Category Archives: Studio Design

Choosing a New Digital Front End

Gear Choices, Rack Gear, Reverb, Studio Design, Studio Workflow, Tascam M3700

From the very early days of my fascination with audio recording, I’ve been drawn to the Protools DAW software. I’ve used lots of other applications and am always checking out new releases of other software but it’s Protools that I like the best. It’s interface makes sense to me and it works the way I like to work. I have on occasion coveted a feature or two from competing software but it’s just never been enough to make me want to leave. The biggest draw back it’s always had was that I was locked into a very small selection of choices for the audio interface.

For many years Avid (Formerly Digidesign) made a small number of interfaces that were supported. The interfaces are the gateway between the analog world and the digital one. You plug your signal into the interface and it converts it to digital 1s and 0s that Protools would capture. As a drummer I always picked the interface they offered the highest amount of simultaneous inputs and outputs and went on my merry way. I started out with a Digi 001 which I used for many years and then upgraded to a Digi 002 when the need arose.

Recently though Avid has begun allowing many more third party interfaces to be able to talk to Protools. This happened with the release of Protools 9. Protools 9 comprised a huge multitude of changes and updates but that small part of their announcement opened up a world of interface options to me.

As I was in the process of re-thinking what I wanted my studio to be it really allowed me to broaden what I thought feasible. Starting in Protools 9, I will be able to record 32 simultaneously tracks and I could play back up to 96, which is a huge change having been only able to record 16 before and playback a total of 32.

The first real hurdle though is, what interface or interfaces do I turn to? My current setup with my Digi 002 Rack is working fine but is not ideal. The interface can easily handle a total of 18 inputs and outputs but to do that I would need a series of extra converts and cables. Additionally, many of those inputs unavoidably have gain stages which I do not need or want.

What I want is a large number of inputs and outputs that I can use to feed my Tascam M3700. The M3700 already has all of the Mic Pres I’ll need and even if I don’t want to use them, I don’t want to be bound by using the ones on the digital interface either. It’s options and flexibility that I’m in search of and to get that, my interface needs to be a vanilla as possible.

Unfortunately for me, the market is saturated with dozens of interfaces featuring Mic Pres and digital I/O that will only complicate my setup. Very few people make interfaces that are as simple as just offering jacks for audio in and audio out plus an interfacing cable to the computer. The few that do offer that minimal functionality are usually the most expensive, if that makes any sense.

The only option I’ve found so far that meets my needs is the Echo AudioFire 12. It is a simple firewire interface with 12 inputs, 12 outputs, Midi I/O and digital sync via word clock. The face of the unit features a power button and metering for the Audio I/O. This unit looks great and gets good reviews both generally and in concert with Protools. Add to the mix that the unit is $600 here in the US and it’s likely the interface I will choose. The only demerit it earns, if you can call it that, is that it’s not easy to end up with the 32 inputs and outputs that would ideally compliment my M3700’s 32 channels. I at first considered buying three units and just not using the final 4 ins and outs on one unit but I have since decided that buying two units and wiring only the first 24 channels of my console will be ideal.

Many of the more famous mix engineers actually take the massive sessions they receive, that often have well more than 100 tracks, and whittle them down to between 16 and 40 tracks for mixing on their SSL or Neve desks. I’m not likely to ever work on a session that has anywhere near that number of tracks so I don’t expect I’d have any trouble getting things down to 24 tracks and, as is often the case in art, putting up logical limitations often enhances the final product. I can still use Protools to manage and play back a nearly limitless number of tracks but likewise, I can use it to sub-mix logical groups into one or two faders on the console. I don’t need to lay my hands on 30 tracks of backing vocals, I can process and sub-mix the backing vocals down to a stereo pair and then have just two faders on the console. Even if I need to do a lot of work on those backing vocals, I can use us the Protools automation system to make that happen and still get the benefits of working on a console.

Working with only 24 channels of digital I/O on the board also opens up the final 8 channels for other uses. During mix down I can always be sure to have channels available to use for reverb and delay returns with EQs inline. I can use a couple of those channels for monitoring the playback from the 2 track recorder or to have a couple of keyboards or sound modules wired up for easy access. Perhaps more importantly, it means that even if channel on the console fails I don’t have to stop everything and get it fixed. I can just move that audio to another free spare channel. Not a bad thing to have on a 20+ year old console.

I’ll keep an eye on the market as I wait for the right time to buy the interfaces but so far, I think the Echo AudioFire 12 represent a very solid option for people looking for a simple, not too expensive audio interface.

Robert

Find the Right Reverb…

Rack Gear, Reverb, Studio Design, Studio Workflow, Tascam M3700

One of the things I love in big studios is the amazing reverb units they have. When you get into the big leagues they are all running high end units like Lexicon’s 480s and 960s, or more recently, the units coming out of Bricasti. Without question these units are chosen for their sound quality; The sounds they produce are amazing. That level of sound quality comes at a price though. Back when Lexicon was selling it’s 960L reverb unit you could expect to pay around $20k for the privilege of owning one. TC Electronics makes a unit called ‘System 6000’ which was informally called ‘The Poor Man’s 960’ but it’s selling price was, and still is, $14k! I can’t imagine spending that kind of money on my whole studio build out though, so I have to look a little farther down market for a reverb to fit my needs.

In addition to ultimate sound quality, the ultra high-end reverbs tend to share another feature that is very rare in the lower end reverbs: They can all be run via a remote. The flagship reverbs from Lexicon and TC Electronics are run exclusively via remote and Bricasti makes two version of their reverb, one with front panel controls and one with out.

The granularity of the settings offered in these high end units makes a dedicated remote a must. So many parameters can be changed and edited that doing so via a small screen on a unit mounted in a gear rack would make it nearly impossible, not to mention uncomfortable, to get the setting you want perfect. Who wants to spend 10 or 15 minutes hunched over or on their knees trying to tweak a setting or audition sounds? The greater issue to my mind though is that you find yourself making important mix decisions well away from you usual mix position. You’re listening for subtle changes in the sounds coming from you speakers, while across the room and with your back turned. Surely a better solution must be out there.

Finding a reverb unit that could be used via a remote while also being affordable has proved to be a difficult task. Obviously, one option is to use a reverb plugin within your computer. You could then use the reverb and tweak settings via your mouse and keyboard. This will be a great options for many people and many of the reverb plugins sound wonderful. For me though, while I will use some computer based reverbs, having a couple reverb units in the rack is really the best way to accomplish certain tasks. With the Tascam M3700 and tape machines I have it’s quite possible that I will have a mix to do without the need for a computer and even if I do use the computer for a project the easiest and least complicated way to add reverb to a singer’s headphone mix is to use an outboard unit. Considering I’ll be building my studio around the Tascam M3700, having at least a few rack mounted reverbs is a must.

The search then for a unit that I could both afford and use via a remote was on! I started my search by looking up the names of the classic high end units from the late 70s and 80s that I’ve always lusted after on places like Ebay.com. Before Lexicon made the 480L, they made the 300L and their very first truly flagship unit, the 224. Even the 224 though, a unit released in 1978 is selling for upwards of $2000, which is more than I am willing to spend, especially on computer based gear in excess of 30 years old. Klark-Teknik’s DN-780, which was released around the same time, is down to ~$1200 but again, it’s too old for me to be investing in it.

In today’s market, if you’re looking for a solid unit built in the current century with a great reputation, the only option I see is Kurzweil’s KSP-8. Couple it with the RSP-8 remote and you’re good to go. It was discontinued a few years back but pops up on Ebay from time to time and sells for something around $1500. It’s new enough to be worth the investment but for me, still too much money. I’ll own one someday, but today isn’t that day.

Right now,  I need a unit around $100, which is an unbelievably small amount of money for this kind of gear. I thought I was going to have to just bite the bullet and get something without a remote, at least for now, but instead I stumbled across a piece of gear that will suit me perfectly.

Lexicon, in the early 1990s released a line of gear to bridge the gap between the entry level reverbs and the high end gear with the prefix of ‘LXP’. They released three units, the LXP-1, basically a reverb, the LXP-5, basically a delay, and the LXP-15, which featured good algorithms for both reverbs and delays. The LXP-1 and LXP-5 are 1/2 rack units that could be setup side by side and the LXP-15 is a 1U item. What makes them interesting though is the another piece of gear called the Lexicon MRC. This unit, which is essentially a MIDI remote controller, has MIDI inputs and is programed to interface with the reverbs. Initially it was able to send commands to the LXP-1, LXP-5 and PCM-70 but with a firmware upgrade they added two way communication to the LXP-15.

Basically, you can setup the MRC to control up to 16 LXP-1, LXP-5 or PCM-70 reverb units with one way communication, from the MRC to the reverb. This would allow you to make changes and tweak settings from the remote but if you then changed a setting directly on the reverb unit the remote would be out of sync. With the firmware upgrade they removed the ability to interface with the PCM-70, left the one way communication with the LXP-1 and LXP-5 and added two way communication for the LXP-15. Since the MRC has only two sets of MIDI ports though you are able to control only 2 LXP-15s.

Since the LXP-15 was released at a time really predating the pervasive internet we are used to now, it’s pretty tough to find solid reviews of the unit. A few reviews are out there for the LXP-15 II but that unit is not compatible  with the MRC. A few anecdotal reviews can be found on some audio forums though and tend to be favorable. Favorable enough for me to start looking around for some bargains at least.

A quick search on Ebay will turn up dozens of the LXP-15 units as well as the MRC controllers. I was able to pickup an MRC for less than $25 shipped and I’ve bought one LXP-15 so far for less then $70 shipped. Assuming it sounds good and interfaces well with the MRC, I’ll add a second unit when another good deal comes around. Most of the LXP-15s I’ve seen on Ebay have an ending price of closer to $150 but for the patient they can be had for less.

I’ll post about the sound and interfacing when I’m able to get things working.

Studio on the Move!

Gear Restoration, Studio Construction, Studio Design, Tascam M3500

Wolf Den Recording is on hiatus at the moment as I’ve moved into my first house and not all of my gear has followed quite yet. It does put me into a unique position though where I get to redesign the studio, building on what I learned the first time around.

When I started trying to figure out what I liked and what I didn’t about my ‘old’ studio one idea kept bubbling to the surface: I want to do a better job integrating the digital side with the analog side.

The old location was basically an efficient setup to get audio recorded digitally. When I was setting up the control room I did a lot of research into how other similarly sized studios were setup and followed that general template. The configuration works quite well and I was never at a loss making something happen but it’s just not the way I like to work.

With the new space I’m going to focus on building a studio that suits the way I think and work. I’m going to take a big facility approach on a small facility budget.

When you work in a large facility they are often focused around a large mixing console that becomes the heart of the system. I don’t have the millions of dollars needed to afford a really large board but after doing some research I’ve turned up some consoles that work in the same way, at a price point more in line with the final plan of the studio.

I found a guy in New York that was selling a Tascam M-3500 in a 32 channel configuration. Beautiful console that, in very basic terms, functions the same way as the really large format recording consoles from companies like SSL and Neve. Each of the 32 channels is actually two separate channels, one for the Microphone/instrument and a second channel for the signal coming back form the recorder. This allows me huge flexibility both during tracks and  when it comes time to mix the song. At mix down, because of the boards configuration, I have access to 64 channels of audio plus 4 effects returns. The flexibility of the board is truly amazing.

With the console on hand I can now figure out the final design of the studio and where the console will fit in. The goal now will be to build a setup that allows me to work purely in digital, purely in analog, or a hybrid of both. Thanks to this new board, that should be a breeze.

The board is about 20 years old though and it needs a little TLC before it’s 100% again. I’ve been pouring over every light, switch, knob and fader and will have this board looking and sounding as good as new well before the construction on the studio is complete.

I’ll be using this space to update on the progress the studio is making as well as any side projects I take on, like restoring this wonderful console back to tip top shape. Stay tuned!

Robert