Hey guys (and gal's) A Getting started thread

[EvilPizza]

Hey , as you can pretty much imagine I'm new around here and in need of some help and i hope this is the right place to write in
A little about me, I'm a jazz musician that still likes other genres like electronic, funk , world etc .. and I have been wanting to get into the Home Recording world more and more as I encounter great home produced music . I have been using cubase for a few years now so i know my way about it and working as a soundman in concerts gave me knowledge about the different common aspects both the "worlds" share .
Actually trying to say that Im not a complete newbie but i have alot to learn

Getting to the chase , I want to create a hands on good home recording studio so i could experiment with my music and record some nice tracks. My head is out of my ass so im not looking for 50K tracks out of 1k worth of gear and i know what to expect . I just want to get the best from the time and money Im willing to spend , i guess you can pretty much understand.
My goals are basically :
1) Being able to record good tracks at my home without putting 100$ or more per hour in a pro studio , sometimes i just want to experiment.
2) Recording about anything but real drums , my room is pretty dry but not enough to handle a decent drum recording .
3) No **** latency and a good source , in case i want to , i dont know , reamp later.

Gear i all rdy own:
2 Guitars + pedal Board + Tube amp
Roland Rd300GX stage piano
Roland Ds5 monitors close prox
A good silent PC , Intel Q6600 @3.2 GHZ , 8 GB ram, 2Tb space
Roland RH200 headphones
A crappy samson co1 condenser mic

what i need ?
A sound card with good preamps, right now i have a dead lexicon lambda
mics ?
and open to new ideas

My budget is 1500$ max (which isnt much , but im going on step at a time)

Tnx in advance

 

[dawg711]

i would say look into the mackie onyx series, they would be in your budget and act as your sound card with really good preamps. maybe the 820i. and a few good mics, but i would reccomend the makie for what you need. i use the 1640i just a bigger version of the 820i and it will serve you well =) with quality sound recordings and well within your price range. =)

 

[clivus]

I am using a Lexicon Omega which has served me well, and I like the Cubase LE software that came with it. under $200. Good mics is where I would go next. A good used AKG 414 would run about $600.

 

[diggy_dude]

Can you play Lexia's "Lady Rain"? Damn, I love that song.

 

[EvilPizza]

Hey guys , tnx for the info
@dawg711 , I must say that the Tc impact twin v2 seems a bit more advance and well, impressive and its actually cheaper. what are your thought about the tc ?
@clivus sadly the store here want 1100$ per one AKG 414 , great mic but im thinking more towards one 212 and one sm58 ?as for the sound card , my personal experience from the lexicon cards in the price range is pretty bad..

As for diggy , no dude havnt heard of the song , but I promise to check it out

cheers and looking for some more opinions

 

[.Tyson Studios.]

The m-audio fast track series is nice. The FT Ultra has 6 inputs, 4 of them including pre amps. mid, 2 headphone jacks with seprate volume controls, 6 outs, S/PDIF, and phantom. Ooooor the FT Pro which is the same thinhg exept only two inputs both with pre amps, 4 outputs, and one headphone jack. I highly recomend both of them.

GuitarCenter

GuitarCenter

 

[clivus]

Hey guys , tnx for the info
@dawg711 , I must say that the Tc impact twin v2 seems a bit more advance and well, impressive and its actually cheaper. what are your thought about the tc ?
@clivus sadly the store here want 1100$ per one AKG 414 , great mic but im thinking more towards one 212 and one sm58 ?as for the sound card , my personal experience from the lexicon cards in the price range is pretty bad..

As for diggy , no dude havnt heard of the song , but I promise to check it out

cheers and looking for some more opinions

Found a number of used 414s in the 500-600 range on ebay. In my experience, the Omega Lexicon card is OK. I am sure there are better.

-cheers!