There's no grade like...............

RWA · September 03, 2009, 03:16:48 PM

:mrgreen: Upgrade! :mrgreen:

I took care of a few loose ends, studio wise. A bunch of low budget but very effective upgrades over the past few months:
First there was the e-drum kit extension + Toontrack SD2. Took me weeks if not months to get it just right. So much to tweak..... But I'm happy now! :-)

Then I got rid of my 2 CRT 19" screens and replaced them with 2 TFT 20" (900 x 1600) screens:

This also gave me some much need room to re-place my keyboard so now everything is superbly ergonomically.

Then I picked up:
- 5 T-racks plug ins + a reverb from IK-multimedia from their "pay one get 6" group buy. Excellent addition to my T-racks classics.
- Wusik EVE 2. A great addition to Wusik Station 5. It's a separate plug in for piano's, organ's, trons etc. Very nice.
- Sanford Cobalt. A dead cheap ($25) VA-synth plug in with a fantastic sound. I kinda missed having one of those.
- A Line 6 FBV-short board. It was about time. Ordered it yesterday to have access to wah/volume and switch on/off stuff.
- A Line 6 POD mount. The POD is now mounted (duh) to the wall for full access.
- 2 additional Line 6 sound packs; I now officially have 160 amps!

It sounds like a lot but it are all purchases between 20 - 125 euro. I think the FBV is the most expensive one (€125). All in all these items make studio time more comfortable. And the last few months were great also to sort this stuff out. I also re-organized some sound/preset libraries (mainly from SampleTank and WusikStation) since they take up a crap load of space on my hard drive. I also figured out some undiscovered stuff in Cubase 4 and started working with the Line 6 editor software to re-organize my POD-XT. All those matters are usually ignored because there's no time.

So! I'm back in business. Ready to go and finish GCIII!

Gandalf1986 · September 03, 2009, 03:26:28 PM

Whoa! Look quite cool there

Well done, mate!

rogerg · September 03, 2009, 11:32:31 PM

rawk!! well done!

Gman · September 04, 2009, 09:18:14 AM

Nice set up RWA...now is that an ashtray or a very swanky chrome egg-shaker holder on the desk?

Are you using a 'brain' with your e-kit...or running it straight into the PC? I'm looking to upgrade to SD2 soon and want to expand my e-kit (currently a TD6K).

RWA · September 04, 2009, 10:13:37 AM

Ashtray it is!

The Roland pads are connected to a TD-6K module. The Medeli pads are connected to a Medeli module (= dead cheap; used to be owned by my son). The Medeli module's midi out goes into the TD-6K module (set to midi thru). Then all the midi data goes from the TD6K to my PC.

It's a complicated way to explain these are 2 e-drumkits both connected to the PC.

It took some time to set the proper midi numbers and create a custom drum map in Cubase but thank God for the midi learn function in SD 2!
I guess adding Roland pads to the TD-6K module (using something like a Roland TMC-6 converter) would be more elegant but the Medeli kit was all ready in the house. It doesn't have the same response as the Roland kit but I mainly use it for the lower toms and effect cymbals. They're good enough for that. Snare and hi-hat need more accuracy and are done with the Roland pads/modules.

metalmatt · September 07, 2009, 09:56:35 PM

Slightly off-topic (although not by usual forum standards) RWA, or anyone else that owns a POD for that matter, I was wandering which model POD you use and how much you'd rate it. Also how would you compare it to the newer models? I'm looking to invest in something Line 6 wise to use in conjunction with Record, so any recomendations would be lovely.

RWA · September 07, 2009, 10:24:22 PM

Quote from: "metalmatt"Slightly off-topic (although not by usual forum standards) RWA, or anyone else that owns a POD for that matter, I was wandering which model POD you use and how much you'd rate it. Also how would you compare it to the newer models? I'm looking to invest in something Line 6 wise to use in conjunction with Record, so any recomendations would be lovely.

When I went from PODII to POD-XT (2003) the difference was dramatic (as in "better"). The POD-XT is 10 times better in the effects department. The PODII has rather weak effects and is very limited in what combinations you can make. Of course it's great for what it costs today (about 100 euro) but the POD-XT was a great step forwards. I did check out the POD-X3 but it was "just" more amps and more effects. Besides, with the model packs installed the POD-XT has more amps and effects one can handle.

I'm a bit concerned about the overall quality of Line 6 gear nowadays. It used to be rock steady but all the latest models of their POD's, amps, interfaces and controllers have a sloppy "plastic" feel to them. They all sound fantastic but arn't as well build as it used to.

My Ghost Circus mate (Chris Brown) used to work for Guitar Center and they saw a disturbing amount of Line 6 amps coming back that broke down after a few months. I myself won a KB-37 keyboard/controller at a contest last year and wasn't impressed by how it was build. I got rid of it pretty fast. :?

Anyway, I'm not talking about the sound quality of the new stuff; that's still awesome! It's the quality of the materials they use that worries me. As long as you use the stuff at home you'll be just fine but their current gear isn't road worthy anymore. All in all a bad move from Line 6 IMO.

In that perspective: They discontinued the POD-XT PRO (19" version) so it's on sale everywhere (50% off) . It might not have as many options as the POD-X3 PRO (which is more of an "overall" home studio solution that can act as an interface for a lot of outboard gear) but it's build like a rock. And remember you can install model packs on that as well so you'll have a crapload of options. This might be a nice time to pick one up. I for one are tempted as hell (because it has all the extra routing and insert options) but can't really justify the purchase at this moment..... :?
Besides, my POD-XT from 2003 is still being abused daily (has been on several trips with me) and is still going strong. In all honestly... this thing gives me all the guitar tones I need.

rogerg · September 08, 2009, 01:39:18 AM

Quote from: "RWA"I'm a bit concerned about the overall quality of Line 6 gear nowadays. It used to be rock steady but all the latest models of their POD's, amps, interfaces and controllers have a sloppy "plastic" feel to them. They all sound fantastic but arn't as well build as it used to.

bummer. I've been looking at a little Line 6 bass amp, that would be easy to throw in the car, if a chance should arise to play a little. my PEavey is just too heavy to lug around...

Krische_Jasche · September 10, 2009, 11:27:16 PM

Quote from: "rogerg"bummer. I've been looking at a little Line 6 bass amp, that would be easy to throw in the car, if a chance should arise to play a little. my PEavey is just too heavy to lug around...

You should take a look at the Markbass combos. Lightweight, surprisingly good tone and great value!

rogerg · September 10, 2009, 11:57:33 PM

Quote from: "Krische_Jasche"
Quote from: "rogerg"bummer. I've been looking at a little Line 6 bass amp, that would be easy to throw in the car, if a chance should arise to play a little. my PEavey is just too heavy to lug around...

You should take a look at the Markbass combos. Lightweight, surprisingly good tone and great value!

I will check them out, thanks!

(a few seconds pass as I google "markbass")

zowie... sadly, a little out of my league. while I'm sure they are wonderful and super-fab, the used ones run around $430... the little Line6 I was looking at was $179...

but I appreciate the recommendation! 8-)