help me spend 8-10 grand as wisely as possible!

A

austin4130

New member
I'm getting rid of my car and getting a new one that's way cheaper, and spending the rest to set up a new room from scratch.

I'm in the process of getting a new house, so I'm not quite sure how the room will be yet, but as of right now I'm more concerned about the new gear (as I don't quite know what the room is like or what it needs treatment wise yet). It will more than likely just be a bedroom. So I'll need to decide whether it would be best to just have everything in one room, maybe track guitars and vocals in a closet... or build seperate rooms, live/tracking and control I guess. How big should the room be if I go that route?



At the bare minimum I'll need a mixing desk/ A/D converters, monitors, and most definitely a few additions to the mic collection.

I'm not too concerned about pre amps yet, I'm hoping the mixing desk will have good sounding preamps. Maybe some compressors/limiters.

I'd also like an all analog setup of some kind, not really sure where to go on that route though.

So, any tips or recommendations for all that stuff, in my budget? Keep in mind some of that will likely be needed for treating the room.

I eventually will want to be open to the public, so I'm not sure exactly what genre/style of music I'll be recording, so I'd need stuff for a wide variety of music =)

My current band which will be the guinea pig for the new gear, is post-rock stuff like mogwai, godspeed!, explosions in the sky, etc. Also have a melodic death metal project, heh! So you can see it varies.

I know I'll get "use the search" replies, but I wasn't sure how to search for my questions, plus I figured it would be nice to set up a thread where I could talk to people and post updates over time.

Thanks in advance guys. I know I'm asking a lot, so any help will be waaaaaaay awesome
 
If I could find a great deal on a Ghost Le-24 I'd be really happy. That's the mixer I have most experience with, my fiance's dad has one for his old blues/rock band, heh! Just thought I'd add the sort of mixer I'm going for, I'm used to the ghost but I'm definitely open for suggestions. Getting something cheaper would be ideal, but who knows what will happen!
 
this will be a fun project for you! It's always exciting to be able to build a room just for recording.

the ghost le24 will be the perfect mixer, great mixer. We used to run one (i think) at my church. Try and get it for cheap. You're going to want to record as many tracks at once as you can right??? Hmmmmm...
 
hey austin, i know this is off topic about what you are sking, but id be interested in hearing some stuff from your band, sounds pretty cool, mogwai and explosions in the sky are two of my favorite bands.

good luck on getting a house, i wish i could buy a house and do what you are doing, but unfortunately i am probably about 3-5 years away from that.

what do you mean you will want a minimum of stuff including A/D converters, but a mostly analog set-up? everything analog until right before it hits your computer?
 
yoyo said:
this will be a fun project for you! It's always exciting to be able to build a room just for recording.

the ghost le24 will be the perfect mixer, great mixer. We used to run one (i think) at my church. Try and get it for cheap. You're going to want to record as many tracks at once as you can right??? Hmmmmm...
Click to expand...

yeah, most likely. I mean I doubt I'll ever use the whole board at once or anything, but yeah!

liv_rong said:
hey austin, i know this is off topic about what you are sking, but id be interested in hearing some stuff from your band, sounds pretty cool, mogwai and explosions in the sky are two of my favorite bands.
Click to expand...

well I don't have any mp3's, the stuff I had was on my powerbook which was stolen. and i currently live in an apartment that i can't record in. it's driving me crazy! we need to record and play more shows! i promise i'll keep you posted man

liv_rong said:
good luck on getting a house, i wish i could buy a house and do what you are doing, but unfortunately i am probably about 3-5 years away from that.

what do you mean you will want a minimum of stuff including A/D converters, but a mostly analog set-up? everything analog until right before it hits your computer?
Click to expand...

well, i'd like to be able to record on my computer, as well as an all analog setup. variety is key! just my opinion at least...

ie, when i'm recording rap i'd like it to be into the computer, as opposed to my post rock band which all analog would give an amazing touch to. you know?
 
Man, sounds like me. I sold my 425hp 1991 Nissan Z Twin Turbo to finish my studio/garage. I was gonna put off finishing (drywall,carpet etcc..) for a year, but decided to sell the car. Man I miss that car. But I do have a 1984 Datsun/Nissan Z thats beggin for a V8 transplant.

The 84
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The 91 Twin Turbo (I could cry)
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gah, LOVE the TT!
I've been jonesing for one of those for quite some time, just didn't know if it was going to be easy to take care of.
 
If you are a little mechanically inclined then yea, go for it. Under the hood its a little cluttered but with time the average backyard mechanic can fix any problem. With service manual of course. Took me two hours to change PCV valves (has 2). Alot of hoses to remove to get to the things.
Alot of fun. Damn thing would smoke tires in first,second and third. You could be going 60 mph in fifth down the highway, shift into third, floor it and the tires would break loose. Shocked alot of Fart Can Ricers in my time. Pretty scarey. I dont know how many shit stains people left on the passenger seat. I would always get "is it fast?" I would say fastest thing you will ride in. Then I would get "Well when I was younger my Camaro or Vette or Mustang was quick or Ive riden in fast cars before. Id say lets go for a ride. The expression on thier face when the turbos spooled up is priceless. It presses your face and body back into the seat, and you cant move. Then the back end breaks loose and your side ways. Flick the wheel and your the other way. Speed shift into second and your still sideways. They are now "white as a ghost". You finally get a little tracktion and the pressure eases. But then its on again and then your sideways again goin into third. I like it !!!!!! I will have another.
 
I can't wait to get one someday!

bump!

so far i think i've decided on a toft atb16, and for mics, i for sure want a re-20, maybe a 4050, maybe a sm7, and i might be able to squeeze in some overheads too. would those choices work well for almost everything? i'll also try to snag some sm-57s for cheap, since it never hurts to have some good workhorses.
 
Those are good choices. Don't skimp on monitors. I'd recommend some good matched SDC's like the Josephson C42's. They sound good on everything.
 
You didnt mention drums. Are you gonna buy a set? Even if you dont play them its a good investment. I got my son a set a few years back and it was the best present I ever bought myself :) I play guitar, but I had to learn to play drums because of my one man band recordings. Son just graduated high school and is never around to play to my crap. But I dont mind because "Im getting better all the time". (Beatles tune). Anyway drums and a set of drum mics. I have those Audix sets they sell everywhere and the sound great to me.
 
For monitors I have my eyes set on krk rp8s.

I have a tama rockstar kit, I'd need new heads though. The cymbals are garbage but I figure drummers can bring their own.

I've heard the re-20 sounds great on the kick, and I'll use the sm57 on the snare. Are those good for toms too? Cause that would be real nice. I have some mxl 603s I can use as overheads but I figure if I have the money for an upgrade, I might as well go for it!
 
8 to 10 grand...really?!

Save it, put it in the bank, put it towards your kids college fund or your 401k.

Really, are you planning to run a business or is this just for fun? If you're serious, put together a business plan and get the biz (if you're into it for the biz) to pay for the goods. Get a gig using what you've got. Take the paycheck and buy a bit of gear that you need and keep it growing.

If you don't know what you need, you don't need it...except for the lava lamp...you've GOT to have that!

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.
 
i'd like to run a small business with it, yeah. thanks for your input and all, but i'm a dreamer and this is my dream. i'd get a bank loan if i could, i don't know how much credit i have though for that big of a loan. any input on that?
 
Hey, you only live once. Enjoy it. Here is what I have, besides all musical instruments. That would take alot of time to list. For recording, beside mics,cables and snake, all I bought was a Mackie Onyx 1640 mixer with the firewire card for it. That mixer has 16 premium Onyx pre-amps that sound great. And comes with Tracktion recording software which is so easy to use. Now here is the tricky part. Now I have to mix from the box, because my mixer sends a clean channel (pre eq and fader). I dont mind using plug ins for eq's, panning and levels. Now there is a company that offers a Modded Mackie and the signal is either pre-fader or post-fader. That way you can utilize the Perkins eq (very good) on the mixer and use faders to mix. Now if you plan on using the mixer live then an un-modded is your best bet. Im gonna buy another 1640 when funds are available (a modded one) so I can use eq and faders. And I will have an un-modded to drag areound if needed. Now if you dont plan on using it out in the field and dont mind using plu-ins the Mackie 1200 firewire preamp is a hell of a unit.
But with my 1640 in the studio I can send individual feeds to musicians in the live room to listen to while recording. There is alot more things you can do with the mixer than say a firepod or equiv. I rambling. I spent under $1700 for the unit and I love it. Oh yea PC to plug the mixer into :)
 
i just got another job, as a christmas light installer! the pay is great, i should have another 6 grand by christmas. which means a very happy christmas for myself!
 
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