Need suggestions on what to buy...not a lot of $$$

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nutdotnet
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Are you happy with the SM57/J station?

I ask the question because if you are Gidge, maybe that's a a possible solution.

The $700 solution is in a different league altogether from what has been discussed since then, not only in terms of quality, but flexibility. Its a "starter" system that would produce good results to begin with and grow with upgrades. It also includes commercial software, which I didn't realize nut had.

In the same post, I readily adimitted there are likely other solutions that are less expensive, and offered one myself. I don't like the berigner myself, but the 602 provides two pres, and the ability to integrate additional line sources without the need for a new sound card. I still don't think this setup would provide satisfying recordings, and the beringer would still be replaced in relatively short order.

While Nut did not say he wanted to sound like Korn, he did say he was something of a perfectionist, which inidcated to me that he was looking for some sort of quality baseline.

So, going back to the thread, I guess I was wrong. One can get started with a one channel medium quality solution for less than $400, especially if used equipment is considered. This channel can also be well integrated with a delta card added in the future, and more capable software when added as well.

It will have some limitations (no stereo in, for example), but should be able to produce usable voice and acoustic guitar tracks.
 
Schwa,

Im not happy about it at all....I can pull out a good enuff sound for what Im doing right now, but Im taking donations since my ass is broke.....I just wouldnt want him to buy crap along the way (Behringer).......

Nut,

If those items you mentioned are in good condition, Id jump on them....250..00 for NT1 and an Art tube pre with compression is good...Ill take it if you dont....

Schwa,

Please feel free to send donations, as I will be needing a mic, preamp, and compressor in the next few weeks.....

Anyone know how much people are getting for their plasma these days?......
 
Don't forget the pre

Nut,

Don't forget that you'll need something to power the NT1 (it requires phantom power), so some sort of pre is going to necessary.

Gidge,

I'd love to help you out with a donation, but I'm busy saving for the new digital mixer.

Good luck guys, I'd love to hear what you come up with.
 
Yes I am aware it requires Phantom Power (I bought it for $100, I couldn't pass that up).

Do mackie mixers have Phantom Power? I can't remember.
 
Yeah, those mackies have phantom power...make sure you buy one in the VLZ PRO series...they have the XDR preamps that are damn good.......
 
Congrats on the NT1, Im jealous.....now to play devils advocate, if you can score a Mackie mixer and keep the sm57, you could do some double micing during recording and blend sounds.....Dammit, Im jealous......Im going max out a credit card next week, what the hell.....
 
hehe. Yeah we'll see, maybe someone will love me next week and give me some money for my Birthday, lol.
 
Hey Nut -

I like to think of myself as someone who gets by well "on the cheap", so here are my comments.

Its funny, as I was reading through all the posts I was thinking all along "what this guy needs is a cheap Behringer mixer". A lot of people slam them but I wonder how many of those folks have experiance with them? I bought an 802, one step up from the $99 model 602. I think I paid $130 for it - 6 channels (2 stereo), 4 XLR pre amps, phantom power, effects bus, eq. And very compact. I must confess I rarely use it with mics, but mainly have it hooked to my "#2" cpu which I use for transfering records/tapes/vcr to CDR. I did use it once as a PA mixer (with a SM-57) and it sounded fine. Very happy with it for the money. I do use a Alesis Studio 32 mixer with my main recording rig. Picked it over the Mackie for reasons I will not go into here. The Alesis is a much nicer mixer, but for $750 it damn well should be. I would have no problem recomending Behringer for people on a tight budget, especially since a small mixer like that will continue to have uses even as your studio expands.

Keep your SM-57, they are nice mics for instruments like electric guitar and they take a beating like nothing else. Sometime you might want to take a mic someplace with you to use live, and that will be the one to take.

I was recently looking for a good vocal mic on a budget. I looked at the NT-1 and NT-3, decided that the NT-1 was the one and bought it. As I am sure you have already discovered, when compared to the dynamic mics like SM-58 & 57 it has amazing pickup - you need to have an absolutely silent enviornment to use it. I'm still playing with proper settings for it but it seems like a great product for a good price. Congrats on yours.

As for sound cards, I think the SB Live gets unfairly slammed. I mean, what do you want for $50? I use one with that little Behringer and it makes decent audio CDs from line-level sources. Sure you would be better off with something like the Delta, but any sound card will sound only as good as the source signal.

For the record, I use a Gadget Labs 824 card on my main rig and love it, but alas they have gone belly up....

If you already have an SB Live, are on a tight buget, and can live with 2 tracks at one time for awhile, I would spend your money first on mic, preamp or mixer, and software. Play arround and then when you become more proficent you can upgrade to a better card. New cards are constantly coming out while mics, preamps, and mixers are more standardized. If you need to put off an upgrade due to low cash, I would put off the card because better ones will always be coming out. Again, everything depends on your $$$$$.

Thats my $.02 ....
 
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Yeah that is my philosophy. I did not buy the SBLive! to use it for recording, but since I have it and don't have a lot of money it is better than nothing.

I don't know about the Behringer Mixer, it just seems like I would be upgrading it after I got a better Sound Card.
 
Possibly. I formerly had a really wretched Sansui mixer I bought at Manny's in NYC years ago. 12x6x2, it was designed to work with a companion unit similar to a Tascam cassette porta studio. When I upgraded my Fostex reel-to-reel to the Gadget Labs I upgraded to the Alesis mixer. What a huge difference! But I found that I still had a need for a small mixer in my computer room (most of the gear is in the basement dungeon). The small footprint of the Behringer made it perfect for that. I could easy picture it as a starter mixer for a solo performer, to be upgraded later to a digital mixer. But even then I think it would remain useful for things like keyboard mixing.

Just a thought....
 
Yeah, yeah. In theroy I agree with that. An absolutely true ideal in an ideal world. But not everybody has $25,000 or more to go out and buy a home studio full of top line gear (I was going to say $10K, but that just wouldn't cut it). Many of us have had to start out on a slim budget. My old Fostex 8 track reel-to-reel and crummy Sansui mixer cost me $700 back in the early 1980s when digital anything was just a pipe dream. It was the best technology I could buy for that price and I got a lot of use and enjoyment out of it. Now I have more $$$ but certainly not unlimted. And in my case my studio returns no money to me - its a serious hobby not a living. So I still have to look for the best gear I can find for my budget and then upgrade as $$$ permits.

Inexpensive does not always mean cheap, and expensive does not always mean quality. And know-how goes a long way towards getting an "expensive" sound.
 
Well put.

I agree, buying something that is inexpensive is not always buying something "cheap" and buying something expensive is not always buying the best out there.

All I can say is Research, Research, Research!
 
Theres not to many people here that are cheaper cheapskates than me....Im trying to keep him from spending too much myself....Im just making a point that i(example only)you can afford a Behringer mixer with 6 preamps, but theres a Mackie for the same price but only 4 preamps, Id go with the Mackie....or Id buy an art Tube preamp before a Behringer mixer because in the long run youll get better sound, better use, and just try to find someone around here that will buy that Behringer mixer if you ever try to sell it....theyll line up for the Art.....
 
All true. What makes shooping for recording and audio gear so fun and frustrating and are those little intangable things like taste and opinion. In my day job doing tech support I feel my job is done right if my users can run the software they need and get their work done. But in the studio it's more like - how "good" of a sound do I NEED??? How good can I afford? And when is my mix done - its always a temptation to try to make something a tiny bit better.

The bottom line is that your equipment is good and your mix is done when:
a) You are happy with it, or
b) your client is happy with it, or
c) all of the above.

It's natural that as you spend more time recording and learn more about it your expectation increase and what sounds acceptable to you gets better and better. But if you start right off with $500 and want your recording to sound like Radiohead or Limp Biskit you are in for a very unhappy experiance. Thats all I'm trying to get accross... Equipment makers like Behringer are shooting for that market of audio beginners and those on a tight budget. So rather than slam them because their mic preamps don't sound like a $500 Art preamp, I'm glad they are there to get people started.
 
$400 Dollar Solution

everyone is giving some good pointers on equipment.

However if it was me, I would probably do the following:

1) Get the $99 Behringer Mixer which has phantom power built in, saves you $50 bucks. For a two track, you can pan left and right. $100

2) Buy the Rode NT1, have it myself and it's not a bad mic at all. $200

3) Buy a Soundblaster. $50

4) Use the rest to buy The Sound Reinforcement Handbook that was written for Yamaha by Davis and Jones. Excellent source for learning the technical fundamentals of Sound Design

5) If you can afford to keep the SM 57, keep it, in the long run, you will need it anyway for alternative micing methods.

5) Sounds like you have access to some good software already.

6) Take time to sit down and really learn your equipment. It is an ongoing process..Learn from the mistakes of others.

Hope this will help a little......
Take care
 
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