If you had $40,000.00 for a brand new Pro Tools HD Setup...What would you do?

[kfoote8]

Hey everyone...I am getting ready to put together a recording studio for myself. I already own a G5 and an Argosy workstation desk and rack. I have $40,000 to spend on all of my equipment. I would like to know what some of you would do if you where in my position. I want to keep it in Pro Tools land...prob. HD Accel 2. Other than that, tell me what you would do for the rest. (Pre amps, AD conversion, DA conversion, monitors, etc..) Thanks for this guys and have fun spending my money my money!!!

[walth]

Apple Mac Pro
Apple 30" Cinema Display
Glyph Terabyte Hard Drive

Digidesign Pro Tools HD3 Accel 7.3.1
Digidesign Pro Control 24 or Command 8.

Lynx Aurora 16 with PTHD Card

8 channel Focusrite 828, or 8 channe Universal Audio mic pre
4 channel API 3124+, GML 8304, or Daking 4 Channel
2 channel A Designs Pacifica
2 channel Brent Averill Neve 1084

Genelec 8050A (Pair)
Crane Song Avocet/Mackie Big Knob

[soundeq]

get the HD3 its worth the little bit more over the HD2, figure around 10k for an HD3 card setup... a 192 is another 3-4k How many IO do you need? I'm gussing 2x 192s?
so around 16-17k for the hardware... Plugs... I'd spend around 4-5k on plugs, waves, URL, Massey, some others... call it a day at around 20 grand, use the other 20k for other stuff... especially since pro tools, and anything computers for that matter depriciates so quickly.


my .02

[drBill]

Most HD systems I've spec'd or bought have run in the $25k-32k range. That should get you a couple of 192's, and HD3 a sync i/o and a good selection of plug-ins.

[kfoote8]

Maybe I should make this a little clearer for everyone. I want a list of everything not just the HD stuff...Conversion, Monitors, Pre amps, mix down, plug-ins, etc. Not just HD stuff but the whole package. Hope this helps.

[druhms]

What are you recording? How many mic pre's do you need? Any real compressors or eq's?
Druhms

[BrianT]

Anybody who tells you what pre's and mic's to buy without asking what kind of music you make is doing you no favors.

[Fletcher]

If you already have the G5 then I'd get a Symphony card and like 2x AD-16x and 2x DA-16x boxes from Apogee [so I'd have 32 I/O], as much memory as I could get into the computer and run Logic instead of Pro-Tools [because I think it sounds better]... then invest the $20+ thousand you had left over into outboard processing, mic-pre's, mics, etc. as the Apogee stuff sounds better and costs less than the Shiti-Design hardware.

Well you asked what I would do... as always, YMMV.

Peace.

[tiny333]

what he said ^^^^^^^

i might wait and spend the $20000 on the chandler desk !!! yeash!

[doorknocker]

Here we go again.

[Slaytex]

I couldn't possibly ever imagine dropping that kind of cash on a digital ticking time bomb of depreciation (Pro Tools rig). I know some commercial places need it because of clients and such but f*ck me.

Give me a good frontend, an interface with good converters and a engineer that knows his stuff and I'm golden.

I'm with Fletcher on this one, except i'm a Nuendo Ho.

Also not to sound asshole-ish, but if you have $40,000 and you need people to tell you what to buy, your making a big mistake. Only you can figure this one out. If you insist though just open up a Sweetwater catalog and buy one of there already put together bundle studio's.

Good luck.

[Dan]

I would put at least $10K in a 1 year CD to keep my hands off it. Then I would start looking at monitors.

Then monitor controllers.

Buy a used hd system. and maybe an aurora 16, if it didn't come with 192's.

[kfoote8]

My goodness some of you guys are really snobby!!! This was just a fun thing to do...for me to see what other people are using or would use if they had that kind of cash. I am not asking everyone to make my decisions for me, just curious what variations other guys are doing...THAT"S ALL!!!! Geees!

[Infernal Device]

Originally Posted by Slaytex

I couldn't possibly ever imagine dropping that kind of cash on a digital ticking time bomb of depreciation (Pro Tools rig). I know some commercial places need it because of clients and such but f*ck me.

Give me a good frontend, an interface with good converters and a engineer that knows his stuff and I'm golden.

I'm with Fletcher on this one, except i'm a Nuendo Ho.

Also not to sound asshole-ish, but if you have $40,000 and you need people to tell you what to buy, your making a big mistake. Only you can figure this one out. If you insist though just open up a Sweetwater catalog and buy one of there already put together bundle studio's.

Good luck.

Word-for-word, what he said. yep.

[Daedalus77]

A few points.

1. I hope this doesn't devolve (again) into a PT vs. Native thread. But it probably will.

2. How best to allocate your 40 grand really depends on the precise nature and aspirations of your new "studio."

If you're primarily looking to work on personal projects or friends' material, put together basic demos, compose, engage in sound-design or sound-for-picture projects, then you want one kind of system (probably a native system running Logic with Symphony, as Fletcher outlines).

If you're looking to track bands or large ensembles and have the physical studio space (read: great acoustical environment) to support such projects, then perhaps PT HD is the "standard" route. Perhaps. (A nod to those who do that just fine with Nuendo, Cubase, or Logic.) In that case, the Accel system-with-Lynx-converters seems to be the "popular" scheme just now. Or the same system with AD/DA-16xs. (There's a whole other briar patch of threads to read.)

3. I will say that if I were lucky enough to stumble upon 40 grand for use in setting up a new facility, I'd think carefully about saving and expanding that sum and then considering the glut of new small-footprint consoles that seems poised to hit the market—at least as presaged by the new API, Rupert Neve, and Chandler units.

Hope that was marginally helpful. Best of luck.

[allencollins]

Originally Posted by kfoote8

If I had $40,000.00 for a brand new Pro Tools HD Setup...What would I do?

I would buy a Radar system

[allencollins]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

Shiti-Design hardware.

love it!
don't hold back

[cjogo]

May depend if this is more a pleasure trip----or full time working studio. Our market does not justify that kind of expenditure. Clients are just not going to pay >>>> Keep about $30k of that cash & use the other $10k ~~~ to purchase used gear.---You will make money your first week

[Slaytex]

Originally Posted by cjogo

May depend if this is more a pleasure trip----or full time working studio. Our market does not justify that kind of expenditure. Clients are just not going to pay >>>> Keep about $30k of that cash & use the other $10k ~~~ to purchase used gear.---You will make money your first week

Highly agree.
Having a limited amount of gear and budget is the best thing that has ever happened to me as an engineer. It makes me work extremely hard to get the best possible product I can with what I have to work with. If I had it all, my shit would still sound the same or no better I bet.

I also agree on the fact that you can do some great stuff with $10,000 these days. I have about $9,000 and I can say that i'm proud of the stuff that I do compared to a lot of other big places that have nearly 10 times that amount.

Bass trap gobo's and bedrooms rule!

[Mike Caffrey]

Buy a single 192, an ADAT Bridge and Radar. That will gie you 32 channels of I/O.

[e-cue]

Originally Posted by kfoote8

My goodness some of you guys are really snobby!!! This was just a fun thing to do...for me to see what other people are using or would use if they had that kind of cash. I am not asking everyone to make my decisions for me, just curious what variations other guys are doing...THAT"S ALL!!!! Geees!

Yeah... these are tough skin threads and you're bound to get several predictable people drawing outside the lines suggesting alternatives when you clearly stated you wanted to stick with the pro tools platform.

Back to the top..

Originally Posted by kfoote8

<snip>I would like to know what some of you would do if you where in my position

You really don't supply enough info IMO to really get a solid answer if you are looking for suggestions. For example, if you are doing any orchestral work, you'll require more I/O than if you are doing only V/O sessions. If you are doing electronic based music and will need to lock to smpte, that's an issue, but if you are planning on a private studio for your garage band you may not need a sync device at all.

What angle are you coming from? Private studio? Public? Niche market? Jack of all trades? Fee Fie Foe etc...

Of the bat, I'd recommend the Lynx Aurora's. I've spent months comparing the main convertors used out there and the Lynx Aurora's sound great BY THEMSELVES (I'm sortah in the minority but I believe the Aurora's sound best set to internal). They also work out to be a much better deal and can be used with 192's without latency fear if you so choose.


So, what are your studio's goals?

[u b k]

Originally Posted by kfoote8

My goodness some of you guys are really snobby!!! This was just a fun thing to do...for me to see what other people are using or would use if they had that kind of cash. I am not asking everyone to make my decisions for me, just curious what variations other guys are doing...THAT"S ALL!!!! Geees!

my man, you're in the high end forum, some degree of snobbery is a pre-requisite. who else would split hairs over the musicality of a/d converters that cost >$1000 per channel if not snobs?

the thing is, you asked a question that's been asked here a thousand times over, you gave zero information that would be meaningful to the inquiry, and the one rule you did establish --- it has to be pro-tools - is probably the most volatile consideration possible. nobody hates api preamps, but lots of people hate digidesign.

so as you've seen, vague and completely open-ended hypotheticals about unknown working situations involving arbitrary budgets is not, as it turns out, a fun exercise. if you actually need help, people need more information to be able to help. if you just want to fantasize about how other people would spend $40k, all you have to do is surf the sites of every studio in existence and you'll see there are as many variations as there are pieces of gear; little will emerge in the way of patterns, and all the choices are completely arbitrary and intensely personal.

if you want to bring some fun to the party, build a beautiful and unique little room, stock it with toys of your choosing, and show us pix and give us stories of what you did and why you did it. give us something to work with rather than asking us to do the work.


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[Audio Hombre]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

If you already have the G5 then I'd get a Symphony card and like 2x AD-16x and 2x DA-16x boxes from Apogee [so I'd have 32 I/O], as much memory as I could get into the computer and run Logic instead of Pro-Tools [because I think it sounds better]... then invest the $20+ thousand you had left over into outboard processing, mic-pre's, mics, etc. as the Apogee stuff sounds better and costs less than the Shiti-Design hardware.

Well you asked what I would do... as always, YMMV.

Peace.

+1

the learning curve in Logic is longer than PT but in the end, way more bang for the $$ and that symphony system is juicy as hell and leaves you lots of cashola to spend on ob gear.no brainer. i'd love to have $40k to blow on a symphony + Logic system and work my way out from there.

[Brian Whitten]

I think pro tools is a great way to go, some people like other daw but it's your money and your choice

I think 40k would be well spent this way

ProTools HD2 12,000
apogee ad16 3,100
apogee da16 3,100
2 hd cards for apogee 800
apogee big ben 1,300
command 8 1,150
2 api 3124 4,750
2 brent averill 1073 4,900
a designs pacifica 1,975
2 chandler germ pre 2,300
2 ua la-610 3,000
mackie big knob 300
dynaudio bm6 1,500

it's a bit above 40,000 but depinding on where you buy you can get most of this cheaper

my 2 cents

[RBowlin]

A better question might be: How do you turn $40k into $5k? Buy a PT HD rig and wait a few years

-Rich

...I can hear you laughing Fletcher...

[kfoote8]

Ok...If not Pro Tools HD...What software are you guys using and why and will it hold up in the "commercial recording studio" world. I have nothing against going with another software I just want to make sure that when people come in and they don't see Pro Tools, am I limiting my customer base. Is Nuendo a good one, Logic Pro, etc...What makes these different than Pro Tools and is Pro Tools really all that good. The other side of it is plug-ins...are there a ton of plug-ins for these other software and what format are they. I also assume I would need a lot stronger computer system (more memory right?) Please any response is welcomed as I admit I am not all clear on this topic!

[barryjohns]

Buy Used 1st.

PT HD3 Accel PCIe 7.3 can be had 7k. My HD2 Accel PCIe cost me 5300.00, The HD1 was brand new I paid 4k for it (not from a dealer), I bought another Accel PCIe Card for 1200.00 used.

I WOULD NOT BUY A NEW DIGI SYSTEM..........


I'd get 2 Aurora 16's for 32 I/O. Do not underestimate the number of I/O needed for headhone mixes and outboard gear. New 5400.00

MacPro - 2400.00
Ram - 400.00
Drives - 400.00


Pacifica - Used 1500.00
Great River 2nv - Used 1600.00
Focusrite 828 - New 2500.00
UA 6176 - Used 1500.00
UA 1176 - Used 1200.00
UA LA2A - Used 1700.00
4 Distressors - Used 4200.00
Lunchbox and mix and match x 8 - New 6000.00
Mackie Big Knob - New 350.00
Command 8 - Used 800.00
Cabling and TT Patchbay - New 1500.00
Pearlman TM1 - New 1500.00
AKG C414 x 2 - Used 800.00
Movave MA200 x 2 - New 1600.00

I'm tired, anyway, I'm up to $40,750.00 and we have not talked about drum mics and monitors, desk, racks, etc......

[barryjohns]

Originally Posted by kfoote8

Ok...If not Pro Tools HD...What software are you guys using and why and will it hold up in the "commercial recording studio" world. I have nothing against going with another software I just want to make sure that when people come in and they don't see Pro Tools, am I limiting my customer base. Is Nuendo a good one, Logic Pro, etc...What makes these different than Pro Tools and is Pro Tools really all that good. The other side of it is plug-ins...are there a ton of plug-ins for these other software and what format are they. I also assume I would need a lot stronger computer system (more memory right?) Please any response is welcomed as I admit I am not all clear on this topic!

Whatever they tell you, do not listen........

[barryjohns]

Originally Posted by u b k

my man, you're in the high end forum, some degree of snobbery is a pre-requisite. who else would split hairs over the musicality of a/d converters that cost >$1000 per channel if not snobs?


so as you've seen, vague and completely open-ended hypotheticals about unknown working situations involving arbitrary budgets is not, as it turns out, a fun exercise.
.

I had fun with it.

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by Slaytex

Highly agree.
Having a limited amount of gear and budget is the best thing that has ever happened to me as an engineer.

Not to mention a limited mindset.