House burned down.....need some advice on replacing what I had...

[Roy Howell]

Some of you guys may remember me from a few years back.....my house burned down recently including my studio stuff, etc......I am just now at a point dealing w/ insurance about replacing the studio part of it all.

The problem is, what I had was fairly dinosaur stuff, in that, I had an 002 Rack, which they don't even make anymore........I've been playing out live more in the last 5 years than when I was constantly recording before, so I'm unfamiliar with the newer Digi products out there.

Insurance is willing to upgrade me somewhat from the 002 since it's not even available, but I wanted to ask you guys' suggestions on where you would try and go next.

Also, I was using a Quad pc built just for ProTools, so I'm gonna replace that with a much better one.......and I was using a GreatRiver Pre, and an Apogee Rosetta AD/DA converter.......ALL of it was either destroyed by fire or drenched in water.

I need to submit this stuff to insurance now asap, and I would really appreciate your suggestions.............thanks, Roy

[albee1952]

That's a tough road man. Sorry you have to deal with it. While there are several 3rd party options that cover the 002, I'll stick in a vote for the 003R(which can be found second hand for as little as $300, or new for around $600). This is not to say its the "best" interface out there("best" being a debatable term anyway), just that it offers a simplicity of integration with Pro Tools(I would have other recommendations if you were going with another DAW), sounds better than the 002(but you would find it very easy to use as you already know the 002), and adds wordclock, which makes clocking a bit easier(with the 003 as master, or as the slave). Adding a high-end light-pipe preamp bypasses the 003's converters(Focusrite ISA428 or UA 4-710D come to mind). BTW, both these options allow for adding 4 more channels of any brand external mic pre(in case you wanted another Great River). Some other options that would include some sort of monitor/input software to deal with: Focusrite Saffire LS56 and Pro40, MOTU 828 MkIII and anything from RME.

As for a new PC, if you are going to build; i7 socket 2011/x79 motherboard/quad-channel RAM is my preferred build. If you plan on buying an "off the shelf" PC, I would look at RAIN and http://www.pro-tools-pc.com/ or Sweetwater. While I am not a fan of the socket 1155 builds, these companies have it together enough to offer solid builds that should deliver.

I use an 003 controller everyday, along with a Focusrite ISA428, a lunchbox of preamps feeding the extra ISA A>D inputs(Neve and API clones), a DBX 386(via SPDIF) on an older i7 socket 1366 build(950 w/12GB of RAM) with Windows 7 x64 and PT10, and its a great little rig. I just wrapped a mix last week with 103 audio tracks!! (BTW, I also use a Focusrite OctoPre MK II Dynamic as my 8 analog inputs(modest improvement over the stock 003 preamps).

[Roy Howell]

Thank you SO much, albee.....this gives me a good starting point on what to get.......I'm 2 months into this now, and just now able to focus on getting my studio back....been pretty devastating......I may be back for a little more advice, but definitely THANK you......-Roy

[jryser]

Sorry for ur loss Roy - it's a reminder for me to film every bit of gear I own, which I will start doing this weekend.


Sent from my PT beating heart

[Roy Howell]

Thanks jryser...

[sunburst79]

A buddy's coming in from Memphis for a week around the fourth. I can send a 002 console back with him if you need to get some work done.

Needless to say I'm sorry about your loss.

[The Weed]

Roy, tough road, so sorry to hear about the fire. Best of luck getting your studio back together.

[Craig F]

003s not a bad choice but if they will buy new take a look at RME or Universal Audio's Apollo. Especially if you can get a PC with Thunderbolt.

Great River had a 500 series module option, I would try and get a 11 slot frame and some pres to start

Don't for get about your mics

[Roy Howell]

Thank you, guys, so much.....I've PM'd a couple of you......much appreciated.....-Roy