help building surprise studio for bf

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needadvice

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My bf's bday is coming up and i want to surprise him by building (or starting) a recording studio for him. we are from overseas but now because we are here in the US he only produces music when we go home to visit. i want to give him the option to make his music here and then send it to the people he makes music overseas and they can combine and do their thing. however- as you can see i know NOTHING about the technicalities of this stuff. any help would be appreciated.

he does vocals and makes beats. i will get him a good mic (like maybe rode nt1a) and i am really debating between a computer recording system or a multitrack recorder like the tascam 2488.

i know he will need additional "stuff" but my budget is 800/900$ and i think itll be a good start.

my concern with getting him a computer is that it is so hard to buy a guy who specializes in computers a computer because i know he is picky and has preferences and surprising him with that is tough.

thank you all for your help,

from,

gf in need :P
 
I think with a $800 - $900 budget you can get him a decent start. I suggest you go with a computer based recording system, but don't buy him the computer. If he's a computer guy, he probably already has a computer he can use. For recording, computers do not need to be ultra fast or powerful. In fact, for vocals and beats, he really doesn't need much at all in terms of computing power.

Here's a list of what you should consider:

A decent mic
A decent mic pre
an audio interface
headphones
Monitors
A good room to record and mix in. (this is probably the most important)

There are lots of discussions on which mic or mic pre to get and for as many people as you ask, you'll get twice as many answers...

One combo that works well is the Shure SM7b (mic) and FMR RNMP (mic pre). However, those two alone will eat up most of your budget. For more budget friendly mics, shop around for MXL mics and buy an interface with built in mic pres. See below...

An audio interface converts the recorded audio to digital information and sends it to the computer. It will also convert the digital data back to audio so you can hear what you're doing in the headphones or monitors. For vocals only, you can use a 2 channel USB type. To stay within budget and forego the mic pre, you should shop for an interface that has built in mic pres. They are very common. Most interfaces will come with some form of a popular DAW program. The DAW software is what will do the actual recording as well as run the virtual instruments. Most of these are very functional and most likely all your BF will need.

Headphones are simpler, find a pair of "Closed Back" design for less than $100 and you're good. I use Sennheiser HD-202's and they cost about $40.

Monitors and the mix room are most important. However, shopping for the right monitors is not easy. I suggest looking at monitors with 6" speakers or bigger.

You'll want to have the room "treated" so it will sound good when mixing music. I'm sure this will not happen as part of the surprise or gift, but you should put serious consideration into acoustically treating the studio.

I always recommend shopping at Sweetwater, but you might find some package deals at Musician's Friend, too.

I'm sure others will reply with good advice....

have fun,
 
I'm a huge fan of the 2488 and still use mine to track. But, I wouldn't recommend it for someone making "beats". Usually "beat-makers" need features that make looping and other "beat-making" techniques easy. The 2488 isn't really designed for that. Not that it can't do it, but it's not one of it's strengths.
 
a rode nt1-a, a laptop, an interface and a pair of decent headphones will go a long way!

As chilli says, he might already have a laptop he uses? If so, then you won't have to worry about software or anything either.
 
cobaltaudio said:
a rode nt1-a, a laptop, an interface and a pair of decent headphones will go a long way!

As chilli says, he might already have a laptop he uses? If so, then you won't have to worry about software or anything either.
Click to expand...

He has good headphones but does not have an extra computer. We just moved and he very much likes to have his computers dedicated to their jobs- example media center comp, work comp, desktop, etc.

So I guess I need to get him a comp. What specs does it need?

He's mentioned wanting to build a recording studio in the garage.
 
RAMI said:
I'm a huge fan of the 2488 and still use mine to track. But, I wouldn't recommend it for someone making "beats". Usually "beat-makers" need features that make looping and other "beat-making" techniques easy. The 2488 isn't really designed for that. Not that it can't do it, but it's not one of it's strengths.
Click to expand...

What exactly is it designed for? Guitars and such?
 
Chili said:
I think with a $800 - $900 budget you can get him a decent start. I suggest you go with a computer based recording system, but don't buy him the computer. If he's a computer guy, he probably already has a computer he can use. For recording, computers do not need to be ultra fast or powerful. In fact, for vocals and beats, he really doesn't need much at all in terms of computing power.

Here's a list of what you should consider:

A decent mic
A decent mic pre
an audio interface
headphones
Monitors
A good room to record and mix in. (this is probably the most important)

There are lots of discussions on which mic or mic pre to get and for as many people as you ask, you'll get twice as many answers...

One combo that works well is the Shure SM7b (mic) and FMR RNMP (mic pre). However, those two alone will eat up most of your budget. For more budget friendly mics, shop around for MXL mics and buy an interface with built in mic pres. See below...

An audio interface converts the recorded audio to digital information and sends it to the computer. It will also convert the digital data back to audio so you can hear what you're doing in the headphones or monitors. For vocals only, you can use a 2 channel USB type. To stay within budget and forego the mic pre, you should shop for an interface that has built in mic pres. They are very common. Most interfaces will come with some form of a popular DAW program. The DAW software is what will do the actual recording as well as run the virtual instruments. Most of these are very functional and most likely all your BF will need.

Headphones are simpler, find a pair of "Closed Back" design for less than $100 and you're good. I use Sennheiser HD-202's and they cost about $40.

Monitors and the mix room are most important. However, shopping for the right monitors is not easy. I suggest looking at monitors with 6" speakers or bigger.

You'll want to have the room "treated" so it will sound good when mixing music. I'm sure this will not happen as part of the surprise or gift, but you should put serious consideration into acoustically treating the studio.

I'm sure others will reply with good advice....

have fun,
Click to expand...

wow thanks for the great advice

Do you think the sapphire 6 is ok? Do I need a mic pre if I get that?

We def will soundproof the room. I saw a thing in the shape of an arc w that egg carton looking insulation. You put it behind a mic. Is that a good idea to get?



Really everyone you have no idea how helpful you are.
 
Hey it's cool that you are doing that for your friend, and I'm not trying to be negative or critical...but it's interesting how more and more people use the terms "building a studio" just to describe a computer and gear. That's what's become the "studio" of today....and the actual space is totally secondary or not much of a consideration/concern.

When I saw the thread, I was curious how the heck were you going to *build a studio* as a surprise...like wouldn't he notice the lumber and the room(s) being built! :D
 
cobaltaudio said:
a rode nt1-a, a laptop, an interface and a pair of decent headphones will go a long way!

As chilli says, he might already have a laptop he uses? If so, then you won't have to worry about software or anything either.
Click to expand...

I think the NT1A is a terrible choice. Check out the MXL V67-G - it's half as expensive and sounds less harsh and hyped.
 
miroslav said:
Hey it's cool that you are doing that for your friend, and I'm not trying to be negative or critical...but it's interesting how more and more people use the terms "building a studio" just to describe a computer and gear. That's what's become the "studio" of today....and the actual space is totally secondary or not much of a consideration/concern.

When I saw the thread, I was curious how the heck were you going to *build a studio* as a surprise...like wouldn't he notice the lumber and the room(s) being built! :D
Click to expand...

well it's built to fit a specific need. In his case he works with other musicians but the problem is we are now overseas... So he can either pay 1500$ to fly home every time to record (which is what he did in December to produce two new songs) or he can see what he can do from here.
 
needadvice said:
well it's built to fit a specific need. In his case he works with other musicians but the problem is we are now overseas... So he can either pay 1500$ to fly home every time to record (which is what he did in December to produce two new songs) or he can see what he can do from here.
Click to expand...

Yeah...I get that...I was just commenting on how the term "build a studio" no longer implies an actual physical studio space, but rather only the computer/gear. :)
To me...when somenone says they are *building a studio*...I'm thinking they are talking about rooms/buildings/structures + gear...not just a computer + gear. ;)
 
Printing this to show to my wife is probably going to be counterproductive. :)
 
The world needs more women like you.

My wife let me take over the entire living room with equipment and hang guitars all over the walls so I am not complaining

- I'm just sayin :)
 
Supercreep said:
Printing this to show to my wife is probably going to be counterproductive. :)
Click to expand...

You already have a killer studio... I saw the pics. It's like a whole second house in your backyard.

@ ms. needadvice... I meant to say earlier that I think it's very cool that you want to do this for your bf. My wife's idea of a surprise gift is asking me what mic she should buy me... The surprise is when she doesn't actually buy anything.... lol.
 
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