Building a computer studio with 1800$

[musicmeditator]

Helloooo,
Recently I acquired 1800$ to create my own home music studio. All that I have had so far is a computer monitor and some great instruments (guitars, piano, bass, and drums). I've been looking at merchandise on the market and have felt overwhelmed by the hundreds of options available, so I have been looking for some sound advice and guidance. Ideally, I would like to be able to record and edit an entire band's live sound on a new computer. I as well as all of the aspirant producers who come across this thread would appreciate any helpful ideas you would share.
Thanks for stopping by,
Garth

 

[Bigus Dickus]

With only $1800, that's going to be stretched a bit among the computer, soundcard, preamps/mixer, microphones, and any associated equipment you may desire such as compressors etc.

For that reason, I would suggest trying to keep the computer part as low-cost as you can while maintaining good performance.

I'll refer you to this thread here on homerec's forums where I gave suggestions for the basic PC components on a budget. You can't do much better for the money (in fact, you might not can do any better, but I won't make that guarantee, since I haven't spent the last month of my life making exhaustive comparisons... but you wouldn't be dissapointed in any case). Saves quite a bit of money compared to an equivalent performing Dell, HP, etc. If you are interested in going the 'build it yourself' route, I'd be happy to provide suggestions on other components as well if you wish (video card, case, PSU, HDD, etc.).

I'll leave it to other people to direct you to the best (or one of the better) soundcards for your budget and needs, mixers, mics, etc.