Help With rig, Motu/presouns?!?

[newsflashmusic]

I didn't get help in other forums so maybe this forum is more appropriate.
My friends and I are 15/16 years old and we have a lto of euipment and money to spend... so thats good.

I play guitar for a band and we wanted to set up a studio to record in(more like wanted to improve on our current Tascam Dp-01 fx). I have been scouring the internet recently trying to find the ideal solution for us.

Our Band= Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards
(myspace.com/newsflashmusic)---

Current Set up:
-Everything into a six channel yamaha mixer, its pretty nice sounding, into stereo outs into Tascam dp-01fx 8 channel and then we do overdubs for more guitar and keyboards and vocals.
We have 6 Sennheiser e385 mics currently, two Entry level M-Audio monitors and we will most likely be going into a Macbook 2.4 ghz with 4 gigs of ram 160 gb HDD and logic express 8. We can also fish two channels of audio out of the tascam via ADAT out. We were also planning on buying some new drum mics(beta 52a and two drum overheads).

So,
OPTION 1(mobile rig around $1200): http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--MTU8PRE
-MOTU 8pre into macbook.
-Miked guitar amp/Direct Bass(into preamp not DI box)/Drums(snare,bass,overheads(2))/Ster. Keyboards(roland xv-88)...Would it be bad to put this synth into preamps???.... Addt'l we could mic the toms(2) and put those into the tascam then into the 8pre via adat.
-Main outs into headphone amp or monitors
-Or use softsynths exclusively using MIDI.

Either way we fill the interface up completely and to expand at all we would need to purchase additional equipment or be overly resourceful which would likely lower the mix quality and combine channels(we want individual channels to be able to edit and master)

-We can expand this rig easily however though and that is a plus.
-It is relatively inexpensive
-It is compatible with mac supposedly

OPTION 2:(Mobile Rig around $1350): http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--PRSFSTUBE
-Presouns Firestudio Tube into MacBook.
-Same as above only we have inserts so that we wouldn't be putting our syths and keyboards through unneeded preamps. We also have more outputs and inputs with tube micpres onboard.
-We can hook up more gear and run everything in a live setting as opposed to having to do overdubs possibly and we have room for growth.

Both options worry me however, 8pre is lacking in terms of i/o but the FireTube seems to have mac compatability issues and has no ADAT which although may not be neccesary could be useful.

Also, could Something such as a 828mk3 be useful to us. I don't like the lack of preamps and am wondering what the appeal of such a device is.

Any Suggestions??

Thanks
-Michael/Newsflash[b][b][/b][/b]

[EnlightenedHand]

Trust me. Don't bother with the Firestudio Tube. Just get a regular Firestudio, if you want it. The mixes in my signature were done with one and I found that it worked out quite well. The "tube" version is just a gimmick focused especially on suckering the clueless, that doesn't have the flexibility of the ins and outs that you're going to want, and you don't need cheap tube gear. Good tube gear usually costs more than that.

That being said. Between the Presonus and Motu gear there's no loss in quality either way to me. I think that you could get the job done with either. I think that the 8-pre isn't the most flexible piece with it's ins and outs but it's fine and you can make it work. The Firestudio,(regular one), is very flexible for expansion,(ADAT and spdif too), and it can be easily paired with a Digimax FS to get plenty of ins and outs for about $1300. You can push it further by adding the MSR remote for monitor control. If you really wanted to go all the way with spending more money then you could then add an HP60 so that each performer could have their own independent headphone cue mix. But that's definitely overkill in your situation I think. A simple Firestudio and MSR would work out well. Or you could go MOTU. There's nothing wrong either way. You just have to decide how much you're going to value expansion and connectivity later on.

Liz

[newsflashmusic]

Thanks. I just liked the massive i/o of the tube. But ADAT is definitely a plus.
I was also looking into maybe getting someting like an 828 mk2 or ultra lite(used maybe) and chaining them together. I need the line inserts.

[EnlightenedHand]

Like I said all of the MOTU gear is good. Just decide what and how you want to connect things up and let that be the way to go. Just don't get suckered by cheap tube gear ever,(I'm referring to the Firestudio Tube). It's just not worth it to sacrifice the connectivity and expansion for something that's not going to be the answer. The regular Firestudio 26/26 is the most professionally designed of the Firestudio line. It's also the most useful and connective.

Liz

[newsflashmusic]

Okay, i still don't get the idea of S/PDIF. What do i connect to what and why is it good?

[EnlightenedHand]

Spdif is a digital connection. It's just another way to connect digital devices together. It stands for Sony Phillips Digital Inter Face.

Check out Tweak's Guide. Read the whole thing. But here's the section on cables that goes into digital connections a bit.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/all_about_cables.htm

And here's an article on spdif.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spdif

Liz

[newsflashmusic]

I just don't get what you connect with it and why. Why not just use adat. With rca spdif don't you only get one signal like a trs cable?

[elijahlucian]

hey if you want a lof of inputs etc. grab yourself a couple 8pres you can use optical to stick them together.

i have the motu 896mk3 and an 8pre and it works flawlessly so far. and im not even on my clean os.
i connected the 8pre thru optical at 44.1

and i can also get another 8pre and connect it... and then i could buy this same rig 2 more times and daisy chain them.. thats like 72 channels. lol i never will but.

the motu 896mk3 has 8 outputs all xlr and 2 main outs that are xlr. also it has 2 headphone jacks which i find nice for my situation. (rental)

[newsflashmusic]

Would you hook up a keyboard into the instrument inputs??
We have a roland XV-88

[guitarguy12387]

Would you hook up a keyboard into the instrument inputs??

Yessir. Any 1/4" input'll work.

[newsflashmusic]

And it will sound not bad????

[guitarguy12387]

shouldn't. Why would it? I assume it has a 1/4" output, right?

[newsflashmusic]

yeah... but it is line level and doesn't need the additional preamp. And if i keep the gain Really low then it will be quiet.