Need help building new system!!!

[soundgear]

Hi all.
I am in in a pickle.

I am about the start recording a new album.

I have to get a new setup. In this setup all I need is ONE very good channel for recording vocals and guitar layers.

On my last album I was lucky enough to borrow an HD rig with 192 and a focusrite producer pack, along with a groove tube mic.

It all sounded great.
I need to do this again.

At the moment I have a mac g5 quad core 2.5ghz, PCI-e with 5g ram, and a mbox pro 2 ( going to sell )
I want to avoid getting a mac pro at the moment, I would rather spend my budget on conversion and good pres etc.

These are my choices.

1) lynx Aurora bundle with hd pci hd core card, $3,999, and buy an api pre amp, or something else
Only issue here is that I will need to get a pci model g5, as my quad is a pcie


2) Lynx or digi 192 with pcie hd core card, the card along second hand is around $3500, and then I still need an interface/converter and pre amp.
Keep my quad g5

Getting up around $6000
The benefit to doing this is that I will have an hd card that is compatible with a mac pro when I do decide to upgrade.


3) digi 002 or 003, with a nice converter, or preamp/converter like the api ad2


I do not need a lot of processing power as I am not mixing. I just need to record vocals and little bit of guitar. But I want to signal to be really good. I have heard that you can get a good signal from using a nice converter and pre in front of a 002 or 003?
Is there a huge difference in sound when recording into HD? rather than a converter in front of 003/002?

Btw, my budget is around $5000 US.

Any advice is much appreciated

Thanks!

[D3lta]

Although an HD rig would be fun, it's really not neccesary in your situation, and really, the MBox 2 Pro would work also. You could get an API and/or Neve pre, and track guitar through a 57 and a really great condenser for HUGE gtr, and then use the consenser for your vocals.

I suspect you're tracking drums, and bass or whatever elsewhere? As long as you don't need more than 48 tracks, you're all set.

[soundgear]

Hi!

All drums , amped bass and guitar are done at a studio. I only need a D.I signal for guitar layers, and leads etc. which will be processed later, or reamped.

I am not keen on the mbox option, as I have tried this before with an rme converter and focusrite pre amp, and it didnt sound great.

[Sean Russell]

You could get an API A2D, SPDIF out of that to your MBox Pro. Easy.

$2k, tops.

Could also pick up a 414 and a Royer R-121 and you're still under 4k, thereabouts.

Good luck.

[soundgear]

Thanks Sean.
Good options.
But I have tried spdif into the mbox with other gear, and it really didnt sound great.

I do actually need the signal to sound great!


Does anyone know how much difference there is with recording into HD, or using Something like a Api a2d into a L.E interface?

If I have to get HD just to get that great signal, I will. Just need to know if there are other options to get that great conversion without spending a fortune.

[Sean Russell]

Um, the SPDIF interface on an MBox is a digital input.

You don't need a 192 for one channel of great conversion. The converters in products like Benchmark, Grace, and even API sound great. The Mbox would just be passing that signal to PT.

SPDIF inputs don't have a sound; your problem was most likely with the Focusrite conversion.

[soundgear]

Yes very true.
I was using a focusrite into an rme converter spidif into the mbox pro 2.

Just didnt sound very good to me.

[Sean Russell]

Originally Posted by soundgear

Yes very true.
I was using a focusrite into an rme converter spidif into the mbox pro 2.

Just didnt sound very good to me.

it wasn't the SPDIF input is all I'm saying.

[soundgear]

could have been the rme then.
also, if I am going to stick with L.E , would need a 002 or 003, as the mbox pro doesnt clock @92k and also the spidif input is RCA. some external units dont use RCA spidif. But yes I see your point about being able to get good conversion into an L.E. just want to make sure it is getting close to the sound I would get going into 192 HD

[JFreak]

Wouldn't a Focusrite ISA One be a perfect solution for you? Connect it via SPDIF to your mBox and let it be the clock master. You get two channels (one DI and one mic preamp) of pristine up to 192kHz AD conversion, and it sounds great in 96k LE sessions as well