POD/SSD etc. bedroom studio at uni? ideas needed!

[departed]

hi all, long time reader, first time poster.

basically i'm moving away to university and my band and i are still together here so i'm looking to record out of my bedroom and achieve the best results possible. using the engl and my drums are out of the question, how does this sound as a setup, im hoping to do it pretty much all in the box? it doesnt need to be ridiculously expensive but im pretty far from home and the studio so its ineffective for us to travel back to record.

• apple macbook 2.13ghz
• cubase 5
• SSD3.5
• open to suggestions on interface?
• open to suggestions on monitors?
• POD xt3 rack

i'm also stumped on DI'ing guitar, is it cool to go straight through the POD or will a decent DI box be required for bass/guitar? if so ideas appreciated?

please feel free to add to the list/alter what i've selected so far

 

[Forceps]

I'd get a seperate DI box, the DI output of the Line 6 gear is not that great... been some discussion over here on that subject.

 

[John_C]

If you're in a small room at uni, small monitors are the way to go. I recommend tannoy reveal 5as, they take a while to get used to but they are stupidly critical. My experience is that anything that sounds good on them will be phenomenal elsewhere. The exception is in the bass, but you'll have to resort to a decent set of headphones for that anyway simply due to room size

 

[departed]

thanks a lot for the reply mate, i'll do a search on the matter now.

ive been blown away with some of the productions on here using a POD, i'll have a hell of a lot to learn once i pick one up.

 

[departed]

If you're in a small room at uni, small monitors are the way to go. I recommend tannoy reveal 5as, they take a while to get used to but they are stupidly critical. My experience is that anything that sounds good on them will be phenomenal elsewhere. The exception is in the bass, but you'll have to resort to a decent set of headphones for that anyway simply due to room size

ah okay, any ideas on some decent headphones?

at the minute im using a bunch of vic firth drum ones, i guess they'll be of no use..?

 

[JeffTD]

I run an XT Pro into an RME FireFace 800 and use Superior 2.0 for drums/Trillian for bass while in my dorm, and I couldn't be happier.

I own SSD3.5, and I'd avoid it if you're looking for usable cymbal sounds/non-cliché drum sounds.

 

[Trevoire520]

POD and SSD are good enough to get you some pretty good mixes in the box man, though as Jeff said some other programs will give you better cymbal sounds (though you could always get a day at a cheap-ish studio to record real cymbal tracks, would make things a bit more human probably)

I'd say don't bother with an X3. Get POD Farm Platinum and a decent DI box. Cheaper, more flexible and more compact.

Monitor wise, I like Yamaha HS50's, a decent set of headphones would be good too.

As far as the interface goes, alot on here like the M-Audio Profire, myself included.

Other than that man, a 57/58 for vocals and potentially you're sorted.

 

[Sacha]

If you're going to spend that much on the POD Pro, I'd spring a little more and find a used Axe-FX. Much better feel and tone to me personally. You can also double the use of it as a live FX setup in conjunction with your normal amp rig or use it as a preamp etc.

 

[departed]

If you're going to spend that much on the POD Pro, I'd spring a little more and find a used Axe-FX. Much better feel and tone to me personally. You can also double the use of it as a live FX setup in conjunction with your normal amp rig or use it as a preamp etc.

i'll have a look into it, thanks.

by the way, i love the divinity album. that shit is so good!

 

[Sacha]

i'll have a look into it, thanks.

by the way, i love the divinity album. that shit is so good!

Eh thanx buddehh!

 

[John_C]

by the way, i love the divinity album. that shit is so good!

+1, it's superb

 

[narcossintese]

And if you´re using it only for recording, get a POD Studio (previously known as Toneport) instead of the X3. Cheaper, lighter, smaller, powered through USB and with the same attributes of a X3.

 

[Trevoire520]

And if you´re using it only for recording, get a POD Studio (previously known as Toneport) instead of the X3. Cheaper, lighter, smaller, powered through USB and with the same attributes of a X3.

Um, except it's only got 18 amp models compared to the X3's 78...

 

[narcossintese]

You can always upgrade for a gold pod farm. Still much cheaper than a PODx3.