new studio start-up

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tsaint

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We are starting a new home studio and would appreciate any feedback/suggestions/comments on the following set-up.(We have a cap of around $3,000 to spend on entire set up and this is what we are thinking):

**Roland VS 1880(can fortunately get at close to cost--$1680)
**effects card to go with the unit (can get for $260)
**VSCDR2 (cd burner)--can get for $479
**drums mics --around $200
**57's--3 @ $75 ea.
**ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR VOCAL MIC?(good, yet affordable)
**ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR MONITORS? (what are really good yet economical powered monitors?)

We know we need direct box, headphones, headphone mixer, and a few more cables to fit into financial equation. Basically we have around $700 to get the remaining items (including the monitors and vocal mic). ** We also have the ability to get these items at a really great deal. ANy suggestions (especially on monitors) will be much appreciated!!
ALSO--HAVE WE FORGOTTEN ANYTHING??
 
Ug..... $700 left for a vocal mic AND powerd monitors???? not good....

A set of Event 20/20's(powerd) will almost cost ya that much. Mostly when it comes to monitor suggestions on this BBS.... thats whatcha will get. I have the Tannoy Reveal's myself and I love em. But go listen to them for youself, just bring your fav CD...U should read Dragons tips on the main homerecording.com page.

So... if U need a budget vocal mic, I'd recommend the Rode NT-1. For $199 US... U get one nice mic. And the NT-1 is another fav on this bbs...

so if U can get those 2 for around $700, good luck....
 
All of that recording equipment won't do you a bit of good if you don't spend a few extra $$$ on the best cables.
Trust me.... using cheap or medium-grade mic cables and guitar cords will make everything sound like shit.
Get yourself some Monster cables or something similar in quality.
Secondly... you're gonna need a good preamp for that condenser mic.

Sounds to me like you're gonna need to come up with another $500.00 more to complete the chain.
 
On the cable front-Buck62's advice is essential-I have always said this since I myself found the difference good cables make.

$3000 sounds quite a lot but it aint that much. I set up for around £3000 but there is still along list of items I wouldn't mind.

I ended up buying a Korg D-16. Once I compared this with other similar digital multitrackers I couldn't turn back. it is similar priced to the Roland but has the extra advantage of having the effects built-in, no need to buy an extra card. I would deffinatley recommend having a look and mess around with it (the only criticism I know of the device is that it is not the biggest-in my opinion that is a bonus-the more advanced hi-tec items become the smaller they generally become).

I bought a rode NT-1 with the help of this forum-I initially wanted to buy an AKG-C3000B mic but I think I made the right choice for vocals anyway.

The things you may have forgotten may be things like stands and A suitable recording environment-you may have to transform the walls etc.(Get back to me if you don't understand).

The only other thing I can say is that you need to put a lot of time into knowing how all the items work (takes a lot of the fun away buying in bulk (nice when you get one thing and spend hours learning about it or how to play it) depending on your level of experience of course.

sabith said that $700 might not be enough. On no circumstances should you spend the money your spending and not get all the right gear-it's like getting the shit cables. If you need to go over budget a little to get exactley what you want you should try and get the extra money. Buy buying items not up to standard your going to have to eventually buy better equipment. For this reason raising a couple more $$$ could even save you money in the long run.

Good luck-and have fun.
 
One thing I forgot. With concern to the CD burner. I don't actually know the capabilities of the Roland VS you might get but getting a CD writer that is compatible is essential. The price of CD-writers is and will continue to decrease. If your roland has a hard drive it may be a good idea to wait a little while to save on some money.

With me, finding one compatible (told 5 direct from Korg) this means that not only can I record to CD I can also send the data from the D-16 to CD, freeing up the space on the hard drive to record more onto and when I want any data back from old stuff I can recall it from the CD onto it's original 16 tracks.
 
CANARE cables are excellent.
If you know how to solder, making your own
can $ave you BIG TIME!! Switchcraft connectors are good.

As far as the VS-1880, I have heard a rumor
that the new 3.0 operating system update for
the VS-1680 will make it capable of 18-track
playback!

There is a company called MARKERTEK, and they are on the net http://www.markertek.com/.
They sell alot of stuff CHEAP, including
cables, acoustic foam (which you might need!) and just about everything else the
big music store chains sell, along with some high-end pro gear the others guys never heard of. (At least their salespeople, anyway.)

And about the CDR. The Roland drive is WAY over priced, but unfortunately, most other drives won't work with the VS workstations.
BUT, Roland doesn't make the drive.
PLEXTOR does. And that means you can save around $200 or so dollars by going with the PLEXTOR instead, which is 100% compatible.
I think the newest drive is a 12x4x32.
 
Have you considered going the computer route? How about the computer you are using right now? Is it yours? Is it powerful enough to use as a hard disk recorder? If so, you've got plenty of cash left to get what you need.
 
I bought the VS1680 Expanded. The 1880 has 18 tracks to record. The 1680 has 18 tracks incl 2 extra at mixdown. actually 16 +2. There is 256 virtual tracks though. The only other difference is 20bit verses 24 bit converters.
If you use a external higher end ad/da converter down the road than that doesn't matter anymore. I would save your bucks on getting a VS1680, still available then you will have the money left over. If you can get the 1880 for same price....well...
 
Think about a G4 and Pro Tools Digi 001
 
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