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I have seen that many studios have a variety of gear to choose from. As far as my home studio goes... I have a really good bass rig (ampeg, rocktron etc) but nothing else. I need some advice, if i I should save for something like Tama Rockstar with zildjian cymbals, and may be some guitar equipment. I don't want to buy 4x12 cab, cause it is really for stage and will take up a lot of space in storage, what should I get, should I get anything?

EDIT -> Maybe something like Fender Frontman 212R
EDIT --> Cause later I can wire it so that I can use a different head with it.

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Cucco Sun, 12/09/2007 - 12:21

One piece of advice - avoid good cymbals.

If the drummers you want to record can bring their own, good. Otherwise, the sh*tty drummers that like to bang the crap out of them will kill your $200 Zildjian A's! (Been there, done this).

For my studio, I use Sabian B8s. They're a little less elegant than trash can lids. If the drummer brings their own cymbals, the reward is that they don't have to hear or use the B8s. If they DON'T, this means they're probably a crappy drummer any way and the B8s are perfect for them!

Just tell your drummers in advance to bring their own cymbals or beware the wrath of the B8.

Also - don't worry about keeping too many sticks on site. Keep a few pairs of 5Ns or similar and maybe a pair of Vader brushes. If the drummers are needy for their own crap - they can bring it!

As for the amp - Mesa Nomad!

taxman Sun, 12/09/2007 - 12:35

As for amps, you definitely don't want a Frontman 212. I am not dissing solid state amps. The problem is that at 100 watts it is way to loud for a studio, also dual speakers makes it harder to mike without inteference from the second speaker.

You only need 5 to 15 watts for a recording amp. Recommendations are fender Blues Jr at 18, or a Roland Cube at 15 or 20. Guitarists can bring their own pedals.

BobRogers Sun, 12/09/2007 - 13:33

taxman wrote: ...You only need 5 to 15 watts for a recording amp. Recommendations are fender Blues Jr at 18, or...

Another vote for this. The Blues Jr. is the one mass market amp that I have tried and like in this category. of course, there are still a lot of little 30 year old tube amp floating around out there, Fender champs, Princetons, Harvards, etc. (Of course, it will help to have a good tech available to revive one of these.) If you have the money there are a ton of boutique options that are really nothing more than copies of the old Fender circuits. (Which were right out of the RCA tube manual.) I lucked out and landed a Matchless Hurricane (15 watts) that someone wanted to get rid of quickly. Think small

anonymous Sun, 12/09/2007 - 17:44

I will probably add that to my closet after Fathead and Bluebird.

EDIT -> I am trying to decide between V8 and Cube 15, V8 sounded very good, cube 15 nice on clean, but I did not find any videos of distortion from pedals on cube 15. On board distortion in cube 15 was bad, but it is half the price of V8.

Davedog Sun, 12/09/2007 - 19:47

I'm gonna third and fourth the Blues Jr. suggestion. It is tube from front to back, will accept a large number of boutique speaker options and is voiced somewhere between a Deluxe and an AC15 Vox. On a clean setting it makes the Strats sparkle as they should and for distorted, you can get a great grind going. I have many amps as options, those I own and those I can use, and never has the Blues Jr. not been more than adequate for any style of track.

If you want different sounds an after market speaker may be in order. Check Webber, BlueVooDoo, Celestion, stuff like that.

anonymous Sun, 12/09/2007 - 19:54

I am a guitar player my self so I wouldnt recomend the fr-212 because Im not a huge fan of the way it sounds. But you are right about the fact that you dont need a 4x12 amp. BUT i do recommend getting an amp that can be run through tubes and can be in solid state also so you can get to various sounds. It also can save storage too! Many companies have that type of feature. I believe that Line 6 just cam out with one not to long ago.

anonymous Mon, 12/10/2007 - 03:33

hmmmm.....have u tried the microcube by roland. Those are around 149 and they are very small and porable. Only 2 watts of power but they are pretty loud too. But also the blues jr like everone is sugesting a great like tube amp. Simple to use to! u dont even need to warm up the tubes which is time consuming. Those run alittle over over you budget but worth the cash.

TheFraz Mon, 12/10/2007 - 06:04

taxman wrote: As for amps, you definitely don't want a Frontman 212. I am not dissing solid state amps. The problem is that at 100 watts it is way to loud for a studio, also dual speakers makes it harder to mike without inteference from the second speaker.

You only need 5 to 15 watts for a recording amp. Recommendations are fender Blues Jr at 18, or a Roland Cube at 15 or 20. Guitarists can bring their own pedals.

being a HUGE fan of recording with a fender twin, I fully disagree!

droc8705 Mon, 12/10/2007 - 09:20

if i were you, i'd just wait.

i've played a bunch of amps, and bought a bunch of amps, but that's because i would look for what sounded the best for my budget. i later realized that it had to be the other way around to really give me what i wanted. like my last amp, for example. i wanted a combo that could give me nice cleans (i'm a jazz guitar major in school) that would give me enough output to fill a concert hall, but still sound good in my dorm room, so i was thinking a 2x12. i played 'em all: fender, marshal, roland, line 6. i finally settled for a vox ac30. it ended up being just over a grand, but damn, that thing is gorgeous. it worked for me and i think it'll end up working for you.

now, once you find that amp, be it the fender or an ac15 or whatever, you can find cheaper ways of getting the amp than GC or Sam Ash.
1) ebay. not everyone's into it, especially for amps, but i'm down with it.
2) pawn shops. this is easier if you don't have a specific amp in mind but a general category (1x12 tube for example). see what you can find. some have great mics too.
3) classifieds. nowadays, this is so easy, people a just too stupid to realize it...me included. with online newspapers, myspace, facebook, and craig's list out there now, it's easier than you can imagine.

i hope that helps you out a little dude. if you need any more help on where to look pm me or something. just remember, it's all about what YOU want, don't settle for less.

-dave

anonymous Mon, 12/10/2007 - 09:38

Thank you for your huge detailed answer.
The problem with ebay and amps... shipping sometimes raises the cost so much that why not get a new one for just a little more. I have a home studio (2 rooms) with some decent equipment (for the home studio). I don't have a huge client base that are waiting in line to record in my studio. Neither do I play guitar (I am pretty good at bass though, that is why I have pro bass equipment). I want to get a decent amp so that people do not have to bring their 4x12s into the studio. So i know know ac30 is sweet but dude it is a GRAND. To much for biology majoring student 8-)

droc8705 Mon, 12/10/2007 - 09:46

oh i know dude, it's a lot. and i wasn't trying to tell you to get an ac30 either. i'm just saying, find what you want and then get it if you know you're gonna use it for a long time. ebay also has in their advanced search a way to limit it to local auctions. try myspace classifieds and facebook too. there's a ton of stuff over there.

droc8705 Mon, 12/10/2007 - 09:50

oh i know dude, it's a lot. and i wasn't trying to tell you to get an ac30 either. i'm just saying, find what you want and then get it if you know you're gonna use it for a long time. ebay also has in their advanced search a way to limit it to local auctions. try myspace classifieds and facebook too. there's a ton of stuff over there.

anonymous Mon, 12/10/2007 - 12:58

Salt Lake city myspace does not have anything ... yeah...

I really don't know what I need Even when I am able to charge people on a regular basis, I will not be able to charge more than $30-$40 an hour. So I really don't know what price should I look at. I really don't want to end up with expensive combo that will have no use due to lack of customers, neither I want a piece of crap that cannot be used... Roland micro cube sounds nice but do I need all that modeling? If guitarists have their own FX than I need an amp that will sound good clean and with outboard distortion. I am really confused right now.... Again About the drums what drum set is good enough for home studio use? Our drummer has Tama Rock Star. I like how it sounds.

anonymous Wed, 04/02/2008 - 19:49

Well I guess back to this question again... got a power Mac instead of everything... 8-)

So anything in $200 range? I just don't want to loose any client that might no have their own amp. Which is probably going to be the majority of my clients.. You know beginning home studio.

So once again tube or solid state, speaker size, and direct advises of the products appreciated. I promise I will get Fender Blues Jr as soon as I will earn money doing recordings.

bent Wed, 04/02/2008 - 22:33

Run away!

...OK, buy the base drumsticks, then run away!

WTF is a base drumstick, anyway?

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.motorola…"]Symbol [/]="http://www.motorola…"]Symbol [/]is a manufacturer of barcode readers, now owned by Motorola. Those Sabian B8 Symbols that he's selling might be worth something, though they look a heck of a lot different than the Symbol readers I have.
If anyone wants to buy a Motorola Dark Ride, let me know...
:lol:

I hope to hell music isn't his major.

Seriously, I'd grab 'em for $75, nothing wrong with that.
Re-skin them and tune them, get some Moongel and a new strainer for the snare, you're set...

A decent Ludwig kit will run you a hell of a lot more than that.

I have a B8 thin crash cymbal, and I use it fairly often.

You could do worse.

anonymous Wed, 04/02/2008 - 22:42

what do you think of the Fender Vibro Champ XD
(Dead Link Removed)

Or should just buy bluebird mic for example and make everyone else to bring their own equipment?

So many choises... who the hell knows what is the right one...

EDIT: Basically I don't want something like champ collecting dust if most of the people will bring their own equipment... same applies to drums... makes me want to shout myself...

bent Wed, 04/02/2008 - 22:50

If we're gonna tell you every piece to buy for your space then we need to be given a cut of the action.

Can stock be traded via Paypal?

I've been playing on a Line6 Flextone (2x12) a lot over the past couple months and really dig it (oh, it has it's quirks, believe me), but I dig it nonetheless.

I hear the Flextone 1x12 (100 bucks less) is good.

sshack Thu, 04/03/2008 - 05:57

I'm late to this party, but I'll throw in my $.02 since I'm a guitar/amp whore.

Gertok, I'm not knocking your decision because it's your money, your studio, etc. BUT $200 isn't really going to get you anything (IMO) satisfying. If you can hold out, then I would suggest saving up a few more coins and at least try to get in that $350 - $400 range.

For that much and a little ground beating, you can get some really nice tube amps in the 15/30 + watt area. Any of the Peavey Classics, certainly the Fender Blues Jr...hell, for $400 I picked up an old 'Rivera-era' Fender Concert 2x10 combo, 60 watts, pristine 6L6 cleans at any volume. This stuff is out there, just look around and be patient. The Palomino that you mentioned is ok, I used to have the Crate V30 (same thing basically) and it had it's good points.
If you need to cover more metal than anything else, then look around for an older Marshall or an old Carvin.

In the grand scheme of things, doubling your money in this scenario will get you more than 2x the results. Not so much in the case of say a $1000 mic.

Best of luck to you.

And Bob, re your question on the 1st page about speaker choices, you may want to consider EV. They excel quite nicely at cleans, country stuff, etc.

anonymous Thu, 04/03/2008 - 07:05

That is what i will do. I will get that drum kit of craigslist. It will need a tom a stand another cymbal eventually. And bass stick is not a bass pedal than i will need it too. So I will borrow my friends mg30cd or crate amp for those who cannot invest in their equipment. I figure people that don't have a decent combo amp or a drum set don't really care what they are going to be given at home recording studio.

Hmmm since bent want some stock how about mic closet suggestion? what to sell and what to keep?

sm57, sm58, EV ND868 -those a keepers at least till I have money for RE-20.

MXL 992, 993 ... I really don't think I will be able to sell them. There are none on ebay and I've seen this set go for $100. I honestly think they are not as bad as most of people think.

Audix Fusion 6 pack. ahmm lets do math. If I sell them for 200-250... I might be able to get 2 more sm57, and probably 1 OH.. That does not sound too bad. Save another $100-150 and enjoy nicer pack. The whole set sounds kinda dull.. not bright at all. Mxl 993 OH sounds way better than f15.

My ultimate mic closet:
4 SM57
1 RE20
2 OH at3031 or rode nt5 - suggest something else
1 Bluebird or at 4040 - help to choose

Overall thoughts ideas suggestions?

Codemonkey Thu, 04/03/2008 - 18:04

What happen? What happen?
Somebody set us up the drumkit.
Take off every SM57.
Channel get signal.
What?
Main speakers turn on.
How are you gentlemen!
All your drumsticks are belong to us!
You have no chance to compress, change your sound.
Ha ha ha.
Move SM57, move SM57, for great snare sound move every SM57.

Why do I bother...