setting up new home studio

mikethekiwi

New member
Have also posted this in newbie forum by the way......cheers

Have just recently been pointed in this direction by a mate to your forum - wow, I never knew that this existed – its dam amazing!!! A wealth of information - have enjoyed reading through the various threads. I would like to pick your brains if I may for a tick to try and clarify a few things for me. I am relatively new to recording on a PC so please excuse my lack of knowledge.

I am a musician, into all sorts of music and have recently started up a hip hop recording project. I am currently playing around on a basic set up - a nasty pc with reason and a cheap version of logic, house speakers etc but am now wanting to upgrade to some decent gear that would enable us to record to a semi profssional quality with the view of then getting someone to do the mastering it for us. Our budget is about $8000 to $10,000 NZ (including computer) which is about $5000 to $6000 in US dollars.

While the genre of choice is hip hop based, we will be placing a large emphasis on the recording of guitars and bass guitar, vox, and other instruments so audio recording quality is just as important as midi – and will be doing other genre of music also. We would like to continue to use Reason as we have been, and we could look at getting other instruments added later on.

I have basically been given 2 options by our local retailers – Pro Tools with the M Box soundcard, and Cubase SL. Based on what I have been told, this particular version of Protools is not that good compared to Cubase, is apparently a bit of a toy - we have been told good things about Cubase so Cubase seems to be way to go.

With the audio recording in mind, soundcards/pre-amps - where to go??? Is it best to get a soundcard/preamp combo similar to the M Box, or seperate standalone soundcard and preamp?? Iv’e been told that 24 bit souncards are the way to go? We will only be recording 2 audio tracks at once maximum, so two audio inputs would be plenty. Any advise on this is appreciated.

Monitors – we have been given 2 options both around the $1000US mark. Yamaha MSP5’s (I think) and some new Fostex monitors. Someone mentioned it might also be worth getting a small sub also, as bass is an integral part of hiphop. Is this worth getting? Or would basic monitors be sufficient?

And we will also be purchasing a new computer – what are the minimum specs required?? We would like to think that we could have up to 50 tracks per song if we wanted to. And, we will be using Reason alongside Cubase. The computer and the soundcard/preamp are the two things that we want to make sure we get the best out of – we want to be sure that we have plenty in reserve.


Thank you if you have read this far – any advise whatsoever is very much appreciated – It really is hard to get good advise down hear in NZ as I don’t really know a lot of people who are using this gear. I can’t wait to get this all set up – should be a whole heap of fun.

Thankyou and have a good new year all.
Mike.
 
What up Mike? You have endless options. Here's a couple questions for you though. Is mastering already a part of your budget? By all means do not skimp there, or at all for that matter. Can you, or is there a shop in your area that can build you a computer? Choose your software first, Cubase is fine. Go to http://www.steinberg.net/en/index.php and see what the system requirements are, then overshoot those. A soundcard is cool, but I would suggest a digital I/O card and good set of A/D and D/A converters. Search the forum for some choices. Same goes for preamps. For monitors, scratch the sub, just get a good pair at least 8", maybe Dynaudio or something, I don't know what dealers are in your hood. Also Event and KRK will fit nicely into your budget. Finally, if you haven't already, try to set aside a chunk to treat your room(s) as this will make a tremendous difference with your live instruments and mixing. I know this is all rather vague, if you can let me know what else you can get in your area I can give more specific answers. Hope this helps somewhat. Good luck.

Peace.

P.S. D-P on boards is regarded by some as a N-O.
 
hey dudes, cheers for the advise.

He have the view that we would not be mastering it ourselves - would be getting someone else to do it so we are not really worried about getting a great mix as such, we just want to make sure we have the gear needed to record to a top notch quality. one shop in particular recommended yamaha msp5's, however they are 4 inch cones. we are not overly worried about the mix but still want to crank it hard so we get a good feel - do you reckon the 4 inch cones are too small?? we might have to look at out budget again if you reckon that 8 inches are the go. our would it nesecerily be alright to go with 4 inch monitors and a small sub??? if cheaper?? any advice appreciated.

we are getting all of the gear from a local music retailer, and we will be getting the cumputer from a computer store. had a look at the steinburg site and have noted down the recommended computer specs.

the biggest worry I have is getting the right monitors. roland, yamaha, bayringger - which way to turn??

thanks again for your adivse- its all good
Mike

PS do you use Cubase?? from what I can gather this is prob the best choice - any thoughts?
 
I have just been give some info by my retailer about monitors

It seems that these are the only options

Behringer Truth
M Audio BX8
Yamaha MSP5's

All priced about the same, they seem to think that the Behringgers are the bomb. any thoughts??

Cheers MIke
 
He have the view that we would not be mastering it ourselves - would be getting someone else to do it so we are not really worried about getting a great mix as such, we just want to make sure we have the gear needed to record to a top notch quality.
Still, mastering won't fix a mix. With decent gear and a little diligence you can get excellent results. A good mastering job is just the polish so to speak. Believe me, if you've been listening to music your whole life, then you know what sounds good. Learn to trust your ears, they are your best piece of equipment.
we are not overly worried about the mix but still want to crank it hard so we get a good feel - do you reckon the 4 inch cones are too small?? we might have to look at out budget again if you reckon that 8 inches are the go. our would it nesecerily be alright to go with 4 inch monitors and a small sub??? if cheaper?? any advice appreciated.
It seems that these are the only options Behringer Truth M Audio BX8 Yamaha MSP5's
EEEK! The main consideration with monitors is not that they neccesarily sound pleasing to your ears, but that they are accurate. You want to know exactly what's going on in your mix. If those are your only choices EEEK! The Behringers are a lie, way too hyped. The MSP5s are too small for your purposes. Go with the BX8s. They are about $475 a pair in the states so they should come in way under your alloted budget of $1000 US. Are you certain you can't get anything else?

Also, I have used Cubase for a few years now and stand firmly behind it, but every other program in that category handles itself in one way or another. Again, I hope this helps you get where you want to be.

Peace.
 
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