Topic: $1,500+ to Burn... Need EXPERIENCED Recommendations... (COMPLETE!!!)

[BayTaynt3d]

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Well, boys and girls, the rig is coming together. All the pieces are known at this point, most are in my hands already, and the rest is in the mail. I'm loving life. Not, sure, but I think I went a hair over my $1,500 budget, but hey, budgets were meant to break weren't they? Just look at my sig now, whoo hoo!!!

Here's a complete list of purchased gear:

- NIB 20 gig JB3, Busman2+ mod on NIB UA5, TOSLINK cable ($580 from Yard Sale)
- Studio Projects C4 mics ($300)
- SP-CMC-8 (AT943) Cards with AT-Phantom(not Samsung) AND Mini adapters + clips, screens, etc. ($400)
- Bogen / Manfrotto 3333 Mic/Light Stand ($50)
- K&M 8" Hinged Microphone Support Bar, same as ADK bar ($20)
- Two adapters to change the light stand stud to mic stand 5/8" ($18 for both)
- Two more small adapters (5/8-3/8-5/8) to act as riser for one side of stereo bar for XY configs ($10 for both)
- Manfrotto super clamp and extension arm ($50 for both)
- SVU-2 level meter and headphone amp ($80 from Yard Sale)
- Reactive Boost Box small pre and bbox ($125 from Yard Sale)

TOTAL = $1,633

Only thing missing at this point is an extra JB3 battery and a battery solution for my UA5, which I should be able to muster up for around $100 more for both. That would put me near $1,733. Only thing left are some XLR cables and a bunch of adapters for mixing boards (although I own quite a few of those already in my video gear). So, when It's all said and done, I think it'll probably be closer to $1,800 total. Now, some people might think I went overkill on buying two sets of mics and two pres, but remember, my goal wasn't really to have one best rig, it was more to have the flexibility to go super-stealth, semi-stealth, or open, and to get into it all for a reasonable amount of money -- not the best rig, but a damn fine one that is hella-flexible and adaptable, with many components being able to cross-over into my video rig as well. I'm sure it'll need tweaking, and I'm sure I'll get the upgrade urge sooner or later, but for now I'm totally psyched up about it all, and I can always upgrade later and sell off some of this stuff when needed.

So, that said, I think this might be the end of this thread. I must give a MAJOR SHOUT OUT to everyone who helped me with this, I couldn't have done it without you!!!

-- Thanks again, Taint

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[Nick's Picks]

that'll certainly get you started.
however....imo, your weakest link is your mics...which should be your strongest link.

[thegreatgumbino]

You gotta start somewhere!  Nothing wrong with the gear you got for a starter rig.  +T for the new toys.  Lots to learn I tell ya.  Most importantly, have fun!

[BayTaynt3d]

that'll certainly get you started.
however....imo, your weakest link is your mics...which should be your strongest link.

Agreed, but remember, I was working under a budget constraint here. I mean most of my purchases were bare bones requirements, you simply have to have some of it. Like the JB3, UA5, stand, stereo bar, etc. So, those were must-haves. Then, there were some accessories that maybe I could have avoided, like I could have just got a bbox rather than the Boost Box and maybe could have avoided the phantom-mod on the AT's, but the reality is cutting back on those would have only saved me a couple hundred bucks max. So, then it comes to mics. Considering I wanted a stealth and open rig, I kind of had two choices: buy two sets of mics or maybe go with the only the DPAs. Sure, I could have gone DPA, but were talking hundreds of more dollars for that route. Plus, with the C4s, even though they aren't the best, I get omni and card caps. And on the stealth front, these AT's sure ain't that bad for stealthing. So, I do agree with you that of course I could have better mics, but even though they are the "weakest link" in my rig right now, the other aspects of my rigs are still really at the bare minimum to get decent quality (JB3, UA5, stand, etc.), so it's not like I could have traded down on that front in order to fund better mics or something. The only thing I could have done was pooled the $300 for the C4s with the $400 for the AT's and bought one set of mics, but $700 bucks would probably only bought me one DPA? Or am I wrong on that front? Anyway, surely this is one sweet "starter" rig, and a hugely flexible one for different occasions. Well, at least that was my logic, but I am just a newb after all, so maybe I got it wrong?

[Nick's Picks]

you could have bought a pair of neumann km184s.  they are small enough to stealth with, and fine for open taping, and would certainly have pulled better results w/more consistancy.
even dpa 4061s could have been had for $700, which would have worked either way as well.

but the c4s are supposed to sound nice.
have fun w/them!

[BayTaynt3d]

you could have bought a pair of neumann km184s.  they are small enough to stealth with, and fine for open taping, and would certainly have pulled better results w/more consistancy.
even dpa 4061s could have been had for $700, which would have worked either way as well.

but the c4s are supposed to sound nice.
have fun w/them!

You've peaked my interest... But I feel like I might be missing something here... Don't the km184s run more than $700 EACH? Now the DPAs maybe, but they are something like $500 EACH aren't they? Also, the DPA are omnis and the km184s are cards, and although I want cards in general, it'd be nice to be able to switch back and forth. Now, I'm not sure, maybe you can buy additional caps, but then that's even more money. Also, both are phantom power only, and for hardcore stealthing, I didn't want to deal with phantom. Also for stealthing, wouldn't I need active cables or something for these mics? Isn't that even more money? Problem is, I was trying to balance flexability (stealth vs. open, omni vs. card) with my budget. Anyway, not trying to be a pain in the ass, because I continue to learn something each time you (or anyone else for that matter) opines in, so I encourage that. But, I'm still not sure I couldv'e pulled off DPAs or KM184s under my needs and current budgetary constraints. Maybe if I found them in the Yard Sale, but that's still a maybe, and I didn't want to wait.

[F.O.Bean]

km 184's may be 700 each new retail, but street value is far below that, id never pay 1400 for a pair of 184's YMMV tho

more like 7-800 used for a set, since they arent interchangeable caps

[BJ]

and you could have had a complete set of caps, with a stealthable mic (audix micros) for 700$ total.....

but a nice setup nonetheless...

[thegreatgumbino]

Don't start doubting yourself now.  You've got a complete rig.  Figure out what you like and what you don't like by using it a lot.  You're going to get some great tapes and some shitty tapes as you figure it out.

The C4's are great mics for the price.  I've heard and made many great sounding tapes with the C4 > UA-5 > JB3 rig.  I also made some great sounding tapes with a pair of cheap SP croakie mount at831's > battery box > JB3.

Your gear is a stepping stone.  The longer you hang out around this place the more you're going to learn about gear & what you like/don't like sound wise.  Use your gear to learn some ins/outs of taping for now & upgrade your mics later after you've researched it some more.

[Nick's Picks]

there ya go.
solid advice.

i'm sure you'll like your setup. 
how's your stereo?

[mmmatt]

This is a great starter rig and all the components are popular enough to where you should be able to sell them with little to no loss.  As your ears and budget grow you should be able to turn all that stuff around and step up quickly.  You bought smart so don't sweat it!  +t

Matt

[vince]

I went from mosh pits (slayer, nuclear assault, destruction, creator..etc) straight into the embrace of the Grateful Dead.

not sure how it happened.
I still love good deth metal, but am only interested in the "classics".
that said, I say reign in blood and peace sells were the best.

Ha! That is funny... I went from old school punk to hardcore punk (I've actually seen bands like DRI, Black Flag, Husker Du, 7 seconds back in the day) to speed metal (saw Slayer in Rochester; fav album = Decade of Aggression) to alternative to classic rock (got into this after moving to Boulder, CO of couse!) to hip hop (the more poetic stuff, not the mysogynistic crap) to now pretty much everything including classical over the course of my life. I grew up in Ithaca, NY, which is where Pyramid Sound is. They are the low-bug studio that brought us the likes of S.O.D., Anthrax, and a bunch of other heavy/hardcore bands way back in the day. LOL! Anyway, funny to see the death metal comments from a guy who loves the dead now because I fall in some of those camps myself. One of the best concerts I've ever seen was Metallica OPENING for Ozzy on the Master of Puppets Tour (when Cliff was still the bassist). They simply blew Ozzy away so bad that the fans almost rioted before Ozzy came out, and it was the only time I've seen a true "opening act" (as opposed to co-headliners) come back out for an encore. Gotta love the metal, but these days I'm a little more mellow when it comes to listening to good music...

some good taste there, Tainted! pretty much echoes what I was into (and still am a bit) before I got heavy into Old/Alt Country

And before you purchased the whole Kenny G catalog....

...I just blew coffee through my nose and all over the lappie...this thread is great!