i need some advice

[heylel shalem]

i've been lurking a bit on this forum for a while..im on Social securitie and working on musick keeps me busy/sane in abscence of work....anyways heres my setup

i use a computer with a pentium 4 processor 2700 mhz with a gig of ram, a tascam us-122 external soundcard and i use a shure sm-58 microphone...I own two guitars that i use a epiphone sg, and a norman accoustic..i have a pickup that slides underneat the strings for my accoustic..and i am using generic sony headphones that i got from walmart as well a generic computer speakers...for software im using acid loops 4....

ok the question is...i want a more "pro" sounding set-up, and im starting to get pissed by the limitations of acid loops and for my electric guitars i have been using my digitech "grunge" pedal that has an amp out...yeah yeah i know i have to upgrade my gear in several ways...the question is i know that i need better software , speakers, way to plug my electric in for "better" tone--(i live in an apt. so mic-ing a amp is not possible) i make for the most part-sludge/doom metal with a lot of black metal influences...and i need a software that have a built in drum programming? so i want to upgrade my headphones, my guitar input and my software, if i can afford it i would love someone to recommend a reasonably priced set of mixing speakers..

i know i know im a needy bastard that is asking a lot :P but musick keeps me going and it gives me a reason to get up out of bed. i want to move forward and start releasing "pro" albums and i know its necessary to have a better set-up...thank you all in advance.

[Almy]

It depends on so much. Money of course defines what your goals will be. You didn't mention how much you wanted to spend initially so I'll just say that one option might be to buy low right now with the intent of upgrading to better later. It's what I did. And two years later I now know what, and more importantly why, I need to get.

It definitely helps to get hands on a bit and then know for sure what you should upgrade first. I basically bought a decent interface, alesis 12 channel firewire mixer, two cheap mics, MXL 604, and some low end monitors, KRK Rokit P5s. Oh and I used Reaper from the get go, eventually buying a personal license.

Now I'm upgrading to a KSM44 mic, a matched pair of Peluso cecm6's, and a Line Audio 8 channel mic pre. I know exactly what I need right now in an effecient way and have a better grasp on my longterm needs on what I will upgrade next in my signal chain.

With this setup I was able to start recroding and learning as I went without spending a ton, and yet also with being able to upgrade as I learned what I needed without feeling like I've wasted money. I'm not saying buy the things I listed but the idea is start with a minimal amount of gear that is affordable so you can upgrade as you learn what you need.

Oh and on the headphones, I honestly wouldn't make that a priority. Just use them for listening to something as you're recording your next track. Save the money for the monitors so you can hear a decent sound when mixing and such.

[heylel shalem]

ok well im thinking i have at least $400 to start on gear...im definately going to try out reaper because it looks like a very souped up version of acid(which i liked because of the very simple interface) so yeah i guess im gonna get a pair of good mixing speakers first ..and as far as recording vocals i am pretty much cool with a shure sm-58...i dont really need to upgrade as far as that goes...anyone here can recommend a decent pair of budget mixing speakers and a decent inexpensive guitar pre-amp...preferrably a tube pre-amp.

[heylel shalem]

ok i did some browsing though this forum tonite-while trying to mix with my shitty headphones

im gonna get some sony mdr-7506's for general headphones
krk rp-5 rockets for studio monitors
and a friend of mine gave me a lovely tube mixing board from the seventies?

any feedback =recommendations on other gear that i might need? keep it in mind i am on a very strict shoe string budget..but i have my ways to scrape cash if i need it to be that much better.

[ridgeback]

Originally Posted by heylel shalem

any feedback =recommendations on other gear that i might need? keep it in mind i am on a very strict shoe string budget..but i have my ways to scrape cash if i need it to be that much better.

You don't want to mix on your phones. Track with them for sure. I'm not familiar with those Sonys but I wouldn't spend a lot on phones. We use ATmd20's in our live room and they're like $30. As far as the KRK's you'll like them for what you're doing. I suggest listening to music you are familiar with through them to get more aquainted with their sound. It'll give you a better reference when you mix your own stuff.
I'm kind of down on and not familiar with much modeling stomp boxes but in your situation it makes sense. Guitar "pres" are spendy as they are not just a stompbox processor. (spendy=$400-1000's) However, they are some nice affordable small tube amps on the market and some have a recording channel out (post pre) installed on them. Plus you get a practice amp to boot.
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE MIXER!

[undergroundtoon]

on the cheap(free):
search for a bunch of free plug-ins to add to your set up
(in your reaper vst folder). what tube mixing board did you get?

[heylel shalem]

wow, i've been collecting a lot of vst plug-ins and playing with reaper and i feel like my whole musical world has gotten that much of a bigger spectrum...

[dementedchord]

those sony cans are a good find but as you're begining to find out ya wanna use the speakers for most decisions... as to the monitors... i would check out the local craigslist and such for used hi-fi deals... audiofools change their setups all the time and real good deals can be had if you do alittle research on brands etc.... dont be afraid to come back and ask the guys for opinions... didn't that tascam come with a lite version of cubase???? they often do.... cubase has a steeper learning curve but well worth the time IMO.... BTW i'm sitting here in an electric wheelchair myself so am understanding of your plight... welcome to the club...

[undergroundtoon]

Originally Posted by heylel shalem

wow, i've been collecting a lot of vst plug-ins and playing with reaper and i feel like my whole musical world has gotten that much of a bigger spectrum...

check out crosstalk..

their is like 50 vids here that will help you get up to speed... and they mention a few free vst's along the way(if you listen)


http://www.gearwire.com/gearwire-crosstalk.html

[heylel shalem]

thank you very much..sorry for the late reply