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Least expensive sound treatment?

icba pictures

icba pictures

As usual... A newb question about treating a recording area for foley, music, v.o.'s, and whatever else I need to capture sound for... I guess my question is, can I get away with 10-12 fleece blankets hanging on the walls, ceiling, and laid on the floors? It's a small room about 10x12 in my basement so concrete isolation is mandatory. Is there a low budget replacement for "egg-crate" or acoustic foam. I know any treatment is better than none, but as usual, budget limits quality. I shouldn't even ask since I know the reply's are going to be "spend the money", but if I can spend $70 rather than $150... I would rather. But if there's something for $80 or $90... then I would go for that to get better sound. :blush:
 
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Tascam makes battery packs for the DR-40 & DR-100. About $25, get two - use one while the other charges.

The M-Audio Fast Track with Pro Tools SE is $99. It is VERY limited; minimal track counts, etc. You can get expansion packs to give you higher track counts, etc., that's where they start to soak you.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/813301-REG/M_Audio_9900_65143_12_Fast_Track_USB_Interface.html

Instead of Amazon use B&H or Sweetwater (I use both) or a similar vendor. They are specialists, and in this economy will do a lot to keep your business and have solid customer support. B&H and Sweetwater were both very helpful when my studio was flooded in '07; they replaced my receipts for the insurance claim and I got some good discounts when I made my purchases.
 
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If you're on a mac, Bias Deck does a good job... much cheaper than PT. Although if you're using Final Cut, you've got Soundtrack already... and that works like a charm. MUCH better interface than protools (IMHO), although not quite as much grunt as PT.
 
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Working on PC's so am looking at the PT/M-Audio. Should be able to get my feet wet and then move up if it's something I want to pursue on my own, or just let a pro or more experienced audio guy handle. Thanks guys, I appreciate all the input.
 
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icba pictures said:
Working on PC's so am looking at the PT/M-Audio.
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If you can afford PT, that's the route I would advise. It not that PT is the best value for money, probably Reason is, and it doesn't have the best feature set for audio post until you get to the very expensive PT rigs. It's because PT dominates the professional audio post world. Probably more than 90% of the commercial audio post facilities use PT. This has four consequences:

1. If you want to upgrade at some stage, there's an obvious path, all the way up to a world class audio post facility.
2. As you upgrade, PT gets more power and more functionality in the software is unlocked but everything you had in the lower version of PT is still exactly the same, so what you've already learnt is not wasted. A serious consideration because audio post software has a pretty steep learning curve.
3. If you were using Reason, Logic or one of the other programs, there's no easy way to transfer your project to a commercial facility running PT, except using an AAF, which can be time consuming to get to work properly and may strip out much of the work you've done. With PT though, everyone from me and Alcove to Skywalker Sound will be able to just load up your PT session and it'll be exactly how you saved it. So, the more work you do in PT the less it will cost you to pass your project on to audio post pros.
4. It's easy to get advice on how to use PT for audio post. The PT forums are about the best audio software forums on the web and even Alcove and I can advise if necessary.

G
 
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icba pictures said:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=778094&is=REG&Q=&A=details

Apparently it can be powered by USB. The adapter is only $20 though...
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It looks like both the P520 and the P515U just power the recorder (and charge the battery while the battery is connected to the recorder. I was wondering if there was something that would let you charge a battery outside of the recorded while you were draining a different battery inside the recorder. Maybe I'm just not seeing something.
 
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Mannie Bothans said:
It looks like both the P520 and the P515U just power the recorder (and charge the battery while the battery is connected to the recorder. I was wondering if there was something that would let you charge a battery outside of the recorded while you were draining a different battery inside the recorder. Maybe I'm just not seeing something.
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They're AA's for crying out loud... Any simple AA battery set and charger will get you through. Even if you have to throw a set of alkaline's in while they charge.:lol: For the DR-40 anyway...
 
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