A friend and I took a very keen interest in building a home studio. So far we've invested about 7 grand, or more into it. We've had good results with the gear we have and I've learnt a ton along the way. But I'm looking to take it to the next level. Not in the sense that I'm looking to make a career out of it, but as far as quality and sound goes. My current setup is:
Pres - dbx 386
Aphex 207
Interface - M Audio Audiophile
Monitors - M Audio BX5
Mics - ADK SC1
ADK A51
CAD e100(2)
SE 2200a
SE z3300
Shure c606
Software - SpinAudio plugin package
Nuendo 2.0
Groove Agent
Native Instruments Platinum Pack
Others - Yamaha Clavinova
Soundcraftsmen RA6501 Power Amp
2x Yamaha 12" monitor w/ horns
20 sq.ft. insulated isolation booth
AKG 240 Headphone
Athlon 2800+ 1GB ram 400GB HD w/ Dual Monitors
if you have any ideas, beit with microphones, techniques i might not know of, preamps, a/d converters, anything, please comment. keep a realistic budget in mind. if i could afford Universal Audio, Summit, Neve or Grace I wouldn't be asking this...
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Audiow, could you give Roy Jones JR. a call and insist that he
Audiow,
could you give Roy Jones JR. a call and insist that he retires from boxing before he becomes the next holyfield...beat up and brain dead.
Man..I wish it were that simple. During the last fight, even 'ole Gabe did not win his bout either. Roy has a massive amount of cash. perhaps this has clouded his reality. Personally, Roy did get some good punches in but he simply let some oppurtunities slide by him to take the advantage. Someone like Evander gets one punch in, their may be "no more Roy" to worry about.
You want to tell him? I think he has been "told" a few times. He does not need the extra cash, that is certain.
I agree with the other guy. You can get really good results from
I agree with the other guy. You can get really good results from the kit that you have.
The most important thing is the room / s and your monitors. If you use your monitors for long enough and reference your recordings on the same system you listen to your fav music you will learn the short comings of the monitors and will be able to compensate.
Treating your rooms does not have to be an expensive exercise either. Use packing blankets in the booth and nice thick carpets on the floor. You don't want to totaly kill your sound. Dead rooms sound terrible. Also set your singers up in a corner, singing into the corner with a thick dense foam 'mattress' in the corner. This will absorb direct reflections coming to the back of the mic.
Use glass fiber in the control room, although bass is usually the problem in project studio control rooms.
If all else fails get a copy of "Behind the glass" and read what the pros say - you'll be VERY surprised!!
I have had 7 different studios, various price ranges of equipmen
I have had 7 different studios, various price ranges of equipment. One studio was around 2.4 million in equipment and building, another one, less than 35K for the equipment.
All of them ...all, I have master tapes from and I can listen to the different "flavors" of each facility as well as my personal improvements spanning over 30 years.
One thing remains CONSTANT.
The Monitors and the room acoustics (room acoustics both for the control room and the various recording areas) made the largest impact on overall sound quality. Once you get "spoiled" by high end equipment, you can learn how to make the lesser priced equipment do exactly what you want it to. You simply cannot capture quality sound in a horrible room nor can you manipulate anything if you cannot hear exactly what you have.
Monitors, room quality, experience, microphones and pres, clean cabling, quality DA/AD, clean power and amplification. (Roughly in that order)
Of course, the raw talent that goes into the microphones and production skills must be there.