Studio and equipment total cost = Less then 1 grand (anybody besides me?)

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shackrock

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I was just wondering...i see all these pictures on this board of people's studios that are in very nice rooms, or speciality built rooms, etc. They have at least 1 of everything any pro-studio would have, just maybe a worse brand, or they bought it used..etc.

well - does anyone here have a stuio that consists of a total cost of less then 1000 bucks besides me? Mine is made of carpet from people who were going to trash it - mics wherever i could get them, some bought new - an old P2 266 computer, with some added RAM to make it run - monitors and reciever that were practically "hand built" by a friend of mine - old "to be thrown out" copmuter desk - $100 behringer mixer - plenty of cheap DIY mic stands - in a big disgusting basement - and lots of love.

ha.. just wondering if anyone DID have aynthing like this on the board, besides me (i know one person...i think vurt?....had one like me from the looks of it at least).

i can post some new pics later.
 
Well if it has love that's all that matters :D. Keep in mind cheap equipment can sometimes force creativity.
 
sounds cool to me. I'm sure there are many others who have a similar setup. ;)

cheers
john
 
I was just wondering...i see all these pictures on this board of people's studios that are in very nice rooms, or speciality built rooms, etc. They have at least 1 of everything any pro-studio would have, just maybe a worse brand, or they bought it used..etc.
Click to expand...

Of course.

My "studio" started in 1984 with a tascam 244, 49.95 radio shack microphone (with the shure name on it) and a box of chrome cassettes. The 244 was purchased as a demo for about $650 I think. This served my band at the time VERY well.

The drummer bought drum after drum used (as well as scarfing some from the HS we attended, but lets not go there) and fixed them up himself. Our vocalist sang through the above mic through a used broken down Peavey head he bought for $25. The "cab" was a homemade plywood box with two 15" instrument speakers from radio shack. its amazing what ya can build out with deck screws when you are dirt poor.

Anyway, my point is this - the majority of us started our "studios" in a similar DIY fashion as yourself. There's nothing wrong with it at all, as often the minimalist approach forces creativity (as HokyPokyNose stated above).

If you look at my "gear list" you'll see I've bought a ton of gear. But also look at what I have... other than the TC Helicon Vocal Prism 95% of the items were bought used. Even though I will be renting my studio out for demos and such, I *still* made my own racks, tables, etc. Its amazing what black paint can cover :)

Eeeek, did I just say the success of an inexpensive studio is based on deck screws and black paint? oh my.
 
I started the same way as Frederic years ago...........

I don't miss it! ;)


Bruce
 
Yeah.. Thats just your run of the mill home recording set up... I have a few friends that get decent sounds for less than a grand..

But to make a product anywhere close to commercial releasable, you have to delve into the post $1000 area...

I don't mean $100,000 but a bit more.....

In actual stuff that I use, I have about $5000 CAN$ in my studio...


If I add in all the stuff I don't use like fancy modules and mixers and keyboards, I probably have about $40,000



A fun list for us to do, would be for everyone to add up there equipment assests, and then figure out how much is actually essential...

If anyones like me.. Half the stuff in your studio could get stolen and you won't even notice it, except that there wouldn't be anything to collec tthe dust :D
 
studio

Well,... my "studio" cost a little bit over $3,000,.......I'm only 15 years old, so you can probably see why,......

I have:

Behringer Eurorack 2004A (mixer)(...got it for $200 brand new
because MusiciansFriend screwed up my order right before
Christmas!)

Tascam MF-P01 (tape recorder) ($99)

Boss BR-8 (digital recorder) ($550) (got a good deal at Guitar
Center)

450mgz computer(priceless)

SoundBlaster! soundcard with software ($99)

mic stands, pop filter, microphones ($250-$300)

Yamaha Keyboard ($225)

Casio keyboard ($15)

Fender frontman amp (priceless)

Kramer Guitar & 15W amp package ($160)

Schecter 006 Elite ($625)

Gremlin Acoustic & Mark II Acouctic ($250)

Ephiphone Les Paul Special ($99) (Guitar Center "Blowout!" price)

Crate Stack ($825) (for my garage band)

Drum Machine ($100)

Drum Set & bass amp thats not mine that is in my garage right now (priceless) lol

and i got a few recievers and a p.a for my band but i dont feel like getting into all that crap

I'm gonna get a picture of all this shit if you guys dont believe me as soon as my brother gets back from Mertle Beach(spring break) with my moms digital camera.


but until then,..... peace


-J
 
i see - i'm 16, with a job..but i cant seem to get myself THAT kind of money...ha

amps, instruments are all my friend's stuff - nice drum set is mine that i saved enough up for a few years back.

but yeah - so maybe sometime i'll upgrade myself. I am definately pretty happy with the sound i can get out of it all though, as are all the bands that have recorded with me.
 
I'm the same age as you Shackrock. And what it takes is lots o time and patience to get equipment. I saved more than 6 months and it took over a year to get my Mackie 1604. In showing my parents that I'm totally serious the offered some help, but I know that unfortunately that's not every case. Nothing is out of reach within reason. It just takes lots of time and saying no to things like cars, girls(I really don't have too much of a choice there :(), and CD's like I have.

It takes alot of waiting but once I got all the basics things started to become easier. Not too long ago I was able to buy my first CD since I bought Radiohead's Amnesiac back in June(I bought Kid A mid January)!

For about two years I was recording guitars direct into my live platinum, and singing vocals into a radioshack mic. I used loops that I got from Acid Music 2 that I got when guitar center had a rebate offer to get it for free. Toward august last year I took a break in my saving for my 1604 to buy a crown pzm. So before the end of my toiling of saving my setup was about 300 dollars(not counting guitars and such).
 
shackrock said:
i see - i'm 16, with a job..but i cant seem to get myself THAT kind of money...ha

amps, instruments are all my friend's stuff - nice drum set is mine that i saved enough up for a few years back.

but yeah - so maybe sometime i'll upgrade myself. I am definately pretty happy with the sound i can get out of it all though, as are all the bands that have recorded with me.
Click to expand...

Been there done that. Totally understand.

Consider one of those smaller digital recording all-in-0ne units. Tascam, Roland and Fostex have them. Whether hard disk or MD, you can get a really good recording for under a grand. That and some blankets on the wall and you have a more than tolerable studio in which to record.
 
If I add in all the stuff I don't use like fancy modules and mixers and keyboards, I probably have about $40,000
Click to expand...

thats about the ballpark that I'm in, and its overkill. Trust me, I use a lot of it, but its overkill. I have a fetish for collecting old gear :)

A fun list for us to do, would be for everyone to add up there equipment assests, and then figure out how much is actually essential...
Click to expand...

I'll post it in a little bit, I actually have a spreadsheet somewhere.
 
eeeek!

Total Studio Investment " $71,045.92 "


Recording Gear
4 TM-D4000 Digital Mixer " $2,000.00 " " $8,000.00 "
6 TM-D1000 Digital Mixer $500.00 " $3,000.00 "
2 Akai DR16 Recorders " $2,000.00 " " $4,000.00 "
2 Akai DR-8 Recorders " $1,500.00 " " $3,000.00 "
2 Motu 2408 MKI $600.00 " $1,200.00 "
1 JC Cooper Cuepoint $200.00 $200.00
1 Phillips CDR Recorder (2u) $275.00 $275.00
1 Tascam 202MKII $275.00 $275.00
1 Onkyo Deck $75.00 $75.00
1 Akai HX101A $100.00 $100.00
1 Kodak CD Duplicator " $4,500.00 " " $4,500.00 "
1 Epson CD Printer " $1,100.00 " " $1,100.00 "
1 Cabling $300.00 $300.00
" $26,025.00 "

Monitoring & Environment Gear
1 Samson MPL2242 $350.00 $350.00
3 Alesis RA-100 Amp $200.00 $600.00
4 Aiwa Monitor $100.00 $400.00
8 Vifa Woofers for above $70.00 $560.00
4 Crossovers for above $27.00 $108.00
1 Oz HR4 Headphone Amp $250.00 $250.00
1 Motu 7-S $100.00 $100.00
1 Akai FM Radio (1u) $90.00 $90.00
1 Cabling $300.00 $300.00
" $2,758.00 "

Cabling & Infrastructure
6 ADC 144 TT Patch Bays $110.00 $660.00
3 ADC 96 qtr Patch Bays $110.00 $330.00
750 Mogami 24-pr TRS cable $6.50 " $4,875.00 "
288 "1/4"" TRS Phone Plugs" $2.35 $676.80
288 TT TRS Phone Plugs $4.19 " $1,206.72 "
576 Mogami TRS Cable $2.15 " $1,238.40 "
1 Electrical $750.00 $750.00
1 Lighting $250.00 $250.00
1 Air Conditioning (Window) $225.00 $225.00
" $10,211.92 "

Drum Machines
1 Akai XE8 $200.00 $200.00
1 Alesis D4 $300.00 $300.00
1 Kawai R-100 $600.00 $600.00
1 EMU Procussion $600.00 $600.00
2 Simmons 5-pc Kits " $1,500.00 " " $3,000.00 "
2 Roland Octapad $500.00 " $1,000.00 "
1 Roland PM-16 $475.00 $475.00
6 Dutz Pads $55.00 $330.00
1 Cabling $300.00 $300.00
" $6,805.00 "

Computers & Technology
4 "17"" LCD" $599.00 " $2,396.00 "
1 Nvidia Quadro VGA $750.00 $750.00
1 Belkin 8-port KVM $450.00 $450.00
1 4U Pentium II 400 " $1,500.00 " " $1,500.00 "
1 HP 4L Printer $250.00 $250.00
1 Cabling $175.00 $175.00
" $5,521.00 "

Keyboards/Synthesizers
1 Roland D50 " $1,100.00 " " $1,100.00 "
1 Roland D10 $875.00 $875.00
1 Fender Chroma Polaris $750.00 $750.00
1 Yamaha PF85 " $1,795.00 " " $1,795.00 "
1 Midiman 3-octave Controller $90.00 $90.00
1 Rhodes 88-key Electric Piano " $1,700.00 " " $1,700.00 "
" $6,310.00 "

Modules/Voices
1 Yamaha MU90R $700.00 $700.00
2 Yamaha FB-01 $400.00 $800.00
1 Yamaha TG77 $330.00 $330.00
1 Yamaha TG55 (2) $275.00 $275.00
1 Roland SC880 $400.00 $400.00
1 Roland M-DC1 $550.00 $550.00
1 Roland MT32 $350.00 $350.00
1 Casio VZ8M $275.00 $275.00
1 Casio VZ10M $290.00 $290.00
1 Kawai PX1000 $250.00 $250.00
1 Korg Triton Rack " $2,250.00 " " $2,250.00 "
1 Korg EX800 $175.00 $175.00
1 Peavey Spectrum Bass $125.00 $125.00
" $6,770.00 "

Samplers
1 Roland MKS-100 $400.00 $400.00
1 Roland S-550 $600.00 $600.00
2 Akai S-700 $220.00 $440.00
" $1,440.00 "

Outboards
1 Alesis Quadraverb II $200.00 $200.00
1 Alesis Midiverb II $150.00 $150.00
1 Alesis Microverb II $100.00 $100.00
2 Art FXR Elite $200.00 $400.00
1 Behringer Composer Pro $150.00 $150.00
1 Behringer Virtualizer Pro $200.00 $200.00
1 Chandler Tube Overdrive $275.00 $275.00
1 Roland VP70 $275.00 $275.00
1 Ross DPX Mainframe $300.00 $300.00
1 Ross RX15s Equalizer $65.00 $65.00
2 Symetrix 488 $250.00 $500.00
2 Yamaha R100 $80.00 $160.00
1 Zoom Effects Processor $35.00 $35.00
1 TC Helicon Vocal Prism " $1,795.00 " " $1,795.00 "
1 Pod Pro Rackmount $600.00 $600.00
" $5,205.00 "
 
yeah i was thinking about something like an "all in one" thing, or a mic package..etc.

but i found that i could get better deals buying it my own way - not to mention my money came in spurts, so i bought what i could, when i could!

but like i said i AM happy with the sound that i'm getting - as is everyone else. I'm just glad this forum has been here to answer most of my questions... seriosuly if i woudl have never came upon this place, i think my recording would STILL sound how they did when i used a tie clip mic on my laptops cheap mic in!

nice to hear most people started out like me, or still are! haha.
 
Frederic,
Are you telling me you own 10 freckin digital mixers and not 1 microphone? WTF??!! :D
 
I'm 15...record mostly ideas for songs...but would like to start tracking more drums and stuff. I honestly can't say I have spent under $1000...but my studio is more comprised of gear i have accumulated over the last four years...

first i got my drumset about 4.5 years ago...$3000
i got my keyboard - $1000
then computer - $2000
then stereo I now use for monitoring - $800

these prices are canadian my the way...

the most recent large purchase would audiophile and my Mackie 1202 from 2 years ago...and my shure sm57


so I almost have 8 grand packed away down here...but don't forget, most of that is instruments
 
I guess this has turned into a gear showoff fest so here I go:

Mackie 1604vlzPro-800ish brand spanking new from the store
Delta 1010lt-380
2x sm57-140
2x Behringer ECM8000s-60
s.e. electronics SE1000-free
RadioSmack that sounds better than it should-40?
P4 1.6Ghz-1050w/monitor
Bose speakers that are more accurate than they should be-200ish
Sony Reciever-so old it's worth nothing
Sony CD player-100
Fisher tape deck-50ish?
Hohner guitar-350(worth 1000+!)
Ibanez accoustic-300ish
Hughes and Kettner amp-350
Kaysound Midi controller-100

That comes out to oh, what? Like 3700 or something like that? This is in American bucks.
 
scodu said:
Frederic,
Are you telling me you own 10 freckin digital mixers and not 1 microphone? WTF??!! :D
Click to expand...

Oh, I have a bunch of microphones. When I cut and paste the list I guess I didn't move my mouse far enough. Sorry about that.

Microhpones
(12) Samson R11's (used as drum/instrument mics mostly, they were cheap and can be bounced around)
(1) Rode NT2
(1) Sure SM57
(1) Marshall MXL-1000
(1) Marshall MXL-1007
(2) Crown PZM Mic
(1) AT3525
(1) AKG C4000
 
scodu said:
Frederic,
Are you telling me you own 10 freckin digital mixers and not 1 microphone? WTF??!! :D
Click to expand...

Actually I have a lot of other stuff, just that for whatever reason, it was never entered into the "Inventory Spreadsheet". I am definately not good at keeping track of everything. We;ve tried foxpro, MS Access, pro studio software, and finally just want back to an excel spreadsheet.

hey, it came with the pc :)
 
My first setup in 88 was a portastudio and an EV257 mic. Then I got into sequencing with my M1 and a Mackie 1202, NS10M's, Sony Casette deck.

This is my comeback to "home" recording now so I got the Roland Studio Pack. For $700 It's pretty awesome for the price compared to what that used to get you.
 
frederic said:

Microhpones
(12) Samson R11's (used as drum/instrument mics mostly, they were cheap and can be bounced around)
Click to expand...

12? jeezus!! what are those things used for? lemme buy some...or get some for free! HA!
 
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