Tired of going back and forth between control room, iso booth; suggestions?

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Level 1

16 points

Tired of going back and forth between control room, iso booth; suggestions?

As a solo "artist" in my studio, I'm tired of going back and forth between my control room and iso booth when tracking. I usually have to bring my mic into the control room to get the levels right and then take it back in. And then there's hitting the record button and running in there.

I've tried ProTransport from Far Out Labs as a device to control my rig from inside my iso booth. It's choppy and doesn't always work, so I'm not a fan (at least not yet). I know there's "ProRemote" from them that lets me see levels too but if ProTransport ($8) isn't smooth/easy, I don't want to lay out $40 or so for ProRemote.

I tried just having my laptop in the iso booth with all else (preamp, A/D interface, hard drive) on the other side of the wall (cords running through a small hole). This is ok my the laptop still has some noise (and I want to record quiet/acoustic material).

I've thought about buying an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse and just having those in the iso booth (connected via the hole in the wall), but that would cost money, of course.

I was just wondering what others in the same situation do.

Thanks.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Jul 28, 2009 6:51 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 28, 2009 11:34 PM in response to rcook349

use a laptop for remote control of the computer recording.

use "back to my mac" or remote control or another similar program, these programs allow you to control the screen of the main 'puter.

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Answer 2

Jul 29, 2009 1:25 AM in response to rcook349

Hi, I've got exactly the same problem but my control room is upstairs too! Assuming you have an ipod touch you could try vnc or mocha or logmein (this could be the better option) or you could wait for folabs to release their logic remote app.....

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Answer 3

Jul 29, 2009 3:41 AM in response to rcook349

One solution you might want to try is controlling Logic from your mobile phone. I use remote Buddy to control Logic with the little Apple Remote and it's great, but only when in line of sight. You can also use a mobile phone, an iPod touch or iPhone as well. I haven't tried that yet, but it should work fine. It can control absolutely ANY application too.
http://www.iospirit.com/index.php?mode=view&objtype=infogroup&obj_id=24&sid=9817595Gc4dc198e7f64db33&o_infogroupobjcode=infogroup-23

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Answer 4

rcook349 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 29, 2009 7:58 AM in response to RedBrooklyn

But my laptop IS the main recording computer. And it's a little noisy to hav in the ISO booth with me.

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Answer 5

Jul 29, 2009 8:28 AM in response to Rob Williams

OK, further to my post about Remote Buddy, I've just downloaded version 1.2 and had a go with the Ajax extension for iPhone and Touch. It's amazing. Remote Buddy gives you a simple 6 button controller for any Apps on your Mac, and I use it with Logic from the apple IR remote. OK, when you switch Ajax on you can use your Touch or iPhone as a wifi remote control over Bonjour. For any App. Including Logic. You can also use it as a trackpad if you're feeling brave. Seriously guys, download the 30 day trial and give it a try.

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Answer 6

Jul 29, 2009 10:00 AM in response to Rob Williams

I gave up on iphone apps - dropped a couple of hundred bucks on one of these:

http://www.frontierdesign.com/Products/TranzPort

. . and never looked back

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Answer 7

Jul 29, 2009 1:48 PM in response to rcook349

I have been very happy with the Frontier Tranzport ($200). It's a great wireless USB transport controller and works flawlessly. It's a relief not to have to keep running back & forth from my iso room to control room.

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Answer 8

Jul 29, 2009 3:24 PM in response to thecreeper

Ditto on the Frontier Tranzport. Best 200 bucks I ever spent... seriously

Obviously, you still have to set your levels looking at Logic, but if you record enough, you'll learn to guesstimate where to set your pre-amp levels, compressor levels, etc. (based on experience)... do a quick test recording, run back, make sure levels are good, and away you go.

Navigating through tracks, markers, undo's, record, punch-ins, etc... are a breeze with the Tranzport.

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Answer 9

rcook349 Author

Level 1

16 points

Jul 29, 2009 3:35 PM in response to Jim Frazier

Wow, I was about to get excited about the Tranzport, but if it can't read levels, it's no good to me.

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Answer 10

Jul 29, 2009 6:20 PM in response to rcook349

Plus one for the Frontier Design Tranzport, good working product. And, yes, you can read and adjust levels on it.

Marc

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Answer 11

Jul 29, 2009 8:21 PM in response to Marc_Duchesne

This is a total wish sandwich but if the fabled Mac Tablet turns out to be real and released in the not too distant future, a Logic transport application would be awesome, AWESOME.

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Answer 12

Jul 30, 2009 5:03 AM in response to rcook349

I'll add my voice to the chorus, Tranzport. You learn how to use it fairly quickly, it uses bluetooth to connect but will go quite a ways away from the console because it has this 'antenna' to get the signal stronger and closer to your source.

Now since you also have the problem of controlling mic levels etc... the Tranzport won't control your preamp. For that I use the Universal Audio DCS. This is a piece sent from heaven. GREAT Mic preamps (2 of them) full remote control over them, AND you get to control the headphone mix in the remote control unit. The weird thing is that UA decided to discontinue it, so you might find it on eBay or somewhere for cheap. I am not sure why they discontinued it, it's a wonderful piece of gear. Here is the link with info: http://www.uaudio.com/products/discontinued/dcs/index.html

R

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Answer 13

Jul 30, 2009 8:16 AM in response to RobertSfeir

Swear by the Tranzport. One of those rare devices that actually just does what it's supposed to do flawlessly. So useful. Just one word of advice:

Whatever you do don't hold it in your hand while you walk down the hall to grab some munchies while your vocalist is doing their take...as soon as you get out of range, Logic gets a 'system overload' error. Oopsie. Sorry Ms. Vocalist.

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Answer 14

Wyk

Level 1

0 points

Jul 30, 2009 10:17 AM in response to rcook349

Additional thoughts:

A fanless\FlashDisk based netbook running any OS and VNC or such would work just fine too.

Also, depending on the distance, you could run a "good quality" monitor cable to a second monitor with wired or bluetooth (depending on the distance) extra keyboard\mouse.

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Answer 15

Jul 30, 2009 8:55 PM in response to rcook349

Call me old-fashioned but I've always found the Logic Control surface ideal for this . . . with "flying faders" turned off for the quiet factor. However, if you're secure regarding your input levels, almost any midi controller can accomplish transport functions. I recorded an entire solo acoustic guitar album by myself on a DA-88 controlled by Logic via MMC. All transport commands (from the iso booth) were sent via an ART X-15 Ultrafoot! This was a foot controller originally purchased to control an ART SGX-2000 guitar processor I used for a tour. I simply programmed buttons (there are 12) to send various commands eg. go to last marker, rewind, record, undo etc. This all worked, but really headed me towards the Logic Control. The only problem . . . expensive. The big advantage . . . a truly "hands-on" feel for recording and mixing. It will go anywhere a midi cable(two actually) will go.

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