 bits! Analog electronics limit us to quite a bit less than the 144db theoreticaly possible from 24 bit. So while you are recording at 24 bits, you really only get 20-22 bits max with the best snr out there.
So then you are left trying to get the best analog electronics on your AD/DA. I got the Black Lion Audio op amp upgrade for my MOTU and it elevated the sound quality enough gfor me to keep it around a few more years. And I bought that guy about 5 or 6 years ago.
I am sure the API has decent enough analog stages! I doubt it will be obsolete any time in the next few years. And even then, the analog stages can be run independently of the digital.

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What would you spend $3,000 on?

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