Please Help Me Choose My Setup!! I think you'll like my choices.

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abrahamstokley

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Well, I'm still open for more suggestions, but after Months and months of research, I think I've finally decided what my studio will be. Well, at least narrowed the choices. (It never ever ends)

By the way, if you know of something more professional, tell me. I'm willing to spend the money for the results! And, please don't give me the sob story about it's all about the know how. I realize this.

I'm very very serious about making pro quality sounding recordings. (When I say pro quality, what I mean is, IN THEORY, An engineer that knows exactly what he's doing could record a pro quality album with pro musicians with this sytem for the big boys, and all they'd have to do is have it mastered.)

I will also need a very good condensor mic(s) and dynamic mic(s)
I will need a very very good drum machine too, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.




Well, here's my first choice:

1. Pentium 4 2.2 Gigs 512 MB DDR Ram 80 Gig 7200 RPM HD with DIGI 002! Now, I was wondering, would quality and end result be any different if I went with a MAC, or does going with a Mac just offer more plugins?

2. Pentium 4 2.2 Gigs 512 MB DDR Ram 80 Gig 7200 RPM HD with a Roland 2480 HD!

3. Pentium 4 2.2 Gigs 512 MB DDR Ram 80 Gig 7200 RPM HD with a pro sound card, no DAW!


Which will get me the best PROFESSIONAL sound I can get? IN THEORY!


Thanks in advance so much

Abraham


P. S. , actually, I had another option, but I can't remember what it was. :( That's bad, isn't it. Anyway, I'll think of it sometime.
 
Your choices 1 and 3 seem ok. I couldn't quite understand choice no.2

I think the roland 2480 does not really require you to have a computer at all. All you need is a VGA monitor!

As for the condenser mics, I've been doing a lot of research and getting feedback from people. The best bet seems to be C1 from 'studio projects'. I use an M-audio 'audio buddy' mic pre.
 
Im using a Roland 2480 in conjunction with a pentium 4 1.8 GHZ (running Loic 5) and liaise the 2 by an Echo Layla 24 souncard! Works fine for me!Just got all this stuff! Its a dream to use!!

For a condensor mike!! Check out the Neumann TLM103 too!!

Cheers
G
 
PC or Mac... whatever you like. People argue for hours over this.
Software... again, whatever you like and whatever suits your needs. Check out Cubase, Logic, ProTools to start with.

You've listed 7200rpm hard drives. This is key. You've got tonnes of processing power and RAM. Really, you probably have more here than you really need.

For a pro sound, you have to consider WAY more than your computer specs though. The most important pieces, other than knowledge of how to use all the tools, are mics, mic pres, mixers (though you may well be using your software-based mixer, but a hardware one will be indispensable for various routing options....)

For a soundcard, check out RME Hammerfall, MOTU, and Apogee stuff. You'll pay for it, but you certainly don't want to scrimp here. I'm only using a Delta 44, which is a good card, but it was about 1/5 the cost of these others...

Hope that helps a little...
Chris
 
Yes, this helps.

Do you think the Digi 002 is any good? Will it give me a pro sound? I'm kind of leaning towards that, but I would go with the others for a more pro sound. (I know it will take some time, a lot of time to get a pro sound because I have to learn).

And also, Mic pres? Do some of those choices already have them, or do I have to get one? I don't mind getting one if that's what it takes. What's the best one?

The soundcard sounds good, too. Should I just pick one of the three options because you get the same results, or is there a clear winner?

Man, I'm sorry for asking so many questions. I know a lot about Dynamic mics, and won't have trouble finding one. But, Condensor mics I don't know about too well. I mean, I know what they're for and stuff, just don't know whats good and whats not. How can I check to see if one's good before I buy it? Does anyone have soundbytes?

And, of course, Monitors, but I already know what I want on them.



Thanks for all the help. You guys know too much about this stuff, It scares me!! :)
 
You can get decent results with all of those setups. Good advice from the other posters.

It's important that you decide what capabilities you need and go from there. You also need to decide if you want to have everything at once or start a simple high quality system that you can upgrade and add on to in the future.

So- What kind of music are you doing? Do you plan on marketing your services or is this exclusively for you at home? How many tracks total do you need? How many tracks do you need to record at once? Do you need portability? Do you have any existing gear? And most importantly how much do you want to spend?
 
If the Digi002 is anything like the Digi001, then yes, it is good. I'll leave that up to more who know about ProTools to elaborate more on that.

OF the three soundcards I listed as examples, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them - if you have the dough. Is there a clear-cut winner? I don't believe so.

Mics.... so MANY choices!! Deal with a store that will let you try them out. What should you try out, money not being an object? Go to websites of various pro-studios... what do they use? They'll likely have pretty extensive range of choices, but you'll start to see a lot of the same ones showing up, no matter where you go.... see U47/U87, etc. Some of those mics, though, will cost more than your computer!!

Good luck!
Chris
 
TexRoadkill, I want to start a simple high quality system that you can upgrade and add on to in the future.

I will be recording country and gospel music. I definitely plan to sell CD's off what I record (I would get them professionally mastered). I need 16 tracks at least. I don't think 8 would do it. I will pretty much, and as far as I know, be recording each instrument one by one, because I play all them instruments. I wouldn't record two at a time. I don't need portability, and don't want it if it demishes quality. As far as existing gear goes, just some dynamic mics and a pair of quality headphones (I want to get Monitors, no doubt, but since I will be building, I can get them a couple months down the road. Money isn't really a limit, because I want to be building til I get everything I need. I want a high quality system, and if I can't get it all at once, that's ok, as long as I get it. Actually, I plan on buying the computer and the DAW or soundcard first. That'll probably be it. Then, software, a condensor mic, mic pre, direct box, monitors, limiter/compressor, and drum machine.

Is that all I need? I can't think at the moment.

However, I don't know which brands to buy at all. I just want a high quality system that I will be able to upgrade as I learn more about what I'm doing.

Chris, that's great advice. There are many many music stores where I live (outside of Nashville). I'm sure they can hook me up with that. I've seen some $600-$700 ones in Musicians Friend. I don't know what price range they are. Is a $600-700 one a crappy-entry level, semi-pro, or pro?

I'm very inexperienced with mic pres. Are they all the same, do they do about the same job? same with direct boxes, limiter/compressors, and drum machine. I don't know what's good and what's not. I mean, I would if I had a side by side comparison, but I know you guys have used this stuff, and could help me out.

I'm definitely going to check that out about the store letting me try different ones. Very good advice.

All of you, good advice. Thanks. I hope this info can help you help me. :)
 
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