# MASSIVE studio upgrade...! Hope to have a finished track by this weekend :)



## rob_l (Sep 17, 2009)

Before now, my home studio was well equipped. But nothing like it is now.

I'm hoping I can get EVERYTHING patched in and running by this weekend and start serious work.

I hope you guys dig the pics - Mods if this is the wrong forum for this please move it. :

PT 8 LE running on an '09 Mac Pro, 32GB RAM, 4 x 1TB media drives and 2 x 24" Dells.... 

Bout 60% of the gear is new/newly replaced - Pardon the bandwidth, but there's a lot of pics from a proud new papa... 



































































Gear list.... The studio will be sound treated this week and hopefully open for business the next ...  
-----------------------------------------
Computer
2009 Mac Pro - Dual 3.2ghz Xeons, 32Gb, 4 x 1TB HDs, 3 x Dell24" LCDs

Mixer/Control Surface & Interfaces
DigiDesign C|24 w/ DB-25 - XLR & TRS
Sound-Design C|24 Custom Console desk - 12spc rack legs - Oak
RaXXess 14sp slanted maple racks w/ large table tops

Interfaces
DigiDesign 003 Rack + - iLok'ed Mercury bundle and too much more too mention
Presonus DigiMax FS
Apogee BigBen wordclock
MOTU 128 Express MIDI I/O
Samson D1500 RTA Spectrum Analyzer and digital room mgmt.

Routing
Samson S-Patch+ x 3
Switchcraft 96pt

Monitoring
Presonus Central Station monitoring controller
Presonus Central Station Remote Desktop Control
Fostex PM-1
Mackie MR5a
TRUTH 2031a 8-3/4" LFD w 2" ferro-fluid HFD
TRUTH 3030a 6-3/4" Kevlar LFD w 2" velocity-ribbon HF transducer
Focal Solo6 Be

Phones
Presonus HP60 headphone amp
Presonus HP4 headphone amp
Samson S-Amp headphone amp in live room
Behringer H4700 Pro headphone amp in live room
Sony 7509hd
Sony 7502hd
Sony MDR-V150 x 4
AKG k240 x 2
AKG k44 x 3
AKG k220 x 2
Sennheiser HD280
Sennheiser EH150
VicFirth drum iso headphones
NADY QH560

Channel Strips & Microphone Preamps
Avalon 737sp
Toft-Audio ATC-2 2 ch. FET strip
Universal Audio DCS-2 2ch. preamp
Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity x 2
Joemeek OneQ ch. strip w/ optical de-esser
Joemeek TwinQ 2 ch. strip
Joemeek SixQ British
SSL xLogic AlphaChannel x 2 linked
Focusrite ISA 430MKII ch. strip
Focusrite OctoPre LE 8x Green-Series preamps
Focusrite Trakmaster ch. strip
Presonus Eurekaclass A FET-Transformer coupled ch. strip
Presonus StudioChannel class A tube ch. strip x 2
Presonus BlueTube 2 ch. preamp
DigiDesign C|24 preamps x 16
dbx 286a x 4 ch. strip w/ enhancer and VCA gate
Korg TMP-2 tube-preamp/optical compressors

Dynamics Processors
Avalon 747sp stereo class A compressor & 6 band EQ / mastering processor
Presonus ACP88 8 ch. comp/lim/gate x 2 (these are necessities for drums and bands - these two units supply dynamics for all 16 io points and outs from the C24)
Presonus Comp16 x 4
ART Pro VLA I
ART Pro VLA II
dbx 166xl
dbx 266xl
dbx1074 4 ch. noise gate
TC Electronic C300
Aphex 204 Aural Exciter
BBE MaxCom Pro w/ 482 maximizer
Alesis 3630 modified
Furman 3215v 2ch. 15 band graphic eq

Effects Processors
TC Electronic MOne XL
TC Electronic GMajor
TC Electronic m300
Digitech TSR-24 (original)
Lexicon mx300
Lexicon mx200
Alesis MIDIVerb
Alesis PicoVerb

Guitar Processors
Fractal Audio Axe-FX
Line 6 POD X3 Pro w/ FBV long board
Line 6 POD Pro
Line6 POD 2.0
Digitech GSP1101 w/ Control 2
Digitech HarmonyMan 
Carvin TN100
Line6 M13
BOSS GT-10
Roland GR-20

Guitar Amplifiers
Carvin V3
Carvin x100b custom-shop reissue
Carvin Master Tube 3200 Anniv. series
Laney GH50L
Peavey JSX
Peavey JSX Mini Colossal 1x8 combo
Peavey Valveking
Mesa Boogie Express 5:25 1x12 combo
Marshall Haze 1
Crate Blue Voodoo 120
Bogner Alchemist
Ashdown Fallen Angel
Bugera 6262xl

Guitar Enclosures
Randall ISOlationCab sealed "silent" 1x12 SM57 mic'd enclosure
Marshall 1960a
Carvin x100 4x12 w/ Rocket 50s
Carvin MTS 4x12 w/ BR12"s
Carvin MTS 2x12 w/BR12"s
Crate USA 4x12 Vintage 30s
Peavey Valveking 4x12
Hartke GH-412a Vintage 30s

Pedals
Line6 M13
Digitech Whammy II
Carvin Tone Navigator x 2
SD Boosta Grande' boost pedal
SD Lava Box overdrive/fuzz
SD Pickup Booster
BOSS Super Overdrive
BOSS TU2 Tuner
Peterson Strobostomp
MXR DynaComp II
Dunlop Crybaby wah
Dunlop Crybaby +
Ibanez Weeping Demon
Ibanez TubeScreamer TS-808

MIDI Keyboards, drumpads and Synths
11pc Roland TD-12 e-drum kit
Alesis USB-Pro pc kit with Alesis and Roland brains
Korg PADKontrol drum triggering pad
Korg X50 slimline synth workstation/ MIDI controller
M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI keyboard and drum pad
Ibanez RG1820 w/ Roland GK-MIDI equipped Double-Edge Pro tremolo

Power / Protection / Conditioning
Monter Power Pro 2500 x 2
Monster Power Pro 2000 x 2
Monster Power Pro 900 x 4
Furman PL8 +
Furman PL8
Furman M8D
Furman M8
Furman floor board x 4


----------



## CentaurPorn (Sep 17, 2009)

hmm..I never knew my father growing up...Are you interested in adopting a 27 year old supple boy?


----------



## op1e (Sep 17, 2009)

I'm 34, but still have "tussable" hair. +1 for adoption. What were all the white mixers that were on your desk, interfaces? Was that a Tascam US to the left of em? I used to have the US224. We're moving on after this recording from our 2488 to waveform. I'm currently looking around to see whats out there in the interface world, but I would prefer one in a mixer type form. Any recommendations in the sub-1k price area.


----------



## rob_l (Sep 17, 2009)

The 3 white fader boxes are inexpensive Behringer BCF-2000 control surfaces - No I/O they work inside ProTools as babyHUI Mackie interface type controllers - Giving access to record-arm, mute, solo, pan and each fader is touch-sensitive, motorized and 120mm. Not bad for $160 a piece. The grey and white console next to them is the DigiDesign 003 - (003 Factory) that also has a DigiMAX FS in the optical lightpipe that supplies an additional 8 xMax preamps, 8 outputs, inserts, DAC and direct outputs as well as JetPLL wordclock helping stablilize the system.

Both the old, and the new systems are ProTools 8 LE with Music and Video toolkits and enough programs to strangle all 8 cores and 32gb of RAM in the '09 Mac Pro that's responsible for running the show - lol

I havent used a stand alone DAW in years. The Korg D1600 was the last one. After that I tried Sonar, but quickly cut and ran to ProTools 

Your best bet for staying under $1K would be the MBox pro and one of the Behringer BCFs - If you can just crest that $1k mark you could get ProTools MPowered with the M-Audio project mix (M-AUDIO - ProjectMix I/O - Control Surface with Motorized Faders and 18 x 14 Audio Interface) (basically the same as the 003 which is twice the price) - the Project Mix is $1149 and worth every penny.

As a stark contrast - The C|24 (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/C24/) thats going in the new desk, the one thats still sitting on the ottoman actually - was $10k + the cost of the DB25 cable fans and the 003 Rack+ which is now the core of the upstairs studio in-place of its brother the 003 which is now in the "daddy day care" studio.


----------



## op1e (Sep 17, 2009)

Nice heads up on the interfaces. The ProjectMix looks nice, and being that we're used to a 2488, that would be easier to learn than having to do everything with a mouse. Sucks there's no 64bit compatability with windows and Pro Tools, they sure know hot to cut the balls off MS users to make them go Mac. I dont know if having less than 4 gigs would be an issue or not. I think I'd have to learn Cubase instead, I can build killer PC's all day for cheap, and can't see myself touching a Mac anytime soon. I like Audition cause I've been using Cool Edit and that for the better part of ten years, but it doesn't seem like any of the good gear integrates with it.


----------



## RawrItsRaptor (Sep 17, 2009)

Now this may be too personal of a question but, what is your occupation if you do not mind answering that? I can't imagine this awesomeness. Especially, with the state of the economy today. 

Aside from that this is pure win! The only problem I have with it is I don't know how to use half of it haha.


----------



## synrgy (Sep 17, 2009)

RawrItsRaptor said:


> Now this may be too personal of a question but, what is your occupation if you do not mind answering that? I can't imagine this awesomeness. Especially, with the state of the economy today.
> 
> Aside from that this is pure win! The only problem I have with it is I don't know how to use half of it haha.




Clearly, he gets paid to make the rest of us feel inadequate.


----------



## Slampop (Sep 17, 2009)

i can cook and clean...and i won't take up much room, i can sleep well in small corners!


----------



## rob_l (Sep 17, 2009)

LOL! Glad y'all are diggin' it... 

Finally everything is complete - There are more snakes to be run but this is the gist of the whole thing...

A gallery of pics ....
The new C|24 studio - COMPLETED - Even with two "vegas mode" pics


----------



## RawrItsRaptor (Sep 17, 2009)

Try that times ten and you still wouldn't have what just happened down under in my pants.


----------



## h8leech (Sep 17, 2009)

congrat, reaping the reward of hard work early, do yo thang homie!!!


----------



## moshwitz (Sep 17, 2009)

Sup? 

Now that rig kicks some serious ass brother,,,CONGRATS
MOSHON
DAVE


----------



## 7 Strings of Hate (Sep 17, 2009)

holy shit man! i wish i was you


----------



## Despised_0515 (Sep 17, 2009)

I just wish I had that damn 003, your 5 little presonus preamps, a pair of monitors, one of your LCDs, and any/all of your condensors lying around with cables.

AND I'M HERE WITH MY TRAINING WHEEL RECORDING GEAR LOOKING AT YOUR PLETHORA OF GEAR


So jealous, so awesome, congrats man.
One day I'll have a pretty sweet home studio.


----------



## Variant (Sep 18, 2009)

Holy shit that's nuts. That Parker with the crazy ass paintjob is dope as well!  Make some killer music with that shit!


----------



## Fionn (Sep 18, 2009)

you sir are a complete arsehole! in the nicest possible way.

You don't by any chance need the services of an unemployed sound engineer do you???


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Sep 18, 2009)

Christ on a bike going backwards.


----------



## MF_Kitten (Sep 18, 2009)

i love how there are infinite amounts of sex in the background alone, with intrepids and spalted maple topped basses, and... well, everything nice!


----------



## ralphy1976 (Sep 18, 2009)

respect for all this. i do guess that you CAN play then!!!! looking forward to hearing your prowesses


----------



## DomitianX (Sep 18, 2009)

No acoustic treatments in the room? Can I ask why? You hardly see any recording setup that doesnt have foam or something on the walls.


----------



## Fred (Sep 18, 2009)

Awesome stuff, Rob. And that Parker is one of the sexiest ones I've ever laid eyes on, congrats!


----------



## rob_l (Sep 18, 2009)

DomitianX said:


> No acoustic treatments in the room? Can I ask why? You hardly see any recording setup that doesnt have foam or something on the walls.



The room has been ARC'ed and RTA analyzed - Treating a room by just throwing up sonoflats wasnt the route I wanted to take on the new setup. having run the ARC system and the RTA I know exactly how many sono-flat panels and baffles I need, as well bass traps and sono-columns all from Auralex - And more importantly - where - I need to install them.

Not to mention that I want to paint the walls something other than beige. After paint this weeked I have a "map" for how to treat every inch of the room. At the moment its a charcoal Auralex SFS based system.

The next point Ill be addressing will be adding wood floors up there.


----------



## DomitianX (Sep 18, 2009)

Can I ask what you do for a living? Thats a serious setup. Is it a working rig or just home studio project work?


----------



## bulb (Sep 18, 2009)

wow rob, thats phenomenal, congrats, i bet you will have a ton of fun with all that stuff!


----------



## MaartenM (Sep 19, 2009)

wow


----------



## Joeywilson (Sep 19, 2009)

you have caused so much pain, can I neg rep for this? 



naaawwww, but for reals. I `m so jealous.


----------



## JoryGriffin (Sep 21, 2009)

...

what


----------



## SomeChump (Sep 21, 2009)

Apparently he does something highly Illegal for this money lmfao. Or he just took out a huge fucking loan, and will go to jail soon. haha.


----------



## rob_l (Sep 21, 2009)

Thankfully - Neither...!!!! LMAO!


----------



## matt g (Oct 12, 2009)

your home setup is BANGin...i would definitely do a session at yours. Talk about tube amps.
Btw i see you have the new smaller behringer truths stacked on top of the old ones, I need some new monitors around their price range and i've been looking at them for a while. How do they sound, would they work as an only pair of monitors for a cheap tiny home setup?


----------



## leandroab (Oct 12, 2009)

Now, you just need a fridge, toilet, a door leading outside, and I would never leave this room... Never 

Anyways, FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUCK!!!!!!!! OMG! AaAAAA!
AAAAAAAAA!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh


*heart attack*






Donate to the needy. ME!!!


----------



## tr0n (Oct 12, 2009)

That must've cost an absolute fortune!

EDIT: Was about to ask do you have any sound insulation and acoustic treatment but just saw the list.

Do you have any booths or enclosures for amps or vocalists? Just out of interest.


----------



## Xiphos68 (Oct 12, 2009)

Is this a public studio or a private studio?
It looks massive and great either way. Just curious?


----------



## rob_l (Oct 12, 2009)

^ Private - Still, for all intents a "home studio". But open for outside projects soon, very soon.  Should have a website up for it any day. 

tr0n - I have a "live room" with the same acoustic treatments i used in the studio - In it are all my amps/cabs and a fully mic'd kit (RE20 outside the res. kick head, D112 inside, 2x57s on the snare and picc., e604s on all 5 toms, Perception 300 or MXL69m tube mics for over heads, JoeMeek JM27 pencils on hats and snare) - Since I took the pics I've added the SonoColumns, some wedgies and more Flats to the live-room. To get pristine signal from one end of the house to the other I use a USA ProCo 16ch./4 return drop snake up the stairs to the Mic-In panels/Pres.

Here are some updated pics - I FINALLY got one of the first parts of the "big order" which, was one of the least $ - The DCS preamp from Universal. They shipped it to a music shop in Tenn. instead of SweetWater. Since I've been drooling over the damn thing forever, and it's discontinued, I'm really glad that the other shop was honest - lol. To get a preamp with the INSANE monitoring and cue features this one has, for $1k, from UA is ridiculous and I would have been piiissssed if they futz'ed it up.  

The DCS is SWEET because the controller/mini mixer is connected to the preamp via CAT5 and can be up to 300 ft away.... Not to mention, it's a UA. 

Here's the final, final pics of the studio...  - ess treated

Controller - (reminds me of the Otari paddle controllers for some reason)




The preamps themselves - over 15 TRS connectors on this for monitoring and every function conceivable! lol





The Behringers, Mackies and now Genelec 8020s give me a nice wide spectrum. The smaller Truths are not too bad at all. And have pretty decent tuning controls as long as you ARC the room first.

On a pointless side note - I caved and got a BlueBird and a Rode NT1A yesterday - I traded several korean guitars that were in closets and got about 1800 for em and grabbed a Robot Explorer (closeout - 999!!!) and these 2 mics.... Stoked to try the mics thru the Avalon and Toft this weekend.


----------



## Daemoniac (Oct 12, 2009)

Holy. Shit.

I just don't know what else to say, seriously, that is just fucking incredible mate, epic congratulations


----------



## kmanick (Oct 12, 2009)

looking great Rob, but I've got a question as far as your amps go.
I noticed no 5150, no Mesa Rectos or Mark series amps either.
Are those on the 'todo" list or do you not have any intentions of getting those amps in there?
I would think a 5150 and a Recto would be standard stuio "fare" these days.
Just wondering


----------



## 7 Strings of Hate (Oct 12, 2009)

^yea, what kind of hack studio are you trying to show off here?


----------



## Sliggy (Oct 13, 2009)

rofl


----------



## The Dark Wolf (Oct 13, 2009)

You even have your camera settings like aperture and shutter speed posted!  I love it.

I think you out nerd even me.


----------



## loktide (Oct 13, 2009)

...someday i'll also have a basement just like that 








...someday


----------



## MF_Kitten (Oct 13, 2009)

dude, your studio is what i dream about at night! 

that´s what my ultimate "office room" would look like. i probably wouldn´t bother with all the rack gear though (too much fancy stuff confuses me), and i´d run Logic Studio 9 instead. and i´d use two of those Apple 30" displays. or actually, my long-time dream is to run THREE of those, so i can play games without the middle of the screen ending up in the "seam" between monitors. oooh yeeeeah. of course, i´d have to add two of the highest-end GPU units available to do that...

of course, i will never in my life be able to afford that ever


----------



## Sliggy (Oct 13, 2009)

yeah if i had shitloads i'd be pretty minimalist with my studio. don't let that change the fact that im monumentally jealous of your setup and this studio fuckin blows my mind!


----------



## tr0n (Oct 13, 2009)

Got another question, why LE and not HD?

By the way, I used that control surface at my uni the other day, I liked it, quite intuitive. The save button is the coolest feature. xD


----------



## Xiphos68 (Oct 13, 2009)

rob_l said:


> ^ Private - Still, for all intents a "home studio". But open for outside projects soon, very soon.  Should have a website up for it any day


sweet!


----------



## Sliggy (Oct 13, 2009)

hot damn, all that gear shouldn't just be a private home studio. that shit looks more sophisticated than a lot of pro studios mang!


----------



## Sepultorture (Oct 13, 2009)

dude i think i filled the cup


----------



## rob_l (Oct 13, 2009)

tr0n - Great question! My SweetWater rep told me to wait for the promo that just started so I did. Right now, you can upgrade from MBoxes, 003s etc. to HD and get a free 192 I/O for FWEE!! So hell yeah I waited - lol!  And, honestly, I dont know if I'll EVER run it at 192 so I may make the extra IO boxes 96s to save some $ lol

I went with an HD3 / 3 19 I/Os and I already have a BigBen for, what I think, is a much better, almost infallible clock source


----------



## NickB11 (Oct 13, 2009)

How do you like the Digidesign Eleven Rack? Does it compare at all to the Axe-Fx. Thanks!


----------



## tr0n (Oct 13, 2009)

Ooo I wasn't aware of a promo. A free 192 I/O?! :O I've read that many producers are happy working even at 24/48. Can't say I'm actually aware of the need for 192...perhaps if you're obsessed with transients? :S


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Oct 13, 2009)

NickBen said:


> How do you like the Digidesign Eleven Rack? Does it compare at all to the Axe-Fx. Thanks!


----------



## audibleE (Oct 14, 2009)

I have a gynormous bro-ner for you.


----------



## alex103188 (Oct 14, 2009)

holy shit!!!

Do the lights in your house flicker when you get it all up and running? 

Congrats sir, that is an extreeeemely amazing set up you have there.


----------



## hunter7 (Oct 16, 2009)

+1 for adoption too. I'll even sleep outside and feed myself lol...Seriously dude, I'm loving just LOOKING at this. I think my eyes just had an orgasm. I wish I could afford even a small fraction of what you own. Definitely looking forward to hearing some of your stuff man.


----------



## DevinShidaker (Oct 17, 2009)

I just want to come and record some stuff!


----------



## TimothyLeary (Oct 18, 2009)

geez.. that's almost perfect.


----------



## newamerikangospel (Oct 18, 2009)

Wow. If you sold all your gear, you could pay off the national debt of the U.S 


Very impressive man. I was scrolling through, and it went from wow thats cool, to holy crap, to lols (since there was no further emotion to be conveyed, the brain defaulted into laughter).


----------



## MacTown09 (Oct 18, 2009)

Rob i mean this in the kindest way ever but where are some recordings??? I have seen you buy new gear and rearrange your studio a buncha times but havent heard a single recording from it! Where can i find one??


----------



## El Caco (Oct 22, 2009)

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/re...-of-me-i-submit-an-hour-or-pointlessness.html

However it's the shootout I am keen for him to complete.


----------



## rob_l (Oct 22, 2009)

Yah - I record daily, but bothering to bounce to disk at 4am isnt something I ca make myself do. Raising a 4yr old, dealing with chemo and treatment in general, and trying to finish upgrades to the studio have pretty much sapped every ounce of energy from me. I'm taking it slow. Downloading Steve Slate drums now as Metal Foundry and the ToonTrack stuff just isnt working for me any more. Once all is said and done and gate/pre/comp settings are all made for each drum, I will leave the drum plugins to gather dust. As they should. LOL!!


----------



## MacTown09 (Oct 23, 2009)

Sorry to hear about the cancer my friend. If you dont mind me asking, what type and what stage do you have?


----------



## rostarn (Oct 23, 2009)

nice chair!


----------



## rob_l (Oct 23, 2009)

MacTown09 said:


> Sorry to hear about the cancer my friend. If you dont mind me asking, what type and what stage do you have?



No worries. (So to speak) Stage 3, head, neck and facial bones / jaw structure cancer. Effectively devouring the bone, along with a rather unpleasant conjoined condition - Osteomyelitis which is aggravated by the Interferon treatments.

I've had six biopsy's on the left lower skull in the last 2 years, and go to Baltimore every 3 months for a few thousand Rads of radiation at Johns Hopkins. Doesnt bother me, I know my place in the universe. But, when I think about my son it eats me alive and renders me mute.  Wouldnt wish it on my WORST enemy. And that's the truth.


----------



## Zami77 (Oct 24, 2009)

rob_l said:


> No worries. (So to speak) Stage 3, head, neck and facial bones / jaw structure cancer. Effectively devouring the bone, along with a rather unpleasant conjoined condition - Osteomyelitis which is aggravated by the Interferon treatments.
> 
> I've had six biopsy's on the left lower skull in the last 2 years, and go to Baltimore every 3 months for a few thousand Rads of radiation at Johns Hopkins. Doesnt bother me, I know my place in the universe. But, when I think about my son it eats me alive and renders me mute.  Wouldnt wish it on my WORST enemy. And that's the truth.


stay strong bro, my mom has breast cancer and colon cancer, so i dont know the pain your in, but i know its rough. Shes recovering well, so thats a good thing. anyways, to end on a lighter note, AWESOME FUCKING STUDIO


----------

