I need Help on a Basic Studio Set up

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mechphree

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Ok , I'm not super experienced in studios but I do have experience in programs, mic'ing those type of things and what not, Basically I need help though on what equipment I should be build my own cheap home studio.

I'm gonna be having a budget between 1000-1500k around at the most , Now i'm not gonna be doing any producing or anything that because I'm a rapper. So I was looking for the best equips in that price range which would help me get on my feet. My Rooms pretty big and I was thinking of using the closet as a booth but i've heard alot of negative responses to that, Like your ceiling gotta be high and things like that. I'm only gonna be using this studio for specifically vocals and nothing else so any help would be good.
 
sine u are only gonna be recording, get

MBox 2 : $450
Rode NT-1a mic : 200
mic stand, cables, pop filter : 50-75
im guessing u have a computer if not get a dell or gateway : 500-600

MBox comes with Pro Tools LE which you can record your vocals, mix, edit,master, bounce and then with a 3rd party program burn your track(s) to cd
 
Lemme see,
$450 + 200 + 75 + 600 = $1325, right?

Well, 1500k - 1325 = $149,675 left over. What do you feel like doing with that? That's ll buy a hell of a lot of Avalon 737s :D


youngdpeso said:
sine u are only gonna be recording, get

MBox 2 : $450
Rode NT-1a mic : 200
mic stand, cables, pop filter : 50-75
im guessing u have a computer if not get a dell or gateway : 500-600

MBox comes with Pro Tools LE which you can record your vocals, mix, edit,master, bounce and then with a 3rd party program burn your track(s) to cd
 
youngdpeso said:
MBox 2 : $450
Rode NT-1a mic : 200
mic stand, cables, pop filter : 50-75
im guessing u have a computer if not get a dell or gateway : 500-600
I don't see anything in that budget for room treatment.
 
youngdpeso said:
im guessing u have a computer if not get a dell or gateway : 500-600


Eh build your own. It's easy, it's cheap, and dell/gateway support is nothing worth paying a dime for.

I assume you ment $1,000-$1,500 if you're building 'cheap home studio'

I don't belive that ceiling heigth just for vocals is that important, I think the current thought twards it is to pretty much deaden (but not fully) the area which is probbly ideal for rap vocals.

Spend as much as you can on treating your room.


I can't say exactly what you need for tracking/mixing, I can say the usual (bass traps/broadband abosorbers/ect..). I've seen a few home studios cover their entire vocal booth with acoustic foam, but that may not be the best option. It'd be best to wait on someone whos an expert on this (*cough* rick *cough*).

Now lets say you spend $500 on cleaning up you room acousticaly then go for something like:

- http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOFWAP2496
OR
- http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOAP2496
Same internals, one just has firewire with a headphone adjustment. Includes MIDI so you can hookup a drum machine or whatever for making beats.

As for software you could use ProTools but for your uses you would probbly want to go with Cubase or Reason or Sonar. I'm not sure, but leave $250 or so for that.

A pair of
- http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--KRKRP5
or
- http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--KRKRP8
(blemished for $190/per)

I've heard some good things about:
- http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDODMP3

Buy some short 1/4'' to RCA cables (for preamp->a/d and d/a->monitors), a stand, and a pop filter

That should leave you with about $150 for a decent mic if you go with the RP5's.

Alright maybe you want a more expensive mic. Oh well. I tried.


edit: I guess I forgot to include headphones in there.. you don't need a great pair, just something that you can hear yourself and the background track on, I'd be happy with: http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--AKGK55, I have a similar pair (if not the same) that i've had for 3 or 4 years now, they sound pretty good and take a hell of a beating (the plastic covering on the ear pad is starting to crack on mine but for $30 it's done more than its share) And to avoid buying an external headphone amp or mixer for your monitoring you'd want to go with the firewire interface, which with a $150 mic puts you over budget counting headphones. Hopefuly this all just gives you a decent idea on what you need.


-jeffrey
 
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OK here is what I would recomend someone looking for a 'cheap home studio' do for room treatment. The serisous sound engineers might laugh at such a unscientific approach but I think that part of the fun of home studios is the experimenting.

Find an insullation supplier and buy a bale of one or two inch thick unfaced fiberglass or rock wool of 3 to 5 pounds per cubic foot in density. The most common brand is Owens-Corning 703. The fluffy stuff sold in home improvement stores in not dense enough. A bale is a two foot high stack of two foot by four foot panels. Be sure to use gloves while handling this stuff.

Start with the following baseline. use three four-inch-thick panels placed across corners of the room, chosing the corners so that both diagonals of the room have at least one trap. Also perhaps consider the wall to ceiling corners, particularly either the one directly above or directly behind the mixing position. The remaining fiberglass use to make four two-inch panels to place on opposite walls, again making sure that both pairs of opposite walls have some treatment. Also maybe consider hanging one as a 'cloud' above.

Now record some tests or play music you are familiar with through the monitors. If they sound too 'boomy' (too much or muddy bass) then consider converting a pair of the wall panels into a fourth corner trap. If they sound to 'slappy' (like you were in a bathroom) then consider using one of the three corner traps into a pair of wall traps. If it seems to have both problems then experiment with the positions of the panels or go get another bale of 703 and repeat. I believe that it will be a rare home recording room that will need more than one bale of 703 to tame.

Once you have the treatment figured out get some cheap open weave fabric (burlap, felt, etc.) in your choice of color and cover the panels. If you want a crisp edge for appearance purposes you can build a lightweight frame from wood or sheet metal angles
 
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