Hello, I am 45 yo and have used the Portastudio stuff since the late 80's. Obviously this is outdated and I have been thinking about making the switch to a computer based system. And that's where I'm lost. Need your input on what to get and why. Generally speaking budget for most items can be big. A lot of equipment I may already have. I write Rock'n'Roll, Americana, instrumentals as well as dabble in Indie/Electronica. I have recorded so much music on those Portastudios and got used to them, so I kind of fell behind the times. Assuming I can spend $10,000 what would I need? Any help is appreciated. Thanks
Welcome to the site.
Computer based recording still starts with the basics. You probably still have most mics, cables, stands, headphones. You'll need a computer and there's a good chance the one you're using now will work. Recording audio doesn't take much computing horsepower until you get into virtual instruments and some certain types of effect plugs... well, reverb mostly.
An interface. If you're going to be a one-man band, you can most likely get by with a 2-channel interface. There are tons to choose from and most will yield pretty decent results. If you want to record a full band or acoustic drums, you might look at an interface with more inputs. Forget the notion of a mixer. Works for live sound, kind of a compromise and redundant for computer based recording.
Monitors and a good listening/mixing room. This is really where the rubber meets the road and the need for it hasn't changed over the years and it isn't any different from analog recording (tape, portastudio, etc). This is aspect where your money will be well spent.
A good/great recording space. If you've got the budget, having two spaces for recording would be great. One for mixing, one for recording. Most home recording enthusiasts have to compromise and use one room for both. If that is a limitation, treat the room so it is better for mixing.
One or two decent mics. A nice condensor mic or two. If you have money, a nice mic preamp would not go amiss.
Drums is the most common problem for those starting out with home recording. Most of us don't know how to play drums or find other limitations. The good news is virtual instruments have come a long way in recent years and virtual drums are leading the charge.
Recording guitars are another challenge to some. Some people want to record guitars late at night while family and neighbors are sleeping. There are ways to get great guitar tracks without waking anybody up!!
There is a steep learning curve. The first is to get past the technological hurdles before you can face the recording aspect. If you've got experience from the portastudio days and maybe from gigging, you're halfway there. Just keep asking questions. Lots of opinions, but everyone does it a little differently.
First up, what kind of music do you want to record? Wht have you got already? How many people? Instruments?
Enjoy the ride.