As for.the interface, how are the preamps on those Tascams if anyone knows? I want something I can record quality shit on that I will never grow out of.

Buy used and you can go a long way for 1 large.

That sixteen channel Tascam deal certainly gives you the most ins for yer buck of anything that I know of. I like the Focusrite stuff for how they sound (and a number of us on here have them) but scoring a used one is a bitch and a half. Honestly most stuff sounds decent enough these days, better than an old Mackie board at least and plenty of records were made on those, and we thought those were good-er-ish! It's just clean, straight up. More or less.

Which would leave you with $700 for mics. And you have both a 57 and a 58 kicking about. Now, I suppose you'll have to factor in cabling too, but a workable 20' mic cable can easily be had for under $10. You're dealing with a balanced signal here versus the cable for a guitar rig, which is a totally different animal. Can you swing ten bucks and not have to factor it in?

So... you have two okay utility mics, $700 +/- and a four-piece kit to mic up. Assume that the mics will do double-duty on other sources. Whatchu' gettin'?

[tomaslindberg] GO! [/tomaslindberg]


Also, yeah, buy used, again.

Sennheiser e602/604 set is good. Rode NT5s. AKG D112. EV RE20. Shure SM7B. Bunch of SM57s. Audix D6 for the metal click in the kick. Audix i5 or Sennheiser 609 for a "better" 57? Shure KSM27. MXL v67g. Nady ribbons. Are Oktavas still cheap? There's other decent stuff too. Some of these are more pricey new but you can find deals. Message newholland. It should show up in his email inbox. He's good with this stuff.

If you spend enough time on Craigslist, seven bills will net you fourteen 57s. You could beat a man to death with a sack of fourteen 57s and it would still sound at least okay if you dialed it in right.

Think about it.

Also, yeah, for four mics on a drum kit, Glyn Johns is the way to go. You place 'em right you'll be surprised how much body you get on the toms.

D112 and a pair of NT5s both used you could score for five? Even cheaper with v67gs, and those are okay too; how handy are you with electronics...? Shop smart, it'll take you a long way, you'll learn stuff and get your nerd on. Prioritize, I guess, and comparison-shop, check out clips. The toms you'll probably want to buff up, but a pair of 57s'll do you and they can be had cheap.

Ah we are talking about different generations.

My buddy has the 73/53 style case. Spaceship style:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=4938

Maybe look into Focusrite or RME if you want superduper-above-average quality. Just expect to spend three times as much or so. Depends on where the trade off sits for you.

Myself, i would go for the Tascam, because, worst case scenario, i am a nerd and i can modify the preamps later. Realistically, i might not ever do that though, because frankly, i don't give a shit.

Sound quality is important, don't get me wrong. But i try to be wary of listening a little too closely to Gearslutz/TGP/whatever sorts of audiophile considerations.

If i was building a "pro" setup i would never grow out of, it would 1. not be laptop based., 2. Not use a firewire OR a USB interface.

Right there at the start i have two problems. So i choose to get my hands on whatever i can, and make it work for me. What you want to do, i don't know.

Tascam preamps are known generally to be decent-to-lesser quality though, for sure.

I loved the ones in my old 414 though... They way they sucked was glorious.

Prioritize need/want to do what you want to accomplish and blow most of it on mics, assuming the original budget. It'll take you farther.

Oh, and for mics, my view is about the same. You can get very far for very cheap these days.

You already have some ubiquitous shure dynamic action.

I would say, get a pair of MXL LDCs (like the V67s) or something with smaller/mid-sized capsules like the 990s.

And then i would get something good for a kick mic like an AKG D112 or a Shure Beta 52 or like snaxo mentioned the D6. IMO, unless you just really like tinkering with EQs and mixes, spending a little money on a nice kick mic can make things a fair bit simpler for you.

For mic cables, i actually have been quite happy with the ghetto pack of ten 20' MusiciansFriend-branded ones i got for like $50 on an xmas sale or something?

They are not quite as nice as pricier name brand shit(hard to explain, but they definitely aren't as nice, slightly smaller cable probably, and slightly cheaper looking/feeling connectors on them) BUT they are not any more noisy and none of mine have broken in several years of recording here and elsewhere. And for that little money for balanced XLR cables, shit, i have never seen anything close.