Basic Studio Setup Need Help!!

[scottaru]

I am setting up a studio and I need a little help on how to hook up everything. I am new to the full blown studio thing. I have only worked with a basic live sound setup.

I have:
Snake (to run from live room to control room)
Digi 002 rack
16x4 mixing console
tube preamps
compressors
fx
EQ's
midi controller keyboard
powered studio monitors
patchbay 48(I don't really know how to use this)

Any help would be much appreciated...

[gcjammin1]

I would connect all of your tube pre's, compressors, FX's, and EQ's, into your patchbay. Connect the snake to your Digi 002, the Digi 002 to your mixer. I think you studio monitors and your midi controller would connect to your 002. I don't know anything about how the 002 is set up, so I can't give you any specifics. Set the jacks connecting all of your tube pre's, compressors, FX's, and EQ's on your patchbay to half-normalled.
With this setup you can patch your signal chain together on the patchbay and go into your 002. If you use the snake, you would need to patch into the 002 via an insert point because the snake would be connected to the input channels of your 002.
Check out some previous threads about patchbays on this site. There is alot of info that will help you set up your patchbay.

Hope this helps,

Gcjammin1

[freddie_tane]

Here is an interesting link:

http://mypage.iu.edu/~lrobins/mixing.htm

Good diagrams and explanation of
various approaches.

The Digidesign site (& Manuals) also has
system setup diagrams.

Good luck - keep reading and learning!

- Freddie

[scottaru]

I assume a split console method is best with all of the outboard gear connected to the patchbay.

[gcjammin1]

Unless you want to buy another patchbay and more cables. Then you could connect everything to patchbays and do all your routing that way. You would have to redo the connections on your snake if they are XLR to make them fit the patchbay, unless you get an XLR patchbay just for the snake.

Gcjammin1

[MikeUmile]

there is going to be a problem with the set-up. The digi 002 has only 4 XLR inputs. And unless the tube preamps are low quality gear, then they are more than likely going to have a cleaner pre-amp than the 002. Are the pre-amps a digital pre-amp? If you can post the model numbers and manufacturer that would be cool.
As for the midi controller keyboard that can go right into the back of the 002.
The outboard effects such as the fx, compressors, and eq's should be connected to the patchbay. The comment about half normalled patchabys is the best bet posted by gcjammin1. the way to do this is to pull out each individual patch point and switch them around until there is a black band on the top 1\4" input and a grey or white band on the bottom 1\4" input. THis means that any signal you connect to the back top 1\4" input will immediately fall down and be sent into the cable on the back bottom 1\4" input. Until you insert a cable on the front to break the chain. Basically the signal falls from black to grey.
As for the monitors you would want to connect them to the main output of the 16x4. I am assuming that you mean a Mackie 16x4? If so, then I can tell you how two of the studios I work in are wired specifically.
Your snake, I would suggest having the first couple channels going into the tube preamps then into the 002. The rest of the channels from the snake should go into the board. Then take the direct outs from the board and go into the back 1\4" inputs of the 002. All of this, should hit the patchbay first, that way you have full control of what signal goes into which channel. How many channels is your snake, and how many tube pre-amp inputs do you have? That will determine which channels go where.

[MikeUmile]

my mistake. When you say 002, do you mean 002 rack unit, or 002 control surface? That will change my suggestions a bit.

~Mike Umile

[scottaru]

ok here is the specific version...

>I have a 12x4 snake running from the recording room to the control room.

>Allen and Heath GL series mixer 16x4
>4 input tube preamp (Behringer, not the best but you have to start somewhere)
>I have a 48 pt patchbay
>Digi 002 rack
>Outboard gear - 2 fx, 2 stereo eq, compressors

Let me see if I am getting this right...

snake 1-4 to -----------------------> tube preamp
|
patchbay rear insert (nor or 1/2?)
|
patchbay rear out
|
Digi 002
snake 5-? to ---------> mixer
|
|
mixer channel direct outs
|
outboard gear------> back patchbay inputs (normalled or half?)


from here i am kinda lost...I guess I'm just not understanding the whole patchbay thing...since there are only 4 inputs on the 002, I don't know what to have them connected to

also, will I be using the inserts from my board? I am trying to figure out how man 1/4" TRS cables I will need...

[MikeUmile]

from the snake you would probably want channels 9-12 to go into the pre-amp. This way, you can build your input from the live room from the lowest frequencies up. That is if you are doing mulitple instruments at once, you want the instruments that produce the lowest frequencies (kick, bass) on the lower channels. And the instruments that produce the highest frequencies (vocals) to be on the higher channels. Also, you want a better pre-amp on vocals since it is more notice-able. This is based on the fact that the Behringer has a digital convertor. I couldn't find it on the home website.
If not, then have channels 1-4 or 5-8 go directly into the 002 depending on which works more logically for your brain. Then have whichever four inputs you did not send directly to the 002 go into the mixer, out the direct outs, half normal the patch point on the patch bay and have them connect to the 002.
Or, if you want complete flexability, you can send the entire snake into the board, 1-12. Then have the direct outs of the board 1-8 half normalled to the patch bay and send them directly into the 1/4" inputs on the back of the 002. Yes, this does mean that you are not using the 002 pre-amps. And yes, you are sending the signal through two extra cables and an extra piece of hardware, But the signal degradation is barely noticeable if at all.
Now you are going to need returns from Protools. IF you look on the back of the 002. You will see Monitor out and main out L and R. Also to the left, you will see outputs for each of the Aux sends of Pro Tools. You can bring 8 tracks back from pro Tools individually on the mixing board this way. IF you bring the outputs back on channels 9-16 of the mixer, you are now using the mixer as two functions. 1-8 are sending to pro tools. And 9-16 are recieving from Pro Tools. This is the split console design mentioned earlier. The way to do this is to take 1/4" cables out from the 002 outputs using monitor out l/r and aux outputs 3-8, bring them to the patch bay and then bring them to line in of the board 9-16. So now, channels 9& 10 are your main returns from Pro Tools, so if you want to hear whats going on inside Pro Tools, bring up those faders. This is why I mentioned conneccting the speakers to your mixing board an not Pro Tools directly.
The FX units should deffinately be brought to the patch bay, I suggest not normalling them. THis means that the bands on the front 1/4" inputs will be black. So you are going to have to patch this everytime you want to use them, but it is safer than having the signal fall right down the chain.
This inserts from the board are not needed. However the point of having a full patch bay is to have all inputs and outputs in an easily reachable area. So if you want to have full flexablility and not have to crawl in back everytime you want something. But a few extra patch strips and bring everything to the patch bay. However this might be overkill for some small studios. Your call. Hope I helped, if I missed anything leave a message and I will get back to you. And if I confused you, again, leave a message.

~Mike Umile

[scottaru]

thanks for the help man. It pretty much makes sense. I will do some rewiring and post again if I have a problem. By the way, is there a decent preamp I could pick up for 200-300 $? I guess I could just use the preamps on the mixer to give it a little squish. anyway, thanks for the help

scott

[MidiMagic]

Where's the multitrack? I don't see one listed, unless the Digi is a computer interface (I don't recognize it).

My own setup is here:

http://mypage.iu.edu/~lrobins/lrs2dio3.htm

[djui5]

The 002 is a multi-channel Pro-Tools interface.



http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Digi002RFactory/