I think I want to set up a home studio when I get home from deployment. Also, I'm probably going to need a new computer soon. I might just get a desktop this time (and then a cheap netbook for going on the road).

I guess the first thing to figure out is Mac vs. PC. I've never owned a Mac, but I'm not really die-hard for either platform. They both have advantages and disadvantages. However, I don't play video games or anything...it's pretty much web browsing, emails, and playing mp3s.



Additionally, how much processing grunt and sound card capability do you need?

and is Garageband sufficient if I go the Mac route, or should I buy dedicated software?

[Edited on April 24, 2010 at 3:28 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2010 3:11:24 PM

what kind of recording are you going to do? just mic? instruments? production? mixing?

4/24/2010 3:57:31 PM

just get an mbox

4/24/2010 4:44:59 PM

What kind of recording are you going to want to do? Do you need the ability to record multiple things at once, or are you okay with doing things one at a time?

4/24/2010 4:58:30 PM

prob OK with doing things one at a time. don't have a band, and even if I did, I could get by without recording live (or upgrade later if I needed to).

^^^ I'll have instruments (guitars, sax, might buy an electric bass and/or small keyboard). I imagine that I'll mic my amp(s) for the guitar most of the time, rather than plugging straight in. I'll also have a vocal mic.

4/25/2010 1:02:14 AM

It's not my cash, but if it were I'd get started with something similar. And the mic's are probably mediocre at best - they'd be one of the first things I upgrade (but then you're talking $$$)

Lenovo B-series. Great looks, quad core power, JBL audio - without breaking the bank (all the other toys can probably be purchased for the price difference...)
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=84D910700B1F4651B05623426C68811F&tabname=Overview

Mackie mixer - Great because it's also rack mountable
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mackie-ProFX8-Professional-Compact-Mixer?sku=500316

M-Audio Basic Studio Package - Keep the speakers, replace the rest as necessary. Great starter kit either way.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/M-Audio-BX8a-Monitor-MXL-990-991-Recording-Microphone-Package?sku=582251

Cakewalk Audio Interface w/ Recording Software. I'd replace this with ProTools (the $100 starter version) when money allows. This box is the heat. Built in compression/limit/DI.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Cakewalk-UA25EX-USB-Audio-Interface?sku=243033

And, last but not least, ReadyNAS Duo. If you ain't backin' up you cra cra. You'll also need a spare HD to get that sucker to mirror. Cause I'm paranoid
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822122020

Total Damage? Just over $2K.

[Edited on April 25, 2010 at 2:36 . Reason : oh, and if you're considering garage band just use Audacity. My experience GB <<<< ProTools Starer.]

4/25/2010 2:35:25 AM

I wouldn't sweat Mac vs PC. Personally, I'd build my own box and try to keep it set up mostly for recording. I'd try to keep this PC multimedia only and make sure whatever you install on the box does not hog resources while sitting in the background. Try to build everything you are going to use around your DAW software; I'd research what interfaces work well with whichever software you're looking at. There's too many ways to go with this, but out of personal experience - Pro Tools, Pro Tools, Pro Tools.

Your mics are going to depend on what you'll be doing. SM-57s are pretty much must haves for their versatility, unless you have bank to drop on various mics. As far as a condenser mic goes - it's hard to get quality without paying for it. If you want to stay on the low end, for around $200 many like the Rode NT1A, and it's hard to argue with that for value.

I'd check with some of the home recording message boards and see what they say. While there are tons of different opinions on home recording hardware/software, there usually seems to be a general consensus on what to avoid.

I've recently been experimenting with Linux real-time recording builds. It's pretty amazing what's free these days, specifically a multi-track program named Ardour. http://ardour.org/

It's not on the same level as Pro Tools, but it resembles Pro Tools in a lot of ways. Personally, I like it better than a lot of programs (Cakewalk, Cubase, etc) and it's open source - which is amazing to me. This in combination with a real-time kernal (which cuts down on latency times) makes it at least worth taking a look at - if only for experimental purposes.

[Edited on April 25, 2010 at 9:09 . Reason : .]

4/25/2010 9:05:19 AM

Oh yeah, there's no reason to ever use be stuck with only Garage Band. (Ever use is kind of harsh, as it's not a bad application to mess around with).

If you go the Mac route, Ardour is also OS X compatible, free, and many times better/more versatile than GB and growing.

[Edited on April 25, 2010 at 9:31 . Reason : .]

4/25/2010 9:17:34 AM

shit, you can get a pro tools HD setup for under $2K..

there is a reason every studio uses pro tools. i'd personally make sure i had a digidesign product in there somewhere at the very least so you can run it.

[Edited on April 25, 2010 at 10:14 . Reason : asdf]

4/25/2010 10:06:37 AM

Quote :

"there is a reason every studio uses pro tools."

4/25/2010 10:48:37 AM

you're all retarded.

get any computer. get a cheap USB interface w/ a mic pre. get Reaper. get an SM57 or SM58.

then learn how to use them. seriously, that won't hold 99% of people back.

4/26/2010 11:16:16 PM

^Serious.

But if you decide to take everyone else's advice, do yourself a favor and buy some Gold-plated-platinum-soaked-titanium-wrapped Monster cables to hook everything up

4/26/2010 11:31:21 PM

Quote :

"get any computer. get a cheap USB interface w/ a mic pre. get Reaper. get an SM57 or SM58."

Ding ding ding! WINNAR.

4/27/2010 12:15:18 AM

hm. i'll have to get reaper

4/27/2010 1:50:53 AM

^^^ haha

^^, ^^^^ OK, so processor/bus speed, RAM, sound card capability will be adequate on pretty much any new-ish computer?

How does Reaper compare, capability and ease of use-wise, to ProTools, Logic Express, etc?

4/27/2010 3:02:47 PM

Knowing how to use what you have is so much more important than what you have, I simply can't overstate it.

A knowledgeable person with a 424 can make a better record than a weekend warrior with an entire Pro Tools setup who just read the manual.

4/27/2010 3:34:36 PM

Sure, that's the case with most things--being a gear whore doesn't directly equate with being any good. I've done all of my recording to date with a 4-track and cassette tapes.

That said, I'll figure out how to use it after I buy it--right now, I want to figure out what the best solution for me is in terms of gear. Saying that the carpenter is more important than the tools is no reason to go about selecting those tools haphazardly.

4/27/2010 3:40:00 PM

You don't want to have to buy things twice, if I were you I'd just get a nice mac desktop, logic and a small interface with pretty good mic pre's.

4/27/2010 6:08:36 PM

Absolutely, I'm looking to "buy well, buy once."

I can spend a thousand...I can spend a few thousand...I just want to (a) get good gear that will do a good job for me, and (b) not waste money...I know I don't need super high-end stuff.

4/28/2010 9:30:57 AM

Personally, i use Logic 9 on my Macbook Pro w/ a Presonus Firebox interface. Logic 9 is pretty awesome. it has all the tools, sounds, and samples i'd need for a lifetime. Its tempting to get tons for pirated software, but trying to keep myself in the Logic toolbox helps keeps thing semi-inline.

Of course i can't make anything worth a shit with it, but i try. between my roommate and I we have guitars, basses, Roland electronic drum kit, Korg R3 synth, some monitors... not bad. we should really do more with it. damn working all the damn time.

4/28/2010 10:05:43 PM

My band uses Reaper DAW for live tracking and mixing. We spent a lot of time with Pro Tools before switching over and Reaper is much less buggy and more intuitive. I have nothing bad to say about it.

I recommend M-audio soundcards for superior quality at a great price. I use an Audiophile 2496 (2 analog I/O) at home, my band uses a pair of Delta 1010 (10 I/O)for multi-tracking, but for your needs I'd recommend the either the 2496 or the Audiophile 192. Both have 2 analog I/O but the 192 is newer and samples at up to 192khz
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile192.html

You need a decent mic set. The mxl 990/991 is cheap (99new, less used) and you need to start off with some low grade mics anyways before moving up to the big dogs. sm57 is great for micing snares, toms, guitar/bass cabs and vox, but if you want to capture an acoustic guitar or cymbals you may find a cheap pair of condensers such as these do the trick better. On the other hand if you are just gonna jam on an electric through a tube amp use the 57 up close in that case.

Two other things you will need in this setup are preamps to power the mics and monitors to listen to playback. Get your preamps either from your mixer (which I cannot offer much advice on, just know that condenser mics require phantom power while sm57s do not) or you can get a cheap ART tubeMP preamp (mono) from guitar center for about 50 bucks. As for the monitors they usually start at 200 for a beginner pair but they will sound so much clearer than the speakers you are used to that you will love them regardless.

5/9/2010 11:42:15 AM

Also, I'm a total gear junkie and I check craigslist every day for music related deals. It would be possible to put a nice beginner setup together without stepping foot into guitar center. I'll keep an eye out for ya.

5/9/2010 11:47:13 AM

Not to derail the thread, but what is some good drum machine software that integrates easily with recording? I have Ableton 8 and have used and liked prior versions despite the retarded bugs. But a Casio keyboard from the 80's has better drum samples than ableton comes with. In fact, the samples are worse than ableton 6. I see they have an addon DVD of drum samples for like a $grand or something, but is that what I want, or is it just 100 different recordings of Ludwig snare hits?

I really just want to grab a quick rock beat riff, maybe tweak it a bit in the drum sequencer and go. Bonus if it comes with it's own slightly different variations for the bridges, verse, etc.

Edit: To be clear, Ableton 8's drum machine is the most powerful and realistic I've ever used. It can even swing and shuffle. I just don't have time to spend hours to create basic 4/4 rock beats from scratch. I'd be better off just renting studio time on a real kit.

[Edited on May 9, 2010 at 7:06 PM. Reason : .]

5/9/2010 7:02:36 PM

^
EZ Drummer?

5/9/2010 7:59:04 PM

^^it's a lot of work, but you can find good samples around on the internet

You can also get some decent sounds by just recording yourself tapping on random shit around the house.

5/9/2010 9:52:46 PM