equalizing and mixing samples

hy fluent
used to be in a similar situation as u when buying the mpc! thought, well, with 10 outs (just for the mpc, and then some other ten's for other gear, synth, guitar, vocals ...) i need a huge mixer! ... and i m still convinced that this was a good idea! there are never enough channels! even if you count all your outputs from your instruments! ... at the latest when you start routing all your external effects through your mixer all your channels are gone!
as the allen&heath was out of budget for me i had to decide between mackie, soundcraft and behringer! finally i got a mackie sr 24-4 (it has 22 channels)!
my advice to you: be careful with the behringer! if you have the possibility, test it at least first!
behringer for me was out cause a few month before i got a virtualizer rack from them! the sound of it was disappointing! ... and btw a friend of mine right now wants to get rid of its behringer mixer cause he doesn"t like its sound (slightly smaller than the eurorack, the one with 16 channels) - but i won't recommend you that one! ... well i personally won't get any other behringer products at all! .. not that my mackie is by far better, ... but still (it is better)!
in my opinion behringer basically does everything from mixers to effects to microphones, ... at a very cheap price! That’s their strength: the price!
and seeing the budget you have and the gear you buy: you''ll have great sounds comin out your mpc, great speakers, ... its kind of a shame loosin this quality cause runnin everythin thru a mixer (and that s wher all your sounds will run thru) which is at (always in my opinion) at a much lower level! btw: the next thing i 'll change in my setup is the mixer!
So resuming buying a huge mixer is great but rather than buying a behringer I’d go for an older, maybe used model of the other manufacturers (on top of my list would be an allen&heath)!
cheers
alto

thanx for all the help guys...jonta, i definitely want to wait and keep researching and learning more, both of those setups you suggested sound like what i am aiming at...i looked up all those pieces and they all seem mad nice, the distressor especially has me interested...i will probably end up going with the allen and heath setup you posted, im going to look into it in more detail soon..i really appreciate all the help, thanx again

peace an respect
fluent

Cool, let me know what you learn, I'm trying to figure this stuff out too. Also as just some general information for those of you trying to make real good sounding stuff, I've found that the way you process your sound is just as important as the sample you use. I used to think that if I sampled good sounding drums, my drums should sound just as good as the record I pulled em off, but it doesn't really work that way. You have to convert the sound from the phono preamp, usually from a DJ mixer which isn't designed to really sound great, to digital, back out of the mpc, into your mixer which probably isn't a Neve or SSL, to your recording medium. So if you have some cash I think it makes more sense to get a few good pieces, preamp/compressor/eq, then to spend it on the latest greatest guitar center stuff. Don't be fooled by flashing lights and slick looking screens.

And this older head was like: "That's not for recording, that's for live usage." I guess he was just trying to throw me off track.

Anyway, I went to the Allen and Heath website and checked out one model (WZ16:2DX). Looks great.

One last question, what exactly are auxiliary sends for?

And they have this option available where you can configure stereo channel Left to the odd auxiliaries and the right one to the even auxiliaries. What's the benefit of this option?

Also, there are only 2 stereo returns on the board. Isn't that kind of too less for a board with 6 sends?

They assume you will use mixer channels as the returns.

A cop out on a 16 channel mixer in my book

I'd rather have better sounding channels and less returns, though. If you like to use a ton of outboard effects then it might be a problem, but you can do a lot with even two effects/channel. What does it have for inserts?

An auxilary channel allows you to send signal out of the board to a reverb or other outboard device and then back into the board.

I run my MPC 4000,Triton rack,E-mu vintage keys and lots of other pawn shop purchased keboards and synths thru a Behringer board(MX9000)into my Digi002 for effects/editing.I have no complaints about sound what so ever.I have plenty of channels and with the use of the bus's everything works out great.I have done a ton of remixes using vocals off of 12" vinyl and buy the time I am done with it all the consumer can't tell it was all done in my $500 a month apartment.I have had people ask me if I was pulling their leg when I told them that I did it all at home.As far as the sequencer/sampler goes you will not be dissappointed in the MPC4000.In fact if used correctly you do not need anything else(For a while I did not use any synths)as far as sound modules goes.The best advice is spend a few weeks doing research and what not trying out diffrent equipment and asking questions buy the time you have done enough research you will be able to make up your own mind.Find out what is the best set-up for yoour music making process not somebody else's.If you have the cash I would advise to just get a few peices of essential gear that are of good quality like the MPC4000/2000 a nice quality mixing board and a means to record which would be a computer multi-track program or a hardware recorder.At any rate just get what is essential to YOU first develop your own style of music making and then you can decide for your self what else you need to buy.Aside from having good equipment the rest is up tp you.Also do not let anybody in this world discourage you from reading.Everything you want to know in this world can be found in a book.Read a few basic books on recording and learn the terminology first and go from there.

I agree with that. Everyone's perception is different, so yeah, obviously do your research. The point of reading posts (for me anyway) is just to get some ideas or learn stuff - then I research some more and try out things I'm interested in. Message boards are a good starting point.

FLUENT wrote: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?

You already have a sequencer in the MPC, why spend the money behind the 88-key Motif? You'll be doubling up on sequencers and spending almost double the money. As you wish to enter the MPC world you should acclimate yourself with the concept of synth modules. MPCs do more than just sample drums, they can be used as the centre of a small MIDI network to control multiple synth modules. If you want to achieve the same goal without losing the money, purchase a Studiologic 88-key hammer action controller and the Motif Rack. You'll have access to the same sounds without the extra sampling and sequence functions. You will save a good amount of loot which is good news anytime.

Forgo the Gemini and cop the Numark TTX1, its mechanism and braking system is more sturdy and will last longer.

This configuration will allow you to add more sound modules in the future.

Peace.

purchase a Studiologic 88-key hammer action controller and the Motif Rack. You'll have access to the same sounds without the extra sampling and sequence functions. You will save a good amount of loot which is good news anytime.

yo, thats REAL good news, i didnt even know you could do that, thats why i love these forums...i know all about the mpc, but i didnt know i could cop an 88 key controller and use the same sounds as the motif, cuz i have no need for 2 sequencers...WOW...i just searched for that studiologic piece, $600! SICKKKKKK...just found the motifrack too, $999, that should definitely save me some cash...anyway, props for the response, i had no idea that was possible! peace

That's good advice for saving some bucks. The only reason you might want to get the motif keyboard is cause you'll have to fiddle with the module otherwise. There's something nice about having the whole thing laid out right under your hands. But Sam Ash makes a $20 little 12 space table-top rack, it's very space efficient and great for home studios. I can't remember the brand though, you could probably track it down easily. If you have a small space and a couple outboard units and modules, it's perfect, I'd set it up right near the controller keyboard.

yeah thats definitely true, the midi control/motifrack wont beat the layout of the motif itself, but ill take some fiddling around if it saves me some doe. well, the setup is changing again because i have just been non stop researching my sh** with help from the peeps on this board..and at the moment this is what ive come up with :

mpc4000 w/ 8 outs
88 key studiologic midi controller
yamaha motifrack
2 RNC's...everywhere i read about them they got great reviews, cant beat the price either
allen and heath mixwizard...16 channel version
yamaha awg16 digi recorder
mackie HR824 active monitors
empirical labs distressor...cant wait to fux with this thing
focusrite mixmaster...not sure about this one yet
focusrite penta mic pre/comprssor...good solid unit, its like compression for dummies too, with built in tweakable presets
t racks and some other mastering software, if i dont go with the mixmaster

i really cant think of anything else id need besides a turntable??, im open to suggestion. ..i saw some dope stuff on focusrite, if you have a huge budget there is something called the Focusrite Liquid Channel, which is a compressor that imitates 40 classic compressors and 40 mic pre's, and as more compressors are mimiced they are available for download...the studio tests they ran on this thing said that they could not tell the difference between the real compressor, and the liquid channel...it runs about $3,500 tho, id love to play with one and push all the buttons, its some really amazing stuff

peace

you gettin a mic? if so i suggest the tlm103 from neumann. i got one last year and it is one of my most used pieces of gear after the turntables and mpc. sounds real dope too.

If you want a good 24 channel mixer for the same price or less as the Alllen and Heath 16,,, go for the SOundtracs Topaz, its 24 channels, but has got even 48!!!!!!!!!! channels on the mixdown and its got 8 busses.

I know the A&H and Behringer consoles very well and worked with all 3 of m. The topaz sounds the best of all, very musical but yet gritty and slightley agressive. And you can use some grittieness to your sound when you use MPC4000 and Motif since they are very smooth.

Ohh man youll get a killer setup man i wish i had something like that.

good luck

gritty and slightly aggressive, 2 words i love yo haha...word, ima look into that asap...24 channels would be great, anyone else use a Soundtracs??