My Studio Hardware

AKA Rack additions, $100 at a time

I've been building my little studio for long enough now that I figure that I'd post my thoughts on what I've come across.

Alesis MultiMix 12 FireWire 12-Channel Analog Mixer:




[Click to Enlarge]
My setup is based around this mixer when it's time to record. Lots of control over the inputs and outputs makes it great for controlling various keyboards, turn tables, effects, etc. in a live setting as well.

Pros:

• Firewire over USB allows track by track recording in a digital audio workstation (DAW), rather than USB which only sends a stereo mix of all inputs
• 100 28-bit onboard effects are pretty decent - easy control over how wet/dry the effect will be for each individual channel
• A little EQ and panning is standard. Not bad.
• Onboard XLR / gain / phantom power - neat
  
• Lots of output options / multi-out combinations
• Easy effects loop (out/return) option available
  

Cons:

• Onboard effects are only applied to analog outputs - The digital mix going to the DAW via Firewire is dry. I've been meaning to try looping a wet stereo output through two channels, and recording just those two tracks via DAW, but that has its own problems. IT could work, but it's too much effort
  
• Alesis has mostly shitty software support (along with M-Audio). A lot of reviews were complaining about their computers not recognizing it. It can be tricky, but just make sure to install all software before plugging it into a computer
• Only four channels of XLR/gain: The expensive solution is to upgrade to the MultiMix 16 (for twice the price), or add a preamp to your rack. I chose the latter (below)

All in all, this is a great starter to mid-range mixer. It was cheap, and built pretty well. The effects knob feels a little loose, but it's hanging in well enough. It provides great quality digital audio and minimal if any latency during recording. Very powerful for the price. Unfortunately it has been discontinued. I'd recommend picking one up if you find it floating around on Craigslist or something.

Behringer Eurorack UB 1202 (outboard auxiliary mixer):

The Alesis Multimix is a great way to record multiple tracks, but I don't always need to record all the tracks I need to hear in a recording session.  When I'm laying down drums tracks with my band, I find it helpful to hear as many of the other parts as possible (guitars, bass, vocals, etc.) so I don't have to struggle to listen for different cues that I'm not used to.  The guitar amps and vocals are brought up to level and mixed on this board, then a stereo signal is sent to an open channel on the main board and blended into my headphone mix.  This is a really powerful tool for around $80, new.

Additionally it's a cheap, small, and effective mixer for a live show with four channels of gain, phantom power, plenty of outputs, and even some effects routing options.

Nady PRA-8 Preamp:




This is a pretty decent unit for around $100. I cannot complain about much noise at all - haven't noticed any additional noise from low quality microphones. It has 8 channels of gain to add to the Alesis mixer, and converts XLR inputs to 1/4" outputs - which work very well as additional inputs into the mixer. Two birds: RIP.


Behringer DSP2024P Virtualizer Pro - Rack Effects Module:




Next is the effects module. Two channels can be used in stereo on certain effects (ping-pong delay, etc.) or as two separate effects. I haven't used it to its full potential yet but it's a great addition to my rack for around $100. Very affordable, customizable, and extensible.


Behringer AMP800 4-channel Headphone Amp:




This is a nice little tool that splits left and right outputs from the mixer into four separate headphone channels; all of which have their own level and balance controls. This is very neccessary for collaborative work, or if another pair of ears wants to listen in on the mix. Again, cheap and effective.


Furman RR-15x - Power Conditioner:




Basically this is a nice rack-mounted surge protector; not much conditioning is happening. There are 8 outlets on the back and one for easy access on the front, all controlled by the single switch on the front. I was worried about lots of EM interference and buzz by having so many wires going on in the mixing cart (later post) however it's really not a problem. This may or may not be to thank. Probably not, though it absolutely keeps things tidy and simple. I run a spooled heavy duty extension cord to an outlet from the cart. One can find a cheaper surge protector for power management, but I'd say it's worth the extra few bucks to have it in the rack. It looks rad and keeps clutter and the rat king of wires to a minimum.


Behringer V-Amp 2 Guitar Multi Effects Processor:




One more $100 effects module, but I got this one cheap from a friend. Bad Aizzz. There are a bunch of shitty combinations of amps and effects, but there are also lots of really decent quality sounds. It lets you choose the amp style from (smooth blues to metal-face-murder-core), tone (Gain, Low/Mid/High EQ), and effects. THEN you can save your combinations and quickly change between them by hand, or by the inlcuded foot switch. Rad. There's a easy tap tempo button to control some of the delay effects, and a pretty decent onboard tuner mode.

Con: There is a 1/2 second-ish gap of dead space between changing effects.

That's about it for the cons. Cheap and versitile! Run this through some outboard reverb and layer it with some other instruments and it's a damn fine tool.

Also, it seems pretty solid. I'd recommend looking for this on Craigslist / eBay for cheap.


Korg mini-KP KAOSS Pad:




Finally stepping up to the mighty $150 range. Totally worth the extra cash. Again, I have not used this to its full potential. I've barely made it through one entire round of futzing with each preset with Missy Elliot on my iPod and it has me drooling.

This tiny little pad allows a user to control two effects at the same time with just the touch of a finger (or two). Tap tempo shows the actual tempo, and the dial will let you zero in on a target if need be. Rotate the dial to quickly change between 100 effects.

Stereo RCA ins/outs, and a 1/8" "headphone" jack (which has a small volume control). Again, rugged as hell, so look for it used. Invest in the 4.5V power adapter.


M-Audio Axiom 25 USB MIDI Controller:




From my recent post describing how to correctly configure this thing, this keyboard turned out to be a rad little Midi controller. Right click on any control knob/slider in Fruity Loops and select "Link to controller," then move one of the controls on the keyboard. Bam. Done. It'll now control any parameter you want. Very cool.

I could maybe use some more sliders, or maybe making half of the dials smooth (rather than all stepping/clicking dials), however there are additional midi controllers that can be connected via the Midi input.

I suggest ASIO4ALL if you are having latency problems (i.e obnoxious lag time between hitting a note on the keyboard and hearing the note). Look for upcoming post on Midi brika-brak