Helping my brother build a recording PC - 1000$ budget

T

Thisnameistaken

New member
Hey guys!

I'm helping my bro build a PC so he can do some recording at home. He wants to be able to record guitars with the option of either through a microphone or direct input, and vocals. Drums will be done via some form of drum tracking software.

I built a recording PC about 3 years ago, but since haven't kept up with much of anything, and, regrettably, haven't record much either.

I'm looking for advice on how to best spend the 1000$ dollars so that he can build the highest quality recording machine for his money. What should I prioritize? Should it be approximately a 50/50 split cost wise between between PC hardware and Recording hardware, or perhaps a little less on the PC and more on recording gear?


Things we'll need is - The PC itself (likely custom built, and really only needs to be good enough to handle the recording process)

Processor,
Ram,
MOBO,
hard drive
PSU. Obviously the quieter it runs the better.


The recording gear -

Audio interface - I have a Komplete audio 6 which is fine with me, but is there something better now for the price? He really only needs to be able to record one thing at a time, I imagine.
Microphones - I just have some cheap GLS audio 57's but I think they sound fine. However I suspect he'll be recording more vocals and acoustic guitar parts, so a better mic is probably preferred.
Studio Monitors - I imagine these are fairly important. I have KRK Rokit 6's which are lovely, although I think the 5's would suffice plenty good for him (and even me) It should be noted he plans to record some fairly heavy metal, but will also record mellower stuff as well.
Headphones - I have the really popular Audio Technica ones, but I don't think they're that amazing personally.

I think that about covers it. Let me know if I missed anything hardware wise, and also suggestions as to what I should look into for specific hardware based on budget.

Thanks!
 
I won't go into hardware, plenty of places for that. Good AMD chip or i5 quad or better i7. 8-16Gigs of RAM if the DAW you are using is 64Bit. Shoot for 7200 RPM hard drives or go combo SSD's and hard drives. I have not seen a big issue with drive speed (even on 5200) but it would be better if the hard drive is fast.

You will need to budget about $200 for a good interface, I have been recommending the Tascam 1800. Is it the best, no. But it is really good for the money. There are inerfaces that are good, Presonus, NI, M-Audio (plenty to choose from, just stick to the major players). I think at our level the interfaces pretty much all get bunched together. Most from the major audio interface players are fully capable.

Only suggestion to make that wouldn't be covered anywhere else would be the fans and power supply. Get quiet fans, you will pay more, but if the computer is going to be in the same room, the computer will get loud in the mics. If you have a way to get the computer out of the room, then it isn't that important. Other than getting good quality components, nothing special is required for recording. Mid-grade computer is about all it takes.
 
Two posts down might be applicable for the PC part of your question...

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...eed-some-opinions-pc-im-looking-build-376320/

The actual recording apparatus questions are pretty wide, waaay too many options to pick just a few. If you just want to buy what someone else is using, then that's the sort of response you can expect. Otherwise, researching is the only way.

You're not going to manage a decent PC and decent gear for that price point anyway. The focus should be on exactly what he needs for the PC so the money is spent right the first time. The thread linked to above will lay all that out in great detail. With whatever is left over from the budget he could *maybe* buy one upgraded piece of gear. Which gear to upgrade really depends on his specific needs. If he plans to mix a lot with headphones, then that would be priority. If he plan to record a lot of vocals, then a decent vocal mic would be priority, etc. Obviously he'll need an interface, and those start over $100 alone.

My recording setup evolved over YEARS of minor upgrades. Getting started is an expense and there's no shortcut around that. $1k will get you started in only the most basic sense. You haven't even mentioned software.
 
Last edited:
Thisnameistaken said:
I'm helping my bro build a PC so he can do some recording at home. He wants to be able to record guitars with the option of either through a microphone or direct input, and vocals. Drums will be done via some form of drum tracking software.

I built a recording PC about 3 years ago, but since haven't kept up with much of anything, and, regrettably, haven't record much either.

I'm looking for advice on how to best spend the 1000$ dollars so that he can build the highest quality recording machine for his money.
Click to expand...

I think this might help... and the total budget would be $889.64 - have a look: Need help building a computer for recording music [Solved] - Computers - Systems
 
This....
https://uk-mg-bt.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.partner=bt-1&.rand=5se7lgjlpl6b2

Looks pretty good. I have the related A5A97 LE 2.0 with an AMD 3.7G six core processor and it is fine. The board shown will take up to 16G of ram but 8 should be plenty.

Yes to an SSD for the OS (W7?) and DAW, don't need much else on it but make sure you have room for Win 10 (which it looks like we shall all get as a free upgrade?).

Yes to a second 7200 drive for storage but consider a USB 3.0 (the MOBO has USB 3.0) external drive for backup.

The KA6 will be fine, nothing better for twice the money IMHO. If you needed another two mic channels. a small mixer or preamp into lines 3/4 and for the future something like the Audient Mico which has excellent converters to feed the S/PDIF input. Six mic inputs!

MIDI of course and the lowest latency you will find unless you buy RME.

Dave.
 
Honestly, I would skip the PC and go straight to a secondhand Mac Pro 4,1 or 5,1 .

You can get one in budget. I would do this even if it eats your entire budget.
Then, if needed, run a Free DAW like REAPER until you can afford Logic or Pro Tools.

Then, (Before a DAW purchase), get yourself a good plugin bundle that is worth it's weight. Waves has some very amazing stuff at very reasonable prices (Wait for the bundle you want to go on sale if you are on a budget). Right now the Waves power pack is on sale.

After that, a pair of NS10M's and a Sub. AND LEARN THEM!!!! They are priceless ($400-700 a pair, so I guess not priceless lol). They don't lie to you. Trust me. Would be a good combo to have the KRK's and NS10's. (Upgrade from the KRK's when you can afford it... jbl/adam/genelec/etc)

I tell you this from a couple decades of experience (I am in music professionally full time). A windows machine will be obsoleted and underperforming far sooner , let alone all the issues you are going to have with compatibility, bugs, quirks.... once I left PC I never looked back and I don't regret it for a second. No more fiddling around with my machine when I should be recording/mixing/mastering/producing/editing.

my opinion. hop I've shown you a bit of a potential road map.

Good luck!
 
Lol... correct you are.... I was thinking Ardour (minimum $1 donation), not Reaper... was on my way out as I posted. appologies.

As far as the rest. my opinion. to each their own
 
ShortySMC said:
Lol... correct you are.... I was thinking Ardour (minimum $1 donation), not Reaper... was on my way out as I posted. appologies.

As far as the rest. my opinion. to each their own
Click to expand...

Opinion is one thing. What you gave was a one sided rant against the PC for music production that was not helpful to the people that come to HR for advice.

Many here run PC for music with no problems at all. I have been running a home build for nearly a year now and my various hard and softwares installed with barely a twitch and the computer has been rock solid ever since. If a PC numpty like me can do this is it shows the system to be pretty robust.

There might have been a case for saying PC was the poor relation to mac for music many years ago. Not now.

Dave
 
you should be able to get a decent PC with that money, like 16 gig ram, i7 3.5ghz processor, SSD main drive and HHD 'storage' drive. Macs are good, but only if you can afford one.
 
Buy a Mac for more money or buy a PC for less money and get everything you need accomplished. Buy a Mac! :p
 
Suggested system in your range:
NZXT H230 $75 (Nice quiet chassis)
Antec TrueQuiet 120mm x 2 $25 (Nice Quiet Fans)
AMD FD8350FRHKBOX FX-8350 $175 (Fast 8 core)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler $35
MSI ATX 970 Gaming $105 (lots of USB options + 6 expansion slots)
WD2003FZEX 2TB Black $125 (7200RPM, Good reliability)
Kingston HyperX 3K 120 GB $75 (Stable, fast SSD)
Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM - White $70 (the white are cheaper than the colors, go figure)
Thermaltake Purepower 600 AP W0129RU 600W Power Supply $45 You won't need anything bigger with this setup)
ASUS Corporate Stable Model 2 GB Graphics Card $55 (no fan for just a little less noise...)

$785 + Monitor...if you have extra budget, opt for a 240GB SSD. Also a fan control might be nice in the studio.
 
BroKen_H said:
Suggested system in your range:
NZXT H230 $75 (Nice quiet chassis)
Antec TrueQuiet 120mm x 2 $25 (Nice Quiet Fans)
AMD FD8350FRHKBOX FX-8350 $175 (Fast 8 core)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler $35
MSI ATX 970 Gaming $105 (lots of USB options + 6 expansion slots)
WD2003FZEX 2TB Black $125 (7200RPM, Good reliability)
Kingston HyperX 3K 120 GB $75 (Stable, fast SSD)
Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM - White $70 (the white are cheaper than the colors, go figure)
Thermaltake Purepower 600 AP W0129RU 600W Power Supply $45 You won't need anything bigger with this setup)
ASUS Corporate Stable Model 2 GB Graphics Card $55 (no fan for just a little less noise...)

$785 + Monitor...if you have extra budget, opt for a 240GB SSD. Also a fan control might be nice in the studio.
Click to expand...

You still have to buy the OS. About $200 or less.
 
BroKen_H said:
or there's always Linux...
Click to expand...

No really. Most manufacturers do not make a Linux driver, so if the interface is not 100% USB compliant (and most are not, Tascam 1800 for example) the interface will not show up. I have already tried this and found for example, Tascam didn't work, but Presonus USB did. Linux is most likely not an option.
 
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