My $3000 Hip Hop Home Studio Setup. Any advice?

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SylazOnline

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So I'm making my first home studio. I've always been around home studios and studios in general, but this is the first time I'm attempting to make my own complete set up. Just about everything I'll be recording will be Hip Hop, so I want to choose my equipment with this in mind. My budget is about $3000.

These are the major items I plan on getting:

Condenser: Audio Techinica AT4050
Audio Interface: M-Audio Profire 610
Studio Monitors: KRK RP6
Preamp: Golden Age Project Pre 73
Headphone Amp: PreSonus HP4
MIDI Controller: Akai MPK49
Power Conditioner: Furman M-8X


Should I replace any of those with anything else? Do you think I NEED a compressor? Do I need a mixer? What would be it's purpose if I have the Profire 610 and the GAP Pre 73? Is there anything else I should get?

Thank you!
 
That's not the mic I'd be looking at for typical aggressive vocals... Something along the lines of a SM7b or RE20 (with a slight edge to the 7b, IMO) would serve the purpose much better.

Monitors -- Cut whatever corners you want - But not with monitors (or room treatments - broadband panels specifically - which aren't on your list).

Compressor -- On the input? Don't bother. But the P73 is a nice preamp.
 
I'll agree with everything Massive said there.

I do wonder why you have a headphone amplifier on there.
Are you planning on recording more than two performers at a time?
Cause your interface has two headphone outs on it already.
If you've got a good reason for getting the extra headphone amplifier, then nevermind.
 
You never stated what you have or going to get for a recording software!






:cool:
 
I'm getting Sonar for recording and Reason for production. And I'm setting up another mic I already have (AKG 220) at my desk to serve as a console mic so that I can talk to the artists while they are in the booth and I will also have another pair of headphones at the desk so that I can hear them. And in general head phone amps make the music sound more accurate.
 
Have you checked out "Reaper" yet for a recording software?






:cool:
 
SylazOnline said:
And in general head phone amps make the music sound more accurate.
Click to expand...

HUH??? First of all, you shouldn't be using headphones to mix with. Second of all, "head phone amps make the music sound more accurate" doesn't even make any sense, besides not being true.

What about room treatment? You're wasting a lot of money on gear if you don't have a good room to use them in. If you want to talk about anything making "the music sound more accurate" it would be room treatment.
 
RAMI said:
HUH??? First of all, you shouldn't be using headphones to mix with. Second of all, "head phone amps make the music sound more accurate" doesn't even make any sense, besides not being true.

What about room treatment? You're wasting a lot of money on gear if you don't have a good room to use them in. If you want to talk about anything making "the music sound more accurate" it would be room treatment.
Click to expand...

First of all, I never said I was using the head phones to mix. Obviously if I listed the KRK monitors, I'll be using those. Second of all, it's obvious you don't know what a headphone amp is for or have never used one properly, so it's no use in me arguing with you about it. My room is fine and I have all of the acoustics I need.

I posted this to ask if the major equipment I listed could give me the potential to make professional sounding music (with good mixing, of course). When I say professional, I mean the type of music you hear on the radio.
 
SylazOnline said:
First of all, I never said I was using the head phones to mix. Obviously if I listed the KRK monitors, I'll be using those. Second of all, it's obvious you don't know what a headphone amp is for or have never used one properly, so it's no use in me arguing with you about it. My room is fine and I have all of the acoustics I need.

I posted this to ask if the major equipment I listed could give me the potential to make professional sounding music (with good mixing, of course). When I say professional, I mean the type of music you hear on the radio.
Click to expand...


I'm assuming you think Rami came at your wrong and you got defensive quick. He's just applying that you can get more out of your mixing environment by room treatment.

Currently I have none, and I got bashed on here for my recording booth, but for hip hop it works for me and I've had 2 songs make 2 local radio stations I recorded and mixed.

Room Treatment will make your mixing "more accurate" as in when you mix it in your studio you won't worry that It will sound different in your car or the club
 
No good engineer has ONE vocal mic. You'll need a few because of the difference in the tone/timbre of people's voices.
As always, I suggest Blue's "Bluebird". Awesome all around mic. $300 new
 
Can you explain how a headphone amp makes the music sound more accurate?
I mean, there are headphone amplifiers in your interface and, while they obviously aren't super expensive high quality ones, I doubt you're gonna get a noticeable improvement in the quality of your headphone mix by spending $130 for four channels of headphone amplification.
I've never had any trouble whatsoever tracking using the stock headphone outputs on my interface.
Further, the headphones you buy are gonna have a much bigger effect on the quality of sound in your headphone than the headphone amplifier (at least, as far as I know).

I'd rather spend that $130 on upgrading headphones or buying materials for a few bass traps.
You say your room is fine and you have all the acoustics (I assume you mean acoustic treatment) you need.
You also say you were asking whether your list was potentially capable of giving you radio/professional quality mixes.

A list that doesn't include some sort of room treatment is always gonna get a bunch of responses mentioning room treatment because it's WAY more important to the final sound of a mix than the headphone amp or power conditioner you use.

Which is all to say, it ain't my money, and I don't know you, so I'm not trying to tell you what to do or how to spend your money.
I am asking you to explain your reasoning for purchasing a headphone amplifier, as I've never heard that before and am willing to have my mind changed.
Thanks, and good luck.
 
The Cancers said:
Can you explain how a headphone amp makes the music sound more accurate?
I mean, there are headphone amplifiers in your interface and, while they obviously aren't super expensive high quality ones, I doubt you're gonna get a noticeable improvement in the quality of your headphone mix by spending $130 for four channels of headphone amplification.
I've never had any trouble whatsoever tracking using the stock headphone outputs on my interface.
Further, the headphones you buy are gonna have a much bigger effect on the quality of sound in your headphone than the headphone amplifier (at least, as far as I know).

I'd rather spend that $130 on upgrading headphones or buying materials for a few bass traps.
You say your room is fine and you have all the acoustics (I assume you mean acoustic treatment) you need.
You also say you were asking whether your list was potentially capable of giving you radio/professional quality mixes.

A list that doesn't include some sort of room treatment is always gonna get a bunch of responses mentioning room treatment because it's WAY more important to the final sound of a mix than the headphone amp or power conditioner you use.

Which is all to say, it ain't my money, and I don't know you, so I'm not trying to tell you what to do or how to spend your money.
I am asking you to explain your reasoning for purchasing a headphone amplifier, as I've never heard that before and am willing to have my mind changed.
Thanks, and good luck.
Click to expand...

During the times I've used headphone amps I've noticed a great difference in the sound quality of the instrumentals or whatever else is playing in the headphones. And every studio I've ever worked in has used them so I just assumed it was neccessary and put it on the list. Maybe it's not. I don't know everything, that's why I'm asking this forum.

And I'm aware that I need alot of sound treatment stuff. I call them acoustics because that's what I was taught. We're talking about the same stuff (studio foam, bass traps, etc.)

Anyways, do you have any opinions on the other stuff? I'm mainly looking for opinions on the preamp, the mic, and the interface.

Thanks for not being an asshole.
 
Massive Master said:
That's not the mic I'd be looking at for typical aggressive vocals... Something along the lines of a SM7b or RE20 (with a slight edge to the 7b, IMO) would serve the purpose much better.

Monitors -- Cut whatever corners you want - But not with monitors (or room treatments - broadband panels specifically - which aren't on your list).

Compressor -- On the input? Don't bother. But the P73 is a nice preamp.
Click to expand...

I've heard that the SM7b and RE20 are for harsh voices. My style of rapping isn't really harsh or aggressive. It's more so about hearing me ennounciate everything clearly and picking up the slight tone differences in my voice properly, and I heard the AT4050 does that best. More like Andre 3000 or Jay-Z. Is that wrong? If so, could you explain why or send me some samples of them? I can't seem to find any good ones.

And are the KRK RP6's not good enough? If not, what are some better options? I thought KRK's were the industry standard.

And I'm definitely getting alot of sound treatment/acoustics. I guess I should've said that before I gave everyone the opportunity to attack me :cool:
 
MIC: I wouldn't say they're for harsh voice... But they certainly react well to harsh voices (unlike so many other mics). Both are excellent "all around" vocal mics that every studio on the planet has (at least one of) in the locker - if it's not used so often that it doesn't make its way back to the locker...

MONITORS: "Industry standard" and "KRK" in the same paragraph... Interesting. Eh, KRK makes a few decent speakers -- The VXT8's aren't too bad, the EB(?)8's are rather decent for their size (but a little overpriced at $3k per speaker). The RP series are relatively cheesy entry-level incredibly boxy sounding (IMO/E) speakers that surprised the hell out of me when they came out (as they discontinued and replaced the only "sort of boxy" V series).

I don't mean to sound like a KRK basher... I'm not. The VXT's, although really not my thing, aren't too bad. Same with the EB's. The RP's on the other hand... But seriously -- See if you can find a set of used B&W 602's or something. It's an entirely different world. Or the new ADAM 7's (now that they fixed the goofy low end thing). You can usually expect $400 speakers to be about as accurate as a set of $400 speakers (in other words, don't expect much). The absolute most important purchase you will ever make, period. Every single sonic decision you make is based on the accuracy and consistency of your monitoring chain. Which leads to:

ROOM TREATMENT: I'd never attack anyone about room treatment (unless your idea of room treatment is "throwing foam all over the walls" -- Another interesting "industry standard"). Broadband panels and as many of them as you can get your hands on. Leave the foam to the movies (and to tweak comb filtering if you have any hot spots once your low end is under control).
 
Massive Master said:
MIC: I wouldn't say they're for harsh voice... But they certainly react well to harsh voices (unlike so many other mics). Both are excellent "all around" vocal mics that every studio on the planet has (at least one of) in the locker - if it's not used so often that it doesn't make its way back to the locker...

MONITORS: "Industry standard" and "KRK" in the same paragraph... Interesting. Eh, KRK makes a few decent speakers -- The VXT8's aren't too bad, the EB(?)8's are rather decent for their size (but a little overpriced at $3k per speaker). The RP series are relatively cheesy entry-level incredibly boxy sounding (IMO/E) speakers that surprised the hell out of me when they came out (as they discontinued and replaced the only "sort of boxy" V series).

I don't mean to sound like a KRK basher... I'm not. The VXT's, although really not my thing, aren't too bad. Same with the EB's. The RP's on the other hand... But seriously -- See if you can find a set of used B&W 602's or something. It's an entirely different world. Or the new ADAM 7's (now that they fixed the goofy low end thing). You can usually expect $400 speakers to be about as accurate as a set of $400 speakers (in other words, don't expect much). The absolute most important purchase you will ever make, period. Every single sonic decision you make is based on the accuracy and consistency of your monitoring chain. Which leads to:

ROOM TREATMENT: I'd never attack anyone about room treatment (unless your idea of room treatment is "throwing foam all over the walls" -- Another interesting "industry standard"). Broadband panels and as many of them as you can get your hands on. Leave the foam to the movies (and to tweak comb filtering if you have any hot spots once your low end is under control).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Would it be good enough to make my own panels or just buy them? And if studio foam is bad, what other type of treatment should I get?
 
4" OC703 panels are 4" OC703 panels pretty much no matter who makes them. Make sure they're wrapped though... Glass fibers are no fun on your skin or in your lungs.

Studio foam isn't "bad" on its own... It does what it does well (assuming it's of reasonable quality - Auralex is freakishly cheap *and* actually good quality stuff), but what it does is absorb high end. That's the last thing (literally) that you need to worry about in 95% of rooms. Foam is a "touch up' -- Once you put a dozen (or two dozen - or in my case, three dozen) broadband panels in a room, even most high end issues are going to fix themselves.
 
Massive Master said:
4" OC703 panels are 4" OC703 panels pretty much no matter who makes them. Make sure they're wrapped though... Glass fibers are no fun on your skin or in your lungs.

Studio foam isn't "bad" on its own... It does what it does well (assuming it's of reasonable quality - Auralex is freakishly cheap *and* actually good quality stuff), but what it does is absorb high end. That's the last thing (literally) that you need to worry about in 95% of rooms. Foam is a "touch up' -- Once you put a dozen (or two dozen - or in my case, three dozen) broadband panels in a room, even most high end issues are going to fix themselves.
Click to expand...

Yup. 20 panels here, 4 triangular bass traps in the corner and 16 flats on the walls. I've got no need for any foam.
 
I have a profire 2626. The HP4 has A LOT more headroom than the profire.

Now...

That said, I still would go with something else because of what's going on in the back of the unit. Not much you can do with it. You can't do aux/alt mixes like you can with the profire head outs. Shoot even a B-ringer powerplay has more options for routing than the HP4 does (although it's WAY more noisy).


My hp4 has also become noisy. I've owned/own several of the budget presonus stuff and they all seem to eventually get really noisy pots. Contact cleaner doesn't seem to help that much. Such is life with surface mount pcb pots.


I'm also going to throw a HUGE +1 to room treatment. Did 12 2'X4'x4" in my little 12X13 room and 4 2'x6'x4" oc703 panels for $400 (it was around $300 for the oc703, and $100 for fabric staples, hangers, wood etc...). It's A LOT nicer than the auralex junk.


The 4050 is a great mic. Truthfully I would rather have it over a RE20 or SM7b in this case (actually, never used a RE20, only have experience with the sm7b and RE27) as it's more versatile (IMO of course). For spoken word, the RE20 and sm7b certainly make sense as they are designed for radio (that is why the mic stand mounting system on them is so different from traditional mics).


Those that offer reaper as an option don't ever seem to be doing a bunch of midi stuff in it. I tried it out on mac and LOATHED it. Cubase just owned it in every way when it came to midi editing. The only thing I like about it is the customizing ability and the price.

Reason is a GREAT choice man, I would just avoid recording/using it's sequencer. Go the rewire route and treat it as it should be treated: Like a big ass instrument. :D
 
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