Next piece of gear to buy.

[jBam]

What sort of music do u write?

[jBam]

I notice from ur other compressor thread that u normally have guitar / vocals / bass / synth / drums...

My genuine advice is to think about the item that u will have the most fun with... Having fun / enjoying writing music is the best way to write good music IMO...

Such items could include: fx pedals; hardware synth (if u don't have any already); a random new instrument?!?

Something that may find a use on almost any of the things u record is one or two new fx pedals (guitar style, but these can be great on a variety of instruments)... Whether it's delay, fuzz, wah, verb... Whatever u feel... U can set up an fx loop similar to how I suggested u set up a comp in the other post. You can also record raw with fx if u like...

I'm a synth nut myself... I'd recommend a cheap mono or cheap poly synth too, but hey: that might not suit ur goals at all...

So yeah, have a think about what u'd enjoy using rather than what u need - u already have the bare essentials... [edit: although half decent headphones are not on your list... Boring but important!!]

[guilhermelima95]

Thanks for your opinion, but i was talking about studio gear like comps, eqs, etc. I'v got no need for another intrument or more effects.

[jBam]

Ahh ok... Well it's a tuff one. 250 (us / eu?) isn't much money for those types of items... Since you're keen on compression / eq, you could look at some second hand gear (eg Orban stuff which is affordable, but decent enough if it's in good condition)... It's probably your best bet for a purchase that isn't instantally surpassed by what your computer can do...

[337]

On that budget, these are some things you might NEED depending on what you're up to.......here's my three cents:

***Mic Preamp - depending on the interface you have, you might not need to pay for this...yet.
***Recording Monitoring - (headphones, mixer, cables) make sure you can hear everything you need to hear when Recording, WITHOUT letting the Mics hear it. I recommend having a second mic setup into a mixer - one mic to Record and one mic to monitor in headphones. (This is very important if RECORDING is your thing and you're stuck using your DAW to monitor - the digital realm presents horrible latency issues that make the "Recording vibe" very difficult to obtain)
***Recording Booth - do you have the space? This seriously saves lives.
***Large-Diaphragm Condenser Mic - this paired with a popshield will mean A LOT LESS EQing
***Control Surface - check out the Behringer BCF2000 and BCR2000, also M-Audio Keystation 61es for your price range...you will fall in love.
***DI Box - very necessary if you want to record Keyboards or other direct instruments (even guitars).
***Subwoofer - if you don't already have one, this may or may not be essential depending on your project types.
***Better Computer - depends on what you have!
***Bigger/Denser/Additional Computer Monitor - you need to see what you're working on comfortably, and it needs to not slow you down.
***DAW - do you even have one? I recommend Ableton if you have the money, but that is nothing more than a personal preference.
***Outboard Gear - Compressors, EQs, Effects, etc... I wouldn't waste tooo much time with these if you're using a DAW. Wait until you have a lot more than 250...then it will be well-worth-it.
***Nice Chair - perhaps the most important piece of equipment in any Studio

I know I'm forgetting something, but there's some stuff to look at. Again, it all depends on what you'll be doing and what is most important for your functionality. :D

[DuckNe5t]

Get some software. Unless your dead set on analog, you can get some really great plug-ins for $250.

[guilhermelima95]

Originally Posted by 337

On that budget, these are some things you might NEED depending on what you're up to.......here's my three cents:

***Mic Preamp - depending on the interface you have, you might not need to pay for this...yet.
***Recording Monitoring - (headphones, mixer, cables) make sure you can hear everything you need to hear when Recording, WITHOUT letting the Mics hear it. I recommend having a second mic setup into a mixer - one mic to Record and one mic to monitor in headphones. (This is very important if RECORDING is your thing and you're stuck using your DAW to monitor - the digital realm presents horrible latency issues that make the "Recording vibe" very difficult to obtain)
***Recording Booth - do you have the space? This seriously saves lives.
***Large-Diaphragm Condenser Mic - this paired with a popshield will mean A LOT LESS EQing
***Control Surface - check out the Behringer BCF2000 and BCR2000, also M-Audio Keystation 61es for your price range...you will fall in love.
***DI Box - very necessary if you want to record Keyboards or other direct instruments (even guitars).
***Subwoofer - if you don't already have one, this may or may not be essential depending on your project types.
***Better Computer - depends on what you have!
***Bigger/Denser/Additional Computer Monitor - you need to see what you're working on comfortably, and it needs to not slow you down.
***DAW - do you even have one? I recommend Ableton if you have the money, but that is nothing more than a personal preference.
***Outboard Gear - Compressors, EQs, Effects, etc... I wouldn't waste tooo much time with these if you're using a DAW. Wait until you have a lot more than 250...then it will be well-worth-it.
***Nice Chair - perhaps the most important piece of equipment in any Studio

I know I'm forgetting something, but there's some stuff to look at. Again, it all depends on what you'll be doing and what is most important for your functionality. :D

Thanks a lot for your opinion! I will think about buying a control surface or a direct box, or both(if i eventually get more money).

[guilhermelima95]

I've devided to buy a direct box. I am thinking in buying a 4 i/o diect box (i have the SM Pro Audio Q-Di in mind). What i want to do is this: plugging in my guitar to the channel 1 TR input and then XLR out to my audioterface XLR in 1; plugging in my mic to the channel 2 TR input and XLR out to my interface XLR in 2 and then monitor out 1 and 2 of my interface to the TR in 3 and 4 of the direct box and XLR out to both of my monitors. What do you think of this?