Recording music on a boat?

[goeasy123]

Any recording musicians out there? What do you use to record your stuff on the boat?

[Randal]

I know Boothby showed all that on his Youtube channel at 1 time.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by Randal

I know Boothby showed all that on his Youtube channel at 1 time.

Tour manager and sound engineer here. Never done much tracking on a boat. Seems like a bit of a PITA.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Randal.

[Puddleduck]

Small midi keyboard, iPad software synths and cubase. Not a huge power draw and no need for noise cancelling!

[goeasy123]

Puddleduck.... sounds like to know a thing.


I need 4 ins with 2 mic pres, run off 12vdc.... into Cubase on Win 10. Its need to run straight of the house batteries when tracking.... i.e. inverters, chargers turned off.


Any ideas?

[Inkog]

I have an entire studio that I'd love to take aboard with me. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that I can't afford the boat required to make that happen. Needless to say, salt air would quickly kill most music gear. Now I'm juggling what I can sell to get me in a better place to sail with some gear. I'm planning to take my DAW PC and expendable newish toys only. I've thoroughly sampled my best synths and drum machines

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by Andy Todd

Puddleduck.... sounds like to know a thing.


I need 4 ins with 2 mic pres, run off 12vdc.... into Cubase on Win 10. Its need to run straight of the house batteries when tracking.... i.e. inverters, chargers turned off.


Any ideas?

The way to go is a 12 volt power supply for your laptop. plugs right into a cigarette lighter plug and is silent, then just power your interface off of usb. Find out what voltage your ac brick is and then just adapt that to a 12 volt supply easy peezy.

[goeasy123]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

The way to go is a 12 volt power supply for your laptop. plugs right into a cigarette lighter plug and is silent, then just power your interface off of usb. Find out what voltage your ac brick is and then just adapt that to a 12 volt supply easy peezy.

Yes... but what's the best i/f with 4 xlr's and mic pres that I can somehow run off the 12vdc house battery?



I'm not sure you can run 4 pres of USB... not enough current.

[Puddleduck]

All really depends what you want to record and what your hoping to achieve? Solo or band? 1 live take or tracking, fully mic’ed up drum kit or acoustic guitar pickup and condenser mic?

There’s always more than one way to skin a cat and sometimes getting creative because of limitations throws up different possibilities!

A quick search shows most usb powered ADC’s only have 2 X ins (with 48v phantom power). Some of the portable usb interfaces have external battery pack power options (sold separately ) which would increase laptop battery life a bit. Don’t see why you couldn't use 2 of these and configure them as separate input sources although not tried it myself.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steinberg-U...uments&sr=1-18

[Lake-Effect]

The Joe Walsh album "But Seriously Folks" was demo'ed and rehearsed on a "70 ft 4-track", according to the album credits. The track "Theme from Boat Wierdos" was actually recorded aboard.

... what's the best i/f with 4 xlr's and mic pres that I can somehow run off the 12vdc house battery?

You could go with TWO USB-powered audio interfaces with 2 mic pre's each...Googling turned up this beast with 4 mic ins and 12v power in.

Because a boat is a potentially harsh environment, you might consider film-grade gear. Something like a Zoom F4 and some field-worthy mics. Bonus income potential - you could work as an equipped freelance recordist for film/video work.


A boat itself isn't a reliable acoustic environment, but you can haul your gear ashore to a suitable spot (eg a small church) for tracking.

[goeasy123]

Lake-Effect.... your link looks like a good bet. Focusrite have great pres for the price. The back says it runs of 12vdc semi sinusoidal. I'm wondering if that means it will run of a 12v battery.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Andy Todd

The back says it runs of 12vdc semi sinusoidal. I'm wondering if that means it will run of a 12v battery.

As far as I can tell, it runs off of 12v DC, which means your boat battery is OK. I would check with Focusrite themself, or a knowledgable tech to confirm that it would be OK with up to 14.5v, which is the highest you might see when your boat battery is on the charger.

I tried to download the manual from Focusrite but their download page is a royal pain. Maybe you'll have better luck.

If Focusrite has a 4-in box, I'm sure other brands have them too.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Andy Todd

Any recording musicians out there? What do you use to record your stuff on the boat?

Yup ... right here.

1) Macbook Pro 15" - fully loaded
2) Avid Pro Tools software
3) Pro audio interface
4) Good headphones
5) Neumann pro valve mic
6) Expensive preamp (I like Avalon)
7) Pro ref monitors (I like Yamaha)

Finished. Press record ....

[unbusted67]

Yeah, just get a mic pre that runs off of 12volt dc. That focusrite would be fine if you don't mind crap sounding gear LOL. Don't mess around and get one of these.