Focusrite Scarlett 18i20

[Harley Hexxe]

Yeah that what I mean.

BTW none of those dealers carry either something for pc or cubase.

That's bizarre, Logickeyboard lists them as dealers for their products.

[MarshallJMP]

Yeah that's Belgium.That's why I never order anything over here, I usually order my stuff in the Netherlands or Germany.

[Harley Hexxe]

That would be frustrating as hell.

[Harley Hexxe]

UPDATE:

     Okay, I have everything installed and hooked up, and I tried a preliminary recording run through with one of my rigs and did a few tracks to see how it sounds. For a first run at it, not too bad!
    I have to experiment with mic placement with my SM-57, but I'm getting the feeling that I might also need to invest in a Royer 121.
    Overall, I think I made the right choice with the Focusrite 18i20. The British certainly know a thing or two about recording equipment! It's a great little unit with a lot of potential. Very Neutral in it's recording quality, so what you put in is what you get out. It's got me thinking about adding a bit more to it like Mic Pre-amps, Passive EQ's, and a vactrol Compressor, and above all, better microphones! There's a lot of potential here that I didn't think I would have with a PC based recording setup. (It's a hard transition from old school recording to the new way of recording when you know the fidelity of the old school ways)!
   Next on the agenda: combining live mic placement with direct recording to get the truest recording of the actual sounds I'm hearing in the open room. I also think a bit of room treatment is in order here, so I'll keep you updated.

Harley 8)

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, I was given a pair of Rode NT 5s a while ago, they are a very nice (and small) condenser, sounded very good on the cab (and also very versatile).  I also bought a Chinese EV RE320 ($280 AUD ish), it's a cheaper version of the EV RE20 (arguably the best dynamic mic ever) and has a nice bass drum switch (which is what I typically use it for, but it would work really well on cabs). Anyway as you know there are lots of mics to pick from...

[Harley Hexxe]

Oh yeah Richard,

     There are a ga-ZILLION mics out there these days, and it would be impossible to name them all. I don't know about the NT 5's but one that I am looking at is the NTK, that seems to be a good mic at an attractive price. Some other mics I have my eye on are these:

    Sennheiser MD 441 U --- a mic I've used in studios in the past and it's awesome!
    Telefunken CU-29
    Telefunken M80
    Shure SM-52
    AKG C414
    Neumann TLM 103
    Royer R-121
    Lauten Audio LA-320

  There are a few more 'must have' mics that I'll probably get next like three more SM-57's. They are hard to beat.

[rnolan]

Absolutely Harley, and as you say, hard to go past the old reliable 57 (which is still my favourite snare mic).
The ones I've use from your list:
The Senni MD 421 is also worth looking out for (very hi SPL handling), and there are more of them around than the 441 (which is basically a weather proof version of the 421  ), word of warning with both of these though, (you may have come across already ??) is they often break where the clip slots into the mic (nice idea, not very robust  ) ahh gaph tape is your friend (again lol).
The AKG C414 is also a mic I'm familiar with, very nice mic IMHO.

The Rode mics are made in Australia, Swiss guy came here years ago....  they sell more overseas than domestically (well there's only 22 mil people in Australia). Great mics at very reasonable prices (particularly for how good they are).  I also have a Rode NT1, kind of Neumann U87 equivalent (but better IMHO and allot cheaper..), it's great for lots of things but particularly vocals.

Anyway, as you say, there are a gazillion to pick from...

[Harley Hexxe]

Hi Richard,

   Yes I know about that issue with the 441-U, but since I would only want it for studio use, it should be fine. I've used those a lot in the past.
   I know Rode mics are made in your neck of the woods. I looked into the NT1, and it's a Solid State mic. Very reasonably priced too. But I'm looking for tube dynamics and warmth, so that's what has me looking at the NTK. That should come a bit closer to the U 87, and since $3600.00 is out of my price range, that's why I'm looking into these alternatives.
   The CU-29 can get one aspect of the Telefunken U 47, but for a fraction of the price. I could always pick up a NT1 later on just to give it a go.

  There are a lot of mics out there but some I wouldn't use if you paid me. Blue mics are one of them. The sales guy I'm dealing with at Sweetwater has one, and he told me he only uses it if he has nothing left. And, I wouldn't waste my time with any of the USB mics, especially the condensers.

   Harley 8)

[MarshallJMP]

I have a Rode NT2a very happy with it, very good mic.Also have audix mics for drums, a few D2,D4,D6,i5 and ADX51 condensers.The i5 works very well together with the SM57.

[Harley Hexxe]

Who makes the i5?

[MarshallJMP]

Audix   http://www.audixusa.com/index-15.shtml

[Harley Hexxe]

That's a very interesting mic. I looked at a few other Audix mics, but not that one.
  That's why I was looking at the Royer Labs R-121. It's a large ribbon mic that works well with the SM-57 when mic'ing guitar cabs.

[Harley Hexxe]

Rather than start a new thread, I'm reviving this one.

Where to start...Focusrite + Windows = Headache.

It seems like the Focusrite constantly wants to disconnect itself from the desktop as far as the DAW is concerned. I don't know it it's Cubase, or Windows, or just the stupid Dell Desktop I have.

So, I'm looking into replacing ALL of it!

Starting with the PC. I've been looking at a Macbook Pro to start with. A bit pricey at $2500 USD, but I imagine it will be better for networking and maybe even the DAW. I may try the Focusrite in that before I commit to a Presonus. I'd like to salvage what I have before spending all that cash on completely rebuilding the entire set up.

Has anyone here with a Mac tried any of the Focusrite hardware, and if so, can you offer any suggestions/advice?

I'm just sick of trying to record tracks and it looks like I'm doing it, but the end result has no sound.

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, I feel your pain my friend .

Like you, I just wanted to get recording again.  Some of this I've posted before but here's the journey for me (not quite over but it's all working very well so far).
So I bought a Focusrite 8 in/out.  It was a hassle and intermittent with my (now retired) Win7 laptop.  So I quickly swapped it for the PreSonus 18/24, basically much the same 8 in/out (slightly better controls BTW).  The PreSonus has a Universal Control app/driver which worked fine, connected easily and is very stable and consistent, moreover it sounded a bit more musical, warmer and less stark/clinical.  It also comes with Studio One software for free which works fine "out of the box" with all I needed for now.
So I needed a new PC so I went for a MSI Creator Z17HXStusio A13VGT fully loaded with 64GB RAM, and 2 TB SSHD, latest Intel chipset.  It's a gaming/creative lap top so also has high end nvida card which can share processing.  Screen is photo quality17" touch which also works well (my thought good for mixing).  So this cost around $3k USD ($4.6k AUD) but is the equivalent of the most expensive MAC book Pro (~$6 to $7k AUD).  It comes with Win11 Pro.  After getting rid of the gaming stuff (what I could easily), it's been the best computer I've ever had. Everything connects and works seamlessly (2 x USB C/thunderbolt4 lightening, USB A (3.0), HDMI, SD Card reader, and it doesn't even raise a slight sweat when recoding/mixing etc.

As a long time Windows user, I struggle to "dumb down" to use a Mac.  There's no delete key (have to go to the right and backspace ), no srcolly mouse wheel, no right mouse button or menus, to burn a CD you have to drag the file onto the CD icon and then have no control of the settings (took me ~15 frustrating mins to work that out).  I'm sure once you are used to them they are ok(ish) but then you are locked into the Mac ecosphere (proprietary and expensive).  No (or very limited) I/O connections, it's mostly all wireless or bluetooth.  I don't think they have USB C, just thunderbolt proprietary (if at all).  They don't have a USB A connector, you have to use an Apple iPad Camera Connection kit to connect to whichever I/O you use/choose.

My 2 cents worth, bight the bullet and buy the same or similar MSI that I bought with Win11. Swap the Focusrite for the PreSonus.  My gut feeling is when you install Cubase on that system, it will all work fine, but if it doesn't, just use Studio One.

Or the cheaper starting point maybe swap out the Focusrite for the PreSonus, with it's Universal Control app/driver you'll probably get everything to work with your Dell (IIRC Win 10?).  Add as much RAM as you can (it's really cheap these days).

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Richard,

   First, let me say this. The desktop PC I'm using is a Dell. At best, Dell are flimsy these days compared to what they used to be. I'm running windows 10 on it and it's a pain in the a$$. It glitches and hangs up when it has plenty of RAM to spare and it shouldn't. So it might be the PC that is causing the disconnect or the missing pathways to the audio interface. For all I know, the Focusrite might work flawlessly with the Mac. Speaking of which, the most expensive Macbook Pro here is around $6k. A it out of my price range. The one I was looking at has 1 TB disk space and 64 Gig of RAM.
   There are outboard adapters for the Mac to use USB C and other connections, and they aren't that expensive. If by dumbing down you mean simplifying the process, then why should I keep doing things the hard way? I'm not a Catholic, so I don't see a problem there.
   Just like the ADA that gives me all the amp tones I could want in and easy to use package with fairly simple controls to get my sounds, I want the recording process to be just as simple. Hit the record button and GO!
   IF I can't get that from a computer, then I do still have my 8-track and mastering reel-to-reels, and a mixing desk. If it comes down to it, I'll record on them and mix down the final product to a PC and save it as a wave file.
   I'm just looking for a system that is as plug and play as possible. I don't want to spend my time learning how to rewrite codes and software just to get a simple task like this done. With windows that seems like all I'm doing is re-writing pathways and installing this driver and that, then trying to trim out all the garbage that comes along with all those things that I don't need, then trying to reconnect what shouldn't have become disconnected in the first place. Yeah, as you can tell, I'm ready to kick windows to the curb.