Ok...I'm going to try to help you out a little. Before I do, I want to make perfectly clear that what I'm doing here is giving you OPTIONS based on what information I've picked up from this site. There will no doubt be several people who think I'm full of crap...everyone has their own setup that they like and their own fantasy gear that they lust after. This is nothing more than a fairly accurate gauge of what people around here think about gear. I may have forgotten something here or there too.
One more thing...I'm also trying to save you some cash here and there to help you out too. Here we go!
Roland VS-1880: I'm not very familiar with the V-Studio stuff. A lot of people swear by them, but a lot of the pros and semi-pros think they're junk. For the money, you could invest in a really nice (read kick ass) hard disk recording setup assuming you have a decent computer already. This money could be better spent elsewhere in your budget in my opinion.
Mackie: I have a Mackie and I love it. Not everyone does. Some feel the preamps are a little sterile. You might want to consider something from the Soundcraft brand. They have extremely nice sounding preamps. This is a judgement call though, go listen to this stuff for yourself before you purchase ANYTHING!
Alesis Monitors: Don't buy them. Spend a little extra cash and buy something from Event. This is another really subjective area, but you will not be disappointed with Event monitors. You can get yourself into a pair of powered biamped Event PS6's for about $60 more. Go listen to everything!
Shure 57's: They sound great on just about everything. This is one of the most important piece of "budget" gear you'll find. Make no mistake, this is pro gear. You can use these to mic your toms, snare, guitar cabs...very versitile mic. To hear what these mics can do on toms, I suggest listening to anything from Emeric (go to the MP3 Mixing forum).
AT 4041: I personally don't have any experience with this particular mic. For a small diaphram condenser, most folks around here either go with the venerable AKG C1000s, or the Oktava MC-012 (only order these from the Soundroom) These things sound great. The Soundroom tests these things to make sure they meet their high standard. I have heard good things about the 4041, so you are probably safe. Also look into the Crown CM-700. These are really nice mics as well.
Samson Q3: Why? I'm not sure what you'd be buying these for. You might as well throw some 57's on your toms and be done with it. You also might want to look into
the Sennheiser E-604 mics. These are pretty nice sounding. Go listen to them! Personally, I'd beware of Samson anything. This is just a personal preference, for what that's worth.
AKG D112: I don't know why you want two of these, but they are highly recommended as kick mics. You might also want to look into the Sennheiser 421 or the ATM25 or the RE20. Any of these mics sound great and you won't be disappointed.
Groove Tube: I've heard people express their disappointment with Groove Tubes since Alesis bought the company. Is this unfounded criticism? Maybe. I think for the cash you could get yourself into large diaphram condenser mic that can match the quality and perhaps surpass it. Look into the AT 4050, or even
the Shure KSM44. Each of these have switchable polar patterns which the AM11 doesn't (at least that I can tell). That's a pretty decent feature. But you should GO LISTEN TO THEM!
Some other things to seriously consider...
If you're going to go with the Mackie, do yourself a favor and buy a decent Preamp. You can go with something as simple as the Tube MP. A lot of folks around here use it and love it. If you want to save an assload of cash on a none switchable pattern mic, you might want to consider the Rode NT1. I think you'd be happier with
the AT 4050 for a number of reasons, but you can't argue with the sound these guys get out of the NT1 (listen to Emeric's acoustics for God's sake!).
You'll need a compressor. There are several that you'll be safe with, but the Alesis 3060 is not one of them!
Software. If you go the DAW route, there is a ton of quality recording software to consider. Try demos and go to any demo session at your local gear store. Ask questions and play with the stuff if they let you. I use Cubase and I love it. Some people find it hard to use and opt for Cakewalk. I found that difficult to use. There are a million programs these days, you'll be able to find one that you like.
Extra software...
Waves Native Power Pack will knock you down. It sounds great and you WILL be happy with it.
One more thing...buy quality cords. I can't tell you how much of a difference that will make.
That's about all I can think of at this time. I know I'm forgetting a ton of quality gear. Check this stuff out. Ask questions around here and we'll do our best to answer them. Go listen to the stuff at a store and let your ear be your guide (have I mentioned this yet? lol).
Good luck to you! Let us know what you come up with. By all means, when you get something down, let us listen to it.
) and this tube trap design is the most promising I've seen yet. It'll be hard to get a pro sound without treating the acoustics ... believe me, I know.
