can you please give me your opinions?

[rispsira]

Hi everyone,

My band and i are getting closer to the recording stage and im planning to have a few updates.

So far, we have bought a couple of focusrite (8 channels each if i remember correctly) saffire pro. We had to buy this one because we could not afford a pro quality 16 channels, and will be needing that for the drums.

Now i am thinking of getting a couple of channels with better quality preamps mostly for vocals/guitar/bass/snare. (would say kick but i have been warned by reading posts on this forum that they might be replaced for the style of music. By the way i cannot find a link to the high quality triggers (was it ->)Andy was speaking of, i find the "cheap read ones")

I am leaning towards a couple of Avedis MA5. But am wondering i that would be a better choice than the vintech x73i. (definetly a difference in price though). I may probably buy a golden age pre-73 but just to try it out in comparison with the above.

On the other hand for converters i have been considering the RME fireface 800 or 400. What i have heard is that they both have the same AD converters, but the DA in the 800 is slightly better. I have heard good things about the Apogee duet. (and also the mytek but cant find where to buy that or how much they go for)

I have to apologise about asking those questions as i am sure theyre old news for all of you and you want to slap me haha. But i havent heard any of these (which i have to order from overseas) and would greatly benefit from your experience..

I am also considering a radial Phazer (since it allows for phase alignment of specific freq), and wondering if anyone has tried that.


Thanks!!

 

[ParsonsMatt]

The FF400 also has nicer preamps.

 

[rispsira]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Well the preamps of the fireface 400 and their quality will benefit me if they are superior than those of the saffire pro. Then i will "sacrifice" a tiny bit of DA quality but can replace 4 channels (4 right?) of the focusrite when recording the drums for example (maybe for the toms).

But then i will be recording with a few channels of the saffire, the fireface 400 and the avedis (for the snare probably). This will probably be a mess to configure right lol.

in which case i might as well just focus on the converters of the fireface, but then the question would be: Is the difference in price worth it for the improvement in DA. mmm.. I realise the answer will probably be it depends on me, the budget and what im trying to do.. But i would still appreciate your advice if anyone has any they feel like giving on that issue.

Thanks again man!

 

[ahjteam]

what is your budget?

 

[sprack]

Can't say anything bad about the FF400/800. Very good converters. On a budget you may want to consider the Echo AudioFire 8/12 too. Very good, accurate converters, reasonably priced. You can find the 8 for around $450, 12 around $600.

 

[rispsira]

well the ones i mentionned should be within the budget. I spared on the 16 inputs i needed for the drums with the saffire pro (well we didnt have much choice) now the focus is on quality. A single channel maybe for the preamp, but a good one.

Also i need to know what you would do specifically with the converter in this case:
You have your 16 channels for drums, but your focusing on getting a couple of good quality preamps for vocals/bass/guitar/snare.. since they dont require too many inputs. If you get the fireface 400 you get 4 preamps that are (i assume) better than the saffire. So for the drums would you:

1- record the snare on the preamp i am going to buy, record say the toms with the better quality fireface preamps, and the rest with the focusrite. ( i dont even know if it wouldnt crap out with three preamps recording simultanously :s)

2- record everything except the snare with the saffire pro and get the fireface 800 for the better DA conversion

3- without necessarily doing the same as i described in the 1st choice, buy the 400 anyway since you think the better DA conversion of the 800 is not worth the extra dough regardless of how you will record the drums


Thats the choice that seems to be hard for me to make with the converters.
Also if you have any other suggestion or an option that i havent thought of i would appreciate it as well. anyone compared it with the mytek (cannot find it anywhere where it sells and how much it is) or the apogee duet/other?

Thanks for the help guys! sorry for the long post