If i gave you 6,000

[Personnumber5]

if i gave you 6,000 to build a small recording studio that will only be used for uploading beats from your motif 6 and recording vocals, what kind of equipment would you buy?

i had in mind a rolandvs2000
and a neuman u87
and a 2,000 dollar vocal booth

anyways im a noob str8 up, thats why im here please help!!!

[Messiah]

I'd give you 5000 back and tell you to take up golf instead...

[bigbaby987]

dude....pick the fastest pc a $1000 will buy you(go to dell-you'll do well).
then pick up either samplitude or nuendo.(about $1200)
get you a soundelux u195.($850-1000)
an rme multiface. ($750)
pick up a uad card on ebay($500).
the vocal booth(try $1000-1500)
and make it happen
.....oh yeah...also an fmr rnp(really nice pre)($450)
that will get you started in a major way.

[Personnumber5]

thanks man

[Scinx]

Id probably get an Alesis HDR as laying beats and vocals does not require copious amounts of editing.

Id probably pick up a nice preamp that would work well on rap/hiphop/etc. maybe an Avalon 737 (if you want to do what everyone supposedly does) or a single channel of Neve (which is what I would go for personally). You can get by fine with single channel units.

Id definately pick up a couple microphones (either a SM7 or RE20), a nice condenser that fits you (or whomever you are planning to record)...(L47 perhaps?)

Id pick up a Kurzweil Rumour for some reverb and AD/DA...or find a delay unit to thicken the vox

And Id pick up Yamaha MG Series board for getting the levels all nice

Perhaps Id throw in a Speck EQ just to give yourself some leeway there.

And Id find a compressor that works with what you are looking for. Perhaps a Distressor, RNC, or a DBX unit (160x perhaps).

So now you are totally out of money and I would say to keep forging on brave soldier. Id take $1-2K more and treat the room where I am recording this. Id actually probably try to do that first as a beautiful chain will return you beautiful trash if thats what you feed them. Id look at MiniTraps and the like..

And now that you are neck deep in my devious plan, I will tell you that you need cables. Now that I have you this far, you cant resist those cause it is all worthless without them. So charge forward once again and pick up some nice Mogami or Canare snakes/cables.

[Personnumber5]

what do you think about a apple g5. digi 002 rack and a nueman u87?

[bigbaby987]

that's a great thought actually. the 002's pres may not be worthy of the 87 though. have you heard a u195? think about it. then you could get a decent pre like a 1272 or something.

[bigbaby987]

but after i think about it. i would get a G5, lynx card. logic pro. a u195. a 1272 and you are off and running!!! the converters in the lynx punish the oo2. or even an rme multiface.

[Personnumber5]

thanks baby,but would'nt you think that would down grade the sound? also the digidesign digi 002 comes with a mixer... hmm this is confuseing... ahhhhhhhh haha

but are you saying that if i do use the digi 002 it cant handle the u87?... darnit!

hope this is not 100% true please explain more. thanks!

[tunesmith]

I think Big Baby's list was pretty stellar. I would suggest as an alternative:

G5 1.8 : $2000 (garage band baby!)
Logic Pro : $999
SDlux 195 : $1000 or so
Lynx 2-B : $899 @ Atlas Pro Audio


Hmmm.

That leaves about $1100.

I would either go for a RNP+RNC combo and spend the rest on plugs or get Logic Express and then spend the extra money on a really nice single channel pre, like the Great River unit or one of the Daking Pre/Eqs, which I use and love.

Personally, I would not choose for one of the ALL-In-One boxed like the Roland. For me, it's purchasing a technology piece that can never be upgraded or expanded. If you were to get a fast computer and a DAW, you wan always expand and grow and the depreciation on your gear will be easier to take. Also, I would imagine that it would be more difficult to ever take your work out of the box and into another studio if you want to collaborate.

On the upside, I would guess that the all in one boxes are stable and somewhat intuitive.

There is no one answer. There is some merit to getting the cheapest computer you can find and spending your dough on a better mic/pre/converter chain, as it will hold it's value (financially and musically) longer. Cheap gear is fun becuase you can get more of it and feel like you're really getting somewhere, but in the long run, you will end up setting it aside like a child with a toy that's been outgrown.

I bit the bullet recently and bought an H8000. I could have purchased SEVERAL FX units for what I paid, but Eventide units have stood the test of time and I believe that I will still be using it in ten years.

I am not really helping, am I ?

Sorry dude. Welcome to sluttzville. The nightmare is warm, jump on in.

Tunes.

[tunesmith]

Oh yeah...

From what I have heard, the previously suggested Rumour (for FX and conversion) might be a breaker of my cost vs. value statements. I would seriously look at it.

Also I think it's funny that in the time I spent writing my post, Big Baby wrote another list that is like THE SAME as MINE! LOL

Good taste son, good taste.

Tunes.

[Personnumber5]

thanks tunessmith you make alot of sense actually, im just so in love with the neuman u87.... well i think you are on to something.. i will research more.. still open for suggestions ! thanks...

[tunesmith]

The 87 is loved my many. It's a llittle thin for my tastes, but what the hell do I know.

[Personnumber5]

I'm thinking i get these
G5 1.8=2,000
http://www.audioamigo.com/digi002.html

[top] 1300
Neuman U87

2,500

5,800 total still enough for cereal milk and toilet paper for a whole year

if anyone thinks these three shall not join speak now or forever hold your peace.. amen

[bigbaby987]

um dude.. no offense ..the 002 is $2200. it's a $1300 value in savings with the added plugs.


i'm 1000% with tunesmith's list. you really really really can't beat it. trust me the 87 is nice but the 195 is honestly so close it's hard. i've cut vocals for all types from chaka khan's daughter to jingles for some of the country's largest radio stations with this mic and its proved itself over and over again.

the dual G5 1.8
lynx 2B (you're really covering the converter area here)
Logic Pro (65 fx plugs. and free soft synths for every ocassion)
u195
rnp/rnc combo

that comes to less than 6k and you have a hot setup. (very similar to mine )

you have to lean logic a bit so throw in a $30 book to get it under you fingers quickly. (i suggest apple pro training book)

and you still have enough for a nice lunch

[bigbaby987]

oh and there's a cool product that's just out that's hot...i gotta have it....it's an analog summing but i'm using it the other way around.....24 pres and it really does sound good.

check this out...make sure to listen to the audio examples....pretty nice i think...and best of all it's only $495!!!!

http://www.mixposse.com/cgi-bin/yabb...num=1089948786

[Drumsound]

Originally posted by Personnumber5
if i gave you 6,000 ...

If you gave me $6k I'd record and mix a bunch of songs so that you could focus on making music and someone else (me) could focus on engineering, producing and mixing.

Just a thought...

I have nothing against artists working at home. I'm mixing a record right now that was tracked at the artist's home studio. My band's last record was done at the guitar player's home studio. I'm just offering another perspective.

[AnthonyV]

If you're just tracking then I'd go with what others have said. You can really do a lot these days with short cash.

Never enough can be said about having good monitoring. If you're taking your stuff to a top shelf mixer with a great mix room then of course it is less important.

If you're planning on doing any mixing at all then I would say you need to spend half of that budget on a good monitoring setup first and foremost, even if not mixing this will help to actually hear what you are recording.


peace,
Ants

[StoneinaPond]

Originally posted by AnthonyV
If you're just tracking then I'd go with what others have said. You can really do a lot these days with short cash.

Never enough can be said about having good monitoring. If you're taking your stuff to a top shelf mixer with a great mix room then of course it is less important.

If you're planning on doing any mixing at all then I would say you need to spend half of that budget on a good monitoring setup first and foremost, even if not mixing this will help to actually hear what you are recording.


peace,
Ants

Ants just got there before me. We talk about buying this and that and then we get everything home, wire it all up, switch everything on, and we get.......





















Nothing.

No f***ing speakers.

And don't get me started on the real cost of good wiring. So, please re-evaluate your system to include all the tools.

Volume control anyone?

I could go on and on.

$6000 may sound like a lot, but it ain't.

Peace.

[Fajita]

Originally posted by StoneinaPond
Ants just got there before me. We talk about buying this and that and then we get everything home, wire it all up, switch everything on, and we get.......

Nothing.

No f***ing speakers.

And don't get me started on the real cost of good wiring. So, please re-evaluate your system to include all the tools.

Volume control anyone?

I could go on and on.

$6000 may sound like a lot, but it ain't.

Peace.

Exactly... you monitor through what? And Bluetooth sounds like a good idea but I haven't seen any Bluetooth LDC's on the market yet. Go on EBay and look for Mogami or Cannare snakes. And get some Monitors while yer lookin'.

[Ahellam]

vocal booth is unneccesary imo. high end computer and good A>D converters are top priority

[Chaellus]

U87? in my honest opioion i dont think there worth all that money they demand tried one many times never liked it and there are better mics on the market now for less....unless your only trying to get it for the brand name id start looking somewhere..else...better mics could be had for less.

[George Necola]

charteroak SA538 (bundled with spider, case and gotham cable)
api A2D
SE reflection filter

that's it.. high quality out of the box.. the reflectionfilter is kinda crap, but it works..better then a cheap vocalbooth.

cheers