Help!! need advice on buying gear for me new studio....

M

mlr3lxi

New member
I am having a mid-life crisis! I finally have the money for a decent home studio, but i'm only mederately tech savvy.....soooooo.......not having tried any of the new gear out there, and being an old school guy, my research suggests that Mac is more reliable and user friendly....anyone?? been around the block a few times (35 year veteran musician ....Recording Workshop 1990, etc...) so after researching quite a bit i'm thinking of going this route:

27" Imac OSX Snow Leopard
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide
Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

(btw i copied and pasted the above specs) ;-)

Logic Studio 9
Mackie Onyx Blackbird Premium 16x16 FireWire Recording Interface

for around $3750...... Overkill...?? I'm thinking of diving instead of sticking my toes in......

Also I want to not hafta upgrade for awhile..... I was thinking expandability and not instant obselescence....

One more thing....Should I wait for OSX Lion?? I understand it will be out this summer.......gliches with Snow Leopard?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated :-)

Thanks!
 
That looks great. That computer will last you several years. The rumor at the moment is that a new iMac is coming out May 3rd, so you might want to wait and see if that's the real date.

I just got a Mackie Blackbird, and it seems great. I've not used it in a session yet (had it 4 days so far).

Don't wait for Lion. Get used to being behind a bit on OS, if it aint broke, don't upgrade.

Of course, you'll need good pair of studio monitors. And I assume you gathered a nice collection of microphones over the years.

If you are recording a full band, you probably want a few sets of headphones and a headphone amp. No need for awesome quality there, it's just so they can hear each other when you record drums.

Good luck!
 
All that follows is of course IMO.

You don't need much of a computer to record music.

The Mac may (or not) provide a shallower learning curve but only you can decide if the price premium is worth that to you. Dollar for dollar there is considerably more bang for the buck in the PC marketplace and there are many other components/aspects to recording that have significantly more of an impact on your product then a overpriced computer that will be functionally obsolete in eighteen months.

Make your computer your final purchase. First...
  • Purchase good monitors. If you can't hear what you're recording what's the point?
  • Purchase a number of different microphones. I tend to think of microphones the same way I think of hammers... there are framing hammers, ball peen hammers, sledge hammers, dead-fall hammers, rock hammers... they all hit, but they're all used for different applications and produce different results. Likewise purchase a solid dynamic or two, a couple of large condensers, small condensers, maybe a ribbon. Use them in ways that aren't considered conventional. Experiment. Have fun. Keep what works for you, sell what doesn't. Buy more. Repeat.
  • A/D/A interfaces (soundcards) can be confusing as heck. Tread carefully, buy quality, and don't be surprised if you find yourself needing more tracks then you anticipated. I favor digital mixers but that's just me.
  • Consider a 'gold' channel (premium external pre) if nuanced vocals are a critical part of your mix. Otherwise stay away from external pres... unless you're okay with mortgaging the house.
  • Finally... with the money you have left over... purchase the cheapest damn computer that will do what you need it to.

Luck.
 
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