Nollykin Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 It's my birthday soon! the big 18, on the 14th of july. That means two things: New gear, and modest pricing. My parents said that considering its my 18th, theyre willing to spend about $150 (remember, I'm aussie) on something for me. Obviously its going to be guitar equipment Heh. Heres what I am looking at. A mixer board - just a tiny one, like a Phonic MM1202a. OR! Something that will work well. Basically here is my situation and reasons for wanting this: I have a guitar, an amp, and a sennheriser E-835s. I have a sound blaster live! soundcard. And nothing else, sound wise. I want to get my home studio started. And to do that I need something that I can either plug into my soundcard, (or get another card to plug into) and also plug my mic into / (maybe) guitar into, in order to get decent recording quality. I just want decent.. something usable. At the moment, my mic sounds like a lawnmower, most likely due to the lack of preamps. I have been thinking, Phonic MM1202... simply because its easy enough to use, I can (supposedly?) plug it into my soundcard, and get decent sound quality. When I talked to people at music stores about this idea, many of them grimaced, saying "welll yeah... you could do that..." and one said (quote) "...but the thing about phonic gear is.... well.... you pay for what you get. And really..." he shrugged. Now kill me if I'm being paranoid here, but that seems to me to be a bad thing... THEN AGAIN - this is a shop assistant, and he's after more money, of course. What do you people think? Do you gurus have any advice for me? I really cant decide. Ta, guys. Nolly "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 The Phonic is fine. It's not the best in the world but it's not real noisy and it gets the job done just fine. I have one. I use the better Mackie but I do have a Phonic that I use to hook to my computer to record my friend/bandmate and myself sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 Nolly, Go with the Phonic. I have the MM1202 & there is not a better mixer out there for the money. The thing has pretty good pre-amps. They don't add noise or color to the mic. Check out a couple of posts on the Songwriters forum & I have a dupe on the SSS "Is Your Music Any Good" thread. The stuff there is all plain jane, decent mics, into the Phonic mixer & into a SounbBlaster Live card, recorded onto n-Track Studio. That Sennheiser will work fine and you can always upgrade the mixer later, when the Aussie bucks become available. You may not want to. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but I'm under the impression that The Phonic stuff is by Yamaha. If that's the case, all the better. If you have the bandwidth, I'll be happy to email you an mp3 of a tune done that way that has multiple tracks, all done with that CHEAP gear. I've heard lots of stuff that's worse sounding & done on much more expensive gear. You have my email address so if you want, give me a shout. Late... Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted July 9, 2002 Author Share Posted July 9, 2002 Excellent... Thankyou very much guys. I thought (from what people told me) that the phonic was good. Hence why I was worried about the whole salesman thing. Ta guys Nolly "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted July 9, 2002 Share Posted July 9, 2002 Nolly, Here's another approach: skip the mixer and look into an amp modeler. Your amp is a small solid-state amp, IIRC. You'll probably get some more pleasing tones out of the modeler. Also, something like a J-station (about $150) will drive your sound card with no problem. In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted July 9, 2002 Author Share Posted July 9, 2002 Hmm... I am under the impression that modellers are just simply too expensive. Heres a question. Anyone know the actual difference between the MM1202a and the MM1202 (non a)? I mean... theyre listed separately... so what's the difference? I cant figure it out.. Nolly "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted July 9, 2002 Share Posted July 9, 2002 Hmm... I am under the impression that modellers are just simply too expensive. You might be able to find a used J-station in your price range. How much is $150 aussie in US dollars? Digitech sells a Genesis 1 for $100 US. OK, I just found a conversion site. It's about $85 US. You still might find a used modeler for that. If not, your mixer idea will work. Oh yeah, Happy Birthday! In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted July 9, 2002 Share Posted July 9, 2002 Nolly, The overall specs are the same. The differences are in some control differences. I believe the MM1202 was the earlier version. It has a mic/line switch on the four mono chanels. The 1202a does not. There is MS stereo on the 1202, not on the 1202a that I can see and, along with that is a switch that turns on the level LEDs for MS stereo on the 1202 & not the 1202a. MS stereo is a way to get stereo recording with a mono system using a mono mic and a stereo mic in conjunction. I have the MM1202 & between the two, that's what I'd get again. Functionally the rest of the operation is identical. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickerman Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 Ha ha... Oh yeah. Happy Birthday Nolly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted July 10, 2002 Author Share Posted July 10, 2002 Thanks wick Hmm... I am indeed torn. the MM1202 seems to be a little more expensive... and from what I hear it is a little better. than the A that is.. (bloody confusing that...) Uhh... also on the subject, people tell me tat Behringger gear is similar... and it is a lot easier for me to get (you dont know how hard it is to find a decent stockman of Phonics in my country)... are they comparable? Are they any good? if so, what models do you guys reckon I should try out? TA VERY MUCH!! *nods* Nolly "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 Nolly, If the Behringer is more readily available there go for it. The specs are about the same. The closest to the MM1202 is the MX802A. It has the 4 mono channels but misses a pair of stereo channels that are on the Phonic unit. Behringer has a 12 input unit that's a step above the MX802A but it's more expensive. It does have slider controls rather than rotary but I've not found the rotaries to be a detrement. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolkid Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 i have the behringer and for about $100 its really good,you will def need the preamp to record vocals,especially with the senheiser mike you have (which you will quickly outgrow) i wouldnt worry about the guitar right now,getting good vocal recordings on a daw will probably be more difficult,i would upgrade the mic next any suggestions guys on what he should get to record some hot vox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 Certainly the Shure SM58 will probably be in order but may be out of the price range & I've done well without one, though it's on my want list. Shure does make a very nice middle of the road priced mic that may be in order for you Nolly. I like the Carvin alternateve, the CM68. It is not, however a HOT mic so the Behringer pre amps my not have enough boost. CAD has some nice, affordable mics that will work for you & I found, and use Marshall Electronics MIcs. I'm using the MXL1006 large diaphragm mic (under $100.00 US)through my Phonic pre amps & it's just fine. 48V Phantom power. I also use the MXL1000 small diapgragm mics for live work and recording as well as the FOX dynamic. I like it better than the e835. Carvins CM90E is a nice little small diaphragm mic too but I think it's still only made as a 12 volt phantom mic so it would need to be used on it's internal battery. I'm not overly impressed with it's vocal useability but for strings, distant micing & stc., it works well. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted July 12, 2002 Author Share Posted July 12, 2002 Hmm. I was under the impression that the E-835 was similar if not up to par with the SM58... maybe I was misinformed. Hmm... so... behringer... its good then? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... *thinks* "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 Hmm. Okay - I think I will go for the behringer... because if I want shops to order in a phonic, then I have to pay a deposit, or commit myself to it before I try it out. The behringer is one that I can try out myself next weekend... and that might be the best way. As far as that goes, if I do get that, will the preamps be good enough with my sennheiser to record decent quality? Ta Nolly "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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