equalizing and mixing samples

Needle201 wrote:You can ->never<- have enough Mixer Channels...Its a good idea to get a big enough Mixer at start, because if you wanna expand later you dont have to sell the small **** again.

If you add more stuff later you want to connect each of those single outs to a dedicated channel, and sooner as you think all your channels are eaten up, and you spend more time switching cables than making music...

yeah......let me get the SSL-J now cuz i know i am gonna have tons of gear and i want it all to sounds good......lol(j/k).....i can see your point.......but a 12 or 16 input should do nicely to start....but if he doesn't have 8 outs on his mpc the 12 input is good enough......don't tell him to get plenty of channels if you don't know what he's planning...he may just wanna do the (mpc/turntable/mixer) thing......

MPC Single Outs Outs (8 ) + Machinedrum Single Outs (6) + Virus C Single outs (6) = 20 Channels

and thats just a 3 Instruments Setup.


If he wants to do a Turntable/MPC/Mixer Setup, i would suggest getting a cheap Behringer with at least 6 Monochannels and one Stereo.

For everything else get the big board.

wow...mad helpful guys, i cant believe that many ppl responded to the post...anyway, the "whole setup" is still being worked on, because as I learn more the items on my list change...anyway so far its:

MPC4000 w/ 8 analog outs
Yamaha AW16G 16 Track Recorder w/ CD-R
2 Mackie HR824 Active Monitors
the eurodesk mixer???
Gemini PDT6000 turntable
Yamaha Motif 88 key hammer effect keyboard

and thats about it right now...I've put alot of time in saving all this money, so why not blow it all on some good music equipment , I've researched the equipment well, and I still am, so far the monitors/recorder/mixer all seem like best buys. but I definitely don't want to cop gear that I would have no use for, and someone told me to buy that mixer if I'm trying to have that super cleanless...which I'm not at all, i like the grit, but I definitely want to be able to EQ aspects inside my track. and also im trying to get mainly all hardware, and use the least amount of software I can, which is why I want to buy the recorder...i also learn things fast, so figuring out the mixer wouldn't take me long at all...but that is what the setup is going to look like so far, if there is anything else that is important that I forgot on that list, tell me..I really appreciate all the feedback...so, any suggestions?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHMX3282A

1/2 the price..........might be what you are looking for!

FLUENT wrote:MPC4000 w/ 8 analog outs
Yamaha AW16G 16 Track Recorder w/ CD-R
2 Mackie HR824 Active Monitors
the eurodesk mixer???
Gemini PDT6000 turntable
Yamaha Motif 88 key hammer effect keyboard

?

damn!

true indeed PRah, that might be the perfect one im looking for...i appreciate all the help going on in this forum, its some real good stuff...i might have some cash left over, anything else i may have forgotten to buy?

Well, this looks like a pretty decent plan for a hardware setup. Let me offer a couple of suggestions, see what you think.

1. The way your music sounds (besides the samples, etc.) depends very heavily on what your mixing console sounds like. If the console sounds thin or crappy, you can eq all day but you are still sending thin, crappy sound to your recorder.

2. There will always be a latest, greatest keyboard to buy. Believe me the Motif will be old news in a few years. The point is this - you would get much better results from an older keyboard with a decent mixer channel and maybe a decent mic preamp than you would from a latest-bells-and whistles keyboard through a cheap mixer.

3. What you are buying with the MPC 4000 is basically just the ability to store and organize a lot more information, and interface easily with a computer, plus sample at 24/96khz. You don't have a computer, so that's out. For that money you could get a used 2000xl plus an Empirical Labs Distressor or a real nice pair of preamps (vintech, grace,universal audio) which will destroy the sound of a 4000 through a crappy mixer channel.

4. If you have a decent amount of money to spend it just makes sense to buy a few quality pieces that will never go out of style. My recommendation would be something like this:

1. Allen and Heath Mix Wixard. (British console, better sound than Behringer and Mackie).
2. Mpc 2000 xl.
3. Either a good compressor (distressor, or for best bang/buck a pair of rnc's - two channels for $400) or a nice pair of mic pre's. You don't have any computer plug ins, believe me a compressor or mic pre will do more for your sound than a Motif.
4. An older keyboard, take your pick.
5. The Yamaha is good.
6. The Mackie 824's are great.

This setup will get you closer to big league sound. If you REALLY want big league sound, and are prepared to work for it, your best bet would be to get two channels of nice preamps and two channels of nice compression plus one outboard eq. (The orban 622B stereo EQ for $275 used will destroy Behrigner or Mackie eq). Then get the cheapest mixer possible to allow you to monitor all your sounds from your mpc and keyboard. Then, track your sounds two at time to your Yamaha right out of your preamp/compressor/eq combo. Make sure everything is synced up and then send two more sounds. This is laborious but for what your budget seems to be you'll get way, way, way better sounding stuff. My .02.

FLUENT wrote:tr, its some real good stuff...i might have some cash left over, anything else i may have forgotten to buy?

are u knocking off a liquor store or sumthin bro?
haha

are u knocking off a liquor store or sumthin bro?

something like that ...i just have some cash saved on the side and decided its time to spend it

ok, this is a long post so be prepared ... first off my budget and what I'm looking to spend is around $8000-$10,000 maximum...i think im following everything your saying...but i have some questions as to why i shouldn't go with certain equipment...

1. true, there will always be the latest greatest keyboards..but the Motif sounds are untouchable, for the nites i want to play some keys, lay down a bassline etc....im not familiar with older keyboards, how realistic the sounds are etc...if you could give me an example of a real nice older model keyboard then i could research it

2. i understand the idea of not purchasing the MPC4000...because I can always use the 2000XL scuzzy (?) port and purchase an external hard drive to store info on...but I've heard the sampling engine in the 4000 is unbeatable, filters as well, interface, all that...I'm not looking to sequence on a computer, the only thing i will use the computer for is to run my home stereo through it, so i can play cd's and also media i have saved on the computer itself...so I'm torn between which I should buy...I'm not familiar with the Empirical Labs Distressor tho, and what kind of sound i will get from the 2000xl/distressor combination either...

3. you recommend the allen and heath mixer over the behringer? i will check that out...not sure what you mean by a "pair of rnc's", where could i find some info on them?

what your saying makes sense, i'm just not as familiar with the pre-amps, compressors, or the distressor...i appreciate the posts and all the help, get back at me when you have time, thanx![/quote]

i second the Allen and Heath....they are simply the best in that priceclass..Shytes all over the Mackies because:

lots of AUX
2x parametric Mids
bass-pot at 63 HZ (Mackie and Behringer at 80 hz)...
63 is where the bass is...


for the RNC (Compressors), check out here:
http://www.fmraudio.com

if u'v got that much of a budget, i would def. go for broke. nm that stuff i said about going smaller at first.
"u can alwayz dirty down, but u can't clean up"
-evil dee

Anyone ever use the soundcraft boards with the individual post/fade track outs. I have a friend that uses one of those... connects the outputs of all his gear to it and rides the faders as the music goes into Logic. That way he has a live mix going into logic that can later be edited and worked on again. The great thing is that the solid state preamps on the Soundcraft board allow you to overdrive the sound without the signal falling apart. Great for that dubby feeling.

I figured this thread was a good a place to drop that little nugget...

Peace

yeah, what mpc are you gonna get? youll need the 8 outs option to make the mixer worth it, if your gonna just use the mpc. But if you use the mpc and a keyboard, figure out how many outs youll have, then add one for a mic and you should be set on deciding for the mixer.

peace

whats the reason for no computer? you are already going digital by using the yamaha recorder. why not take advantage of the full on editing features of a computer based DAW? if you went that route you would be able to do it with the high quality outboard gear suggested above. i highly recomend the distressors as well.

RNC stands for Really Nice Compressor. Go to ebay, type in rnc or funk logic (the company that manufactures it). Costs about $400 for a pair, probably the best compressor under $800. Very transparent.

Empirical labs Distressor is a mono compressor that apparently turns drums into lethal weapons. I haven't heard it yet but people I trust are telling me to try this thing asap. So it's at least worth checking out.

8-10 grand, probably just get the Motif and the 4000! I didn't know you were in that ballpark. In that case, here's a couple approaches:

1.

-Allen and Heath 16 channel board (I said Mix Wizard, but there are other models worth researching also. $1500-$2000?)
-Motif $2000?
-4 compressors, 2 rnc and maybe 2 Distressors. $2500.00
-mpc 400 $2000.00?
- 2 channels of good mic preamps. I'm about ready to try some preamps myself, the short list is: Vintech 1272, Universal Audio 2-610, Grace 101,

2.

-Get a real high end mixer. There's a company called API which is famous for it's great sounding preamps and eq's, and they now have a line mixer out, I can't remember the model right now, but I do remember it's somewhere in the 3-4000 range and will kill the Allen and Heath. You could go with that, then scrap the 4000, get an older Proteus or Kurzweil or something. Remember that a lot of pros use the 2000xl and 3000 so don't get all crazy about the sampling engine. Spend the extra money on some really nice eq, compression, and preamps. Providing you know how to engineer this will give you big-league results. Also it all depends on how devoted you are to getting good sound...do you have the patience to research for a good couple of months, or do you just want a setup now?