Advice on putting together a portable recording kit

[tr0n]

Hi all,

I'm putting together an equipment list of portable gear that I can use to record demos over the next year or so, and possibly do some of my own A&R for local metal labels. I'm hoping perhaps some of you could advise on some of my choices so far and for your recommendations on gear (and I guess any other general advice you might have for an aspiring metal producer. )

I am on a budget, although what precisely that will be isn't clear yet, so I'm only putting together a rough idea that I can refine over time. So far:

Mics:
Shure B57A (top snare), SM7 (good on vox I hear), SM58 (vox), 2 SM57s
Audix D6 x2 (kicks)
MD421s x3/4 (toms and guitar cabs) - do you have any experience with Beyerdynamic M201s on toms?
AKG C2/414s for OHs - open to suggestions here in particular

Haven't looked much into HH and Room mics, and is it necessary for spot mics on chinas and splashes maybe? As for guitar I'll likely go with the trusty SM57 and maybe combined with an MD421 if necessary. I may also grab a POD XT Pro second hand for tracking guitars and bass if a band doesn't have their own equipment. Perhaps a Rode NT1A for acoustic guitar if a band wants one. For vocals is it sometimes better to use a wind filter rather than pop filter? Maybe it depends on the vocalist?

For pres, I'm looking at the Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56, but I could do with a few compressors for tracking, any recommendations here? I imagine I will just track onto my macbook via firewire and usb.

So I'm looking at a few grand for the budget, but I'm trying to be conservative as possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

[alan1990]

Saffire Pro 56 may be a bit overkill especially on a budget, from what I understand that Saffire Pro 40 has the same preamps (minus the liquid channels) and converters as the 56 for half the money. not to mention that if your looking at somthing like a pod you could use podfarm to get some preamp models on there thatwould sound just as good.

It does only have one set of adat ins and outs but i dont know what you would need more then 16ins for in a mobile setup

 

[tr0n]

Cool, thanks for that. I'll have a read of Focusrite's website then about the Pro 40, I guess it isn't worth spending a great deal more on just 2 micpre emulations.

As I understand it, you need some kind of Line6 hardware to run Podfarm? So if I needed to I could just buy say a Pod Studio UX1 with Podfarm?

 

[Norris-wf]

you can use podfarm with an iLok, so no need for the UX1

 

[JeffTD]

FWIW, whatever SDC's you get on OH will be fine for acoustic tracking, so don't factor that in the budget.

List looks solid to me - I'd go with a pair of AKG 414's for OH's and snag a pair of Rode NT5's for ride/hat spot micing, personally.

 

[ahjteam]

So I'm looking at a few grand for the budget, but I'm trying to be conservative as possible.

You clearly haven't budgeted this thru as you also need a shit ton of other stuff that you might not think about at first, like stands, headphones, cables and transport cases etc. They weight and cost a like fuck and take away atleast 20% from your budget. Lets say you track a drummer with 2 kicks, 1 snare, 4 toms and a massive flying saucer attack. That is most likely one of the bigger kits you will ever come across on a mobile rig. To "properly" mic this, you need atleast:

- 2 kick mics
- 2 snare mics
- 4 tom mics
- 1 mic for hihat
- 1 mic for ride
- 1 mic for china
- 2 overheads
- 2 room mics

That is 15 inputs + 7 more if you use triggers, so thats 22. So, what you need is:

- Recording interface with atleast 8 mic inputs and ADAT-expandability
- 1-2 ADAT-preamps with 8 channel for additional inputs if you record drums
- 3 flightcases with wheels (one big one for stands, one smaller one for cables, one tall 19" rack for your gear with atleast one drawer for mics and stuff mics). The only good part is that you can make a workspace for yourself from these. Just use the stand case as a table and the cable case with a pillow as a chair.
- 30 XLR cables (and possible adapters for the headphone amps)
- 16/4 or 24/8 XLR-snake
- 8 instrument cables (because they get stolen and broken and all of that shit)
- 16 micstands with booms (6 short, 10 tall)
- 1-2 headphone amplifiers or small mixers
- 3-6 headphones (one for you, rest for musicians. do note: closed ones for the drummer, semiopen for the singers)
- 2 kick mics (same type)
- 5 dynamic mics (a few variations for different purposes)
- 4 large diaphram condenser mics (preferrably two different pairs for variation)
- 4 small diaphram condenser mics (same as above)
- 2-4 DI-boxes (same brand, same type, don't get cheap ones)
- 1 reamp-box (not required)
- 4 tom mics (same type)
- 1 popfilter
- 1 any cheap mic for talkback
- 6-10 powerstrips and extension cables to power up your shit
- 1 helluva big van to carry all this shit around
- nos & cigs
- plus all the other rack shit you might need (pod, a compressor, channelstrip for vocals etc)

I most propably forgot about something really important as usual, but thats how it is.

edit:

Here is my suggestion in europrices rounded up (they cost about the same amount in the usd, bloody bastars):

- 8ch interface: M-Audio Profire 2626, 480€
- 8ch adat-preamp: Focusrite Octopre LE, 270€
- 16/4 snake, 290€
- 30 x 10m XLR-cables, 300€
- 8 x 3m instrument cables, 80€
- 16 micstands, 180€
- 1 x 19" 12 unit flightcase, 270€
- 1 x big flightcase with wheels, 215€
- 1 x small flightcase without wheels, 90€
- 1 x microphone case, 90€
- 2 x Phonic AM120 minimixers, 60€
- 2 x AKG K141 headphones, 240€
- 1 x Sennheiser HD25 headphones, 180€
- 2 x Audix D6, 410€
- 3 x Shure SM57, 200€
- 1 x Shure b57, 130€
- 1 x Shure SM7b, 400€
- 4 x Sennheiser e604, 440€
- 2 x Röde NT5, 285€
- 2 x AKG C1000, 260€
- 2 x Studio Project B1, 176€
- 1 x AKG C414, 890€
- 2 x Countryman Type 85 di-box, 400€
- 1 x Radial ProRMP, 95€
- 1 x Popfilter, 10€
- 8 x powerstrips, 50€
- 100€ for the random misc shit I forgot
= 6591€

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

If you're specifically looking for a portable setup, and you're talking about recording demos, then there are some places where size/portability can win out over pristine quality. For example: MD421s are great, but they're big and need stands - if you get something like E604s instead, they're half the size you can clip them straight to most toms. They're also a third of the price, which makes them more attractive to ship around to different studios etc. Also, if I was on a budget and inputs were premium I'd leave out hi-hat and ride mics - I basically never use them anyway, and I've never had any issues. Outboard compressors seem a bit extravagant too - it's more gear to lug around, and more expensive shit to get broken. Most sound-cards come with on-board, low latency FX, so if you really want a compressor on the way in but don't want to use third party VSTs, use those.

The other thing is, when you talk about portable, are you meaning recording in live venues and makeshift rehearsal spaces? If you're going to proper rehearsal studios, they'll more than likely have stands and cables you can use.

Steve

 

[tr0n]

Phew, thanks for the list. I had forgot to mention that I haven't factored cables, stands, cases etc into the equation. I'm only hypothosising. But thanks a lot for your list, looks like you've done most of the work for me.

Edit: To Steve's post,

Yeah this'll be designed for rehearsal space recording. So like you say, if the studios are decent then they'll have mic stands, which are probably the most annoying things to transport no matter how you're doing it. I hadn't thought about software compressors, that's a good idea.

I should add that I am starting out in a sense, and I stress again, I'm only hypothosising, so I'm certainly open to your advices about trimming down the price. So those E604s sound great, I'll definitely look into them. I also forgot to mention triggers, which I intend to use also. Do dDrum triggers come recommended? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for everyone's help so far.