There are lots of recording systems out there. N-Tracks, Sonar, and Nuendo are popular. I made the comittment to the required firmware (Digi002) and am running Pro Tools. Well, here's what you need to make good recordings, in a nutshell:
1.- Really good instruments. This is often overlooked. People spend thousands on gear to record a $200 guitar that sucks.
2. A good room. The signal chain starts at the room. If the room is basically good, add some acoustic conditioning to make it softer and more consistent. If it sucks, create a dead space big enough to fit a drum kit. Tightly packed fiberglass insulation and mover's carpets will be helpful here.
3. Mics. There are a few basic types you will need. I'm including a few suggestions, from cheap to mid-priced. I'm skipping the real high end mics completely.
a. Small diaphragm condensers- You will need a pair. Good for drum overheads and acoustic instruments, often used as a stereo pair-
Marshall MXL603, Studio Projects C-4, Rode NT5, AKG C451
b. Large Diaphragm condenser- often used for vocals, but has other applications for instruments and percussion-
Marshall MXL V67G, Studio Projects B-1/ B-3, CAD M179, B.L.U.E. Baby Bottle, Dragonfly, Rode NTK, Shure KSM44, Neumann TLM103.
c. "workhorse" condenser. Often only good on certain vocals, but good for a wide variety of sources. They often are either LD condensers, or or small diaphragms in larger housings, so they *look* like LD's.-
Studio Projects B-1, AKG C2000B, Audio-Technica 4033, AKG C414
d. utility dynamics- These are cheap stage mics that work well for percussion, guitar amps, and sometimes even vocals, or sax, or whatever. It's good to have 2 or 3 at least-
Shure SM57/SM58, Sennheiser e835, AKG D770
e. High end dynamics- Good for the same stuff as cheap dynamics, but provide more detail, and can be very good vocal mics-
Sennheiser MD421, MD441,
Shure SM7-B, Electrovoice RE20
f- dedicated kick drum/bass cab mic- Usually a dynamic. There is some crossover, so you'll notice the MD421 shows up here also.
AT25, AKG D112, Audix D6, Sennhiser MD421, EV RE20
I have left out ribbons entirely- later. Also note that some condensers have a vacuum tube and separate power supply, like the NTK listed above. Eventually, you will want both solid state and tube condensers. Initially, you just hope to get one that makes you sound good.
Preamp/mixer- Which way you go depends on how many mics you have to record simultaneously, and your budget. Mixers contain preamps, usually not great ones. In general, you would probably do well to get a small mixer, and a dedicated 2 channel preamp for more critical sources- In other words, a mixer for a bunch of drum mics, preamp for vocals/acoustic, etc. In general, the Behringer mixers are dirt cheap, and that's the only good thing I have to say about them. I would prefer Yamaha for cheap, Allen and Heath or Mackie for mid priced. Mic Preamps are much more dicey, as they vary wildly in price, from under $100 per channel to $2500 per channel and each has their own character. For cheap, it's hard to beat M-Audio DMP-3. I like the higher end Joemeek units (I use the twinQ), FMR Audio RNP, Grace Design 101. 2 channels is good, as your pair of SD's above can be used as a stereo pair
Monitors- These can be pricey, and mixing with headphones sucks. There are powered (active) and unpowered (passive) versions, which require a power amp. They start at about $300 a pair, and go up, way up, from there. I'm not an expert on monitors, and everybody has there favorites. I like the M-Audio BX-5's or BX-8's combined with the SBX subwoofer, $700-800 for the whole setup. Remember that monitors aren't supposed to sound good, they are supposed to tell the truth.
Getting to the computer- You will need a soundcard specialized for music production. The M-Audio Audiophile 2496 is good for cheap. There are also DAWs (digital audio workstations) which combine a soundcard with a control surface, like a mixer, and possibly preamps. They often send the tracks to the computer by USB or Firewire. Tascam builds pretty good ones. You'll get a lot of opinions on these. I use Digidesign's Digi002, which is a mixer,and a DAW containing the software for protools. It's a lovely box, but it is a $2200 or so box.
Misc.- Other stuff that's easy to forget-
Headphones- Again, everyone has their favorites. You'll need at least two pairs, and an extension cable. I like
Sennheiser HD280 Pro. For cheap, do a search on "More Me" tracking headphones. Headphone Amp- So more than one person can hear. I use Rolls RA62HA, but there are many others. Do a search on headphone amps. Cables- Don't hook your good gear up with cheap HOSA cables, or live wire, or any of that crap. Monster, Mogami, B.L.U.E. are OK, and learning a bit of soldering can save you big bucks here. One day I added it up and realized that my little project studio has almost $1000 worth of cabling! Power conditioning- You'll probably need one real voltage regulator, and one or two power conditionars that are just glorified power strips. Furman makes a long list of related gear. You have to plug in somewhere, and a good voltage regulator will give you even power output, surge protection, and filter out radio signals on your power lines.
Mic stands- Get a couple of heavy duty booms and one good kick mic miniboom to start, and add later as needed. The racks-You'll probably need at least one rack. There are many things you'll use software plugins for initially, that will later likely become outboard gear- reverb, compression, guitar amp modelers, etc. I like KK Audio racks for cheap.
Honorable mentions for cheap gear that works- TC Electronics M300- cheap little reverb unit that is a good A-D convertor, $200. FMR Audio RNC- cheap clean compressor that rocks-$180 The original Lava Lamp- if you don't have one of these, you don't own a studio- $36. Best of luck.-Richie
