budget £300 MAX!!! advice please

S

sk87

New member
Hi guys.

I have decided to start with a basic setup and when i get some money in future to upgrade.

for the money i need:

an audio interface: pref 2 inputs(as to mic guitar amp and an extra on for he room mic) firewire (unless someone knows a good usb one wihout speed/quality issues). MIDI would also be fantastic but not the end of the world if it is not one there.

a mic: i don't nessacerliy need that as i have a sure sm57(equivilent) and a couple of free condenser mics which came with my kustom PA(not tried them yet but they are probably rubbish). but if i could benefit from onw which fits in budget please advise.

software: a sequencer with midi as well (not really sure for this area)

drums: Well i have no drums but want something so i can program my own drums, should i get software, use midi, or get a drum machine?

the music i will be playing is rock, jazz and some solo acoutsic stuff which i will be adding bass and drums to.

thanks for your help
 
I think your best solution would be to read up on what you need instead of someone else telling you what to buy and then you realising you needed to spend your cash on something else instead. Being on a budget, you need to think very carefully about what you need so i suggest searching on these forums and learn a bit or two about what exactly you need.

Good luck
 
Thanx for he reply.

The question was not an impromptu thing. It has come after months of research. Its just the people on this forum tend to know the models etc that have the best performace in the range.

I've been looking at the presonus firebox but obviously that does eat into my budget. The firewire solo(or other one inputs) are not ideal but liveable. The usb 2 inputs look good but i know i need to be careful wih usb.

I was just interested to see what people thought would be useful for that budget. Even if you can't help me with that I would appreciate help with the drum question.

Thanks
 
sk87 said:
Thanx for he reply.

The question was not an impromptu thing. It has come after months of research. Its just the people on this forum tend to know the models etc that have the best performace in the range.

I've been looking at the presonus firebox but obviously that does eat into my budget. The firewire solo(or other one inputs) are not ideal but liveable. The usb 2 inputs look good but i know i need to be careful wih usb.

I was just interested to see what people thought would be useful for that budget. Even if you can't help me with that I would appreciate help with the drum question.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Looks like you've done a bit of reading. You're right that Firewire is still generally preferable but for 2 channels of i/o USB 2 will not cause you any difficulties. The Firebox would give you lots of options in future, but there are other things in your budget range. Some products to consider are:
http://www.dv247.com/invt/30207
http://www.dv247.com/invt/21928
http://www.dv247.com/invt/29653
http://www.dv247.com/invt/23616
http://www.dv247.com/invt/22462
http://www.dv247.com/invt/19660
http://www.dv247.com/invt/20657

If you can go PCI, this should be a GREAT product with hardware DSP onboard ...
http://www.dv247.com/invt/20307

There's a lot of different products there, but all will more or less do what you want. Some do quite a bit more. For mics, this is the condenser everyone should buy before they buy anything else:
http://www.dv247.com/invt/2859

Most interfaces will come with software of some kind. And most software packages will do enough MIDI for your needs. There's a lot of free software around too - buy Computer Magazine music any given month and they have a whole suite of free software on their DVD. Failing that, you can buy Cubase SE for peanuts anyway, and though it has less features than the £500 SX version, it will do all you need (Cubase LE is virtually the same as SE).

Digital Village normally has the best prices but it's worth checking Dolphin Music and Turnkey from time to time as well. :)

Nik
 
Thanks Nik.

Ok on first looks the mackie has caught my eye and the mic also looks good.

but as mike is cheap i might be able to get the presonus instead but that is probably stretching it a bit.
 
It will always cost more than you expected because you have to factor in costs of cables, stands, headphones (Sennheiser HD202 is the cheapest pair worth having and they're quite 'hi-fi' in sound) and obviously a lava lamp. ;)

I dunno much about the Spike ... try to find out if it comes with Tracktion 2 because if it does then it's a bit of a bargain as that is a decent enough piece of software with all the soft sampling you need too.
 
Wow excellent.

Only prob that it is usb but this should hopefully not be a problem. if not that then it'll be the firewire audiophile but probably mackie.

Thanks for your help
 
Monitors

I know this wasn't on your list but KRK Rocket 5 Powered monitios are Cheap (about $350 CAD) and are a realy good set of starter monitors. They have thier limits, and are only the size of a 1/2 dozen beer, but you'll be blown away by the sound these little rockets put out. (pardon the pun)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top