Recommendations????

[Soulja]

I want some recommendations on gear to buy. I currently have a fast PC(3.4 gig, 2mb ram, 200gb HD). I think I want to go with a Reason and Pro Tools(or cubase) setup. I want a great sounding setup to record vocals and to start making beats. I've worked with Pro tools and Cubase, but I only know the basics. I'm a quick learner and my local community college offers music Tech. classes(Midi,, advanced midi, signal processing, recording with pro tools, drum programing, and audio engineering) that I plan to take this coming spring.

What I want to know from you guys is what can of setup up do you recommend on a budget of $3-4000. To go with my Pc and the named software. Really my main focus in the begining would be recording vocals with people I've been meeting that already have music, but I would also like to get into beats.

Thanks,
Soulja

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Well i would say go buy yourself a nice mic, pre-amp, compressor,mixer and build a little booth (If you want to record vocals). You should still have a nice amount of change left over to go and cop reason and cubase or pro-tools.. There is alot to do with 3-4000 so i would suggest just doin some shoppin and research... But, i think you will have a fat set-up in the end man... What kind of soundcard do u have?

 

[SupaStar]

How bout some brand names of the equipment y'all would recommend for soulja?

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Well, I rock a PreSonus Tube pre-amp ( http://www.musiciansbuy.com/mb/item.asp?ic=TUBEPRE ).. dbx 266xl compressor ( http://www.zzounds.com/item--DBX266XL ) They are both real affordable and they are real dope... As far as mic's i would say check around here ( http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/d=tp?q=Condenser+Mic ) that should give you a good idea... For a soundcard, i would say just look around try brands like E-MU (kinda pricey but well worth it) or M-audio (very affordable and stunning quality)... Of course there are lot's of other brands but i am really not that familiar with them... Hope this kinda gave you an idea though man... If u got any questions feel free to ask... I can send you some example tracks from a studio down the street that uses that pre-amp and compressor with an m-audio delta soundcard... Real affordable and real dope quality, pm me if you want to hear some joints...

 

[G-French]

I think the most important thing if you are going to be use your computer to record, will be your sound card. If you are going with Pro Tool it already will have a sound card like the M-Box. After you get a good sound card, you should get a nice pair of monitors. Some people say they use some good headsets up if you can I would start will the speakers. I seem to get tired faster with headsets.

 

[Architect]

I would agree with G. French on one of his points, THE MOST IMPORTANT piece in the digital home PC studio is the Monitors and then the Soundcard, because basically you have to hear what you are doing accurately and the sounds have to be processed through a farely good soundcard for recording. Once you have nailed down a good pair of Studio Monitors and a good Soundcard the rest is history, what good is Pro Tools/Reason or any other popular audio applications if you have a shitty pair of speakers and your mixes sound like crap, meaning they won't translate well on any other system. You mentioned you wanted a "great sounding setup", well your ears and your ability to hear whats being played accurately are some of the most important factors to answer your question. Once you got that covered decide on what tools you wish to use for recording/creating/etc.

check these out:

Monitors:

http://www.event1.com/Products/Products.html
Events (I use the TR5's they are accurate and clear, except for very deep bass tones you'll need a sub)

Mackie (highly regarded as being very good in the studio, lots of pros use them, check out HR824)
http://www.mackie.com/products/hr824/index.html

Yamaha NS10's (Highly regarded around the world, I don't think they're made anymore, check ebay or something similar if you really want something that the pros are using)

Tannoy http://www.tannoyna.com/professional/index.html
The make good monitors as well
**************************************************************************
Soundcards:
RME (To me these soundcards are fabulous, check out website for further info, you won't be sorry if you buy one of these cards)
http://www.rme-audio.com/english/index.htm

M-Audio (Very well liked affordable soundcards, also they sound good)
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces

Motu (these cards sound excellent, very good on the Mac platform, also pretty affordable)
http://www.motu.com/

 

[light]

dont buy a soundcard if your going to buy pro tools.
it will come with its own interface.
I would recomend Protools over cubase because most big studios will run protools
take into account when your pricing things out that with cubase you will need a sound card and with pro tools you wont.

now for the important stuff.
you must decide now how many inputs you are going to need into your computer.
if you are getting sound from devices that have stereo out then you will only need stereo in. for just vocals and turntables for samling.
if you are wanting anything more than that you will need more ins. a fully equipt MPC will have 8 outputs for example. so you will want a sound interface with 8 ins. or else you will have all your samples jammed into stereo. if you think you might want to record drums then you will want to have more inputs.
I have a soundcard that has stereo in m-audio audiophille 24/96 which rocks and is very cheap. but i now record some beats with a live band and im screwed. so keep that in mind.
and if your buying a mixing board you will want to run that fictional MPC thru your mixer with 8 ins and 8 effects sends and 8 outs. or you might not need all that.
best thing to do is decide what exactly you want to have, and (very important) what you will want to fufill your needs in any future gear purchaces you migt make along the way.
then go talk to the guy at your local music store. you live in st louis so theres gotta be tons. go to at least 5 if you can find them. get all the ideas. bring paper, take notes. then come back to your internet and read reviews and specs of all the gear you found out info on.
then Draw your studio on paper. not the layout of your room but the wiring diagram. may sound complicated but your going to school for that stuff so im assuming your apt enough to do that. most in music production are usually a little smarter then the rest.
with your drawing you can see that you wont run into any input output difficulties, you also will be able to create a list of the cabling you will need as well.
remember your sound is only as good as your weakest link.
go here http://www.long-mcquade.com/index.asp?section=5&level2=5&level3=9&id=38 and configure your pc properly.
buy good cables

back to what you want. just vocals? then you will only need stereo in, a good mic and pre amp.
you have a great budget for that, seeing that you already have your PC.
i bet after those classes you are going to take you will want more so dont limit yourself.