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Home studio suggestions

terryoi	Date: December 23, 2005 @ 3:17 AM Ok, i'm confused.I tried to read other posts and forums but that didn't help a lot.So any help is really appreciated!That said, let's move on.I'm thinking of buying the following gear for my "home studio",but i'm in a tight budget, and so i need best value for the money.I'm going to record bass,guitar and vocals(not simultaneously) into my PC(w/SB Audigy2).Do u have any suggestions/alternatives to the following at about the same price range or do you think they're ok? Thanx in advance! Mixer : BEHRINGER UB1202 EURORACK Mics : BEHRINGER XM8500 or MXL 990 Condenser Microphone - for voice Mic preamp : Will the pres included in the mixer be any good?If not what about 'Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC200' , 'Presonus TUBEPre' , 'Studio Projects VTB-1' or 'M-Audio Audio Buddy' ? DI Box : BEHRINGER GI100 ULTRA-G - for bass&guitar.Or could i just use the preamp or mixer for the job? Is there an all-in-one(preamp,DI,compressor) solution istead of buying seperate(single) units for the same price?What about the Nady TMP-3? Compressor : Is it necessary(for vocals)?What about 'Alesis 3630' , 'BEHRINGER MDX1600 AUTOCOM PRO-XL' or 'Behringer MDX2600 Composer Pro-XL' Monitors : 'Behringer TRUTH B2030P' , 'Roland DM10' or 'Edirol MA-7A'??
Distilled1	Date: December 23, 2005 @ 3:27 AM 24 bit Tere will be lots of sugestions
imemine	Date: December 23, 2005 @ 2:24 PM It looks like you are trying to do all of this for around $500- $600? If that’s all the money that you have, then these Behringer products is what you have to get if you NEED to get it all at once but, keep in mind that all of this stuff is the lowest common denominator. It will do an ok job I guess but it simply”is what it is”. My suggestion would be to do it in increments so that you can afford to get something decent and continue to use for a while down the road. They are each slight jumps in price but I think that you would be a whole lot happier with once you own them. Start with a decent Mixer and Monitors. The rest you can use free plug-ins downloaded from the web until you can afford the other item’s listed. My recommendations for a budget studio. Keep in mind that these are “opinions” based on personal experience and research for my own personal use. Please do not attack me for having an “opinion”! Thank you. Mixer- Yamaha MG12/4 12-Channel Mixer $200 Mackie DFX12 12-Channel Mixer $250 The preamp sections for the money in these two are worth the price of admission alone. I own the Yamaha MG16/4. Mic- The MXL 990 Mic is decent for $50 and not a bad place to start. Forget the other one for recording voice in the studio. I personally own a Studio Projects C1 ($200) and it’s now become my favorite mic----I love it! NO, it’s not a Neumann U87 but it’s not $3000 either! ---You can get a Studio Projects B1 for $100 or less and it smokes the 990 IHMO! Tube Pre Amp— If you have a decent mixer you could wait on the Mic preamp but a good tube style mic preamp used properly will really warm up the sound that you get from any mic. Gotta love those 3rd order harmonic distortions!!! Again, I own the Studio Projects VTB-1 and I think it is awesome! 'Presonus TUBEPre is also very good for the money, (I’ve used it before) but it’s slightly more noisy and less flexible compared to the VTB-1. I really wouldn’t even use a preamp (IMO) if I were stuck with the Behringer that you have listed! (I’ve used this piece too) Save your money and use the preamp section of a better mixer. I don’t know anything about the M-Audio Audio Buddy piece but I have several M-Audio products and they make quality goods! DI box- I don’t think that you need it. Get a free plugin that does the amp modeling and I bet you’ll get roughly the same results going directly into your mixer. Or save your money and get a POD or something. Actually, the Behringer POD knock off I hear good things about. Compressor- I’d forget about those Compressors listed up there and go right for the FMR RNC1773!!!!! $199. I own one and it stomps anything I have ever used for the money. ….and I tried a bunch of them. Just read around the net about this thing, It is really good! It’s no Urei LA3A but it’s not $2500 for a used one either. Monitors- Don’t skimp on monitors---None that you have listed are all the accurate and that’s truly what you need in a monitor! The TRUTH B2030P’s aren’t bad but they’re not powered like the other two that you have listed. I suppose that they would work if you have a good sounding amplifier. Monitors are a very personal choice so find something that you like, LEARN their weaknesses (most have them) and mix accordingly. Good luck! I hope this helps. Now all I have to do is find a place where I can buy some talent!
woodhead	Date: December 23, 2005 @ 6:21 PM Imemine has the answers for you and I agge with what he is saying. YOu can always start you home studio the way I started mine, and that is with lower end gear, but in the end you will want to upgrade. As for a board I would suggest ebay but also beware of what you are buying. I bought my MAckie 1604 om Ebay for 200.00 and I am very pleased with it. I have a bearinger that I bought a while back and it does not have enough control for recording IMO and it is a little flaky. Mackie is good, Yamaha is good, or any other "pro" quality mixer is great but make sure the mixer has insert options. And like Imemine these are my personal likes. As for Mics depends on what you are going to do. I have the AKG c3000b condensor for vocals but I have also used shure 58 as well, depends on app. I would suggest a condesor but you also have to remeber that a decent one will use phantom power and you need to make sure that your board has this feature ( most do) For Instruments depends on your app as well. I prefer the Sennhieser E609 for Guitars, but if you are going to record your self you can always get a pod or there is software that simulates Cabs. Bass; run direct in to your board, you wont need a DI box for this but that is my opinion, I use DI boxes but mostly for live apps. Compressor for vocals this is an option that you can decide, if you dont "push real hard when you sing or you sing evenly you could actually get away with out it in the prestage and then use a plugin in the post stage, I used to do this and it works you just need to monitor you levels coming in and find a happy medium. But yes I do use a compressor in the pre stages now but I bought mine after I had every thing I needed first to be functional. Near Fields (monitors) these are really important and there ae a lot of brands out there, and it is up to your ears what you use, Imemine is right where they all have thier faults and the best advice I can give here is making sure that they have a Flat response, any true near field wil be flat and even cheap ones are better then using home stereo speaker.
hueseph	Date: December 23, 2005 @ 11:10 PM Ditch the soundblaster crap and get a decent inerface first. That is the weakest link.
terryoi	Date: January 5, 2006 @ 3:03 AM Thank you for replying.I have decided that i only need these: MIXER : YAMAHA MG 12/4 DI Box : BEHRINGER GI100 ULTRA-G (with cab simulation) Microphone : MXL 990 But i'm still not sure if i need a DI box or not.Actually i won't use an amp(i don't own one),instead i will just use software(Guitar Rig or similar).So do u think i really need one or there won't be any (audible) difference?
hueseph	Date: January 5, 2006 @ 4:00 AM You need a mixer with +48v phantom power to use the MXL 990.
psypig	Date: January 5, 2006 @ 4:31 AM I think the soundcraft Compact range (compact4, compact10) are vaery good for home recording. Good quality mic preamps, phantom power, di circuit built in, inserts, nice eq on every channel, 2 headphone sockets and easy routing for recording and monitoring. I agree about the soundcard. soundblasters make baby jeebus cry. get something by M-audio or E-mu or something like that (i.e. something designed for recording) And (IMO) you should try and have as little to do with behringer as possible (unless you like the sound of hissing)
Veracohr	Date: January 9, 2006 @ 1:35 PM My suggestion: stay away from both Behringer and MXL. Worthless pieces of crap all around.
tribalproduc...	Date: January 10, 2006 @ 10:02 AM NOOOOOOOOOOOOO get this The E-MU 1820M features: Mastering grade 24-bit/192kHz converters - the same A/D converters used in Digidesign's flagship ProTools HD 192 I/O Interface delivering an amazing 120dB signal-to-noise ratio Hardware-accelerated effects - over 600 standalone and E-MU Power FX VST plug-in effects with no CPU overhead PatchMix™ DSP zero-latency hardware mixing and monitoring - with super-flexible patchbay - no external mixer needed Comprehensive analog and digital I/O plus MIDI and sync - 18 inputs and 20 outputs, two sets of MIDI I/O, Word Clock, SMPTE and MTC Sync, plus FireWire port Two TFPro™ studio-grade preamps with Mic/Line inputs via Neutrik connectors, 48V phantom power and 40dB of gain - plug microphones, guitars and keyboards straight into your system Compatibility with most popular audio/sequencer applications - ultra-low latency 24-bit/192kHz ASIO 2.0 and Stereo WDM drivers E-MU Production Tools Software Bundle - includes Cakewalk SONAR LE, Steinberg Cubase LE and Wavelab Lite, Ableton Live Lite 4 for E-MU, IK Multimedia AmpliTube LE and T-RackS EQ, Minnetonka diskWelder BRONZE, SFX Machine LT, plus E-MU's Proteus X LE Desktop Sound Module - everything you need to create, record, edit, master and burn is in the box shop on e-bay and you just might find it cheaper also get the Rode NT-1a also on e-bay you will have a really great start out studio if you want more info on taht soundcard here is the link to the site http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?category=505&subcategory=491&product=9871 and try to price shop first if you need cheap programs then I no where to get them just drop a msg
MitchWillis	Date: January 15, 2006 @ 6:42 AM Software & Interface - Mbox2 Mixer - MG12/4 or A&H MixWizard Mics - SM57 or SENN E609, CAD M9 or CAD 179 DI - Radial line.(If you arent using the line ins on your mixer. Compressor - FMR RNC. You might want to think about getting a limiter maybe. Monitors - Personal choice, as noted dont cut corners with your monitors, you need to be able to hear whats actually being recorded properly and also in mixing you need monitors you can work with well so your mixes will translate well on other systems. Get into the habit of cheaking your mixes on a boom box or in the car etc. Good luck with your purchases, and get recording!
hueseph	Date: January 16, 2006 @ 1:15 AM Read some of the reviews on zzsounds. When I say read some of them, I mean, you should read all of the reviews. There are plenty of oohs and ahs but when you read some of the more experienced recordists, there are qualms that are enlightening to say the least.
hueseph	Date: January 16, 2006 @ 1:15 AM Uh that was regarding the EMU 1820

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