What Equipment would you buy with $2000?

[BlackSquire]

Hey Everyone!

First off, sorry if I'm in the wrong forum section! hopefully not!

I recently won a nation award for music which includes prize money of $2000.
I can use this money for anything I like but I was thinking of using it to improve my home studio. I'm not sure what to get tho! Here's what I have:
-A nice desktop computer
-Cubase LE5, Addictive drums.
-Roland electric drums
-Tascam US200 audio interface
-RODE M3 microphone & Shure PG58
-Roland 80X guitar amp
-Audio technica ATH-M50 headphones
-Plenty of guitars
and thats all I can think of..

I'm in a tiny room so anything that takes up huge space is out of the question but other then that, any suggestions?

I'm currently not in a band but I'm working on a 'one man band' recording project. I listen to Rock music.

Thanks for your help!

 

[JimmyS1969]

I would love to tell you to buy a shiny piece of gear, but you already have some of that.

Room treatment would be my recommendation. Then a decent set of monitors. Then you can measure the quality of your room. Then, when the measurements tell you that there are still bad issues, you can add even more room treatment. Apply, lather, rinse, repeat.

Especially in a small room, treating the issues that is will present, should be your first priority. If you decide not to take this advice, then down the road, you will be unhappily bitching about why nothing sounds good, all the while blaming your gear. Trust me, I have been there.

Treat your room first. Or, lather, rinse repeat, Treat your room......

Or don't. lol!

 

[BlackSquire]

hahahha yeah, thanks for your advice man. I didn't even think of that! I've got no acoustic treatment what so ever! so I think it will be something I'll into!

 

[grimtraveller]

Room treatment would be my recommendation. Then a decent set of monitors.

Listen to the Jim ! He wasn't born in 1969 for nothing. Do you think it's mere coincidence that Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis and King Crimson all released their first LPs and the Beatles their last and man landed on the moon that year ?

 

[BlackSquire]

haha!!
yeah I think that's what I'll end up doing!
It didnt even enter my mind!
Thanks Jim.

 

[JimmyS1969]

Listen to the Jim ! He wasn't born in 1969 for nothing. Do you think it's mere coincidence that Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis and King Crimson all released their first LPs and the Beatles their last and man landed on the moon that year ?

LMAO! Wow, I never thought I would ever be referred to in third person by another person. What does that even mean? lol!

It was however, a really good year for stuff.

 

[grimtraveller]

It was however, a really good year for stuff.

It certainly was. My little brother was born in May, the greatest day of my life {all I wanted in those days with 2 sisters was a brother} and my family moved from Birmingham to London which wasn't that great initially but retrospectively was. I also developed a fear of swimming and water that took me 8 years to shed ! Had a great 6th birthday party too and a girlfriend from Barbados called Yvonne that had seriously buck teeth !!
Sweet memories, flashing very quickly by.....


Sorry for the nostalgic sidetrack Blacksquire and congrats on your award.

 

[Bobbsy]

Yeah, 1969 was very special. I was in my last year of high school, dated the beautiful Valerie Pedersen and had my first, er, sexual experiences!

Now that I've told you too much, onto the gear.

Yeah, room treatment is always a good idea and if it's at all feasible, go for it.

On the gear front, I'd probably improve the interface. There's nothing wrong with the Tascam for the money but there are better sounding ones with more features out there. Depending on the inputs and outputs you need, maybe something by RME or MOTU?

And microphones. I'm a microphone junkie and would certainly put some money in that direction, maybe a nice LDC and an improvement on the PG58. Although I like most Rode mics, I've always found the M3 pretty woolly and lacking in clarity. Exactly what mics to look at depend on what you mainly do and the sound you want but I suspect there will be a lot of suggestions once you provide some more details.

Finally, you don't mention monitors. If you don't have decent ones, that could eat up most of your budget!

 

[Massive Master]

And get the RIGHT room treatment -- No foam and goofy stuff. Thick (at least 4") broadband traps, plenty of 'em. A dozen is usually a decent starting point for a typical room. GIK, RealTraps, even if you DIY, there's far too much benefit and zero downside.

I didn't see a monitoring chain in that list... That would be the other half of the most important part of your entire rig (the monitoring chain and the room). I'm assuming you're using something but if that's an obvious place to upgrade...

 

[Seeker of Rock]

What are the rough dimensions of your room, btw? You said you are using digital drums so you aren't planning on tracking a live kit, right? What do you plan to track in your room with mics...just vox and guitar (assuming a d.i. bass)?

 

[Seeker of Rock]

Oh yeah, I forgot to say congratulations on winning the contest!

 

[JimmyS1969]

A solid pair of studio monitors. That's for your interface's digital output, then a pair of analog speakers with a good bass woofer along with an amp for the speakers. That'll bring you music to life.

What? Hello there new spambot member. Let's see how good you are....

Tell us something really rediculous next.

 

[Chili]

First off, sorry if I'm in the wrong forum section! hopefully not!

I've got no acoustic treatment what so ever!

Guess you posted in the right forum after all.

But acoustic treatment doesn't have to be expensive, not $2000 bucks worth, especially if you have any kind of DIY sense. Small rooms need lots of bass trappings and you can buy and build them yourself for a few hundred dollars. Search/Browse through this forum and you should see some threads on how to treat your room properly. Might have to go back a bit.

 

[blacktino79]

Pro Tools, Kontakt, Nexus, V-Drums