Quite a few of the members on here have a recording set-up of some discription, so I thought I'd post this thread to see what some of your thoughts are. Back in 2006 I sold my very large hardware based studio set-up, which had a nice 48 input mixing console, a 24 track HD recorder, loads of outboard gear, a sampler, synths, and synth modules, and my beloved Akai MPC 3000 which I used for all my drum programming / midi sequencing etc.

I bought a mac with Logic (Logic 7 at that time!), a control surface, audio interface etc, etc. I now have another new studio set-up with some great virtual synths (JP8, MiniMoog, Prophet 5), and I also have a Universal Audio UAD2 pci-card, and I've got some tasty plug-ins, including the Neve eq's, and compressor. Now here's my dilema................

The other day I found a cd with some recordings I made on my old harware set-up, I stuck on the cd and got the shock of my life!! It sounded amazing!! So good infact that I'm now seriously thinking of getting rid of my mac etc, and getting a hardware based studio once again. You can buy a quality Soundtracs mixing console secondhand, and refurished for around £2000, and remember these consoles were £20k+ in their day. Go on ebay and you'll find Lexicon PCM60 reverbs for under £300, and the same Roland synth modules I used to use for around £150. When I had my hardware studio before, I had four compressors in my rack, but two of those were high end, three Lexicon reverb units, and a Roland digital delay. The point I'm trying to make is that, back then that gear was all I needed to produce some excellent recordings, and it was a very instant process where I got things together very quickly. Now with my mac based studio, I find myself spending more time using a mouse, and looking at a screen than I do actually producing and recording.

A mate of mine still has a hardware based studio, and I was round at his place the other day. I was amazed how good some of his stuff sounded, and when I got back to mine and switched on my gear, It hit me that producing music with the mac, virtual synths, and plug-ins etc had lost some of it's appeal. So people, I was just wondering what your thoughts were on recording equipment. I cut my studio teeth using hardware etc, and after hearing it in action again, I must admit that theres a lot to be said for a good old analogue mixer.

Phew Ron that was heart felt! I have heard that so many times. I once recorded in a studio with both, Van Morrisons sound man was the engineer, we went with some pre production done in Logic... His face was a picture! A true old skool outboarder. I think it's one of those if it ain't broke! You probably love music so much you had that ' I don't want to get left behind feeling'? I came to recording quite late so am comfortable with digital but still believe the old analogue route sounds better as you just said...jmo:)

Do it - modern life is rubbish

vinyl still sounds better too

Yeah Danny, I jumped on the digital/mac route thinking it was going to sound better, but after listening to the cd of my old material, that's really not the case. There is something present in those old recordings that I'll never capture with my mac set-up. Like I said, it's a lot to do with the signal path etc, i.e, a good mixing console.

There's a chap called Tim Jones who has a company called Studio Systems, and he specialises in buying, refurbishing, and selling Soundtracs consoles. I put the feelers out with him, and he came back with some prices that bowled me over!! You can pick up a 42 channel Soundtracs Solitaire with onboard dynamics(compressors & gates), and flying fader automation for £4000. This desk was £32k in 1992?

The quality of the mic-pres in this desk are going to be much better than the mic-pres in my Apogee Duet that's for sure, and regardless of the pedigree of my Universal Audio Neve plug-ins, I think the eq on the console is going to be a lot warmer soundwise.

What's kicked this all off is the fact that I used to use an Akai MPC for all my drum programming/midi sequencing, and it kicks Logic's ass in that department. Logic just doesn't have the same feel as the MPC. I sat and messed around with my mates MPC the other night, and I'd forgotten just how good MPC's are. (Mark King owns a few of them!!) I'm looking into HD recorders, and if I do decide to go back to a hardware set-up, then I'd go for the Otari Radar 24 track HD recorder. Again these babies can be picked up for a fraction of their original price.

To sum things up, another mate of mine who has a Mac Pro (which is maxed out beyond belief) , a Pro-Tools rig, and more plug-ins and virtual synths than you can shake a stick at !!! Well, he just bought a 1", 2 track reel to reel for mastering his mixes to. Says it all really ;)

Beleive me Paul, I'm seriously thinking about it, while I can sell all my current gear and get a decent price for it.
Writing and recording music was more fun with my old set-up :)

Yep... my record player is still in frequent use.
Actually, even more than my CD player...
:D

Ok, i have to put my two cents in here too, I am an old schooler, I have been behind the board as long as I have been screwing around on the bass. 37 years. I have had the pleasure of being behind some very vintage mixers and some classic outboard gear ( a lot of which I still have). I got to use a MCI JH636 back when it was new board and cost quite a bit. Yes the old equipment is more organic and friendly to produce music on, I found that the process of digital ( I worked in a DA88 32 track studio coupled to a sadie system for 12 years) and found mixing not to be as much fun. On the other hand calibrating a JH24 analog tape deck each time a new batch of ampex tape came in to be a pain in the butt. An old analog desk into good converters in a daw is the best of both worlds. Use the daw as a "tape deck. if you dont mind the converesion back and forth into the analog realm you retain the benefit of the editing abilities of the DAW . razor blade editing sucks and is totally unforgiving. Some day sampling rates and bit depth will catch up to what we want to hear and hopefully people will wake up and discover how terrible MP3s are and how they mutilate the hard work of the recording engineer.( I can dream)
Now I will step down off of my soapbox

I loved analogue multitrackers, and I've owned a few over the years. The last one I had was a Tascam MSR24 which was 1" tape, and had Dolby S noise reduction. It was a fantastic machine. Taz your right about razor blade editing.

To be honest, it's the DAW that's losing it's appeal for me. If I do return to a hardware set-up, then I'm looking get a 24 track Hard Disc recorder. 24 tracks of audio, and up to 24 tracks of sequenced/midi etc is enough for me.
Overall, it's the whole concept of mixing in the box etc, I just don't seem to gel with it anymore. I've got £1000 worth of UAD plug-ins, and when I got these I thought it really was going to change things...Wrong!! As much as they sound good, there's a lot to be said for good eq on a quality analogue desk. An emulation is never going to be a s good as the original. Put it this way, a Universal Audio Neve eq plug-in is about £150, whereas the hardware Neve eq module fitted in a 19" rack mount will set you back anything up to £2500!! and these things are from the 70's.

Using a DAW has slowed down my workflow on my own material, and it's got to the point where I find it uninspiring.

Danny... that wouldn't be one Mr Dave Wooster would it?? I've worked with him countless times. Nice bloke and had a great studio over in Luton, Racks of keys and modules.

On the subject of recording with DAW... I think you have to really use the best of both worlds. DAW are great as they offer you a lot of flexibility but at the same time you can lose the creativity of projects fairly easily. I see far too many people just using a mac/pc, an audio interface and god knows how many plug ins. I've now got to the point were I use Logic/Digital performer as a tracking machine/sequencer and then a light use of plug ins if really needed.

i use a 1988 tascam 4-track cassette machine and a zoom 506 effects unit. i am the hissy bounce-down king. ;)

Yeah, nothing like synching 6 carbs on a V-12, which you never have to do cause its the best setup.
Fuel injection just isn't as good as the old carbs for cold starts and adapting to changing real world conditions.


Too much?

Yes it was Dave, great engineer not so great producer. Nice guy though and yes he does have nice studios!

If you are using the daw as a recording medium only, edits , etc,mix in the analog realm and use those good outboard effects/processing. I have a few tube comps that i dont think can be duplicated on software. I dont have one ( I wish) but I really don't think a plug in of a fairchild 670 is the same as having the real beast. A really wise instructor in recording school once said use the holes on the sides of your head to determine things, there are no rules, only what sounds good.

Just put a deposit down on one of these babies today! :) Gates and compressors on every channel, and VCA fader automation. Cost £50,000 when new. Should be with me by the end of March, once it's been refurbished and serviced. Amazing price for such an amazing console. :) I have my Mum to thank for the deposit. :)

sweet

It certainly is, and you would not believe how much I got it for !! A lot of desk for the money. It has been serviced every two years since new, and it's in immaculate condition. It's coming from a studio in Paris. I've used one of these consoles on a few occasions in two studios, and they were top notch. Ok it's not a Neve or an SSL, but it blows the pants off a Mackie 8 buss, and Soundcraft Ghost etc.

I got this console for not much more than you'd pay for a new 32 channel Soundcraft Ghost console. Really excited about getting my hands on it. Not so excited about the prospect of soldering up those Edac looms though!! :o

The Mackie 8 bus , I used a 32 channel one with a 24 sidecar, something wierd there with the gain structure of that board. I have used some boards that have had some soul to them the mackie was not one of them. I loved the MCI, and I used a old tac scorpion that had some meat to it. Many of the new boards just dont do it for me. Would love to have anything designed by Mr Neve