Ultra-Beginner Setup

U

urobolusmusic

New member
Hi there, I'm thinking about getting my little brother a recording setup for his graduation in May. He has been playing piano and guitar for like 5 years now and has expressed interest in recording, so I thought I'd get him some gear-- nothing to expensive or fancy though--and figured there is probably a lot of people on here that have looked into or know more about what is good in ultra-low end equipment.

Anyway, I'm only wanting to spend maybe around $500 tops, and I was thinking about getting him:

2x SM57 mics for his cab
1x Audio-Technica AT2020 for vocals
M-Audio Studio Pro 3 monitors

As far as the interface and MIDI controller, I'm not sure. I might just send my old MK461C.

Any suggestions for an interface?

Are these MIDI controller/Interface's any good?

Thanks for the help! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
He is pretty good with them. He can usually figure out a problem himself if one comes up.

Which reminds me, I think he is running Vista and going to recommend he use REAPER.
 
If he's using Vista, get him a FireWire interface. Why do you (or he) need 2 SM57's? You could get one and spend the other $100 towards something else.

Don't forget about cables. They come cheap but the price always seems to add up.

If he plays piano, you'll want to get a MIDI keyboard with real, weighted, piano-like action (so the feel is the same as a piano). I wish I had done that when I got mine. I have to either slam on the keys, or press very lightly to get any sort of realistic dynamics from it.
 
IF hes got a good usb controller on that PC the line6 KB37 is pretty cool...two inputs, guitar DI, a small MIDI keyboard and some daw controller transport buttons and things

The IF is about the USB though, it can be tricky
 
Thanks for the info!

Anyone have any input on these MIDI controller/interface combo's? I think M-Audio makes a few of them.

Since he is going to college, I want to get him something compact. Most MIDI controllers I know of that have weighted/semi-weighted keys are usually 76-88 keys.
 
Bah, it looks like pretty much all those MIDI controller/Interfaces are all USB.

Anyone have any suggestions for an inexpensive firewire interface?

Also, is REAPER compatible with Vista Ultimate?

Thanks.
 
The M-Audio Pro 3 speakers are pretty good sounding, but very directional and not very loud. You might want to go up a size for more volume. I just got a pair, and they work well for me, but a few more watts would not hurt.
 
urobolusmusic said:
Also, is REAPER compatible with Vista Ultimate?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yup

In terms os a good firewire interface for cheap? Its a dicey proposal :)

The firepod works ok with vista, but their failure rate is pretty high. Good price and excellent features though.

If he can swing a MOTU 8Pre (and if its working well in Vista) that would be a good bet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top