Tosca
Zombie 10, DFZ
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2013
- Messages
- 5,890
Hmmm, my attempt to edit the image seems to have broken it. I seem to have this problem whenever I try to edit posts on the forum, does everyone else have the same thing happen to them?
Here's the image:
Now, what're we looking at? With this post I'll try to walk through the hardware solution I ended up with, why I selected them, and the capabilities they support.
Computer: I've been a lifelong PC user, and constantly argued the fact that Mac is overpriced and unnecessary. However, I had to admit that most hardware and software for studio recordings is "Mac Preferred". In order to optimize use of what I have, and reduce the amount of $$ sunk into proprietary Apple stuff, I went with a Mac mini. This got me the Apple OS and Thunderbolt connectivity I needed, without having to pay exorbitant prices for a processor and monitor combination. The Mac is all about processing, and connects to the existing NAS I have in the house for storage.
Interface: I actually went through two iterations here.
I started with a Focusrite Clarette 4 USB. This has 4 combo jacks for mic and 1/4, and would have handled just about anything I wanted to throw at it to get up and running. The main reason I started with this one was because I was fighting the pressure to change from a PC to a Mac. The more I researched this, the more I realized that I was painting myself into a corner. I ended up returning it for something that WOULD have been my first choice if I went w/a Mac. That being said: If you're looking to plug a pair of guitars and mics into an interface and be off and running, this is likely all you'll ever need! If you really just want one mic and one guitar, then the Clarette 2 is an even cheaper solution.
The second piece was actually my first choice, which I bought after accepting the need for a Mac - the UA Apollo Twin X Duo is the center of my system now. I really liked the Ox Box I bought, which has me leaning heavily towards the UA ecosystem of gear. I think they have everything I could ever need as a pro-sumer, and the ability to expand to as many channels as I could throw at it. It'll run anything I need, can be expanded pretty easily by daisy-chaining Thunderbolt connections, and meets all industry standard specs. This allows 2 inputs, but can easily scale with additional components up to 8,16, 32, etc. As a pro level piece of gear, t's more than I need now, but I don't have to worry that I'll ever outgrow it. The Twin X is connected to the Mac Mini with a Thunderbolt cable (yellow).
Additional processing - UA Satellite Quad: One of the things I dig about the UA ecosystem is all the digital plugins it brings - with them I can emulate a TON of the old skool analog gear from amazing studios and albums in my signal chain that I could never afford. Want to mimic a 40 year old pre-amp? A high speed EQ? The reverb from high end professional recording rooms? I can buy a plug in that represents it. The only thing I need beyond the Apollo Twin X that I bought (entry level UA Interface) is additional processing power. The Twin X Duo has 2 processors, the Satellite Quad adds 4 more, taking me to 6. I don't know that I needed this out of the gates, but I decided to include it in my original learning curve. The Satellite is connected to the Mac Mini with a Thunderbolt cable (yellow), and the UA Console software sees it and the Twin X as a single logical unit.
Ox Box: The UA Ox Box is the first piece of UA gear I bought. It does a few different things: amp attenuator, virtual amp / cab processing, etc. Now, in the studio world it allows me to easily connect my favorite head to the Ox Box, which is connected to the Twin X Interface, and get the exact tone from the head into my computer. I can then hear myself playing through the monitors, or route the signal back to the cab that the head is sitting on, or both. The Ox Box is connected to the Twin X through a digital audio cable (purple). There are also two pairs of speaker cables (green), in two locations of the room (4 total). There is a pair of 25' cables running to the shelf built-in - from the Marshall head to the Ox Box, and another returning from the Ox Box to the Orange cab. There is a pair of 50' cables running to the far corner of the room - from the PRS Dallas head to the Ox Box, and from the Ox Box to the Marshall 4x12. I swap out the cables running into the Ox Box, depending on which head/cab combo I want to use.
Microphones: To start with, I just did some homework and picked a couple of mid-range, decent mics. I have a Aston Origin for vocals, and a pair of SE-8s for acoustic/cab mic-ing
Guitars: The Custom 24 represents guitar connectivity. You can see the instrument cables (green, not to be confused with the long green speaker cable runs) can be plugged into any of the amp heads, or directly into the front of the Twin X. I'd use the heads that I have for obvious reasons, and directly into the Apollo Twin X if I wanted to use any of the plug-ins that I have in the UA ecosystem.
I think that's about it for equipment, please let me know if the level of detail is sufficient or there are more questions!
Fantastic thread...thank you for sharing.
All very good and well thought out choices on your computer setup above (based on my experience/opinion). Which DAW are you using?
