Looking to upgrade my recording setup, any suggestions?

[Mark_Palangio]

Right now I have a really cheap setup, just an M-Audio DMP3 mic preamp running into the stock soundcard on my Dell desktop computer. I'm thinking about getting a new mic preamp and a new soundcard, so I was looking for suggestions. I don't need anything super expensive and professional just for making clips at home, but I want to make a pretty decent upgrade from what I currently have. Oh and I would want the ability to use 2 mics at once with the preamp as well.

I was looking at the Dididesign Mbox2...

http://www.music123.com/Digidesign-Mbox-2-Factory-i258096.music

And for a soundcard, I was looking at this...

http://www.music123.com/M-Audio-Delta-1010-Lt-i82270.music

I figure I want to spend $700 or so at most on a preamp and soundcard. I'm not super knowledgable about this kind of stuff, which is why I'm asking you guys. Any suggestions or info would be much appreciated.

 

[cameltoe]

RNP is a good choice for a 2 channel pre....450.00 or so...

 

[Mark_Palangio]

RNP is a good choice for a 2 channel pre....450.00 or so...

You mean this?

http://www.humbuckermusic.com/fmraudrnreal.html

Would you say it's better than the Mbox2?

 

[cobhc]

the delta 10/10LT has 2 mic pre's built in, i have one, and while they're not great, they'll do for semi pro guitar recording.

plus i think the mbox2 is a soundcard as well as having pre's, or am i wrong?

 

[006]

Yeah it's a soundcard as well. I wouldn't get an MBox bro...it's not worth it. I've had one...sold it and got a 002R...now I'm looking into MOTU interfaces since I've ditched using PT and I'm using Digital Performer now which works with the 002R.

The pre's in the RNP I *believe* are a little nicer than what the MBox has. But don't hold me to that.

~006

 

[Mark_Palangio]

Yeah it's a soundcard as well. I wouldn't get an MBox bro...it's not worth it. I've had one...sold it and got a 002R...now I'm looking into MOTU interfaces since I've ditched using PT and I'm using Digital Performer now which works with the 002R.

The pre's in the RNP I *believe* are a little nicer than what the MBox has. But don't hold me to that.

~006

Oh, so that Mbox2 has a soundcard with it?

 

[cobhc]

the mbox2 is a soundcard as such, it's a usb interface. it's the same as the m-audio card in effect, but it's usb instead of pci.

 

[006]

Yeah, it is a soundcard. When you open ProTools, all sound in and out goes through the MBox/MBox2. When PT is closed, you can't use the MBox for anything, it'll only operate when PT or Digital Performer is using it.

~006

 

[cobhc]

ahhh, so you cant use it for normal sound operation, ie playing music? voice conversations/skype?

 

[Mark_Palangio]

Yeah, it is a soundcard. When you open ProTools, all sound in and out goes through the MBox/MBox2. When PT is closed, you can't use the MBox for anything, it'll only operate when PT or Digital Performer is using it.

~006

Ahh, I see. Thanks for the info man, like I said, I don't know very much about this stuff. Is the soundcard with the Mbox2 better than that M-Audio soundcard I posted a link to?

 

[AStacy2]

Check this out too!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...bit96kHz-FireWire-Recording-System?sku=184133

It is a lot cheaper than the Mbox and they still sound great for what you're looking at doing I think. I have never used this exact module but I had the Firepod a while ago (which is the same thing with 8 mic pre's and it's like $600so still in your range) and it sounded good. With this you can turn it on and it acts as a soundcard too if you have it set for Windows default soundcard.

 

[006]

No no, man, the MBox is a soundcard. You only get the MBox, when you plug it in, it acts as your soundcard in ProTools.

You could get the M-Audio MobilePre USB (I have one at home for goofing around on) and I like it more than the MBox I had. Plus you can use it for everything, including recording. You can listen to music through it, record, everything. And you don't need to have a program open to use it. Just set it as your default soundcard in Win/Mac and it's your one-stop device.

Honestly I think you should get the MobilePre and like...Cubase or something instead of an MBox bro. Seriously.

~006

 

[Mark_Palangio]

No no, man, the MBox is a soundcard. You only get the MBox, when you plug it in, it acts as your soundcard in ProTools.

You could get the M-Audio MobilePre USB (I have one at home for goofing around on) and I like it more than the MBox I had. Plus you can use it for everything, including recording. You can listen to music through it, record, everything. And you don't need to have a program open to use it. Just set it as your default soundcard in Win/Mac and it's your one-stop device.

Honestly I think you should get the MobilePre and like...Cubase or something instead of an MBox bro. Seriously.

~006

Oh damn, I didn't know that! Just out of curiosity would I be able to use my M-Audio DMP3 with that Mbox?

 

[KeithRT99]

i've got a moblie pre and i don't like it very much. it's not bad, but the pre's aren't that good.

check out the clips in my sig if you want to hear how it sounds. i use a 5150 combo/sm57/emg81 which is similar to your setup ( although not as good)

 

[unsilpauly]

The pre's in the RNP I *believe* are a little nicer than what the MBox has. But don't hold me to that.

~006

the rnp pres are way better than the mbox. the mbox isnt even close. even people with high end gear generally like and us the rnp. its the best 2 channel pre sound wise anywhere near its price. just thought you should know because i know youre alway lookin for gear and until youhave alot of super high end pres, the rnp is almost a must have. good for d.i. on bass as well.

 

[Mark_Palangio]

the rnp pres are way better than the mbox. the mbox isnt even close. even people with high end gear generally like and us the rnp. its the best 2 channel pre sound wise anywhere near its price. just thought you should know because i know youre alway lookin for gear and until youhave alot of super high end pres, the rnp is almost a must have. good for d.i. on bass as well.

So if I would go with an RNP, what soundcard would you sgugest to go with it?

 

[JeffTD]

E-mu 1212m for it's converters if you go for the RNP.

That said, I'd go for MOTU Ultralite, if you're looking for an external type solution. It might be way more robust than what you need, for what you're doing, though.

 

[cobhc]

basically we're all throwing you all kinds of idea's dude, you need to decide what features you want specifically and go and test a bunch o shit out. not meaning to fob you off here, but it's personal taste as well as what other people say is good.

 

[Mark_Palangio]

basically we're all throwing you all kinds of idea's dude, you need to decide what features you want specifically and go and test a bunch o shit out. not meaning to fob you off here, but it's personal taste as well as what other people say is good.

The only thing I really want is good sound quality in the price range I'm looking at. Like I said, I really don't even know where to start with this stuff. The RNP seems like it's a good choice for a preamp, so now I just need a decent soundcard for about $200 or under.

 

[cobhc]

Well just don't get like the mbox or something like that where you're tied down to one piece of software for mixing/editing. Maybe the m-audio delta 10/10LT might be a choice, since you're using an external preamp anyway, it's cheapish, has spdif, midi and quite a few features, and you can use it with pro tools m powered and also use the two mic preamps it has for micing up something else. But again, this is my opinion, I don't know who else will agree with me, but I have this card and it seems good enough to me. Again, I am doing like you are, amateurish demo's and just recording guitar and it seems good enough to me. And another thing, why specifically do you want to upgrade, do you think you've got the most out of your dmp3 as you can? Or is it mainly the stock soundcard thats bogging you down?