Studio A verses Studio B?

[tyler657recpro]

Ok, I've been working on this for a long time, and it's been totally rearranged several times with the help of many many many people. It's gotten more and more and more expensive. But anyway, I would like to know, if you had 14K and were going to buy one of these two setups, which would you choose? And why or why not?

Studio A:

1; Allen and Heath Mixwizard 16;2dx - 900
1; Sytek MPX-4ii 4ch Mic pre - 800
1; DBX 586 Tube Pre - 800
1; Joemeek VC1Qcs - 600
2; Delta1010 Audio Card - 600
1; Really Great Computer - 2058
1; Shure KSM32/sl - 550
1; Studio Project TB-1 - 300
1; Shure Beta52 - 200
3; Shure SM57 - 70
3; Marshall MXL603s - 70
1; Neumann TLM103 - 650
1; Neumann Shockmount - 150
1; AudioTechnica AT3035 - 192
2; Shure SM58 - 99
2; Presonus ACP22 - 300
2; FMR Audio RNC1773 - 154
1; FMR Audio Faceplate - 40
1; Lexicon MPX500 - 330
1; Lexicon MPX500 Version 2 Software - 72
2; Mackie HR824 Monitor - 552
1; Cakewalk Sonar 2.0XL - 250
1; Antares AutoTune Pro - 200
1; Sound Proof Room - 1500
1; Acoustics - 400
1; Wiring - 300

Studio B:

1; Mackie 24 Channel 8 Bus Mixer - 2400
1; Mackie MB24 Meter Bridge - 600
1; Mackie HDR24/96 - 3800
2;Mackie HR824 - 552
1; Sytek MPX-4ii - 800
1; Peavey VMP-2 - 600
1; JoeMeek VC1Qcs - 600
1; Shure Beta52 - 200
3; Shure SM57 - 70
3; Marshall MXL603s - 70
1; Neumann TLM103 - 650
1; TC Electronic M1 - 370
2; FMR Audio RNC1773 - 154
1; RNC Faceplate - 40
1; Presonus ACP22 - 300
1; Wireing - 300
1; Sound Proof Room - 1500
1; Acoustics - 400

[c9-2001]

i'd get studio A.

what type of really great computer cost 2058???

[tyler657recpro]

Item# Item Name Quantity Cost ea. Total
1 Intel P4 2.2ghz 1 199 199
2 ASUS ATX MBD5370 Motherboard 1 120 120
3 Leadmen Elec. USA ATX Case 1 64.99 64.99
4 3COM 10/100 Ethernet Card 3 25.01 75.03
5 ViewSonic 15" LCD panel - VG150 2 355.62 711.24
6 IBM 7200RPM 120gb Harddrive 2 137.69 275.38
7 Plextor 40x12x40 CD-RW Drive 1 126.5 126.5
8 PNY Verto NviDia GEForce 4 Ti4400 1 218.09 218.09
9 Artec 16x DVD-Rom Drive 1 49.99 49.99
10 Rambus 256mg Memory 2 100 200
11 1.44 mb Floppy Disc Drive 1 17.99 17.99

TOTAL 2058.21

[c9-2001]

Originally posted by tyler657recpro
Item# Item Name Quantity Cost ea. Total
1 Intel P4 2.2ghz 1 199 199
2 ASUS ATX MBD5370 Motherboard 1 120 120
3 Leadmen Elec. USA ATX Case 1 64.99 64.99
4 3COM 10/100 Ethernet Card 3 25.01 75.03
5 ViewSonic 15" LCD panel - VG150 2 355.62 711.24
6 IBM 7200RPM 120gb Harddrive 2 137.69 275.38
7 Plextor 40x12x40 CD-RW Drive 1 126.5 126.5
8 PNY Verto NviDia GEForce 4 Ti4400 1 218.09 218.09
9 Artec 16x DVD-Rom Drive 1 49.99 49.99
10 Rambus 256mg Memory 2 100 200
11 1.44 mb Floppy Disc Drive 1 17.99 17.99

TOTAL 2058.21

well that comes to $1346.97 for the computer... not bad...
What about ram though???

this is what i was thinking..IF you wanted a intel...
P4 2.4GHz

256 MB PC2100 DDR
· ASUS P4S533
· 400MHz FSB/ 2 USB
· 80GB 7200RPM ATA100
· 64MB GEFORCE 4 DDR AGP
· 36X12X48 CDRW
· 16X DVD ROM & 3.5”FDD
· 56K V.92 F/MODEM
· S/B LIVE 5.1 (DIGITAL)
· ATX 400W CASE
· KEYBOARD MS & SPK

all for $1049

then add another 256 of DDR ram($70)
3 network cards(why) ($30)
and 120gig drive ($138)

i'd get 2 regular size 19inch monitors for 200each vs the 15inch LCD joints...

[c9-2001]

or if you went with a athlon XP

AMD XP-2100+
256 MB PC2100 DDR
· ASUS A7S333 DDR 333
· USB VER. 2.0
· 80GB 7200RPM ATA100
· 64MB GEFORCE4 DDR AGP
· 36X12X48 CDRW
· 16X DVD ROM & 3.5”FDD
· 56K V.92 F/MODEM
S/B LIVE 5.1 (DIGITAL) (comes with it)
· ATX 400W CASE
· KEYBOARD MS & SPK

$799

then add more ram, the harddrive, and your 3 network cards...

or if you want the best :


Intel P4 2.5GHz 533MHz FSB Retail Box CPU
512MB PC2700 DDR memory
ASUS P4S533 MainBoard
(support for Pentium 4, 533MHz FSB and robust integrated features)
IBM or Western Digital 80GB 7200 RPM fast HDD
Sony 1.44 FDD
Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW
Pioneer or Toshiba 16X DVD Rom
64MB DDR GeForce4 MX440 AGP Video Card With TV/out
Intel Chipset 56K Fax Modem
10/100 Fast Network, AC97 Sound
CasEdge LX734AP4 Tool Less Rock Solid 300W Power Case
Nova KeyBoard and Scroll Mouse
120W Speaker and System BOX

For1399i don't even like intel computers anymore but for 1399.. i might buy this system...

[tyler657recpro]

I need three network cards, one for my other computer, and two to network to that computer, and another one.

The rambus 256mg memory is the ram, rambus 800mhz, instead of ddr which is 266mhz.

Ill check out that other stuff. And the processor i put on there is an intel. I don't like AMD much, so intel's the one left, although im starting to like the P3's more than the P4's. The cache is too big and takes a long time to empty out.

[MISTERQCUE]

Yo Tyler, can I borrow $289.63!!?? There's the certain piece of equipment I want! I'm good for it!

[mixmkr]

imo, they're the same studio...they just have a couple of things that are different.

Does it really matter if you got a Delta 1010 or a 24 track digital recorder? Is it going to make your music sound any different or give you better quality? I think not. You just listed decent equipment for a HOME studio in both lists, that can both give good results, providing the knob twiddler has a pair of ears too.

[tyler657recpro]

i can give you the 63 cents!

[Vurt]

I like B a bit more, I guess, but I think some of your prices are low, especially soundproofing/acoustics. And I don't think $300 for cable will come close unless you plan to rip it from your walls.

[tyler657recpro]

Originally posted by c9-2001
i'd get 2 regular size 19inch monitors for 200each vs the 15inch LCD joints...

Maybe I'll ditch the LCD's and a couple of other things and get the crest audio XR20 console instead. BIG price jump though.

[JR#97]

One thing that would make a difference is if you said what your clientelle/projects are going to be like. Taylor your gear to you niche instead of vice versa.

[tyler657recpro]

I want to record a variety of different things. From live stuff at my church, and church music in the studio, to rock and roll, and pop. Being able to record 24 channels simultaneously might pay off in the end, but I could very easily get away with 16. In the studio I can create submixes in cakewalk, and get it down to 16 that way. Live though it may help to have the extra channels. Live I wouldn't be using my own microphones, so less accessories wouldn't really cause a problem there, but in the studio it might.

Anyway, I hope that helps a little bit.

[littledog]

Just from "knowing" you over these past few months, it seems you would not be nearly as happy with the dedicated hard drive recording hardware as with the computer based set-up and all the editing capabilities you would gain. Am I wrong? If my assumptions are correct, that kind of makes the decision right there.

Remember, you don't need to buy EVERYTHING at once. Postpone a few things like the 103 shockmount (I've had a 103 for years without the shock mount and never had a problem. Put a piece of carpet under the mic stand.) Get the Crest, and hold off on the Sytek. You may be happy enough with the built in pres that you won't need the Sytek, at least right away. You won't regret the Crest - the routing options alone will make your life tremendously easier.

There are a few odds and ends you forgot, or maybe you have them already:

•Studio furniture (monitor stands, mixer desk, outboard gear racks, etc.)
•Mic Stands
•Patchbays!!!

Sounds like you're almost ready to pull the trigger. Good luck!

By the way, I've been doing this for a long time and alway found a way to make do with 16 simultaneous channels of input or less. There are occasions where I might have liked an extra channel or two, but most of the time, it's not even an issue.

[chessrock]

Studio A doesn't sound too bad if you swap that faux toob dbx 586 for the Peavey vmp2.

[tyler657recpro]

Thanks for the advice. I was under the impression tho that this particular version of the mackie hd recorder, basically is a computer, but only able to run the editing program installed. It has keyboard and mouse plugs, and a video card. It doesn't matter though because I'm pretty shure (haha, excuse my pun) that I'm gonna go with the crest setup. The only thing about the sytek was that I was gonna use it on channels 13-16 and record directly, because those channels on the mixer lack inserts and direct outs. Then I'd route back to the mixer for mixdown, and add compression, eq, efx, etc. I dunno. If there's a way to do 16 channels simiultaneously without this, please let me know. Uh, furniture, I was gonna either buy a cheap desk from musician's friend for like a hundred bucks, which has little arms for the monitors, or I'll build everything from scratch. The desk looks pretty cheap, so I don't know if ill be happy with it. I'll prolly end up building, especially because i can't put the crest on a desk since all the connections are on the bottom. Maybe I can just cut a big hole in the middle of the desk! I'm not sure how prone to vibration the desk will be either. For stands, I'm just gonna get like 5 of those stackable dealios from that one company who's name I cannot remember. Atlas I think. And a couple of booms. As for the patchbay I think I'm just gonna get a RE'AN 48 point balanced thing for like a hundred bucks. Anyway... thanks a bunch everyone.

PS. Fine chess, I'll get the peaver.

[ambi]

you have your prices a little off on the mackie hr828's there.
they're actually about 700 per speaker
not 500 for the pair.

[tyler657recpro]

it's 2 @$552 each. why does everyone find this so unbelievable?

[ambi]

because your obviously lieing.
but, whatever works for you.
you probably just made a mistake, it would be that price for one.

[littledog]

Originally posted by ambi
because your obviously lieing.
but, whatever works for you.
you probably just made a mistake, it would be that price for one.

Give him a break, ambi! If you look at his list more carefully, all the multiple items have a per unit price next to them. (e.g. 3 Marshall 603s @ $70) No need to call him a liar just because you misinterpreted his (fairly obvious) intent!

By the way, Tyler - check the new thread in this room about the newest Crest mixer.

[tyler657recpro]

God, people's ingnorance gets on my nerves so much! TWO costing 552 dollars EACH!!! Totalling 1104 dollars!!! NOT 552 for both!

THank you littledog.

Geez, and I'll be sure and take look at the crest thread, although I'm pretty much sold on it.

Everything just keeps getting more and more expensive though. Oh well, it's just money.

Anyway...

[ambi]

my bad, sorry bout that. im in a violent mood for schizo swings in the darkness of night, illuminated by green fog, showing the specs of dust very clearly.

[Scriabin]

congrats on blowing your vapor "money" on prosumer gear... see ya in 3 months when you come back here asking why you aren't getting the pro results you expected.

[tyler657recpro]

well, actually, a guy said he'll give em to me for 550 each, which means I can talk to the other guy I'm gonna buy 'em from again, and get 'em for prolly 540 each. It's fun having people compete for your business. Hehe

[littledog]

Originally posted by Scriabin
congrats on blowing your vapor "money" on prosumer gear... see ya in 3 months when you come back here asking why you aren't getting the pro results you expected.

Well, it's a tough nut to try and outfit a whole studio from scratch with a finite amount of funds. If Scriabin or I had $15,000 to spend, we might buy just 4 or 5 pieces of really top quality gear with it, and we'd have much better "investment" value for our money, without question.

But if we were starting from scratch, we would be stuck with the same problem Tyler has - how to buy everything one needs to make a decent recording. Unfortunately, that probably means that, at this stage, no single piece of gear will be outstanding, rather the goal is not to have anything that is so much the weakest link that it disables the whole system.

So yeah, mediocrity rulz! At first anyway... I like Tyler's spirit and drive - I wish I had more of it when i was his age. This "starter" system, I have a feeling, will be upgraded piece by piece rather quickly. In a few years Tyler might well have a system even Scriabin wouldn't sneer at!

By the way, Scriabin, your Etude in D# Minor (Opus 8 No. 12) is one of the most transcendental piano pieces I have ever had the privilege of playing (not that i can really do it justice!)

Congratulations on a work of sheer genius!