What's your budget? $1k, $5k, $10k, $100k? Give us a ballpark. You could easily spend $10k on mics alone.

Great monitors and a good sounding room are essential. Everything else is gravy.

My budget

Is probably $1000, and that's alot for me right now since I just paid for the Digi 002 and the hard drive. What practical things can I do on this kind of budget?

Start with the some 57s It is always said but, good deals for the versatility. The NT1 and NT2 are cheap, but a little inconsistent, if you end up with some good ones they are a great deal. I don’t think the MXL stuff is great, but certainly good enough to get started with. Get a couple 57s and one of the condensers mentioned. I don’t like the pres in the digi 02, (possibly was just the situations I have heard them in), but some better monitors I think are more important than new pre amps, a good stereo system can actually be a horrible monitoring system. You don’t want things sounding good, you want them sounding true. Tannoys are not bad for the money you can get them on ebay for. Treating the room is important, but you will learn about what is needed after you start recording, start with blankets and thing you already have around. These will help you know what to do when you can spend money on it.

Biggest thing is START RECORDING, anyway possible! A just couple days of recording and then listening to what you did on different systems will tell you way more of what you need than anything else. You’ll find what you think you need, if you end up getting a really nice mics or mixer or preamps before you can hear the differnece, it was wasted money.

Get some SM57 mics, a couple of decent mic pres and some great monitors. Look for some used mics with whatever you have left, do the best you can to treat your room.

Ebay! :-?

likegluelikecrew, you really CAN'T start a descent home studio at that price, also, you need mad recording skills to take your studio and make any profit out of it so that you can re-invest and buy better equipment, when i started i joined a forum, (not RO im afraid but another one) , and i read EVERY ARTICLE ON THAT FORUM, and i mean every one, to start a studio you need lots of understanding for how things work, otherwise you'll be sitting in on a session and a client will ask you to do something or to make something sound a different way, and you will be confused and emabarassed.

here is a link to a GREAT guide that may help you not ever have to face this situation....

http://tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

just read the WHOLE guide and you will be in top shape to start your studio... good luck, and have fun...

also for a studio, protools 32 track limited software was a bad choice to go, even if you are doing hip hop, i did a hip hop track a few weeks ago in my studio, in Nuendo, and i had 64 tracks running at one time with at least 5 inserts on every track, and some tracks were routed out into hardware compressors and EQs, and if all i had was 32 tracks, i would have been in a tight spot... 8-)

bennyg wrote:

also for a studio, protools 32 track limited software was a bad choice to go, even if you are doing hip hop, i did a hip hop track a few weeks ago in my studio, in Nuendo, and i had 64 tracks running at one time with at least 5 inserts on every track, and some tracks were routed out into hardware compressors and EQs, and if all i had was 32 tracks, i would have been in a tight spot... 8-)

64 Tracks with at least 5 inserts + outboard! WOW, must have had the source signals perfect when you tracked. Your Computer must be pretty special to be running 300+ PlugIns all at once.

I think for most people the 32 tracks offered by Pro Tools LE is more than ample. And futhermore 95% of us don't have or need to run 300+ PlugIns.

Hey BladeSG, i see where you are coming from, but in my case i at first thought that i too wouldn't need more than 24 tracks so about 5 years ago i made the decision to go analog, now with analog i had 20 outboard processors running at one time, my entire collection of hardware gear that i needed to run back and fourth to, and tweak settings there, then came my dual xeon workstation and i switched to Nuendo, and i have been combining outboard gear and software plugins ever since, i love some of the software Eqs and i have it on almost every tracks, but at the same time i love the hardware compressors, back to the point, as i work, i find that i at first don't see the need for more tracks, but soon (for ex. my first hip hop track ever) i find that i need way more, it begins with dubs then chorus then instrumentals (24 tracks itself), then etc. etc. .... the most that i ever had was 212 tracks (midi and audio), (about 150 audio and 62 midi)!!! 8-)

p.s. With ProTools, you are very limited to outboard gear, and you can't place inserts on every channel... with programs like Nuendo, and if you have a 24 I/O you can place 24 outboard processors on 24 dedicated channels, and if you have multiple 24 I/O (i have 4) you can place outboard signals to 96 channlels .... Best of luck 8-)

bennyg wrote:

p.s. With ProTools, you are very limited to outboard gear, and you can't place inserts on every channel...

Why? (or have I read this wrong? :D )

I meant actual hardware outboard on every channel like you can with an actual mixer, which can be hooked up to a large I/O interface. 8-)

bennyg wrote: I meant actual hardware outboard on every channel like you can with an actual mixer, which can be hooked up to a large I/O interface. 8-)

Now you're talking about expensive outboard and mixers. This can be done on Pro Tools and to a lesser extent on LE systems depending on the hardware. Any DAW with the approriate audio interface is capable of this anyway.

if you need to run 300 plug ins you must be a young engineer every plugin you use is degrading your audio i couldnt understand how or why you would want 64 tracks on mix down on a rap track when rap is about 90% mono to begin with explain this to me please

bennyg you have 18 outs you can use if you have an a/d d/a converter. If you dont you still have 8 others to choice from. Did you ever think of rerouting the audio or burning effected tracks to disk which you can save in a play list file later. aka audio suite? Just cause you can only have 32 tracks on mix down doesn’t mean you can’t have a hundred or more on recall in your play list. Every track I cut doesn’t make it to mix down never has never will if it doesn’t work I don’t force it I leave it off period. Then there is always sub mixing and I know most of rap is loops anyway like you can’t submix loops down to stereo? ive done a live 32 piece orchestra using pro tools le with a 16 piece choir accompanying it i only used 8 tracks on the whole project and zero plug ins enuff said

doulos, i don't know if you mean to correct me on every post, or try to make fun of my work, i don't know if this is intentional or not, but i ask you to stop, i never said that i ran 300 plugins on anything, by inserts i mean inserted outchannels, which my sequencer provides, i then run everything through outboard gear, and occasionally the only plugins that i will use are those in the UAD package (which i am about to buy),

ALSO! likegluelikecrew is starting a low budget recording studio, a. he can't afford good AD/DA coverters or many other things that, and i don't know music school you went to, but there is nothing wrong with plugins, by repeating what you have hear other people say you won't impress me, i have yet to hear an EQ under 10thou that can beat the sony oxford EQ plugin, and no, it doesn't degrade my audio, cause i have clients coming back for business.

Rerouting the audio, again this guy is buying the cheap proTools LE, where in the budget and where to are you gonna re-route things, all i said was that in responders opinion, which he was asking for (read his message), was pro tools good, and i said no, cause i have done hip hop tracks and you always find that 32 tracks just isn't enough. 8-)

i never went to recording school. I have been mixing music since i was 16 i have been in charge of a 100,000 project studio and been a mix engineer at a 250,000 pro tools studio ive worked with a few of the best producers in nashville monroe jones producer of third day and a few others and ive had the opportunity to mix in some very top notch facilities “sound kitchen” “fame studio” etc. all my comments are from personal experience. The last one on plugins was when i had to do a project with the producer of john mayers first album We were wanting to slam the compression on some room mics “u87s to a dual mono avalon”. We tried using the waves l2 which sucked! and then went with a manly vari mu that compressor was slamming the hell out of the room mics and giving a nice volume to protools. The waves was literally popping under the pressure and was giving a very inadequate volume to work with So we tried the la 2a software then the bombfactory plug in and the univeral audio 1176ln no plug in came close to working like the vari mu or even the distressor. Im convinced that no software compression works like a hardwear compressor when dealing with high quality mics and high quality pres that have decent head room and high quality sound.

I don't like PT because it is too expensive, and for the most part limited to use only with Digidesign hardware. Upgrades are very expensive to keep up with and we are not even talking about what platform is used. If it's Apple, be prepared to shell out a bundle every 16 months if you want to keep current..

I use Cubase ... and I have some nice outboard gear ... but I have never found a need for more than 32 tracks.

I usually use the outboard as front end going into the box and once I am in the DAW I use plugs for verbs etc ... If I need an outboard verb, or compressor, I print it. But then, I know how to make a decision before mix time..

Running out of the DAW and then back in as an insert, does degrade the audio a bit because you are introducing another conversion that wouldn't be there otherwise.

The one thing I have learned is we all work in different ways .... who's to say what is right or what is wrong? I suggest you all post an audio project on the Audio Projects forum and let the rest of us hear your work, especially if you are going to flap your mouth about what is or isn't great ... and who is or isn't full of sh*t ... otherwise, please try to be a bit kinder to each other and give the next guy the benefit of the doubt ...

to kurt foster funny i posted a mix there about 2 weeks ago with a request for a moderator to review it it got overlooked. Even though 80 people viewed my post not one comment, but i agree kurt let the work be heared. I wouldn't take anyone hear seriously on there posts if they didnt have the skills to back them up.
A few of you recorderman you and a select other few i know i can trust your opinons as being professional i just dont like people who post out right lies and get mad when they are corrected.

i posted a song in the form if you get some time maybe you could review it
http://www.recording.org/postt20862.html

oh doulass i hope that wasn't to me was it? Lies? You must be a 100,000 dollar studio man with those 626 monitors, but thats another story. I was serious about my setup, i have been into the recording world since i was 10, now in much older and my gear has evolved to the sky since then, i myself are an employee at a professional recording studio, and i also have a home studio, in which i allow local underground bands that have potential record free of charge.

Also, so everyone other than Kurt isn't professional enough for you, what kind of lame statement is that, if i post a track for review, as im about to do (you can find it in the track review section), i will take EVERYONE'S review VERY SERIOUSLY, not just those individuals who are accredited with a title.

...That was one wrong statementn to put in a GENERAL FORUM (FOR ALL PEOPLE) 8-)

bennyg you must not get it im 23 years old where would i come up with 100 grand? Just cause i don’t own a $100,000 recording studio you think i haven’t worked in them please how silly is that?
http://us.f1.yahoof… That’s me this set up is pretty nice and what im use to. See the gennies the control 24 the avalons in the back and looks who’s at the controls? Oh wait yea its me. I have nothing to hide here is my setup. http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/doulos_21/album?.dir=/dff9&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/doulos_21 Notice the evolution? It changes by the month. Ive been spending around $1,000 to $1,200 on my studio every month which leaves me in perpetual debt and perpetual happiness. Hope this clears things up for you bennyg

hey doulos, i don't care how much you spend every month and i congradulate you on placing yourself in debpt cause you couldn't wait a few more years. Lets end it now, because i don't come to this forum to wage war against you, i just expect that you stop tracking my posts and making corrections, because you don't know as much as you think you do, lets keep it at that and end this please. 8-)

oh doulass i hope that wasn't to me was it? Lies?

"p.s. With ProTools, you are very limited to outboard gear, and you can't place inserts on every channel..." That was a lie 5 inserts 5 sends on every channel either plugins or actual hardware routing to 18 outputs that’s pretty flexable in its price point for pro tools le.
Grant you if you don’t have an adat d/a converter or digital mixer your limited to 8 outputs analog, but thats still like being able to use 8 hardware compressors or 6 and 2 reverbs on a 32 track mix out side of plug ins and rerouting audio doesn’t cost anything. Obviously you haven’t used pro tools le so ill tell you. Say i want to add reverb to a vocal track and i know I’m happy with the settings instead of using the plug in id burn it to a file it makes a seperate printed audio file and sets it in the play list if it works i remove the dry vocal track and use the verbed one if it doesn’t work i leave it in the playlist and it doesn’t effect my 32 track count also that 32 track audio limit is not limited to buses you can run 32 audio tracks and 16 buses with up to 8 master faders all with full automation even full plug in automation on one 32 track mix at a price point of 1,200 dollars for the 002 or 800 for the 001. It's definitly not bad for a project setup which is where this form was to begin with.

bennyg I am not tracking your posts to correct you im replying to threads and if i see an outright lie or wronged information ill let the truth be known however i am sure i could do it a bit nicer and ill work on that. im not hear for a war either