help setting it all up

[norsk_blod]

ok, me and my freind have a radio show that we do at the local college, the other day we found out that they have a small studio on the back of the station. we asked around and got permission to use it. the only catch is its pretty much completly taken apart and some of the mics and headphones were stolen.
we can use it for free but we have to set it back up, because the college doesnt want to do it untill the end of the year or so. all the moniters were still hooked up and we managed to get the mics to work from the playing room to the mixing room (not sure what you call them...) can anyone give me some advice on how to hook it all up? theres much in there as far as equipment goest but were pretty much lost heh. this is what i remember being in there
few rackriders (no explanation needed here heh)
dbx eq'
behringer FX's unit (virtual pro?)
compressor
mic preamp
another unit (sorry dont remember the name, there was one plug going into it from the computer)
the computer
a 9 outlet 'line in' xlr plug box that went from the playing room through the wall to the mixing room
soundcraft m12 mixer
bunch of chords heh

there was a rack of midi stuff which seemed to be all plugged in and another rack for the moniters and stuff which is also all plugged together

any help?

[brandondrury]

dude, we can surely help.

What are you recording to? In other words, are you going to be recording to the computer?

If you are recording to the computer, hopefully you'll find a soundcard for it somewhere. Hopefully there will be a cable coming out of the back of the computer and going to some rackmount box. However, it's possible that it's using the computer's internal soundcard which is not the best option and is limited to 1 stereo or 2 mono tracks.

Brandon

[norsk_blod]

yea its on a computer, it has pro tools on it
there was one unit that was plugged into the back of the computer

we were thinking we had to plug the mixer into this with the s/pdif cord?

[brandondrury]

If it has Pro Tools, then you must have at least an Mbox for it to even open. So that covers that. I'm not overly familiar with Pro Tools systems as I've only toyed with them a few times and never done anything serious.

The S/PDIF cables look just like RCA cables on the back of you DVD player.

I'm going to need more details, but the idea is pretty straightforward.

Mics > Preamps / Mixer > Processing (EQ/ Compression) > Soundcard > Computer

Let me know what details you need filled in.

Brandon

[stuka]

it has a digi 002. what ive done is put the line in XLR chord into the input of the compressor and run the compressor into the input of the digi 002. ive also got a 1/4" cable going from the output of the compressor to the "Line" port on the mixer. ive done some tests and it works but i cant help feeling im missing something. the mixing board affects the incoming signals but i dont think it affects it when im recording. any tips would be great.


(the way ive set it up)
line in -> compressor ->digi 002
\
\/
"Line" on the mixer


when i think about it, the compressor should be going to the mixer and then the mixer to the digi 002. im not exactly sure how to do this though. please help!

thanks in advance

[richiebee]

How many channels will you run?

The digi002 has four mic pre's. If you're only using 4 channels, you don't need the mixer or the mic pre... mics > digi002 > computer

If you need more, you could add the mic pre or the Soundcraft to give you a total of 8 inputs (I think the digi002 has 8 inputs).

Forget the SPDIF - its only two channel
Forget the compressor unless you really can't keep your input under control
Forget the multieffects unit - use ProTools.

[brandondrury]

It's generally accepted that you'll want to run the mic into a preamp first and then to a compressor. I must admit that I've recorded and mixed close to 700 songs and I've never used a compressor going in. (Not that's a bad idea, I just never had my system to handle it).

I'd recommend leaving the compressor out for now because it can do more harm than good. You should be able to get a good level without it.

It sounds like you are using the Soundcraft for monitoring only. You should be able to set Pro Tools for Low Latency mode and monitor off of that. That's what I would do assuming I wasn't using the compressor.

Brandon

[stuka]

Originally Posted by richiebee

How many channels will you run?

i think we're gonna record one at a time but probably around 4-5 total. so should we skip all the rack gear?

[richiebee]

Originally Posted by stuka

i think we're gonna record one at a time but probably around 4-5 total.? so should we skip all the rack gear?

Definitely. ProTools has some nice built in effects (even though they are only just getting round to adding a decent GUI to them!). As I kind of said, and Brandon definitely said, you don't need the compressor in the chain. If necessary, record on the really low side and use a software compressor. The Digi should be quiet enough to give you a good sound without needing to max the input signal. Of course, the mics will make a difference... compressors are a necessary evil, but they like to kill a good take if used on input.

[brandondrury]

Yeah, I tend to prefer messing up tunes with compression during mixdown as opposed to during tracking. Of course, I can always undo compression done at mixing. You are stuck during tracking.

Brandon