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Post by mikec on Dec 7, 2016 14:50:22 GMT -6
This is the wrong crowd to go to if you want to be talked out of buying gear. In the last month I've gotten a Smart C1LA, two Avedis e27s, a Symphony MKII, and an UAD Satellite Octo. As far as my wife knows, I've sold enough other stuff to cover it.......as far as she knows.
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Post by mikec on Dec 5, 2016 12:52:04 GMT -6
I could see how latency could become a problem when using a lot of virtual instruments. I mostly record Indie or singer/songwriter stuff or my own originals so the only virtual instrument I use is EZ or Superior Drummer. I also track through some pretty high end analog gear so the only plugin I use during tracking is a reverb for the vocalist if they prefer it. I don't usually add any plugins until the mixing phase. I used the UAD plate reverb yesterday and it barely even registered on the usage meter in Studio One. I guess that is because the UAD satellite was doing all the work, or maybe not, I really don't know how all dsp stuff works but I am happy as long as it works and makes great sounds.
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Post by mikec on Dec 4, 2016 8:21:46 GMT -6
I got my early Christmas present yesterday by getting a new Apogee Symphony MKII thunderbolt 16x16. I didn't need it since I just got the Apollo 16 BF from Sweetwater back in March, but since when does true need really have anything to do with it. I guess someone will just end up getting a deal on a like new Apollo 16 BF. I'm not leaving the UAD family though, since I have an Apollo 8P that I will still be using for live and mobile applications.
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Post by mikec on Dec 4, 2016 8:15:05 GMT -6
Not to add fuel to your fire, but I just purchased an early Christmas present to myself by getting a new Apogee Symphony MKII 16x16 thunderbolt. It was an easy setup just swapping in place of my Apollo 16 BF so it is connected exactly the same, summing through a 2 Bus+ and monitoring through a D-Box. So far I really like the functionality of this setup but have only had most of the day yesterday to start using it. I am not going to get into comparisons between the Symphony and Apollo because they are both great and if you can't make a great recording with either it is not the interface's fault. I will just say that I have no buyers remorse at all and I am very happy. I also have a UAD Octo Satellite and it all works great together. Still keeping my Apollo 8P because I use it for my live acoustic gig setup. The 8P with a MacBook pro is a great live setup and being able to use the UAD plugins live is really cool. I am a huge fan of the Apollo and UAD stuff and didn't need the Symphony, but as my friend that runs my favorite guitar shop says, "need and want are two different things and sometimes want overrides need."
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Post by mikec on Nov 30, 2016 16:51:52 GMT -6
I got a personal call direct from Eric the Sales Director at Chameleon Labs yesterday. Had a great conversation and they are taking care of me. This was my first dealing with them, but so far they've been great as well as Front End Audio.
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Post by mikec on Nov 26, 2016 14:47:16 GMT -6
I tried contacting them last week because the new 880 Rack lunch box I purchased is already experiencing a fault with the -16V LED. No response yet. Luckily Front End Audio where I made the purchase responded to me immediately and is working on getting it taken care of.
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Post by mikec on Nov 23, 2016 12:18:11 GMT -6
It hurt to spend rediculous money for latch lake, but a while back I purchased a 2200 & 1100. They are incredible and will outlive me. Now I no longer think about mic stands. No buyers remorse and I no longer worry about leaving an expensive mic set up.
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Post by mikec on Nov 23, 2016 10:45:41 GMT -6
Has anyone pulled the trigger on the UAD 55 Fender Tweed plugin? I see they are offering the Galaxy Tap Echo for free if you purchase the 55 Tweed during the black friday sale.
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Post by mikec on Nov 23, 2016 10:34:14 GMT -6
I thought the features of the new Chameleon Labs 880 rack, 8 space lunchbox looked good, 8 spaces, rack ears and 4 blank panels included, on/off switch on the front, and 3 amps of power. Unfortunately after just a couple of weeks it is showing a LED fault with the -16V power. I guess now I see how good their tech support is. Maybe I should have stuck with a good standard like API. Anyone have any suggestions in case this one ends up not working out?
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Wiz!
Nov 23, 2016 7:31:47 GMT -6
Post by mikec on Nov 23, 2016 7:31:47 GMT -6
Happy Birthday Wiz.
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2016 11:48:58 GMT -6
With Pro Tools I can have 22 tracks displayed at a time on the screen.
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2016 9:44:37 GMT -6
The touch screen was pretty easy to get used to. The fine fader mode makes it real easy to get precise fader adjustments, the macros speed up workflow. It also has a pretty good iPad app that really helps if you are recording yourself. Its not like real faders that you can just grab, but it works well and they are pretty easy to get used to.
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2016 8:54:58 GMT -6
I use one of the original MTi Ravens. I use it with Pro Tools and Studio One, but it also works fine without having the Slate macros if you just want to us it as a large iPad. For example, I mess around with Harrison Mixbus 32C and I an control everything right from the screen. For me it offers really good workflow and works really well. I've thought about getting the Avid S3 to have real faders but not sure I want to give up all the other features I get with the Raven.
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2016 7:31:18 GMT -6
Wow. Hilarious and a lot of truth.
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2016 7:14:50 GMT -6
Just got a pair of consecutive serial numbered Avedis e27 EQs. Really nice top end without being harsh. These things are really built great. Can't believe how heavy these little things are.
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Post by mikec on Nov 5, 2016 8:20:19 GMT -6
I was able to use a 15% off discount code on Front End Audio so I couldn't help myself and just received this Smart C1 LA that I will be running in the insert in my 2Bus Plus.
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Post by mikec on Oct 29, 2016 9:29:34 GMT -6
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Post by mikec on Oct 29, 2016 7:54:44 GMT -6
Looking forward to getting this all hooked up today, Switchcraft 9625. Maybe it will keep me from bumping my head underneath my recording desk every time I want to route something differently.
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Post by mikec on Oct 25, 2016 10:27:37 GMT -6
I picked up a pretty sweet Collings Statesman hollow body last weekend. TV Jones pickups and a Bigsby.
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Post by mikec on Jul 23, 2016 9:18:00 GMT -6
Every time I think I want to retire early I tell myself, just a couple more years so I can stock up on more gear.
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Post by mikec on Jul 23, 2016 6:52:21 GMT -6
The start of this thread is exactly where I was a few months ago. I sold my Metric Halo ULN 8 and dipped my toe in the UAD waters with an Apollo 8P and a Dangerous D-Box. I loved the workflow and didn't see any degradation in quality when compared to the metric halo. Then based on the positive results with the 8P and D-Box I decided to upgrade to the Apollo BF 16 and since I was doing that I went a head and got the 2Buss+ thinking I would sell the 8P. Now a few months later I've rationalized not selling the 8P and have the ability to sum 24 tracks through the 2Buss+ and D-Box. I usually run my main tracks through the 2Buss+ and if I need more summing then I run my effects buses through the D-Box. It really works well and I've enjoyed the work flow. Now if my full time job would just stop getting in the way I would be set.
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Post by mikec on Jul 8, 2016 6:37:38 GMT -6
I've got the 2bus+ and D box summing 24 tracks from an Apollo 16 and Apollo 8p and I am finally in a place where I don't feel I am missing out on anything. The other night I was working on a mix and thought it sounded a little harsh. Then realized I was monitoring direct from the daw and not through the 2 Bus+ and D box. Once I hit the analog button on the D box it was a significant difference. I am a big believer in the sound provided by these boxes. Can you help me understand a bit? Do you print your mixes to tape or to DAW? Are you on a console ? Isn't the analog path in the d box different from the "sum" path and daw ? How does listening to the analog path help the mix? If Listening via analog feed, summing via 2bus+ & d box back to DAW, wouldn't you want to monitor the DAW to know/ hear your mixprint using the fabulous dangerous d/a converter? From my knowledge, The analog button is your analog feed from the Apollo Mon L/R into the d box analog inputs, which lets you monitor Conosle in real time for tracking / overdubs late in mix stage! I never really wrapped my head around the 2bus + with D box summing setup, however from the Apollo + d box vids I'm pretty sure monitoring the Daw would be the best via D box due to the great d/a converter! Do you always sum your mixes? What does the summing do for your sound? Have you been able to pick your summed mixes vs non summed mixes reliably and if so what parts of the music let you key in on how the summing helped? For me, summing would be a very expensive investment, and I would want to reliably know my summed mixes are better. I know some don't believe it worth it, however I am here to learn and am open minded regarding summing. I have been wondering how good the d box da is compared to SF Apollo, or how much improvement would be yielded by upgrading my DA vs my Apollo DA... The way I have my system set up with the 2 Bus+ linked to the D-Box, when I have the analog button on the D-Box engaged I am hearing the summed mix with all of the goodness of the Harmonics, Paralimit, and x-former. It also lets me easily patch in my Rs124s via the ext insert button on the 2 Bus+. The digital out from the blackface Apollo 16 is connected to the daw input on the D-Box so I can also monitor the direct daw output through the D-Box. When I am ready to print the mix, I print the summed output back to a stereo track in the Daw. I can't really say I can hear much of a difference when monitoring from the blackface apollo 16 vs the D-Box. I hear a significant difference when monitoring the mix that has been summed through the 2Bus+ via the D-Box. I think where your confusion above may be is that because I have the D-Box linked to the 2Bus+, I don't use the summing button on the D Box for my summed mix, in my set up it is the analog button that engages the summed mix.
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Post by mikec on Jul 5, 2016 21:19:27 GMT -6
I've got the 2bus+ and D box summing 24 tracks from an Apollo 16 and Apollo 8p and I am finally in a place where I don't feel I am missing out on anything. The other night I was working on a mix and thought it sounded a little harsh. Then realized I was monitoring direct from the daw and not through the 2 Bus+ and D box. Once I hit the analog button on the D box it was a significant difference. I am a big believer in the sound provided by these boxes.
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Post by mikec on Jul 4, 2016 13:51:53 GMT -6
I picked up a new Fender Elite P Bass on Saturday with the 15% off coupon at guitar center. They had just gotten it in and it was set up great right out of the box. The best Fender bass I've played.
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Post by mikec on Jul 4, 2016 8:31:34 GMT -6
Really happy with my Chandler Redd 47 and Rs124 combo for vocals.
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