MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid

[Paul]

Been drooling over this one all morning:



http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/896mk3Hy?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=none&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CLGiq5XiwrYCFcODQgodAV4Aiw


But, perhaps it would be better to get preamps to work with
my Tascam US-1641....

[PStamler]

The advantage of the MOTU: It looks like you'd gain a lot of flexibility; their stuff has a lot of possible ways you can configure it, and the quality of the electronics is typically pretty decent. The advantage of the Tascam is that you already have it. Of course, if you want additional mic preamps to connect to the line inputs you'll need to buy those.

Are you doing enough multitrack live recording that you need all those inputs, or could you get along with a good 2-track interface plus keep the Tascam for multimike situations? If the latter you might look into a Lynx interface.

Peace,
Paul

[Paul]

On 4/11/2013 10:33 PM, PStamler wrote:
> The advantage of the MOTU: It looks like you'd gain a lot of flexibility; their stuff has a lot of possible ways you can configure it, and the quality of the electronics is typically pretty decent. The advantage of the Tascam is that you already have it. Of course, if you want additional mic preamps to connect to the line inputs you'll need to buy those.
>
> Are you doing enough multitrack live recording that you need all those inputs, or could you get along with a good 2-track interface plus keep the Tascam for multimike situations? If the latter you might look into a Lynx interface.
>

Yeah, I pretty much need all those inputs.

I have a Mackie 1402-VLZ Pro, but I haven't had to use it yet, but I
may have to next week, with a Tex-Mex band with backup singers.

I've heard the Mackie pre-amps are good. I'll soon find out if
they are better than the Tascam's....perhaps I won't be able to tell
the difference.

But if what preamp would you recommend, if I wanted to hear a
BIG increase in quality? The preamp matters more than the A/D
converter, right?

I have to say, the US-1641 sounds damn good already....

[PStamler]

On Friday, April 12, 2013 1:29:49 AM UTC-5, Paul wrote:

> But if what preamp would you recommend, if I wanted to hear a
>
> BIG increase in quality? The preamp matters more than the A/D
>
> converter, right?

Well, that depends, and it's a long long discussion.

As to really good mic preamps, I haen't kept up with the current market, and there are a lot of them out there. But good preamps incluse:

Great Rivers MP2 (discontinued; you'll have to go e-bay for this one)
Various George Massenburg units (Note: I haven't heard these but people whose ears I respect have given them high marks)
Universal Audio 2-610
Sytek MPX-4Aii
Various Benchmark products
Little Labs LMNOPre

Probably the Sytek is the most cost-effective. One caution: it requires that you own some inline pads, which you can make for about $10 each.

My favorite, though, is the LMNOPre. It lets you do things nothing else will, including phase correction. It's an amazing design.

Peace,
Paul

[Paul]

Great Rivers MP-2NV:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MP2NV

For $2275, it better well blow my Fucking mind! :)

Thanks, I'll do more research...

[Sean Conolly]

"Paul" <Quill...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:kka89q$rra$1...@dont-email.me...

Paul, I've been meaning to ask you what you are you using for your preamps
currently? With all of the interest you have in microphones and modding
them, I hope you have a range a preamps to work with to really hear the
results.

For example, a buddy of mine has an older AT 40-something LDC that he
recorded with - through an older Behringer board, and I always hated the
sound of it. My Oktavas were ok through the same board, but the AT just
sounded dark and muddy. We tried a Mackie VLZ and it helped a little, but
not much.

He bought a Sytek preamp, and although all of our mics sounded better (no
surprise) the AT was like a whole new mic. It went from being basically
unusable to arguably the best mic in the house, just by finding the right
preamp for it.

Sean

[Paul]

I've been using the stock pre-amps in my Tascam US-1641, which
are surely not the greatest, but I've been happy with them, and
I've been making very good recordings with them. I've also used my
Mackie VLZ PRO, mainly for guitars, and that does very well also.

But I'm looking to upgrade a bit.

Your buddy got something like this?:


http://www.pixelproaudio.com/all/sytek-mpx-4a-4-channel-mic-preamp.html?gclid=CIHOhIe_y7YCFUeCQgod_hcAsg#.UWtT6EozTcs

Looks interesting.....

My AT4047 is certainly a very bassy and dark mic, for sure, but
it sounds great for vocals through my current setup....

[Sean Conolly]

"Paul" <Quill...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:kkflaq$7ur$1...@dont-email.me...

The Sytek is a damn fine preamp in it's price range, at least to my ears.
It's not 'colored', which is good for an all-purpose preamp, but as Paul S
pointed it out the minimum gain is +12 db so you do need a pad at times.

But I never bought one - I picked up a used XR-20 instead. Maybe not as good
preamps but still much better than the VLZ grade stuff, and comes with
really nice EQs and a mixer to boot :-) I'm using a couple of MOTU Core
converters behind it (1296 & 2408) for a relatively low-buck 20-channel
recorder.

In fact, there's a XR-20 on fleabay right now starting at $810 (not mine)
which is about $600 less than I spent. Oh well.

Sean

[Paul]

On 4/12/2013 1:35 PM, PStamler wrote:

> On Friday, April 12, 2013 1:29:49 AM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
>
>> But if what preamp would you recommend, if I wanted to hear a
>>
>> BIG increase in quality? The preamp matters more than the A/D
>>
>> converter, right?
>
> Well, that depends, and it's a long long discussion.
>
> As to really good mic preamps, I haen't kept up with the current market, and there are a lot of them out there. But good preamps incluse:
>
> Great Rivers MP2 (discontinued; you'll have to go e-bay for this one)
> Various George Massenburg units (Note: I haven't heard these but people whose ears I respect have given them high marks)
> Universal Audio 2-610
> Sytek MPX-4Aii
> Various Benchmark products
> Little Labs LMNOPre
>

I'm wondering how the Motu 896mk3 preamps compare to the items
on your list, as well as the Millennia HV3?

It would be a bit nicer to have everything in one 2-space rack unit.

Unfortunately, if I wanted to use more than 8 analog signals with
the Motu, it appears I'd have to get a preamp with an A/D converter,
as it has AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and lightpipe inputs, but does not appear to
have additional line-level inputs (unlike my Tascam, which has 6
additional line ins, and S/PDIF).

[PStamler]

On Thursday, April 11, 2013 4:29:32 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
> Been drooling over this one all morning:
>
>
>
>

I couldn't say, as I've never heard the MOTU 896 or the Millennia.

Peace,
Paul

[PStamler]

> > Great Rivers MP2 (discontinued; you'll have to go e-bay for this one)
>
> > Various George Massenburg units (Note: I haven't heard these but people whose ears I respect have given them high marks)
>
> > Universal Audio 2-610
>
> > Sytek MPX-4Aii
>
> > Various Benchmark products
>
> > Little Labs LMNOPre

>
> I'm wondering how the Motu 896mk3 preamps compare to the items
>
> on your list, as well as the Millennia HV3?

I couldn't say, as I've never used the 896Mk3 or the Millennia.

Peace,
Paul

[Paul]

Actually, this one might fit my needs better:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/828mk3Hy

Not only is it about $250 cheaper, but even if I don't have ADAT
lightpipe pres yet, it appears it will have 2 more analog inputs
than the 896 (2 mic ins on front, and 8 line ins on the back).

This way, I could fully utilize the 7th Circle pres I'm
thinking about getting (it would be 8 pres in a two-space
rack), and I wouldn't have wasted my money on the 8 pres
built into the 896, although I'm sure they are damn good
pres anyways.

This unit is also a single space rack, instead of two.

But one thing I notice, is that the line inputs on the back
don't have -10 +4 switches like my Tascam US-1641 does, but
it's probably not a deal breaker.....

[david gourley]

Paul <Quill...@gmail.com> said...news:knnqha$26a$1...@dont-email.me:

I've had a MkII version since 2006. It's been fine, but it would be
happier with a Mac. If it fails on you outside of warranty, they'll
replace them for $99. I was _never_ impressed with the 2 mike pres on the
front of my 828. They have made some nice improvements to the MkIII, and I
suppose the plug-ins are a nice bonus.

That being said, I'd go (in that class) for Focusrite next time, or
hopefully something much much better.

YMMV,
david

[PStamler]

On Friday, May 24, 2013 8:42:15 AM UTC-5, Paul wrote:

> But one thing I notice, is that the line inputs on the back
> don't have -10 +4 switches like my Tascam US-1641 does, but
> it's probably not a deal breaker.....

Shouldn't be. If you're recording at 24 bits, you can afford to just plug a -10 input into the TRS jack and record 12dB lower than usual. ("-10" is actually -7.8dBu, so it's only qq.8dB lower than "+4".)

And if you're planning on using the Seventh Circle preamps, they're good for nominal +4dBu.

Peace,
Paul

[Paul]

That model looks very similar, so it wouldn't surprise me
if the pres are the same, or at least very similar.

> That being said, I'd go (in that class) for Focusrite next time, or
> hopefully something much much better.
>

Can you recommend a specific model for my needs?

[david gourley]

Paul <Quill...@gmail.com> said...news:knofvj$46p$1...@dont-email.me:

Not really since I don't know about your needs vs your budget. You can
easily see what's there in the sub-$1k class vs $1k-$2k, etc.

There's already been plenty of advice on getting the room right before
anything else. It doesn't take much for a 'bad room' to get into a mike.

david