Funny. I was just thinking about this kind of stuff the other day.
While I emailed my response directly, I thought I'd paste it here, too, for the sake of having a thread other people might read.
-Chris
Q) Why did u decide to set up a home recording studio??
I was 15 years old and had started writing my own songs on guitar. Its much easier to listen critically to songs as you work on them if you can hear them without having to play them, too. There is also no easy way to try different arrangements and write harmony parts without being able to record one thing at a time. I experiemented with using 2 tape recorders, but eventually it became obvious that I needed something dedicated to multitrack recording or I would get little further as a solo songwriter and arranger.
Q) What was your budget when you started?
I bought a Tascam Porta 02 High Speed 4-track cassette recorder and some cheap mic that I can't remember. It was the cheapest thing I could find at the time that was fairly full featured, so it dictated my budget. Including the mic, stand and cable, it was about $900 at the time.
Best $900 I ever spent: I used that box for over 12 years with only 1 $50 servicing of the record heads.
Q) What Does your studio consist of?
Now? 15 years later, I've accumulated quite a bit and use it semi-professionally in audio production and video post production. I also continue to use it to record my own songs, as well as recording others and teaching others how to record.
Main Recording Systems:
- vpr Matrix P4 2gig widescreen laptop
- Digidesign Digi002 Firewire audio interface
- Weibetech 80Gig firewire harddrive
- Event PS6 powered monitors
- Pro Tools 5.3.2 and a small host of plugins
- Cubase SX and a small host of plugins
Outboard Gear:
- ART Dual MP Tube preamp and DI box.
- FMR Audio RNC compressor
- (2) Art Tube EQ
- dbx 166a 2 channel compressor
- Roland JV-1010 MIDI sound module
- Studio Logic MIDI keyboard controller
- Tascam US-428 USB control surface and preamp
-
M-audio Duo USB and standalone 2 channel preamp
- Alesis Studio24 16 channel mixer
Microphones:
- Groove Tubes 5sm
- (2) AKG c1000s
- (2) Shure SM57
- (2) Studio Projects C1
- (2) MXL 603s
- (2) Octava mk319
- (2) Behringer ECM8000
- (2) Nacy SCM900
Moth-balled stuff:
- I still have the old Tascam. About to give it away.
- Digitech MM-4: ANCIENT digital guitar processor. Sounds like crap, but I used it for years as a reverb send with the 4-track.
- Korg DDD-something. An old MIDI drum machine. I'm still surprised at how good this thing sounded, but it doesn't compare to the velocity and expressive control I have with the computer sequenced drum tracks.
Q) What problems have you encoutered when recording?
Good question. Its a long learning journey figuring out how your skills and your equipment interact to produce a quality recording. I spent a LOT of time trying to make the equipment I had sound as good as I could before deciding to buy another piece of equipment. (about as long as it took to research what I wanted and save the money up for it.)
The problem is that there is SO MUCH equipment availible today that its really easy to buy something hopeing IT will make your recording sound better wihtout spending the time to increase your skills to the point where that might actually be true.
For example, if your micing technique isn't up to par, buying a better mic won't substantially increase the quality of your recordings. On the other hand, if you do spend the time on your skills and get to the point where you understand what your mics are and are not capable of, you can make a much more informed purchase of your next mic and actually achieve the sounds you are looking for.
In short, its easy to spend a lot of money and not get a lot of mileage from it if you do not also spend the time.
Q) What equipment would you recomend to someone setting up a home studio?
Antoher good question. I REALLY value my years using the cassette 4-track, learning the basics of the recording process, and slowly upgrading my gear and hardware as I learned how to use it. While computer recording is FAR cheaper and cost effective these days, I've found that people who START on the computer don't alwyas have the same grasp of the recording process and it can take them longer to get up to speed.
Computers also add a whole layer of complexity that has nothing to do with recording. If you prepared to be a computer geek that can be really frustrating.
With all that in mind, I recommend that a person just starting out new in recording get an inexpensive stand-alone recorder (cassette or digital) and 1 good dynamic mic (Shure SM57). The recorder should include at least 1 or 2 hardware effects sends, and have inserts on 1 or 2 channels, if possible. That will give a beginner all the hardware options they need to really get the recording and mixing proces at its basics before shelling out big cash on a higher quality system they won't understand anyway.
Q) Is there any peice of gear you regret buying?
Not really. There are several pieces of gear I don't really use anymore, and a few pieces that I hardly used at all, but each piece was part of the learning process and, since I haven't gotten rid of them, I have the option to use them if the need arrises.
For example, I almost sold my 2 Eq's. They aren't the greatest units and I hardly used them before I jumped from the 4-track to recording on my computer. I've thought about selling them many times. Now, though, I'm finding that I might want to send my digitally recorded tracks out to my analog mixer and those EQ's might come in handy after all! After years of gathering dust, I'm still glad that I have them.
Q) Whats next in the pipeline for you studio?
2 ADAT XT20's. I'm finding that I want to get audio tracks OUT of the computer individually and I need to expand on the analog outs on the Digi002- the cheapest way is to use the convertors on an ADAT. By getting 2, it gives me additional options: a) backing up my Pro Tools tracks to 16tracks of ADAT tape, and b) doing remote recordings without having to cart around the expensive and somewhat fragile Digi002.
Next in line after that is a single channel, high quality preamp. I'm still learning what the pres on the Digi002 are capable of and they sound great so far, but I've zero'd in on my lead vocal and mono instrument tracks as a potential weak links. Instead of buy another mic, I thought I start with seeing how the mics I have react to high quality preamplification.
Pro Tools 6 is also in the pipeline, but I don't think I'll upgrade immediately unless digi gives me a good price incentive. Why fix it if it ain't broke?
About $1000, but that keeps on changing. I swear, just one more piece of gear, and that's it ! ! 
