expense priorities
I mostly disagree with the friend who told you the most important thing is the computer hardware - (ie cpu, memory, ect). The most important thing is to have decent microphone, decent pr-amp (i use
the mackie 1202vlz pro), and decent soundcard. As far as your computer - the more cpu you have, and the more memory, the more tracks the machine can handle. But the CPU and memory DOES NOT have much effect on the quality of the sound.
It is concievable to keep the setup below 2K, but certain things will me sacrificed - most notably the quality of your audio monitors.
I suggest the following -
Rhode NT-1 mic (~$200)
Mackie 1202vlz pro (~$350)
Midiman Delta 66 (~$300)
Pentium3 600-750 mhz ($200 - $350)
128 MB pc133 ram (~$140)
Motherboard,video card,cdrom,floppy,keyboard,mouse ($200)
Hard Drive 20gig (~$200 - $250)
used 17" display monitor (ebay) (~$150)
cheap powered speakers (~25)
Total : $1915
add tax, and that should be about right. If you'd like advice on where to get inexpensive computers built to spec,
contact me at ben@rmvinc.com . I work as a system/network admin - so I know something about this stuff.
don't waste your money on a name brand computer - they scrimp on the components, and then overcharge you by at least 20 - 30% (if not more).
P.S. As far as the music equipment, I don't pretend to take credit for this advice - That was the equipment I chose to buy a few weeks ago after making enquiries on this board. So far, I very satisfied. If I were going to upgrade anything, I'd probably go for a better mic, maybe an AT -4033 or higher model, or maybe Rhode NT2.
BTW - I'm only running a p3-500 (the old kind with 100mhz bus and half speed cache) and my machine holds up pretty well until I get to recording the 16-18th track (using ntrack). I believe the chief limiting factor is memory, because the machine wants to load all your tracks to ram as it plays/records - WAV files are big. But 128MB is good to start - and you can expand easily as needed (make sure you get a decent motherboard - with plenty of expansion slots).
Another thing is your hardrive. Music files take up alot of room. Your 20gigs will quickly fill up - you'll probably want a CD burner to back stuff up onto (and also to make CDs of your music). I suggest a plextor IDE drive (~$250). Don't bother with SCSI anything, its too expensive for your budget, and not that nescessary.
Hope this helps - feel free to contact me directly for specific questions.
Ben
p.s. - I got my music equipment at
http://www.bayviewproaudio.com -
very good prices and no tax.