Need Gear. Moderate Budget.

[danro]

Ok. I am fairly new (about 4 years) to recording and I need some new recording gear. I have the space, the computer and all of the software, plug-ins, mic/quarter inch cables I need. Unfortunately, though, I am running Pro Tools 8 (which is great) but the only interface I have is an MBox2 Mini. So basically, I need an interface, preamps, mics and monitors. I mainly record semi-heavy rock (so I need good drum/vocal mics and pres) and hip-hop but sometimes do softer indy recordings too. I have a budget of about $6,000 for everything. Thank you in advance for all the help!

Cheers,

DanRo

 

[Re-tox_stl]

Ok first off. How many ins will you need, and are you willing to switch from PT8? (PT8 is hardware dependent, so you are VERY limited with your interface choice.)

Drew

 

[Armistice]

I have a budget of about $6,000 for everything.

Congrats on being the first person in ages to have a significant budget...

I'll leave the specific recommendations to others. Do you have any mics at all - if so, what?

 

[danro]

Yea! It is mostly from a few paid internships and from graduation money. Woot! Ideally, I would like at least 12 ins but NO less than 8. Yes, I am willing to upgrade to PT 9 to be able to use non-Avid/Digidesign interfaces (will have to, obviously, come out of the budget). Currently, I have 1 SM57 and 1 ST51.

 

[RAMI]

2 words:

Treat your room.

OK, that was 3, but it's THAT important.

 

[Shadow_7]

Is the room even big enough to place 8 or more mics with stands, plus boom arms, plus ..... Or is this more for a live gig setup / road warrior / touring scenario.

$6K might sound like a lot, but...

$1K per monitor (x2 stereo or x5 + x1 woofer for 5.1 surround)
$1K per microphone (x2 stereo)
And other that's a not a lot scenarios. If you want video as part of your kit, $3K might be the cheapest you could get off on a pro-ish / prosumer DSLR with video abilities. And lots of other options that "start" near $6K just for video.

I've basically got a glorified soccer mom setup. 2x channels of audio, 1x channel of video, which comes in at about $3K. No monitors, not including the computer side of things, and slumming it in terms of mics and camcorder that I have, versus that which I want.

8x $100-ish SM57 / SM58's is $800. Not including stands and cables (8x $50-ish for another $400). Presonus firepod for 8x channels of inputs with preamps at about $800. And that's already $2K right there. Never mind the UPS / power conditioners + power strips + software side of things. Or better mics at say $500 each x8 at $4K just for that. Basically where's your priorities (number of channels? or quality of inputs? or quality of editing / monitoring the results?)? $6K is a good starting point. But probably not the last bit of cash you'll ever spend on the effort.