IMHO the shopping list is too much at once. If you start with the basic pieces you can build from there. It will take enough time to learn the basic setup.

I would look at the Keyboard workstation first. Go down to the music shop and try out the Yamaha, Roland and Korg. I personaly like the Yamaha for the real sounds. Korg I liked the ease of programability. Roland really lush fx and sounds. Each have their pluses and minuses. Ultimatley its what works best for you.

The Vocal mic I would talk to somebody at a Pro Audio shop to get the best mic for you.

I am assuming you already have a MAC. I would get the Presonus Firepod and connect it up. You could use Garage Band and try out recording. I would download the Logic Demo and see how it works for you before buying it.

Monitors you will need for final mix but you might first look at picking up some good headphones for tracking your mixes. Sennheiser HD280 gets recomended a lot as well as Sony 7506.

Most people in this forum myself included didn't get all the equipment at once. I've built up, reconfigured my setup a few times and even sold some items off.

my 2cents

Damn! You have $117.00 left over for cables, patch bay, mic stand/boom arms, windscreen/pop screen, DI box(es), it never ends, eh?

Listen to da Moon!

All of that stuff comes in a box...Most do NOT include the parts needed to HOOK IT UP!!! Amazin huh.

Pretty sound advice from Casper the friendly ghost.

Start from a place where you can easily get things moving. Recording isnt as easy as it looks. Hopefully you are computer savy. This will help a LOT. There are betas of most major recording software packages. Try them out to find the one which best suits the way you will want to work. In computer recording....workflow and familiarity are EVERYTHING. More than ANY outboard piece of gear.

You CANNOT go wrong with that mic. It will sound better than all your friends cheap knockoffs. If its the only mic you ever buy, you cannot go wrong. (hint: look used..same mic...save coin)

The Focusrite channel strip is a bit weak in some ares, but will probably work for what you want it to...Again, look used...they dont retain their price as well as some other gear.

The Firepod is a good piece and the JBL's are very good. Again, the used market on these is quite a bit lower than new.

This looks like a Guitarcenter list or Mus.Frind....Check out other pro caliber houses......everyones very competitive on price these days....

GET A BOOK!! read it. Learn from it....Ask questions.....enjoy. Go slow its not instantaneous....and if you're good at making music you want the recording to reflect this. It does you no good to send off recordings you have to appologize for the sound quality.

wad the man say to the young couple? Get a room!

That is your most important work area. All the gear in the world will not cover up a bad room. Bad as in square, bad as in noise leaking in/out. Bad as in...wait...you actually have 15K...all at once?

Anyway, kick up yer wiring fund by a few hundred+75 more so you can purchase a soldering iron and wire and connector parts, maybe even a hand full of adapters, you will find that you need...but cannot seem to find:)

Thank you guys for your advices, I think that I will go for the Logic Pro because I already have a Mac Pro workstation, but I think that I will also buy Cubase 4. Do you think that I need the osund library from Quyntum Leap if mostly I will use beats, striangs and so on directly from the XS8?
Another question, because I am getting the XS8, do I still need to get a separate Midi controller? on the list I put Novation SL 61 but do I need two keyboards for the start?
I decided that for the moment I wont get the Roland Mv-8800 neither, and I prefer to buy other things that I need but my problem is that I dont know what else I need to buy.
Please give me clear examples of what cables I need, if possible even to tell me from where to get them.
I dont live in the US, I live in the Eastern Europe but I will visit the US this summer and I plan to buy everything I need from there.
I wait your advices, thank you.

Now I understand the urgency. It doesn't change my opinion. The reason you are having a hard time knowing what to get is you haven't experienced digital recording yet. After I bought my interface and software it took awhile to learn how to use it. That in itself is ongoing. As I went along I picked up other equipment as it was needed. That said if you still want to go though with this...

I played the Yamaha XS and I liked it also. The sounds are so real. I didn't try the Korg but from what I read its different. You might want to try it. for comparison. If you get either workstation You wont need the quantum leap as you stated. You don't need the Novastation. Both keyboards have USB so it interfaces direct to the computer and can trigger all your Virtual Inst. You can program beats. Either on the workstation or use it to trigger beat on the PC's drum software. If you want more control like the finger pad controls on the MPC boxes, you can get USB controllers from Korg or Akai that do this. Remember the more equipment you add the more you have to connect, learn, and make room for. The goal is to work in the box as much as possible.

You have the MAC, you decided on Logic, you need an audio interface. You listed the Presonus good place to start. The monitors as stated are a good choice. If you need DSP I would look at Universal Audio expansion box intead of Liquid. Its more versatile. The extra hardrive is also a good idea. The mic its up to you. The channel strip is also up to you. I would consult the Pro Audio expert as those two items go hand in hand and really depend on the source.

This link is a good guide to reference:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

Once you have sorted out what you are getting, you might want to layout the equipment on paper and figure out all the connections. This might help with the cable situation.

All the above is good advice. You may be looking at things that could be redundant, and can be done with fewer things. A MIDI-controller-only keyboard may be one of those things.

One other thing to keep in mind is that anything you pick up in the U.S. is going to be geared to our voltage. I will guess that you run 230V/50Hz? Be sure that each piece is easily switchable and has a proper power cord/adapter available. You may have to buy that separately from what comes in a U.S. boxed product. Perhaps, you'll even need to special-order those things so that they are waiting for you when you arrive to pick up?
You may have to budget something like that in.

Also, budget in packing/shipping costs to send that stuff halfway around the world. Budget in your patience if it doesn't all arrive at the same time. I doubt all that is going to be in one box. Some may be inspected and held up, some may fly right through.

Budget in your travel/lodging expenses for the journey to pick up all this gear. If you were planning on coming here anyway, and just wanted to pick up stuff while you are here, then no problem. If it's a special trip for the sole reason of shopping...how much is it going to add to the cost of the equipment? If that's the case, I assume you explored all other avenues locally, or even closer to home that may sell the same models with the proper voltage configurations? How many more mics and cables and preamps and other goodies could you have bought for a few thousand dollars of travel expenses?

How does the exchange rate compare? Any taxes, tariffs or any other costs to consider?

What might be the difficulty of servicing any of these units? Do you have to send it back across the pond, or is there anyone there who can support any or all this? Will they be warrantied properly in your homeland?

Just some things to consider. Hate to see something arrive that you can't use, and can't return, or even get serviced.

Good luck. And, if you do come for a visit, welcome and enjoy!

Kapt.Krunch :wink:

Sorry...double-post!

Nuthin' to see here...

KK

Did you see my private message? check it out man!