The holidays are a great time to unwind, but it’s also a good time to get organized. A few years ago, I took the time to document my studio configuration since I was having a hard time remembering what was connected to what, where, and why. Even in home studios (like mine), it doesn’t take long for the array of cable and wiring to become overwhelmingly complex. Plus, we’re talking about multiple mediums including digital and analog audio, MIDI, digital sync, USB, and power distribution to name a few.  Keeping it tidy is one thing, but keeping this detail in your head is nearly impossible; and you feel the pain when you “open the bonnet” to make any changes.

So my feeling is, bite the bullet once, spend incremental time maintaining it, and save loads of time in the long run as your environment continues to evolve.   There is, of course, a separate and independent need to apply conventional “asset management” such as maintaining an up-to-date inventory of your gear, but this tends to serve financial purposes more so than operational ones.  Things tend to break mostly when we introduce a change into our environment, and maintaining an accurate configuration, from several perspectives, will help you make changes faster and with far fewer headaches.

The diagram above, a topology map, is one of several diagrams that now comprise my studio documentation. It provides a high-level view of key components and connectivity from several perspectives. I use different diagrams to drill into things such as audio signal path, both analog and digital, MIDI routes, and TCP/IP networking.   And of course,  I maintain separate diagrams for machine configurations as well as a mapping of significant software and sound libraries. This is by no means an end-to-end inventory, but provides enough information to get me started in most situations.  For example, if I have my eye on a new sound library, and let’s face it they aren’t getting any smaller these days, I have several choices as to where to place it.

I’ve found it equally important to be mindful of power distribution. Even with multiple dedicated circuits, a must have in my opinion, it is easy (and dangerous) to create an overload if you ignore basic load balancing. I also use uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) that fan current to several intermediate power conditioners which allow me to power up and down the studio in an orderly fashion. But not everything gets the benefit of UPS current as there isn’t much value in providing this to things like my studio monitors.  Basically, anything that I’d hate to lose when a creative moment coincides with a power outage gets the benefit of both uninterrupted and conditioned juice.

View all of my diagrams

I’m sharing my diagrams with the hopes that this may be of help to others. Hopefully they can provide you with a useful reference or starting point.  I used Microsoft Visio to produce these because it’s a simple tool with lots of stencils (especially for diagramming rack mounted gear), and then saved them into a PDF  to make for easy viewing.

This week, I was able to install and test the first of my “year end” gear additions, the KRK Ergo, a digital room analysis and correction system.   I realize there are lots of skeptics with regards to room correction via equalization.  In fact, I’m one of them!  So I’ll say from the onset that, to me, room treatment is the first and foremost step to room accuracy.   80% of your gains will come from your room treatment, but the Ergo can provide some incremental improvement.  It doesn’t work when you try this in reverse order…

Nevertheless, I have long suspected that I was suffering from a low frequency null smack dab in my listening position.  Over time, I was able to compensate simply by knowing my room and literally sliding my chair back a few feet into the sweet spot.   The Ergo took approximately 10 room measurements; so rather than equalizing just your focus position (as is the case with many competing products), the Ergo attempts to build a 3D image of your room.  You use the supplied software to control the measurement/calibration process from a computer attached via firewire.  The measurement process begins at your focus/mix position, and then prompts for additional random positions until the software is satisfied with its room knowledge.   The software then downloads the settings to either the “A” or “B” speaker position on the Ergo- meaning you can store two separate room calibrations on this device (pretty handy)!   After calibrating, you can disconnect the Ergo from the computer and use it as a standalone device anywhere between your DAW and your monitors, or keep it connected via firewire for an elegant DAC interface to your monitors!

In my case, the digital outs from my DAW feed into my Yamaha o2r96 mixing board which, in turn, connects to my monitors (Barefoot MM27s and Avantone Mixcubes).  I simply redirected the XLR stereo outs from the o2r96 into the Ergo, and now use Ergo’s nifty A-B switching to toggle between the Barefoots and the Avantones.

So the question I assume your asking  about now is whether the difference is noticeable?  Candidly, it was very subtle in my case, which I take as a good thing!   This tells me that my room was already dialed in, as I suspected, but I do believe it helped address that nasty little null.  I’ve replayed four recent mixes that I thought were right on, and with the Ergo, the bass guitars were noticeably hot – makes sense because of compensating for that null at 100Hz right?   I quickly revised the mixes and my tests indicate a better, tighter result.  Again, we’re talking subtleties but as you know, it doesn’t take much to get the lower frequencies out of whack.

In summary, the pros outweigh the cons, in my opinion.  The Ergo is relatively inexpensive and it is a better than average room correction gadget because it builds a 3D room image vs. focusing just on your mix/focus position.   It can easily toggle between various filter modes including bi-passing all filters entirely so at the worst case, you’re back to where you started but with a well-built DAC/A-B switching/master volume control between your DAW and monitors.   It’s worth adding that the monitor switching also enables you to configure subwoofer switching – but in my case, not required.  The Ergo also includes a separate headphone out and level control although I wish the jack were located on the front of the unit instead of the back.  Seems to me that the Ergo offers some nice utility beyond its core function so that was the tipping point for me…  And, did I mention that it helped me dial in my mixes in less time?

Verdict: It’s not a game changer, but it’s still a winner!

Here is a link to the most recent trade press review I could find, courtesy of Mix Magazine.

Well, the end of year is upon us and it stands to reason that it’s a good time to take advantage of some holiday deals as well as consider various new product introductions.

Let’s not forget that an up-to-date studio does for us what a designer walk-in shoe closet does for the female species…

So here’s the list of goodies I’m contemplating…

MUSE RECEPTOR VERSION 2

Ironically, I was considering an upgrade to my Receptor Rev C (circa 2006) this time last year, but decided to hold off in hopes that Muse would create a more significant leap.  The newly announced specifications on the Muse Receptor 2 (Pro Max) were just what I was hoping for, albeit 12 months later…

This baby can potentially replace my dedicated sampling server which presently runs GigaStudio 4 and Kontakt 3 and an assortment of sample libraries totaling approximately 400GB.   Here’s my thinking: Tascam has put GigaStudio out to pasture so my long-run strategy is to consolidate everything onto NI Kontakt.  I doubt I’m unique in this thinking…  Muse has always had a cozy relationship with Native Instruments, but prior versions of the Receptor lacked the overall muscle and capacity to provide this function.  Plus gigabit ethernet support now makes their Uniwire protocol something I can seriously contemplate; up until now, I haven’t used it.  And, they’ve added eSATA support; this is a great solution for adding high-performance external storage (not possible on earlier models).  Sure the Receptor costs more (est $3200 street) than an equivalently configured PC, but the Receptor provides more net performance with less configuration because its Linux kernel is purpose built and the absence of a GUI adds another 20-30% tailwind in my estimation.

The question for me is whether to consolidate everything from my Rev C, which presently runs self-contained instruments such as Ivory and other soft-synth VSTs, onto a Max Pro or simply dedicate the Max Pro as my new Kontakt/sampler platform.  Kore 2 support is also on the near-term horizon according to Muse.  My thinking is that wrapping everything under Kore 2 makes quite a bit of sense these days – if you’re going to standardize on NI stuff, may as well go “all in”.  I’d be curious if anyone has thoughts or experiences along these lines?

UAD-2 Quad

I presently have 3 UAD-1 boards in my DAW, a dual Xeon box built by ADK Pro Audio.  And for whatever reason, my UAD plug-ins have not been performing that well since the advent of Cubase 4.x – I’m not sure why, but my theory is that this coincides with a wrapper for VST 2.X plug-ins as Steinberg begins optimization around its new VST 3.X standard.  Just my personal theory, but regardless, I can buy a single (albeit pricey) UAD-2 Quad and not only get a lot more DSP, but also free up some slots inside the box.  I could then add a SSL Duende PCIe – which I prefer to run on the bus vs. over firewire.  The Duende is also on my radar, but I’m going to wait on that one because I suspect SSL is preparing an upgrade of their own given their recent price drops.  Besides, I’m a heavy Waves user so I have the plug-ins I need for the time being.  It’s clear that the UAD-2 is going to be around for a while, so I think I’m going to bite the bullet and buy the top-end Quad – it’s time to consolidate – and this is best done before year end given the special incentives being provided by Universal Audio.

I also contemplated a DAW upgrade, but I’m getting “good enough” performance to hold out a bit longer, namely so I can make a healthy and uneventful leap into a 64-bit configuration.  I’m seeing signs that Vista is beginning to stabilize, and my bet is that we’ll see a lot more 64-bit support (for drivers, plug-ins, etc) becoming available in 2009.  I’m going to hold out until everything stabilizes.  For now, the DAW falls into the category of not fixing what’s not broken…

KRK ERGO

ERGO stands for Enhanced Room Geometry Optimization – or more simply put, a room correction device that consists of the base unit, a calibration microphone and control software.  These three pieces are used to measure and analyze phase and frequency problems within a listening environment to create a 3D image of your room and apply dynamic filters to control/correct the audio environment.

I haven’t been a big fan of these things in the past, but I believe the ERGO may provide some help particularly since I know I have low frequency nulls smack dab in my mix position.  Notwithstanding, I also have extensive acoustic treatments in my studio including bass traps.  I would not recommend something like this before you apply fundamental treatment, but I figure the combination of a well treated room and this little gadget may provide for some improvement.  It’s all about creating mix transparency and for a mere $550 (USD), I can’t resist giving it a try!  Incidentally, I’ve ruled out the competing alternative from IK Multimedia because I want something that sits outside of the DAW.

Line 6 Pod X3 Pro

My remaining upgrades can be done cost neutrally courtesy of eBay!   In this regard, I’m finding myself attracted to the new Line6 Pod X3 Pro.  This new gadget combines the best of the renowned guitar and bass pod technologies plus it provides a decent pair of line and mic pres – the only thing I see missing is meters but I can live with that.  Basically, this is an audio interface on steroids, and will be great tool for my visiting guitar toting mates.  So the plan is to replace not only my current Pod Pro XT, but also my 2U Focusrite TwinMaster Pro and gain a spare 1U rack space along with 2 additional analog ins for my Yamaha O2r96 while I’m at it.  More for less – always good in my book!

Well, that’s about it for now… I think I’ve just mentally spent about $5000 (USD)?  Not really too bad in the grand scheme right?  I haven’t really done much “gear acquisition” this year so perhaps I’m just in the mood, but some of these recent announcements really strike a chord with me so I think it’s time to do a little upgrading!