I hate bein rude but this question has been asked a million times and people get sick of answering it especially "pros". What does "good quality" mean to you, what does "good price" mean to you. I think 2 grand for a world class preamp is a good price, and I'd consider that "good quality". Also we would need to know if you have a pc or mac, if you're pc isn't adequate you'll need a new one. You'll need a soundcard, interface, vocal mic, software, monitors(speakers), headphones, and this is just for the studio part you also need guitars and amps? Wow man that can make it real expensive. A good guitar and amp combo could run you 3 to 4 thousand dollars.

well whats a good price?

I would say a minimum for a person looking to get paid to record groups is around 30K.

I will tell you what I want to get because you have not specified a price or goals.

rackmount pc from sweetwater + cubase + flatscreen monitor = $3200
soundcraft ghost LE 24 channel = 5200
MOTU 2408mk3 = 1000
Apogee DA -16 = 3500
Apogee AD- 16 = 3500
Audio Technica 4040 Condensor = 300
RODE NT1-A Condensor = 200
MXL 993 Condensor Pair = 200
MXL 990 Condensor = 70
2 x KEL HM1 = 200
3 x Shure SM57 = 270
Shure Beta 52 = 189
AKG D112 = 200
Event TR8-N Monitors = 500
10 pack cheap stands = 100
10 to 15 channels of decent preamps = 10000
cables = 400
money to build walls to make studio = 5000
Auralex Products = 1000
software plugins = 1000
eq + compressor + vocal proccessor = 2000

total = 38029

I think this will give me decent results, and this is what I feel a minimum is, beside perhaps some of the mics.

you really need to give better info before you ask blanket questions.

What you have is a nice step. A couple of the things on your list are a little out of place though. Monitors are one of the most important things in my opinion, you need the best monitors you can afford. It'll make final mix down and mic placements amazingly easy compared the the Events you're looking at. Don't get me wrong I own a better version of those Events myself its just with what your spending you should get something good. With what you're talking about spending these will do.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/S25A/

Most of you're mics look ok but the MXL's they'll be alright but won't do the really good pre's you're looking at any justice. With mics though as many different vocal mics as you can get is good, shure sm81's are really nice for OH's. You may not need both a beta 52 and a D112 they're both multi purpose but mainly kick mics, of the two I'd recommend the D112.

The mixer is nice, it'll get you good wow factor but with your set up is not really needed at all and IMO is kind of a waste of 5 grand, i'm not even sure it'll control cubase. With that I'm not really sure about your interface never really looked into it, I have looked at this one however and it might be better suited for what you want.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/896HD/

For pre's Sebatrons are really popular around these parts, Manley's are really nice as well. Avalons are my personal favorites and check out the new Neve Porticos they aren't Neve clones they're actually built by the man.

These are just suggestions based info, people's opinion, personal experience and so on. With all the stuff mentioned by both you and me, you can have a very high quality audio chain. Hope everything goes well for you.

huh? a $1000 dollar interface better suited to me than $7000 in premium apogee gear? huh?

ill mainly be using the mixer for monitor summing and might be using it for external mixdown, although maybe if I get the full version of that mixer I can use it as a controller. ill look into that, because I would rather do my mixdown in system, but its def. a must to have external control, and frankly, all of the surfaces iv'e seen are pretty crappy, and a big mixer is so much cooler.

thanks for the advice on the preamps and monitors, ive still been shopping though.

with the mics I think the mxl crap is sort of extra anyway, just in case sort of stuff. I might add the sm81s to the list. I think both kick mics are neccessary for kick and bass guitar, also nice to have variety.

no no no I wasn't talking about the apogee's man don't jump to conclusions I was obviously referring to the other motu device. I wouldn't ever replace an apogee with a motu. yeah I know what you mean about the mxl's just bein extra I use a 990 as my talkback mic.

oh ok i get you now.

im going to use the motu device to get the adat from the apogee into my computer, it will be cheaper than buying the firewire cards for the apogee units, be more reliable, and I will get a higher sample rate.

thanks for the advice.

I would agree that $5500 of your "budget" could be better spent than on a Ghost. Even the fully loaded Ghost will not control your DAW and my personal feeling on the pres, eq and summing of the Ghost is relativly negative, when compared to "real" consoles.

You will spend well over $15,000 to $20,000 on a console before you get in the "real world" imo and that's still for a digital board. A "real" analog console (SSL / Neve / Sony / Harrison ) is much more expensive unless you purchsase a used one in which case you need to find a service tech and be prepared to spend a few hundred bucks each month on maintenance. You might luck out and find one that won't be so bad but I wouldn't bank on it.

That's the whole idea of DAW, to dump cheap consoles or to avoid the maintenance on an a large format console. Use the extra cash on mic pres, comps, eqs and mics. Analog front end is where it's at these days.

I come from an analog background, with large format consoles w/ automation and 2" tape ... and I don't miss not having a mixer surface in the least. Mixing with the mouse is not as bad as a lot of people imagine as long as the recording software used has automation.

Listen to Kurt he's a very smart guy. And thats what I was trying to tell you about the mixer, it wont contol cubase, so all you're buying is a huge multi channel mic pre with so so capabilities and that 5 grand can buy you some of the highest quality pre's which will sound much better than that board.

ok, I think I will reconsider my mixer purchase and spending more on preamps.

thanks for the advice

Start with one or two things at a time, then slowly add more. Don't just jump into the music, because it's HELLA expensive and you might regret putting a lot of money in at first, so, take your time, invest slowly, as your skills grow and your passion becomes thicker, invest more.

Also add to the equation:

-facilities...(rent/utilities/phone/taxes for said facilities...)

-Support Staff...interns/second engineers/book keepers/etc....

- "Mad Money"...that set aside for when you realize that the mid grade stuff just doesn't quite 'get it' sometimes, and you end up purchasing a higher end product...

- Doesn't matter what kind of mixer you get - you;ll end up wishing you had a sidecar or some sort of submixer for certain things.

- IMPORTANT: A means/method to 'turn it off' in your brain...Plan vacations; get a non audio hobby; etc...get involved with something that gets you AWAY from it all, as once you are in the studio (my case, anyway) everything else becomes secondary...this can (and has) led to some pretty serious physical and mental health issues in more than one studio operator/engineer. Get involved with the community (good for business networking as well), go to church, do SOMETHING to defeat the isolation that can come from this occupation.

This is (IMO) the single most obsessive-compulsive occupation known to exist....don't let it take control of every aspect of your life (I still fight this battle on a daily basis).

Also important: build a social support network within the virtual audio community...I have friends I've never met in person,but have spoken with on the phone, exchange emails, etc.

I for one wish you nothing but the best of luck, and leave you with this: study not just the success stories, but study the failure stories as well - you can learn as much if not more from the latter than the former....

It depends on if you want to do digital, analog, or a combination of the two.

Midlandmorgan wrote:
- Doesn't matter what kind of mixer you get - you;ll end up wishing you had a sidecar or some sort of submixer for certain things.

I'm not sure what the application would be for a mixer in a DAW studio other than mixing cue mixes. I would not route anything through an inexpensive muxer on its way to the recorder / DAW and anything that needs to be summed can be mixed in the digital realm with better results. For that, an inexpensive used Mackie 1604 or better yet (imo) a SR24 will fill the bill just fine.

Midlandmorgan wrote: - IMPORTANT: A means/method to 'turn it off' in your brain...Plan vacations; get a non audio hobby; etc...get involved with something that gets you AWAY from it all, as once you are in the studio (my case, anyway) everything else becomes secondary...this can (and has) led to some pretty serious physical and mental health issues in more than one studio operator/engineer. Get involved with the community (good for business networking as well), go to church, do SOMETHING to defeat the isolation that can come from this occupation.

This is (IMO) the single most obsessive-compulsive occupation known to exist....don't let it take control of every aspect of your life (I still fight this battle on a daily basis).

This is some of the best advice I have ever seen on these pages. At one point, when I was working 16 days, 7 days a week for 4 months in a row, I began dreaming about mixing when I was sleeping. I would go to bed after a 16 + hour day exhausted, and wake up felling like I had worked through the night. It almost drove me nuts!

Kurt Foster wrote: [quote=Midlandmorgan]
- Doesn't matter what kind of mixer you get - you;ll end up wishing you had a sidecar or some sort of submixer for certain things.

I'm not sure what the application would be for a mixer in a DAW studio other than mixing cue mixes. I would not route anything through an inexpensive muxer on its way to the recorder / DAW and anything that needs to be summed can be mixed in the digital realm with better results. For that, an inexpensive used Mackie 1604 or better yet (imo) a SR24 will fill the bill just fine.

Yeah, I'm kinda with Kurt on this one. I love the feel of a larger console (and I don't even mind the Ghost as much as Kurt does), but you can certainly get along with out one. Certainly, you don't really need compact mixers unless you plan on individualized cues for headphone mixes.

If you're dying for a console, you can pick up some Amek boards for around $10K now adays. You're not gonna get much better value than that.

J.

Individualized cue mixes....complicated effects returns...MIDI instrument mixing (really stupid to tie up 14 channels for fake strings and pianos, when you can always change them later....there again, this is for folks like me that avoid vsti like a crap covered ebola sandwich and work with external MIDI sequencing....)

I've just found myself longing for a small QUALITY submixer, even when setting behind a 10 foot monster...perhaps its just the way I like to work, but to me, sometimes 8 subs ain't enough (sometimes its way too many...but better to have and not need than to need and not have)...also good for the ever popular stems mixing...

And you guys are right: there are more efficient ways to get the job done....my contribution was merely another approach to the task at hand...