Equipment for Newbies

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b-face

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I have sonar 2, acid pro 3, behringer mx160ra mixer, yamaha psr-260 keyboard, DR-5 drum machine and t-rack mastering software.
What else would you recommend if i'm trying to do hiphop and r&b? Should I invest into a different keyboard synth(which one motif or triton) or drum machine or groove machine like dr-202?
Any info would help thanks.
 
I would suggest the special newbie mic! This is a special onetime offer. Send over 499$ to me, and I will send you this special equipped newbie mic! It looks like a regular SM58, but it's not... Oh no... It's got my special mod that makes it sound as good as any of the neumanns I have modded! You gotta have it... Mail me for details. Just 499$! Don't let another newbie get it first!!

:D
 
Most important, you need a heavy duty BS filter. Second, whatever pisses you off the most (sounds the worst, or can't be done at all) is the next place you should improve... Steve
 
thanks for replying. I currently have headphones and monitors. What is a BS filter? and it is used for? Because I don't know. My budget is ruffly about $3000. I have a few friends that want to a demo.
 
The July 2002 Issue of The Electronics Musician Magazine has listed all options of any budget to build a studio, from a home to a professional system.

I suggest you go to a store and get a copy. It's really good.

:)
 
(joke) BTW, when shopping for a BS filter, remember that all filters are not created equal - for example, a cheaper passive BS filter just slightly rounds off BS and works only on fairly runny BS. With a more expensive ACTIVE BS filter, you can get up to 24 dB/octave slope, which results in sharply defined, crisp-edged BLOCKS of BS, quickly lowering in level to 0 BS. This would equate to a SPL (Shit Pressure Level) of less than ambient. Sooo, if you lived in a really shitty place, it would be a waste :=) of money to invest in a 24 dB/octave BS filter, because your surroundings would prevent you from ever knowing how well it worked. The only advantage then would be "bragging rights", which would normally require their own High-Q BS filter to limit levels of public disgust...

Now, for just a lot more money, TC makes the ultimate - the "SANITIZER", an all-in-one, do everything well, "royal flush" of BS filters. The Sanitizer is capable of separately filtering BS, CS, DS, GS, HS, MS, and even PS with the optional "humanizer" plug-in... for extreme conditions, there is also an optional oversized output to which you can connect a 6 inch sewer pipe. this saves several cycles of intermediate processing, and improves drastically on the "bypass" mode. Space does not allow a complete "run-down", but more can be found at www.U-B-FULLA-POOPIE.com - "no affiliation, I just use 'em"... Steve
 
Hell, I almost clicked on it, and I WROTE it...
 
My ex-wife had a BS filter.

Come to think of it, maybe that's why she my ex?
 
Make shure what ever you get it has tubes...and lots of flashy lights. And sliders...you need a lot of those....track lighting...gotta have track lights, and two rooms devided by a window...And the H.G. Signiture Series window unit air conditioner. and foamy stuff on the walls...gotta have that.


And a Harley Davidson...
 
Butt Seriously folks...

OK, 'nuff fun here, dude asked a serious question... Sorry b-face, here goes -

What percentage of what you want to do is r&b, and what part would be rap? This will make some difference as to what you should add to your setup first.

If you plan on more rap, probably a better drum machine with more variety of sounds. With sonar, you could use virtual drum sounds as a VSTi instrument and save some $ -

If you plan on more r&b, a better keyboard should be more of a priority. Either the Motif or the Roland Fantom would give you a much smoother keyboard with more keys and fatter, smoother sounds for those huge r&b key pads.

In either case, you didn't mention a microphone. For rap, a Shure 57 or 58 is a good start. For r&b, a decent condenser mic with stand, shock mount, and pop filter would help the vocal end of things - there are decent ones for $200 or so. If you get a condenser mic, the next thing would be a separate preamp to bypass the mediocre ones in the inexpensive Behringer mixer.

In either case, you'll probably want to upgrade your monitor system to include a subwoofer, so you can hear lower harmonics and make sure they're not over the top on levels.

Figuring around $300 for drum software, $1800 or so for a quality keyboard, $300 for two mics, maybe $500 for a preamp, and at least $400 for a powered sub, you're at about $3300. You should be able to do better on a pretty usable preamp, so it looks like your budget can be maintained and still make noticeable improvements in your system.

Let us know whether your main interest is rap or r&b, and we can start narrowing things down more... Steve
 
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