W
wellwellwell
New member
oz dollars are worth about 50 us cents, starting a home studio from scratch - what dya all recommend?
S
senn
New member
How r u goin' mate? Was that $30,000 or $3,000??
If it's 30 grand, it's a pretty good budget for a home studio mate!
Having that sort of money I wouldn't know where to start (which is good thing in this case
.
Well u didn't specify what sort of recording u r planning to do...digital , analog.. I suppose u r thinking about digital, hardware recording..
If you are, Your best shot for the start is to get a good comp. system...something like Pentium IV, about 1 GHz..lot of HD memory and about 128 or even 256 Mb of Ram (This is a good thing to do as they constantly update, and if you buy something slower it'll go out of date quickly). It's probably good to have separate drives for your programs and your audio stuff.
Then your software comes...i dunno..whatever.. Logic Audio, Cubase, Cakewalk..there's plenty around....
You'd obviously need a mixing console...for our Aussie standards at the moment...MACKIE has been talked about a lot lately (i use one of the live version mixers with my band it's absolutely awsome). Haven't used them in a studio situation, but i read a lot about them, and heard a lot of feedback from people, which has been very positive. It's allways good to look for second hand mixers (trading post and stuff like that). Then obviously the other stuff comes into play..effects, compressors, monitors, mics, cables.......
I'm rumbling about this for long now....I'll let you read this, think about what kind of recording u wanna do, and then when you specify some more details about stuff u wanna do, and type of music you are recording...then you'll probably be able to get some more help.
Good luck mate.
C ya
If it's 30 grand, it's a pretty good budget for a home studio mate!
Having that sort of money I wouldn't know where to start (which is good thing in this case
.Well u didn't specify what sort of recording u r planning to do...digital , analog.. I suppose u r thinking about digital, hardware recording..
If you are, Your best shot for the start is to get a good comp. system...something like Pentium IV, about 1 GHz..lot of HD memory and about 128 or even 256 Mb of Ram (This is a good thing to do as they constantly update, and if you buy something slower it'll go out of date quickly). It's probably good to have separate drives for your programs and your audio stuff.
Then your software comes...i dunno..whatever.. Logic Audio, Cubase, Cakewalk..there's plenty around....
You'd obviously need a mixing console...for our Aussie standards at the moment...MACKIE has been talked about a lot lately (i use one of the live version mixers with my band it's absolutely awsome). Haven't used them in a studio situation, but i read a lot about them, and heard a lot of feedback from people, which has been very positive. It's allways good to look for second hand mixers (trading post and stuff like that). Then obviously the other stuff comes into play..effects, compressors, monitors, mics, cables.......
I'm rumbling about this for long now....I'll let you read this, think about what kind of recording u wanna do, and then when you specify some more details about stuff u wanna do, and type of music you are recording...then you'll probably be able to get some more help.
Good luck mate.
C ya
S
senn
New member
Ooppss forgot to tell ya..
Go to your bookshop and look for this:
E-Musician's PERSONAL STUDIO 2002 BUYER'S GUIDE.
You name it, it's in there
P.S. I don't hink an ordinary newsagency wiil have them, I had to get it from the biggest bookstore in town.
(Boarders on Chapel St. ..that's if you live in Melb.!!
Go to your bookshop and look for this:
E-Musician's PERSONAL STUDIO 2002 BUYER'S GUIDE.
You name it, it's in there
P.S. I don't hink an ordinary newsagency wiil have them, I had to get it from the biggest bookstore in town.
(Boarders on Chapel St. ..that's if you live in Melb.
!!
getuhgrip
Bring Back Transfat!
I don't know if that means you've got six million rubles or thirty bagel bucks. However, being one of the great prognosticators of unwise purchases, I think the best initial investment should be one of time spent studying "what works with what" based on what you're goals are. Spend some time imagining what you'ld like to be able to do, and then research the components that purport to make the dream come true.
You're in the right place and welcome. Now go to work!
You're in the right place and welcome. Now go to work!
darrin_h2000
Banned
For a modest 10% commision I volunteer to do the thinking for you. Spend that 15,000us the best way possible.
W
wellwellwell
New member
thanks peoples, yeah, 30000 can go far! i, too, was thinking of a nice mackie, but maybe itd be possible to get an analogue setup going for that sort of dough, ongoing costs not considered....
im not sure whether some da88 tascam machines are needed, or if saving to disc's more worthwhile, or even analogue tape, im just looking for a nice woarm sound.
digital's cheaper, and on that budget, i daresay itd be easy to get something thAT sounds sweet compared to the comparative lower end analogue gear that'd be able to be gotten togethre - any ideas?
im not sure whether some da88 tascam machines are needed, or if saving to disc's more worthwhile, or even analogue tape, im just looking for a nice woarm sound.
digital's cheaper, and on that budget, i daresay itd be easy to get something thAT sounds sweet compared to the comparative lower end analogue gear that'd be able to be gotten togethre - any ideas?
dobro
Well-known member
Oh man, you are so uninformed and so rich. Follow Getuhgrip's advice - get informed, or you're just gonna make mistakes with all that lovely money. 
Most of the recording world's going digital these days. Start there.
Most of the recording world's going digital these days. Start there.
S
someone else
New member
As dobro said, everything is moving to digital,
just look at all the guitar amplifiers, all the manufacturers have digital modeling amps...... or at the very least have inputs for outboard effects.....
You must decide the dream first.
What is it you are going for...
Do you want the end result to make an income for you?
Or is this to be for personal use ???
The answer determines a few choices as to equipment...
or at least whether to purchase new....(warranties etc.)
or to buy at discount houses or auctions(making your $ go further)
Personally, I would read a little and follow my dream where ever it leads....
That much $$ could really set you up nice if you are carefull, and research what you need.....WHAT YOU REALLY NEED....before you spend a dime....
These folks here, at this BBS for the most part....
Are one big family....
so if you can handle togetherness........(which, of course includes dealing with varying personalities, just like a real family....!!)
This is the right place.
Really tho, you must decide for yourself, what you want the end result to be...??
Commercial investment..., or personal 'playroom'
The digital part of the future, has already been decided.... it's a definate.
You must have at the very least, a semi powerful, fairly state-of-the-art computer system, and the best(easiest to oporate) software for working with audio.....
The answers to technical questions, as well as the simple ones can be found here at this BBS, for all of the questions like 'Which mic???or EQ..?
And after a hard day at the 'Office"
whatever the hell that happens to be.....
We can all go to the cave and have stimulating subjects to ponder......
With some 'Like-minded' web-heads....
And friends of music...
We are, what in my business is refered to,
An 'International'
Have fun doin' your dream...!!!!!
Upstate
just look at all the guitar amplifiers, all the manufacturers have digital modeling amps...... or at the very least have inputs for outboard effects.....
You must decide the dream first.
What is it you are going for...
Do you want the end result to make an income for you?
Or is this to be for personal use ???
The answer determines a few choices as to equipment...
or at least whether to purchase new....(warranties etc.)
or to buy at discount houses or auctions(making your $ go further)
Personally, I would read a little and follow my dream where ever it leads....
That much $$ could really set you up nice if you are carefull, and research what you need.....WHAT YOU REALLY NEED....before you spend a dime....
These folks here, at this BBS for the most part....
Are one big family....
so if you can handle togetherness........(which, of course includes dealing with varying personalities, just like a real family....!!)
This is the right place.
Really tho, you must decide for yourself, what you want the end result to be...??
Commercial investment..., or personal 'playroom'
The digital part of the future, has already been decided.... it's a definate.
You must have at the very least, a semi powerful, fairly state-of-the-art computer system, and the best(easiest to oporate) software for working with audio.....
The answers to technical questions, as well as the simple ones can be found here at this BBS, for all of the questions like 'Which mic???or EQ..?
And after a hard day at the 'Office"
whatever the hell that happens to be.....
We can all go to the cave and have stimulating subjects to ponder......
With some 'Like-minded' web-heads....
And friends of music...
We are, what in my business is refered to,
An 'International'
Have fun doin' your dream...!!!!!
Upstate
W
wellwellwell
New member
cheers for the thoughts, its a pity about analogue i reckon.
so start wiith a computer, you reckon? what sort of soundcard/interface? ive been checking out this thing called the hoontech c-port, giving 8 i/o adda converters, in a separate mountable case, which i reckon's the goods.
what then? a nice 16 track mackie digital board?
looking forward to your response
so start wiith a computer, you reckon? what sort of soundcard/interface? ive been checking out this thing called the hoontech c-port, giving 8 i/o adda converters, in a separate mountable case, which i reckon's the goods.
what then? a nice 16 track mackie digital board?
looking forward to your response
S
someone else
New member
To really answer ...
Need more info...
What are you recording, and
What do you really want to do with it?
If you are just looking to put some music of your own on a CD, then that requires one or two answers,and is pretty straight forward...
If, on the other hand, you want to do more than that, then a whole different bunch of answers are there....and can get very complex, depending on what you really want to do with it....
Again,...
What do you want to do with the recordings..???
Upstate
Need more info...
What are you recording, and
What do you really want to do with it?
If you are just looking to put some music of your own on a CD, then that requires one or two answers,and is pretty straight forward...
If, on the other hand, you want to do more than that, then a whole different bunch of answers are there....and can get very complex, depending on what you really want to do with it....
Again,...
What do you want to do with the recordings..???
Upstate
tubedude
New member
I am totally digital all the way, but if you can afford a GOOD tape deck and have enough spare cash to buy the neverending supply of tape you will need... by all means, get a good tape deck. Analog 2 inch sounds fantastic, and if you can do both, digital and anolog, you have a wonderful setup. Record to 16 tracks of the tape deck, nice and saturated, dump them to digital, and keep on going. Or some people record all digital, and master to 2 track analog. Even still, in the protools day and age, most of the stuff you hear has been on tape either during tracking or during mastering. Pro engineers are all the time bitching about how anolog sounds compared to digital. Not the specs (digital kills it), but just the character that it imparts. I'd love to have at least a good analog 2 track to master to before going back to digital for CD's and such.
ANyway, enough said about that. For that money, you must be fairly serious about what you are recording and feel ok about spending the money. I could tell you to buy tons o cheap shit, or stuff that'll get you the end result you want. End result is MY focus.
Skip the console or board unless it is an old Neve or something and get some good outboard preamps. A fantastic starter setup for preamps when the money is right would be an API 3124 ($2500) that has 4 GOOD preamps in it. I would even consider getting 2 of them and a good rack mount line mixer to run them into for live shows. The API 3124 is probably the best deal there is for high end preamps.
Lets say 1 API 3124 at $2500
Motu 1296 $2000 (12 inputs, good sounding conversion) OR maybe a 1224 $1100 and a Lucid AD2496 $700
Excellent DIY DAW $1000 (1.4 athlon, 512mb 266mhz DDR, etc)
Lucid genx6 $500
Dual RNC's $500
Dual Speck ASC's $1000
Rack $100
Avalon U5 direct box for bass $500
Sans amp bass driver, for bass $175
Rack mount power distribution $100
Neumann TLM103 $700
2 Studio Projects C1's $400
Shure sm57 $75 ( a few maybe)
A royer ribbon $900
A good book on how to use it all correctly. $25
A decent mic with figure 8 for doing MS recordings and all around other uses (maybe a C3?) $400
Your choice of a few other mics $500 or more...
2 VERY HIGH QUALITY mic cables, short as possible, and a pile of good quality ones. $400
Now adding in my head, thats around $11,000 american dollars. That leaves money for another preamp, like a Great River mp2NV or something, or whatever floats your boat.
That list is not something I would even have to ponder on if I had the money, I would just do it... its been pondered on for days, weeks , months already... by me. Nothing on that list will really give you dis-satisfactory results, and alot if ot holds its value fairly well. This is an EXCELLENT setup for ANYONE to have. Trust me
Paul
Oops, forgot the near field monitors! Pick a pair!
Damn, heres my second edit... a headphone monitoring system and a few pair of headphones, too. Gotta have that.
ANyway, enough said about that. For that money, you must be fairly serious about what you are recording and feel ok about spending the money. I could tell you to buy tons o cheap shit, or stuff that'll get you the end result you want. End result is MY focus.
Skip the console or board unless it is an old Neve or something and get some good outboard preamps. A fantastic starter setup for preamps when the money is right would be an API 3124 ($2500) that has 4 GOOD preamps in it. I would even consider getting 2 of them and a good rack mount line mixer to run them into for live shows. The API 3124 is probably the best deal there is for high end preamps.
Lets say 1 API 3124 at $2500
Motu 1296 $2000 (12 inputs, good sounding conversion) OR maybe a 1224 $1100 and a Lucid AD2496 $700
Excellent DIY DAW $1000 (1.4 athlon, 512mb 266mhz DDR, etc)
Lucid genx6 $500
Dual RNC's $500
Dual Speck ASC's $1000
Rack $100
Avalon U5 direct box for bass $500
Sans amp bass driver, for bass $175
Rack mount power distribution $100
Neumann TLM103 $700
2 Studio Projects C1's $400
Shure sm57 $75 ( a few maybe)
A royer ribbon $900
A good book on how to use it all correctly. $25
A decent mic with figure 8 for doing MS recordings and all around other uses (maybe a C3?) $400
Your choice of a few other mics $500 or more...
2 VERY HIGH QUALITY mic cables, short as possible, and a pile of good quality ones. $400
Now adding in my head, thats around $11,000 american dollars. That leaves money for another preamp, like a Great River mp2NV or something, or whatever floats your boat.
That list is not something I would even have to ponder on if I had the money, I would just do it... its been pondered on for days, weeks , months already... by me. Nothing on that list will really give you dis-satisfactory results, and alot if ot holds its value fairly well. This is an EXCELLENT setup for ANYONE to have. Trust me
Paul
Oops, forgot the near field monitors! Pick a pair!
Damn, heres my second edit... a headphone monitoring system and a few pair of headphones, too. Gotta have that.
Last edited:
tubedude
New member
Another thing... if you happen to want alot of stuff like that... call a few places and get thier "best" prices on everything indivually, then add up the total. Say its $10,955.00. Now you call them all back, and say "I want to order ALL of this stuff that totals $10,955. I have 2 WAY better deals going. Do you want to make me an offer before I spend someplace else?"
For a package that big you might get lucky enough to knock off a $1000 or more from someplace. If you're spending that money, the ball is in your court. Dont be afraid to dicker with the salesguy on the total cost. There is plenty of room to knock off cost on an order that big. If they won't, move along, and send them a copy of the reciept when you DO get your stuff in. They'll feel like a moron.
Good luck! Let us know!
For a package that big you might get lucky enough to knock off a $1000 or more from someplace. If you're spending that money, the ball is in your court. Dont be afraid to dicker with the salesguy on the total cost. There is plenty of room to knock off cost on an order that big. If they won't, move along, and send them a copy of the reciept when you DO get your stuff in. They'll feel like a moron.
Good luck! Let us know!
W
wellwellwell
New member
thanks, dudes.
well, im closing in now on what i want.
digital/midi offers too much versatility to pass up for a nice analogue sound, but as you recommended above, ill keep my eyes out for a 2nd hand 2inch anyway.
the studio would be for personal use, getting down shit that i or others play, accurately, is my main concern. but apart form that, id love to be able to do electronic sequences, so keys and midi are now a necessity. my list's looking something like this at the moment -
daw - intel pentiumiii or iv, running nuendo off a motu1296.
16 channel digital board, maybe a mackie 1642vlz,
keys, controller and sequencer, jv1080 or something
external eq, comp and rev
headphone system
mics, leads and stands
convertors and connectors for clock, synch and dasp
monitor system(amp, spk, + cd player)
other things there'd be for sure, but tht's where im at at the moment...
cheers
well, im closing in now on what i want.
digital/midi offers too much versatility to pass up for a nice analogue sound, but as you recommended above, ill keep my eyes out for a 2nd hand 2inch anyway.
the studio would be for personal use, getting down shit that i or others play, accurately, is my main concern. but apart form that, id love to be able to do electronic sequences, so keys and midi are now a necessity. my list's looking something like this at the moment -
daw - intel pentiumiii or iv, running nuendo off a motu1296.
16 channel digital board, maybe a mackie 1642vlz,
keys, controller and sequencer, jv1080 or something
external eq, comp and rev
headphone system
mics, leads and stands
convertors and connectors for clock, synch and dasp
monitor system(amp, spk, + cd player)
other things there'd be for sure, but tht's where im at at the moment...
cheers
B
BigKahuna
New member
what about the room(s)?
how much of that $30K AUD is slated for construction/acoustics?
Unless you're not planning to soundproof or treat the room(s) ... I think you could easily spend at least half of your budget on it (~$7,500 USD). It could be that building materials are way cheaper in Australia, so maybe I'm off on that guess.
Something to think about, anyway ... all the greatest equipment won't change the fact that you record in a crappy room.
how much of that $30K AUD is slated for construction/acoustics?
Unless you're not planning to soundproof or treat the room(s) ... I think you could easily spend at least half of your budget on it (~$7,500 USD). It could be that building materials are way cheaper in Australia, so maybe I'm off on that guess.
Something to think about, anyway ... all the greatest equipment won't change the fact that you record in a crappy room.
tubedude
New member
If you get a mixing board in that price range, let me suggest the Allen and Heath stuff... you're doing yourself a dis-service if you dont at least check it out before you buy the Mackie. Better sonics, better EQ...