My Producer Approach

[Andrew.Glose]

So, I think I've got it mapped out. This is what I'm looking at investing in to be a producer (in the near future).

-Sony Vaio AR Laptop (3 GB RAM, Vista, 300 GB Partitioned Hard Drive, 2.1 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor)

-Ableton Live 7 Suite

-PreSonus FireStudio Audio Interface

-Good Mic (AKG 414, etc, Undecided)

-Good Digital Studio Monitors (Undecided)

And in the future, a good pre-amp, such as an Avalon, etc.


What do you think? Suggestions?



Andrew

[fretlessrock]

There's nothing wrong with that kind of rig. The choice of interface, monitors, DAW software, outboard gear, plugins... it is a wide open arena. You will certainly get opinions that something is "better" than something else, but you can make excellent recordings with the setup you describe. I can't stress enough that if you learn to get the most out of whatever gear you have you are better off than having a lot of tools and not being sure how they all work together. Don't let the gear get in the way.

A few things I have figured out from running a laptop rig:

Have a good mic, and also have a few normal/cheap mics. A few SM57/58's, a few inexpensive condensers, and a low-fi mic like a crystal/harmonica mic are good to have.

Get a decent pair of monitors, but also have a set of good headphones that have good isolation. you may be recording in the same room with live sources, or need to examine a mix without the room interaction, and cans help. Sony MDR7506, or AKG240's are what I like.

Think about a secondary interface (mine is a NI AK1) for light duty work, driving monitors, tracing one source at a time, travel, sampling... There are times when a 19" rack and power supply will be a drag/impractical/impossible.

[Andrew.Glose]

Thanks, mate.

I've noted all your suggestions.

[hunta]

Sony is kind of overpriced, but it looks like the AR models have TI firewire at least so it should work alright. You might want to check out ADK as another option, you can still get XP on them too if you like. I have the 1Q SR and it works awesome.

You should include an external firewire hard drive in your list too. Or even better, eSATA. Something around 500G's is nice. A 2nd display is really helpful too, but not necessary. Check out external control surfaces like the BCF2000 too (yea it's behringer but no audio passes through it so it won't poopoo on your quality). A nice MIDI keyboard/drumpad is awesome too, check out the MPD24, padkontrol, and MPK49 for an idea of whats out there.

[bkbirge]

Doesn't matter what equipment you get, other than get what you need to get the job done in the way you want to work. If you want to be a producer you go out and produce records. Gear is so secondary to that.

[hunta]

Originally Posted by bkbirge

Doesn't matter what equipment you get, other than get what you need to get the job done in the way you want to work. If you want to be a producer you go out and produce records. Gear is so secondary to that.

Yea, everyone knows that all gear is the same and has no impact on your work...

[bkbirge]

Originally Posted by hunta

Yea, everyone knows that all gear is the same and has no impact on your work...

Not what I said. I said it is secondary. The production work I've done has very little to do with gear. I have my favorite pieces of gear that I use to get the job done but what I use may be useless to you and vice versa.

[Andrew.Glose]

I agree about the gear being secondary. But, it's essential.

I already have the Sony laptop. I got it for a steal.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've realized that I need an external HD and am looking into building one for a decent price.

[slyderhodge]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've realized that I need an external HD and am looking into building one for a decent price.

From experience in the studio and in my other profession, don't go super cheap with the HD. I'd recommend go w/ a SeaGate Bariccuda they're cheap easy to find and that's what Glyph uses in almost everyone of their Firewire drives. There's a reason over the past 2 years I've installed a lot of HDs in the security video recorders and these are the are the only one's that I've never had a failure on. Compared to about 25% of the Hitachi's and Western Digitals, there are some other brands out there that are more expensive, but not near as reliable.

[Nick Kay]

Budget for a MIDI controller if you don't already have one. It doesn't have to be a huge 88-key monster, just something usable to lay down synth lines. You'd be surprised how much your soundscapes can open up with some soft synths.

[Andrew.Glose]

Oh yes. I dig synth lines. I'm looking forward to the 'Analog' software that comes with the Ableton Live Suite.

[kalle74]

Originally Posted by bkbirge

Doesn't matter what equipment you get, other than get what you need to get the job done in the way you want to work. If you want to be a producer you go out and produce records. Gear is so secondary to that.

+10000000

Producing has very little to do with equipment. It´s more about knowing the ins and outs of the biz, being well-rounded in music and having great ears.

Engineering, on the other hand, is more about equipment and capturing the sound the producer/artist wants to hear.

[kevinmoore73]

Originally Posted by Andrew.Glose

300 GB Partitioned Hard Drive

Partitioning your hard drive will buy you nothing.

[Andrew.Glose]

My laptop came that way. No big deal.

[funkometer]

Who cares bout the rig, its all in who ya know.

[Andrew.Glose]

I care about the 'rig.'

I want to make fantastic records for people. You can't do that with an incompetent DAW.

I also wanted get some feedback about this type of setup that I'm looking into. Someone who may have insight as to provide me with constructive criticism. I've included the system specs for feedback reasons. Who knows, maybe having a partitioned HD will have a definite upside. I don't know these things.

I'm well aware of the people aspect of producing.

Andrew

[fretlessrock]

All of the modern DAW choices are "competent". None of them will eliminate the learning curve required to get top shelf results. Good point made: are you talking about production or engineering? HUGE difference. If you want to do both then plan on needing a lot more than a laptop and a presonus box.

After doing a lot of this for the past 30 years, dealing with everything from 4-track cassette, 24-track 2", and big pro tools systems, as well as my laptop rig, each one requires a lot of experimentation and practice to make it do want you want it to do.

You want to make fantastic records for people? Great. Take that wasted effort worrying about partitioning a hard drive and find an intern position at a studio that records the type of music that you want to make. Or, find a band that you want to work with and wants a producer and get busy. Plan on being available for every rehearsal and gig, getting there early for your setup and staying late, and putting in as much time away from the band cranking out demos. Think "boot camp" only louder.

[hunta]

Originally Posted by slyderhodge

Thanks for the suggestions. I've realized that I need an external HD and am looking into building one for a decent price.

From experience in the studio and in my other profession, don't go super cheap with the HD. I'd recommend go w/ a SeaGate Bariccuda they're cheap easy to find and that's what Glyph uses in almost everyone of their Firewire drives. There's a reason over the past 2 years I've installed a lot of HDs in the security video recorders and these are the are the only one's that I've never had a failure on. Compared to about 25% of the Hitachi's and Western Digitals, there are some other brands out there that are more expensive, but not near as reliable.

I actually like my WD hard drives quite a bit. YMMV of course, but I've had a lot more failures of seagate drives than I have of WD's. The only WD's I've seen fail are ones that have been abused or that are in machines with massive amounts of dust buildup. I would probably say seagate would be my 2nd choice most of the time though. For many others it would be their 1st.

[hunta]

Originally Posted by kalle74

+10000000

Producing has very little to do with equipment. It´s more about knowing the ins and outs of the biz, being well-rounded in music and having great ears.

Engineering, on the other hand, is more about equipment and capturing the sound the producer/artist wants to hear.

News break: Due to the modern music business and general state of the economy, most "producers" are also the "engineer" and the "mastering engineer" and in many cases are also the "artist".

Even if you're one of the lucky ones who only has to do one job, the more you know about everything involved, the better. If you're a producer and you don't know anything about what good equipment is and how to use it, chances are you're a producer who isn't going to make it anywhere.

[kalle74]

Originally Posted by hunta

News break: Due to the modern music business and general state of the economy, most "producers" are also the "engineer" and the "mastering engineer" and in many cases are also the "artist".

Even if you're one of the lucky ones who only has to do one job, the more you know about everything involved, the better. If you're a producer and you don't know anything about what good equipment is and how to use it, chances are you're a producer who isn't going to make it anywhere.

I´m quite well aware of that, being a engineer/producer myself. but, I like to make the distinction between the two professions, as they require quite different mindsets... I´d say the case you displayed exists mostly in low-to-mid -money sessions. top-dollar sessions still have engineers and producers "separated" (and that´s good, because it´s really hard concentrating on a take when you´re constantly eyeballing the needles...).

as stated above, it´s good to know "the other side of the coin" as well. makes explaining things a lot easier...

now, (let´s say) missy elliot has done pretty well as a producer, but I don´t think she does her own engineering, nor is she required to. she´s there for her ideas and input...