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emomusician
New member
yep
Pirating is a NO NO...
Pirating is a NO NO...
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AREA 39
New member
JeffLancaster said:
My friend knew i wanted to buy a pc but was taking my time so he bought me a copy of cubase, he is a very good friend, its not a copy its the real deal. He likes my music and just wanted to give me the push to buy a pc.
JeffLancaster
New member
Cool, sounds like a good friend. My wife bought me a Sonar upgrade for my birthday last year, she's a good friend too 
OK, so how many tracks do you need to record at once? You can get better quality on your budget if you can stick to only doing two at a time. Having to include a PC within your budget is going to make things harder, but still do-able. What is your recording/mixing environment like? What kind of mic(s) do you have now, and are you satisfied with the quality of recording you were getting to tape. You didn't mention mic pres or monitors either. What were you using for these in the past?
OK, so how many tracks do you need to record at once? You can get better quality on your budget if you can stick to only doing two at a time. Having to include a PC within your budget is going to make things harder, but still do-able. What is your recording/mixing environment like? What kind of mic(s) do you have now, and are you satisfied with the quality of recording you were getting to tape. You didn't mention mic pres or monitors either. What were you using for these in the past?
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Dr Biscuits
New member
In that case, go for it! Other than what has been mentioned, I would recommend having a 2nd separate HD from your system drive for your audio - again, it should be able to be done for your budget.
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emomusician
New member
pc
lol as much as I'd love to believe that. Why didn't your friend spend the money he paid for cubase on a decent pc? oh well.. no point in trying to figure out the logic in that, if you say its legit.. good deal.
lol as much as I'd love to believe that. Why didn't your friend spend the money he paid for cubase on a decent pc? oh well.. no point in trying to figure out the logic in that, if you say its legit.. good deal.
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AREA 39
New member
Thanks for all the replies.
So after all that, could someone point me to a system i can buy ?
I will be recording only 1 track at a time but the number of tracks i will record in any one song could be quiet a few, maybe some where around 30 / 40 tracks per song.
I dont have any monitors at the moment but a friend found some nice monitors local so i will get a pair of them once i get my pc.
So just to re cap, i have around £600 to spend on a pc and would like to get everything all in 1 package for that (not inc monitors)
Can anyone direct me to a online shop or somewhere where i can get myself a pc so i can crack on with my 2nd album ?
Thanks again everyone.
So after all that, could someone point me to a system i can buy ?
I will be recording only 1 track at a time but the number of tracks i will record in any one song could be quiet a few, maybe some where around 30 / 40 tracks per song.
I dont have any monitors at the moment but a friend found some nice monitors local so i will get a pair of them once i get my pc.
So just to re cap, i have around £600 to spend on a pc and would like to get everything all in 1 package for that (not inc monitors)
Can anyone direct me to a online shop or somewhere where i can get myself a pc so i can crack on with my 2nd album ?
Thanks again everyone.
JeffLancaster
New member
Trying to help bro', but you still haven't answered all the questions, which makes it hard to recommend an "everything you need" setup. Again, we still don't really know if your mic(s) are sufficient for your requirements and whether or not you have preamps yet. Also, you haven't specified if you have a mixing area that is up to the task. It will make a difference if you need to spend any of that money on acoustic treating or not.
As far as the PC goes, I prefer building my own, but that doesn't mean you can't use a ready-made system for recording, either. You'll want the best you can get, of course, but the variable here is how much can you spend on it (which of course depends how much other gear you need to buy). Please try to fill us in a little further, and we'll be able to help you more properly.
As far as a good online source of PC's and components, I like www.tigerdirect.com. Although I just looked at it - UK customers were redirected to http://www.misco.co.uk/ .
As far as the PC goes, I prefer building my own, but that doesn't mean you can't use a ready-made system for recording, either. You'll want the best you can get, of course, but the variable here is how much can you spend on it (which of course depends how much other gear you need to buy). Please try to fill us in a little further, and we'll be able to help you more properly.
As far as a good online source of PC's and components, I like www.tigerdirect.com. Although I just looked at it - UK customers were redirected to http://www.misco.co.uk/ .
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AREA 39
New member
I will be using the pc to record guitars, bass, keys and some vocals (the vocals will be re-done in a pro studio)
I will be using the pc as a tool to write and compose music, the idea is to build a album in front of me then go to a pro studio to record drums, vocals, i dont have the room to build a full home studio, this is just a starting point for me, something to replace my 4-track tape and something that will let me use good samples.
I write on my guitar then i like to give some of the melodies to strings and other instruments using good samples.
I would like to record going direct into the pc (one of the sound cards that sit next to your pc on the desk) i dont have any mixing gear (i thought cubase could mix my stuff) was not looking to do any accoustic treating as im new to this game and wont be doing that till i move house and have a room for that.
I hope this give you a better idea.
HELP PLEASE
I will be using the pc as a tool to write and compose music, the idea is to build a album in front of me then go to a pro studio to record drums, vocals, i dont have the room to build a full home studio, this is just a starting point for me, something to replace my 4-track tape and something that will let me use good samples.
I write on my guitar then i like to give some of the melodies to strings and other instruments using good samples.
I would like to record going direct into the pc (one of the sound cards that sit next to your pc on the desk) i dont have any mixing gear (i thought cubase could mix my stuff) was not looking to do any accoustic treating as im new to this game and wont be doing that till i move house and have a room for that.
I hope this give you a better idea.
HELP PLEASE
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emomusician
New member
do this
go to musicians friend or any online music shop and looking usb or firewire interfaces. You can easily get an interface, a mic and a preamp for less than what your budget is. From the information you have given this sounds like what you want to do.
go to musicians friend or any online music shop and looking usb or firewire interfaces. You can easily get an interface, a mic and a preamp for less than what your budget is. From the information you have given this sounds like what you want to do.
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AREA 39
New member
Thanks again for your replies.
I am still not too sure about this pc recording stuff.
I will just have to take myself off to the local music shop and let them rip me off.
I am still not too sure about this pc recording stuff.
I will just have to take myself off to the local music shop and let them rip me off.
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AREA 39
New member
emomusician said:
What about a pc, screen, keyboard, mouse etc ?
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Dr Biscuits
New member
AREA 39 said:What about a pc, screen, keyboard, mouse etc ?
As far as the mouse, monitor etc. go, there's no special "music production" computer that you need to buy - it's all about how you optimize your PC, what software you put in it, and what types of external gear you use.
You already have the software part taken care of, so what you need now is to get yourself the fastest PC you can afford with the most RAM you can afford and put 2 hard drives in it. Don't waste money on a Soundblaster card or something like that, get a proper interface like any that have been suggested - and if you really only need 1 or 2 channels simultaniously you can really save $ here (for your budget, you'll most likely need to go this route anyway).
You will need a pre-amp for every mic you want to record at the same time (so 1 or 2), some audio interfaces have these built in, some do not.
This will get you up and running, and then the beauty of PC recording is that it can be quite modular and you can upgrade/add to your system piece by piece as you need it, and as you can afford it.
Good luck!
JeffLancaster
New member
OK, since you stated that you had your monitors and software already taken care of, weren't planning to worry about acoustic treatments at this time, and (I'm assuming) already have decent microphones, then all you should need is a PC and an interface with built-in mic pres to get going. One problem I had is that I'm not from the UK, and don't know the best online sources there, and as I investigated I found that the prices seemed to be somewhat higher than in the US. However, I did find the following interface for you at an online UK music source:
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/7768
This is a firewire interface from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation. It will allow you to record stereo tracks through the two mic pres, as well as through the line inputs. It also has outputs for hooking up your monitors.
After purchasing the interface, that left £450 for a PC. I searched around and found an online UK company with a "configurator" which lets you specify the options you want and gives you a quote. Here's a link: http://www.more-solutions.co.uk/shop/custompc.html
Using this, I spec-ed out the best system I could do for a recording worthy PC keeping the budget at the £450 range. This is what I came up with:
Processor AMD Sempron 2400 £183.75
Case Full ATX
Memory 512Mb DDR £16.25
Hard Drive 40GB 7200RPM
2nd Hard Drive 80GB 7200RPM £40.00
Optical Drive CDRW/DVD Combo £22.50
Graphics Onboard
Operating System XP Home £61.25
Monitor 17" CRT £61.25
Warranties Standard 3yr RTB
LAN Onboard 10/100
Keyboard/Mouse Windows Keyboard & Optical Mouse £3.75
Total
VAT £388.75
£68.03
Total (inc VAT) £456.78
As you can see, we've now exceeded your budget by about 6 pounds. I would've liked to do a little better with the PC specs, but this will work. If you can come up with a little more dough, however, I would suggest a few upgrades to this spec as follows:
1. Go with one of the better AMD processors, such as the Athlon 64 3400+.
2. Increase the RAM to at least 1 GB, or even better yet, 2GB.
3. Increase the size of your second hard drive for higher audio file storage capacity (Just make sure whatever you get runs at 7200RPM).
4. Replace the 17" CRT with a 17" LCD or better yet, a 19" LCD monitor.
One other thing to keep in mind is that you need to make sure your PC has a firewire adapter for hooking up your interface. Many PCs come with them, but the source I was using didn't state one way or the other. So before ordering I would contact the company and ask. If it doesn't come with one, ask how much it would be to include one. You can usually get a firewire adapter that plugs into one of the PCI slots on the PCs motherboard for minimal cost.
Hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions.
-Jeff
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/7768
This is a firewire interface from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation. It will allow you to record stereo tracks through the two mic pres, as well as through the line inputs. It also has outputs for hooking up your monitors.
After purchasing the interface, that left £450 for a PC. I searched around and found an online UK company with a "configurator" which lets you specify the options you want and gives you a quote. Here's a link: http://www.more-solutions.co.uk/shop/custompc.html
Using this, I spec-ed out the best system I could do for a recording worthy PC keeping the budget at the £450 range. This is what I came up with:
Processor AMD Sempron 2400 £183.75
Case Full ATX
Memory 512Mb DDR £16.25
Hard Drive 40GB 7200RPM
2nd Hard Drive 80GB 7200RPM £40.00
Optical Drive CDRW/DVD Combo £22.50
Graphics Onboard
Operating System XP Home £61.25
Monitor 17" CRT £61.25
Warranties Standard 3yr RTB
LAN Onboard 10/100
Keyboard/Mouse Windows Keyboard & Optical Mouse £3.75
Total
VAT £388.75
£68.03
Total (inc VAT) £456.78
As you can see, we've now exceeded your budget by about 6 pounds. I would've liked to do a little better with the PC specs, but this will work. If you can come up with a little more dough, however, I would suggest a few upgrades to this spec as follows:
1. Go with one of the better AMD processors, such as the Athlon 64 3400+.
2. Increase the RAM to at least 1 GB, or even better yet, 2GB.
3. Increase the size of your second hard drive for higher audio file storage capacity (Just make sure whatever you get runs at 7200RPM).
4. Replace the 17" CRT with a 17" LCD or better yet, a 19" LCD monitor.
One other thing to keep in mind is that you need to make sure your PC has a firewire adapter for hooking up your interface. Many PCs come with them, but the source I was using didn't state one way or the other. So before ordering I would contact the company and ask. If it doesn't come with one, ask how much it would be to include one. You can usually get a firewire adapter that plugs into one of the PCI slots on the PCs motherboard for minimal cost.
Hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions.
-Jeff
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AREA 39
New member
Thanks Jeff
That info helps alot more than most i have had.
My budget could be a bit more than what i said, i did not want to go and spend too much when starting out.
How much more would it take to up grade to what you think would be best ?
So i can go on line and order this from a UK store ?
And then i could be up and running in a few weeks ?
I look forward to your reply.
AREA 39
That info helps alot more than most i have had.
My budget could be a bit more than what i said, i did not want to go and spend too much when starting out.
How much more would it take to up grade to what you think would be best ?
So i can go on line and order this from a UK store ?
And then i could be up and running in a few weeks ?
I look forward to your reply.
AREA 39
JeffLancaster
New member
Without getting too carried away, you could do something like this from the same supplier:
Processor Athlon 64 3400+ £275.00
Case Full ATX Black £6.25
Memory 1024Mb DDR £56.25
Hard Drive 80GB 7200RPM £3.75
2nd Hard Drive 250GB 7200RPM £95.00
Optical Drive DVD +/- RW £30.00
Graphics Gforce MX4000 64Mb DDR £12.50
Operating System XP Home £61.25
Monitor 17" TFT Black/Silver (M.Media) £150.00
Warranties Standard 3yr RTB
LAN Onboard 10/100
Keyboard/Mouse Windows Keyboard & Optical Mouse £3.75
Total
VAT £693.75
£121.41
Total (inc VAT) £815.16
This would be a nice system that you would probably be happy with for quite some time. Yes, you can do this order entirely online, and yes it's a UK store. However, as previously stated, I would check with them about the firewire port before ordering.
Processor Athlon 64 3400+ £275.00
Case Full ATX Black £6.25
Memory 1024Mb DDR £56.25
Hard Drive 80GB 7200RPM £3.75
2nd Hard Drive 250GB 7200RPM £95.00
Optical Drive DVD +/- RW £30.00
Graphics Gforce MX4000 64Mb DDR £12.50
Operating System XP Home £61.25
Monitor 17" TFT Black/Silver (M.Media) £150.00
Warranties Standard 3yr RTB
LAN Onboard 10/100
Keyboard/Mouse Windows Keyboard & Optical Mouse £3.75
Total
VAT £693.75
£121.41
Total (inc VAT) £815.16
This would be a nice system that you would probably be happy with for quite some time. Yes, you can do this order entirely online, and yes it's a UK store. However, as previously stated, I would check with them about the firewire port before ordering.