4k to spend help me out guys!

[Mike Perez]

Hey guys,
I don't know so much about recording but I want to get a good setup to begin with and not have to waste money upgrading low quality equipment.
I want to go PC based , my computer as it stands is XP pro, 2gigs dimm ram, 360gigs, don't remember all the stats, nothing special for a sound card. I have some good mics. I want something with atleast 4 XRL inputs and thats basicaly all I know. oh yeah and I'm assuming for home recording PC based is the best way to go. Am I right? I'm playing on recording acoustic guitar/vocals and some electric. I want a do it all setup with the best possible quality for the buck. thanks so much for any response, theres so much to learn, I'm going crazy.

-Mike

 

[OhSh1rt]

What are the real spec's (CPU?) of the computer

What are your mic's


-jeffrey

 

[breeeeza]

4K sheesh.

You could get a tascam FW 1882 Mixer/audio interface/control surface.

http://www.tascam.com/Products/FW-1884.html

This way you wouldnt need to upgrade your 'nothing special' soundcard as it acts as an audio interface. Theres 8 XLR inputs which is more than enough for what you need. Phantom power on all 8 of them and inserts.

KRK rokit 6 active monitors are supposed to be amazing.

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--KRKRP6

Try out as many softwares you can before you buy one. You can allways download demo's of them from each website. See which one suits you best, get that one. Allthough get one that is compatible with whichever mixing desk or control surface you choose, or change which mixer/control you use.

Treat your room aswell. shit into the microphone = shit out of the microphone.



Basically that is all you need. you will have alot of money left afterwards. Try differnt products out. It has to work for you if your going to buy it. Thanks

 

[OhSh1rt]

I'd go with:
- Digi 002 LE Rackmount (zzounds offers with plugins for $1,549)
- Mackie Control
- Pair of KRK V8 (or 6) Series

Then use the remaning to treat the room.

That is if your computer is up to par and you have quality mic's and would be fine with the intergrated preamps of the Digi 002.


-jeffrey

 

[Mike Perez]

Thanks for the replys,
I'm not at my house right now and I can't remember the names of the mics, they are high end AKG mics, as for the CPU how fast should that be to support good equipment? I'm totaly ignorant.

The setups you two mentioned seem pretty simple and straight forward (which is good). How good would these types of setups be for recording a good demo? my ultimate goal is to be able to record an indie record.

oh yeah and sorry to ask because I'm sure you've all answered this many times, but whats up with the PCI type things? I'm so lost. thanks tons.

-Mike

 

[OhSh1rt]

Well you need a decent system to handle all of it, I'm running on a rather low system (2.6ghz hyperthreading) but it works. None of the interfaces that have been shown are PCI, both of them are firewire so no need to crack open the case.

The would both be work great for demo recordings


-jeffrey

 

[mikemorgan]

Ok, 4 grand, let's see.....give me 2 grand as a consulting fee and I'll give you lots of opinions on what gear you should buy! no wait, that's silly...you can get those here for free.

seriously, here's free advice, pick whatever gear you need to do the job. ask yourself what the "job" is and why you want to do it. who will be listening to it, and in what environment? what gear will it take to get that done? research the best "bang for the buck" gear in those catagories.

my dad always told me, "the best way to spend your money is to invest in yourself" and " there's no substitute for knowledge"

spend the first hundred or two on Amazon buying books on recording, there are several threads here about which books are best.

do a search in the "studio building" threads for Ethan Winer and BPAPE's expertise in room treatment.

remember, this advice is free and is therefore....worthless!

 

[Mike Perez]

hmm sounds like good advice to me! heh and sort of obvious, I wish I had thought of the whole book thing earlier. anyway, what are the main diferences between the digi 002 rack and the Tascam FW 1884 besides the price ? they both look appealing. thanks again.

 

[OhSh1rt]

hmm sounds like good advice to me! heh and sort of obvious, I wish I had thought of the whole book thing earlier. anyway, what are the main diferences between the digi 002 rack and the Tascam FW 1884 besides the price ? they both look appealing. thanks again.

The Tascam 4 more preamps, 2 more MIDI outputs/3 more midi inputs, built in control surface.

They both have the same amount of audio inputs (18) and record at the same rate (24-bit/96 kHz).

Basicaly, the Tascam is a much better solution if you don't want to use ProTools.


-jeffrey

 

[YoungRecords]

GO WITH THE PRESONUS FIREPOD, COMES WITH CUBASE LE, REALLY DAMN EASY TO USE. I USE IT AND I LOVE IT. PERFECT QUALITY.REALLY SIMPLE.
YOU CAN RECORD UP 8TRACKS AT ONCE. PHANTOM POWER ON ALL 8 MIC INPUTS.
IM TELLING YA, IT'S WORTH IT..OH YEA...PRESONUS FIREPOD USE'S FIREWIRE,,, FIREWIRE IS WAY FASTER THEN USB..THEN GET THOSE KRK rokit 6 MONITORS "SPEAKERS"...THEY ARE CHEAP LIKE $300..AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING..THATS HOW MY SETUP IS...AND ITS REALLY SIMPLE TO RECORD AND MIX AND MASTER, AND ..REALLY AWSOME SOUND QUALITY..

 

[studiomaster]

GO WITH THE PRESONUS FIREPOD, COMES WITH CUBASE LE, REALLY DAMN EASY TO USE. I USE IT AND I LOVE IT. PERFECT QUALITY.REALLY SIMPLE.
YOU CAN RECORD UP 8TRACKS AT ONCE. PHANTOM POWER ON ALL 8 MIC INPUTS.
IM TELLING YA, IT'S WORTH IT..OH YEA...PRESONUS FIREPOD USE'S FIREWIRE,,, FIREWIRE IS WAY FASTER THEN USB..THEN GET THOSE KRK rokit 6 MONITORS "SPEAKERS"...THEY ARE CHEAP LIKE $300..AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING..THATS HOW MY SETUP IS...AND ITS REALLY SIMPLE TO RECORD AND MIX AND MASTER, AND ..REALLY AWSOME SOUND QUALITY..

Perfect quality? Ya'r right. Nothing is perfect in audio engineering.

 

[studiomaster]

And turn off your caps, please.

 

[Nicole_Rose]

i would echo the advice of he who suggested not in so many words, to have all your ducks in a row BEFORE you go off and spend that money. take your time and do your research and you'll have a studio that you enjoy working with for a while at least.

and i might suggest pointing out exactly what it is you are recording and what it is for. if you give an idea of why you are a recording musician the answers here might even get more to the point. there's an awful lot of experience here.

 

[apl]

Get a pair of MSH-1 mics, and a couple of these 57s and 58s.

But first, consider www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

 

[Mike Perez]

Thanks tons guys. I think I can figure the rest out now that I'm starting to understand what a setup looks like.
-Mike

 

[YoungRecords]

sorry

Perfect quality? Ya'r right. Nothing is perfect in audio engineering.

Sorry i didn't mean to say perfect, i mean't good quality, and sorry bout the caps...

 

[NYMorningstar]

Get yourself a LYnxC soundcard and some Apogee converters. That will eat up your 4 g's.

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

If you're looking at the Tascam you might consider the FW1082 instead seeing as you only need four XLR ins. It'd save you some cash if you don't need all the bells and whistles on the 1884.

http://www.tascam.com/Products/fw1082.html

If you have the mics sorted I'd spend the rest on acoustic treatment and monitors.

Along with the talent (yours and theirs) and the quality of the sources, the room you record and mix in and the monitoring chain are the most important things in getting a good sounding end product.

 

[OhSh1rt]

And turn off your caps, please.

Caps locks is cruise control for cool.