suggest a low cost basic studio that you would think sounds okay

your job is, if you accept it mr phelps, is to specify the lowest cost total home studio that you could live with soundwise

to keep it from becoming bananas and kumquats let us say that it would have

stereo pair of mike inputs plus two more line inputs plus midi capability
assume we have headphones so we dont confuse the issue with speakers too

so besides the audio interface we need
basic DAW software that handles midi
and two mikes

assume we have a good pc along with mike stands, pop filters, cables, yada yada
and do not worry about fancy stuff like control surface, DI boxes, etc nor any instruments being played except a midi keyboard
also ignore any fancy orchestra libraries for starters too

likewise ignore room treatment and all the fancy stuff that may come later
as well as tables and other furniture items

just specify the MINIMUM acceptable audio gear to get started for a total noobie to do recording mixing/mastering with midi.
DAW
audio interface
midi controller
microphone pair
(headphones assumed)
(computer assumed)

That should be enough to still generate many differing recommendations
estimate the total cost to get started with a good enough studio if not one that will be a threat to RCA or telefunken

feel free to note what else should be considered in the future
plug ins yada yada
other hardware
whatever
 
Why don't you go first?

dont want to bias the results

here is what one web site says
if you need some ideas to get started

If you’re a beginner, and mixing is your focus, you could start with Pro Tools since this is the widely use recording software in the industry today.
When it comes to production, I recommend Ableton. In my opinion, Ableton is the most versatile and fun DAW on the market today.

his top picks: midi
*Akai MPK Mini MKII 25-Key
*Akai MPK249
*Novation Launchkey 61 MK2 Version
and
his top picks: mikes
*Audio-Technica AT2020
*M-Audio Nova
*MXL V67G
and
his top picks: audio interface
*Presonus Digimax D8
*Art Tube Opto 8
*Focusrite Octopre MkII

i did not get any of those for myself but they are decent choices except
i totally disagree about pro tools and i would never buy anything with tubes in it

i am sure you can do better than that web site did
 
your job is, if you accept it mr phelps, is to specify the lowest cost total home studio that you could live with soundwise

to keep it from becoming bananas and kumquats let us say that it would have

stereo pair of mike inputs plus two more line inputs plus midi capability
assume we have headphones so we dont confuse the issue with speakers too

so besides the audio interface we need
basic DAW software that handles midi
and two mikes

assume we have a good pc along with mike stands, pop filters, cables, yada yada
and do not worry about fancy stuff like control surface, DI boxes, etc nor any instruments being played except a midi keyboard
also ignore any fancy orchestra libraries for starters too

likewise ignore room treatment and all the fancy stuff that may come later
as well as tables and other furniture items

just specify the MINIMUM acceptable audio gear to get started for a total noobie to do recording mixing/mastering with midi.
DAW
audio interface
midi controller
microphone pair
(headphones assumed)
(computer assumed)

That should be enough to still generate many differing recommendations
estimate the total cost to get started with a good enough studio if not one that will be a threat to RCA or telefunken

feel free to note what else should be considered in the future
plug ins yada yada
other hardware
whatever

The complete premise of this post seems to be saying that we can give our opinions.......and only opinions..........and will not have to "prove" our opinions right? Nowhere does it say that we'll have to "prove" anything.....and an opinion is ok it seems. All for the sake of some friendly professional banter. You know....just a bunch of guys sitting around shooting the breeze. Sounds good right?

No...no.........don't fall into the trap. It won't be......hey never thought about that.......or that could be a good option.........or never tried that.....good idea. Nope.....it's a trap.
 
The complete premise of this post seems to be saying that we can give our opinions.......and only opinions..........and will not have to "prove" our opinions right? Nowhere does it say that we'll have to "prove" anything.....and an opinion is ok it seems. All for the sake of some friendly professional banter. You know....just a bunch of guys sitting around shooting the breeze. Sounds good right?

No...no.........don't fall into the trap. It won't be......hey never thought about that.......or that could be a good option.........or never tried that.....good idea. Nope.....it's a trap.

just want to know what you would recommend to a friend if he asked you about starting his home studio

i do expect to see a wide range of recommendations not everybody agreeing on the one best option since one size fits nobody
 
Too many variables out of the equation to give good advice. This is basically an impossible question to answer for me as there is much more to this then just an interface and mic. The room is #1 to begin with, so recommending specific gear is tough to do.

So I would say any DAW, any interface and any controller. Then figure out what doesn't work by using what one has in their personal space.

As far as microphones go, that depends on the source being recorded and the room it is recorded in. So that is also impossible to recommend accurately. Though if testing the waters in an untreated room, keep it simple and cheap and go with SM57's. They will surely be good for something at some point and resale value is good.

And if I get pulled into a trap, I will smack myself in the face and close this thread with a question so vague that there is no correct answer.

:)
 
Before I made any recommendations (especially for mics and software), I would ask - what type of music is being recorded and what instruments? What is the budget? What ist the ultimate goal - long term? YOU specified MIDI, but most 'beginner level' MIDI gear these days has USB rather than DIN connectors. And most beginners are not going to be starting with recording 4 simultaneous tracks at one time (2 mics and 2 line inputs per your definition).
 
Before I made any recommendations (especially for mics and software), I would ask - what type of music is being recorded and what instruments? What is the budget? What ist the ultimate goal - long term? YOU specified MIDI, but most 'beginner level' MIDI gear these days has USB rather than DIN connectors. And most beginners are not going to be starting with recording 4 simultaneous tracks at one time (2 mics and 2 line inputs per your definition).


that is part of the problem with saying what is best for the job isnt it

i dont think the type of music or instruments is really an issue except for the mike selection
so just suggest what is a good starting point for a typical person with a little bit of room to grow


the budget is whatever it takes to get the gear suggested
but if folks go all batstuff crazy with their suggestions then it might not be affordable
so assume what fits your budget that you could live with to start out recording with

probably not 4 simultaneous tracks but do want to do stereo hence two mikes and two pres
sometimes a line input is needed so two of those to avoid buying a new device right away
 
that is part of the problem with saying what is best for the job isnt it

i dont think the type of music or instruments is really an issue except for the mike selection
so just suggest what is a good starting point for a typical person with a little bit of room to grow


the budget is whatever it takes to get the gear suggested
but if folks go all batstuff crazy with their suggestions then it might not be affordable
so assume what fits your budget that you could live with to start out recording with

probably not 4 simultaneous tracks but do want to do stereo hence two mikes and two pres
sometimes a line input is needed so two of those to avoid buying a new device right away

Well here you go. Reaper, UR22 and vague answer has finally been given.

Can you sleep now?

Suddenly Philly cheese steaks do not sound so tasty....
 
I started my home studio with a $69 Lexicon Alpha and a shit desktop. Came with Cubase LE5.

Was it awesome? Nope.

Did it work? Yep.

Did I realize that there was better gear? Yep.

Did I move forward from my experience? Yep.

Did I ask others to help lead me in the right direction? Yep.

Did it work? Yep.
 
just want to know what you would recommend to a friend if he asked you about starting his home studio

Oh god! Here we go again. You really have no life do you? The other thread just didn't fully satisfy?
Another hypothetical thread with little to do with the real world, but gives you something to do for days. ;)

Ok, I'll play but just this one time.

Real world.
Since kids today are too lazy to read and half can't, they'll head straight over to youtube and sooner or later find Graham Cochrane and the Recording Revolution channel. The 350 dollar challenge will come up and they'll buy whatever he recommends.
And a month later they'll be experts.
:D

Now, If I was helping a freind out? Simple, just sell him gear that was perfectly good, but I had outgrown. Kind of how the younger siblingss get the clothes brothers and sisters have outgrown.

Then with the proceeds, along with some out of pocket money, I'd go buy better gear. ;)
But I wouldn''t tell you what it might be cause you'll just start to aurgue.
:D

Oh, almost forgot
Midi,. What if they were in a punk band and didn't need any midi gear? Now that would save some money, wouldn't it.
:D
 
Oh god! Here we go again. You really have no life do you? The other thread just didn't fully satisfy?
Another hypothetical thread with little to do with the real world, but gives you something to do for days. ;)

Ok, I'll play but just this one time.

Real world.
Since kids today are too lazy to read and half can't, they'll head straight over to youtube and sooner or later find Graham Cochrane and the Recording Revolution channel. The 350 dollar challenge will come up and they'll buy whatever he recommends.
And a month later they'll be experts.
:D

Now, If I was helping a freind out? Simple, just sell him gear that was perfectly good, but I had outgrown. Kind of how the younger siblingss get the clothes brothers and sisters have outgrown.

Then with the proceeds, along with some out of pocket money, I'd go buy better gear. ;)
But I wouldn''t tell you what it might be cause you'll just start to aurgue.
:D

Oh, almost forgot
Midi,. What if they were in a punk band and didn't need any midi gear? Now that would save some money, wouldn't it.
:D


thank you

i like that 350 dollar studio that cochrane suggests

perhaps you would care to point out the faults before i actually waste my money buying that system
 
I have no friends but if I did, I would tell them to buy an i-Mac and an Apogee Duet. Then use Garageband for free and pickup a budget-level Audio Technica LDC or maybe a similar model by Shure. Get a mic stand, too, and a pair of AKG 240 headphones and call it a day. If they wanted to have a keyboard, they can use Garageband's musical typing feature.

If they didn't want to use a Mac, I would scorn them and end the friendship. :D
 
Any of the interfaces we talk about daily - probably one that comes with a version of Cubase. Same with mics - any from our usual list. You can get going very cheaply nowadays. In fact, there's such a small amount of rubbish around, anything works - almost.
 
perhaps you would care to point out the faults before i actually waste my money buying that system

Are you just making this up, or do you actually have no recording gear at this point?

that is part of the problem with saying what is best for the job isnt it

i dont think the type of music or instruments is really an issue except for the mike selection
so just suggest what is a good starting point for a typical person with a little bit of room to grow


the budget is whatever it takes to get the gear suggested
but if folks go all batstuff crazy with their suggestions then it might not be affordable
so assume what fits your budget that you could live with to start out recording with

probably not 4 simultaneous tracks but do want to do stereo hence two mikes and two pres
sometimes a line input is needed so two of those to avoid buying a new device right away

So maybe you really don't have any gear. A typical audio interface with 2 mic preamps will have combo input jacks that are also line inputs. Of course what a person is recording is important when it comes to choosing gear. The person recording finger-played acoustic guitar wiht no vocals can use different stuff than the person who has is recording rap over pre-recorded tracks, etc.

When you say 'budget is whatever it takes' it makes me believe you are just trolling again. Budget IS a major consideration for a beginner. ANd what they want to accompish with the recordings - do they just want to record rough demos so their band gets an idea what the song is supposed to be like? DO they want to get comfortable wiht a microphone and get arrangements down before going to a professional recording studio, etc. Knowing what the person wants to do - and their experience and abilities is part of the qualification procedure in making recommendations.
Here's a perfectly adequate beginner package: https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/focusrite-scarlett-2i2-studio-pack-2nd-gen
 
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