Building PC-based studio. Am I close?

  • Thread starter Thread starter wiskylima
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wiskylima

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SKIP TO ****** for the main point. : )


I have emailed this to a few users who seems to have the same setup I am looking for. But since I know I missed a few people, here ya go!

First let me say if you are one of those impatient "Go figure it out yourself" people, you need not reply. : )

I have been reading and surfing and learning. I am suprised at my new vocabulary but still have a lot to learn. I am almost at the point of making major purchases and don't want to find out later that I shoulda got something different. So I thought it best to check with y'all MASTAS OF THE RECORDING UNIVERSE.

Here goes:

****************************************
I want to build a PC-based recording studio system. My goal is to create songs using vocals, folk guitar and keyboard, then produce a CD and mass copy it for distrubution, with some songs being published as sheet music. [Note: I am the only musician in this setup. I don't use my PC for games, only email and web browsing. Stationery studio.]

So far this is what I think I need:
-Motherboard with correct bells and whistles for all these strange peripherals. (Suggestions other than those mentioned in the FAQ?)
-Pentium III with at least 700MHz processor
-128 Mb RAM (More?)
-At least 4 gig HD (More?)
-Separate sound card
-Some kind of external mixer for external audio inputs? (Will mixing in Cakewalk suffice?)
-Some kind of sound module to make my Casio keyboard sound like a Roland. : )
-CD-ROM drive with digital audio extraction ability
-CD-R drive
-Microphone (Microphone section suffices, no need for comments really)
-MIDI keyboard (got it)
-Software to use to do all this (I have Cakewalk for recording and (mixing?), Music@Passport for sheet music creation, and Easy CD Creator)

Am I close and do you have any suggestions?

My budget is under $1000. The less the better.

By the way, the only recording experience I have is on my karoake machine. LOL. Multi-track karoake sounds like ^&*%$! So I know nothing about mixing, sound manipulation, input/output settings and capabilities, etc.

Thanks Y'all in advance!!

:)
w
 
Go figure it out yourself... -- only kidding! :)

Some comments... not sure what you mean by "motherboard with correct bells and whistles for all these strange peripherals." Actually you probably want a pretty standard motherboard. That is, no built-in audio, modem, ethernet, coffee maker, etc. Modern ones will all have USB ports and at least UDMA33 drive controllers.

RAM -- go for at least 256 MB. It's under $100 now (!!??!!)


A 4 GB hard drive is nothin' these days -- with the OS, a couple of expansive applications, and a few songs worth of audio, and it's full. Besides, I'm not sure you could even find a 4 GB drive these days! Get as big a drive as you can as long as it's 7200 rpm -- there are 45 GB 7200rpm drives availbale now for under $200. Best is to have one drive for the OS and applications -- a 8-10GB drive will probably serve well -- and another drive for holding the audio data that you record.

An inexpensive alternative to a sound module for your MIDI stuff is a soundcard like the SB Live or Turtle Beach Montego II. With their capability of loading sample sets, they make pretty terrific sound modules for a fraction of the cost of a decent sound module. Check out

http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/E8FC6F1272005BC0862568D700634565

and

http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/E5F90F70241EFF6D862566B20024C532

These cards also include a MIDI interface, and you might even find their quality as a digital audio recording interface acceptable. Best you'll get is two simultaneous inputs, though, if that's a factor.

Another budget-saving tip: get just a CD-RW drive. It can play CDs as well as make 'em. About all also having a CD-ROM drive will get you is easier copying from one CD to another. Still, reasonable CD-ROM drives are only around $50 bucks, so that doesn't save too much.

I don't understand what you mean by "microphone (Microphone section suffices, no need for comments really)."

Yes, you can certainly mix in Cakewalk, to a stereo wave file. It's probably your only real option if you want to keep the cost to below $1000. You will need some kind of way to preamp your microphone(s), and a mixer is one way to do this.

-AlChuck
 
First of all, there is a lot of "figure it out yourself" in PC recording. When people compare PC vs. stand-alone decks, the biggest drawback to PC recording is the learning curve. Most people here are helpful and patient, especially if you ask intelligent, well thought out questions. :cool:

You can certainly record for under $1000, but I think making music to sell on CD is a little unrealistic, especially if you have to buy the computer. A Shure SM58 mic is $100.00; a Rode NT1 with a preamp is about $300.00, and neither is ideal for making a CD. You should definately consider more hard drive space, or perhaps 2 hard drives, one dedicated for audio (at least 15-20G). You could easily spend $300-400 each for a mic, soundcard, CD burner and software. Take your time and buy smart. Good luck.
 
RE:Building PC-based studio. Am I close?

Whatup Wiskylima, I'm still a little new to DAW recording myself but I built my own system and I love it. I'm new to this forum also but you can learn a lot from this forum. There are a lot of components on the market that will work great if you do your research first to see if they are compatible. I know your budget is a $1000 and you should be able to meet your budget. I'll start with the motherboard ( Asus & Abit) I found to be the most popular when building a DAW there are others that are great also but these two brands are preffered by a lot of digital audio workstation (DAW)makers. In my system I went with Asus(cusL2). Ram should be at least 128 mb. HD's depending on how much music & tracks your trying get I wouldn't get a HD under 20 gigs, because your software, OS, and audio will be using this drive and if you have a small HD then you will have probelms trust me, unless you afford an extra HD just for your audio. Soundcard (PCI) just make sure you check the specs to make sure it's compatible or check with manufacture. 3.5 floppy, CDrom & CD-RW also make sure they are compatible. I hope this helps, like I said I'm still learning a lot of this stuff but what little I know I'm always willing to share it with others. One more thing I know guy who help me here is his link http://drastiksolutions.11net.com/ he knows everything about DAW's. He can get you started tell him Bigdaddy said hello.
 
hi,
ok first things first. Free is good.
Download as much free stuff as you can. You'll be amazed at how much you can do with free stuff.

Protools Free can replace cakewalk if you don't need more than eight tracks.

Acid Express will give you all the functionality of Acid, with a limitation of eight tracks.

Freeverb will give you a very nice sounding reverb.
-----------------------------------------------------------------.

not disrespecting papasean, but your dollars will go farther if you build a computer yourself. Drastik Solutions offers some nice packages, but the basic computer itself is over $1000


The Soundblaster live card is nice and will give you good results.
 
hi,
ok first things first. Free is good.
Download as much free stuff as you can. You'll be amazed at how much you can do with free stuff.

Protools Free can replace cakewalk if you don't need more than eight tracks.

Acid Express will give you all the functionality of Acid, with a limitation of eight tracks.

Freeverb will give you a very nice sounding reverb.
-----------------------------------------------------------------.

not disrespecting papasean, but your dollars will go farther if you build a computer yourself. Drastik Solutions offers some nice packages, but the basic computer itself is over $1000


The Soundblaster live card is nice and will give you good results.
 
add two things...

a decent microphone preamp and a BIGGER hard drive. I've got a 10gig and it is full already. I wish I had at least a 40gig.

good luck!

zip >>
 
CyanJaguar said:
hi,
ok first things first. Free is good.
Download as much free stuff as you can. You'll be amazed at how much you can do with free stuff.

Protools Free can replace cakewalk if you don't need more than eight tracks.

Acid Express will give you all the functionality of Acid, with a limitation of eight tracks.

Freeverb will give you a very nice sounding reverb.
-----------------------------------------------------------------.

not disrespecting papasean, but your dollars will go farther if you build a computer yourself. Drastik Solutions offers some nice packages, but the basic computer itself is over $1000


The Soundblaster live card is nice and will give you good results.

You didn't disrespect me, your right! Thats what I did, I built my own and love it. I mentioned Drasitik because they are some really cool people if you have a fear of doing it yourself they can build you one. But your right CyanJaguar if you feel comfortable do it, all you have to do is make sure all components are compatible then follow instructions in the manuals and you will do fine.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Y'all! Good good GOOD information!! Lot's of stuff I didn't know or consider (imagine that!).

I'll remember you when I'm famous.

; )
w
 
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