What should I buy to set up a studio?

if you got the money always go with mac is my advice.

i would recomend following midi instruments:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/m-audio_keysta … yboard.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/maudio_trigger … roller.htm

you won’t need any fancy monitors in a home studio so i recomend following or headphones could work:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_b203 … onitor.htm

i would recomend to have at LEAST 1028 in RAM the more the better. hard drive isn’t that importent i guess but you should aim at 7200 RPM and you will need alot of Gb.

i would also invest in a nice mixer/sound card i really like:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_mw_12.htm

you will need a good sound card and with this one you also get a mixer. its great for recording drums, guitar rigs and so on but you might not be in to that.

for recording i would get a Large-diaphragm Microphone like the following:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_sct2000.htm

if you are a beginner you should get a mic in the range of 80-200 £. They are pretty much the same in that range and in i home studio you won’t need anything fancy. with most of does mics you can record anything you need from vocals to insturuments. beware if you are recording a drumkit you will need at least 4 mics. if you are into recording drums you might consider getting a midi drumset.

i use fruity loops for beat making and cubase for recording. i think cubase Sx are the best recording program but it’s just a matter of taste i guess.

btw i recomend thomann they have the best prices and are great to deal with.

well thats about it.

PEACE / Big O

And off to Audio Chat we go…

[quote quote="Plattitude":2ziqykcy]honestly, I think that mac is bit weak.
I’m running logic8 on a G4 1,2Ghz which goes but could definately be more fun..
on a G5 2Ghz it’s another world so to speak.

and if you can afford an (intel) macmini you’ll have a real powerful machine.

but before saving on the wrong point, I’d go with that eMac.
I don’t know how easy it is to upgrade ram/HD in an eMac..?!

btw. I would definately prefer Logic over Reason!! no question!!

hth..[/quote:2ziqykcy]

Safe advice, I was running Logic 7 on a G4 Powermac 1.25Ghz 1GB RAM with no problems. With Logic (as with some other programs) you can ‘freeze’ tracks freeing up some of the resources the program would otherwise be using.
I bought mine 2nd hand in Jan this year for about £350 and sold it last month for about the same.

I think you have a conflict of interests here. 1) Do you go for a better level of qualifications, or 2) go for more musical creativity?

If it’s the first part, then duplicate your HND setup. If it’s creativity, then go with what you know will let it flow with minimal interruption.

To attempt to compare Logic to Reason could be like choosing to Stir Fry in a small wok or a large wok. Logic has problems (just like any sequencer) and Reason (including v4) is extremely stable. You can do the things with Logic that you can’t do with Reason, but Reason gives a multitude of instruments (as you will know) without the cpu overhead of the likes of Logic, Cubase, Nuendo, Sonar etc etc….

If you want to get things down quick before you loose the idea, then it has to be Reason. The restrictions allow you the freedom to concentrate on what matters most, as opposed to wondering what this VST setting will sound like, or this setting, but what about that setting… did it sound better!!!!!

If you do upgrade to v4 (and anybody who has Reason should because Thor is like the NI Massive, and they’ve sorted that ‘sound’ that people afraid to shape so commonly comment on) then buy from the Props site as it is fast delivery. Oh, and the UK has fucked up on upgrade stocks. Blame M-Audio for that apparently.

1. Should I go for a mac or pc? Should ask people who have used both for an independent review. Or and learn how to configure a PC for DAW purposes. Configuring will save you money and match, and maybe better the performance of a Mac. Furthermore, there are many very good ‘free’ VST’s available for PC as opposed to Mac, and more cross platform sequencers for VST than Mac. I don’t believe you will get an honest answer from somebody who has bought one or the other unless they use both. PS. My own built PC is stable as F***.

2. What midi instruments should I buy? A keyboard controller, and if possible, a control surface.

3. What monitor/s, speakers etc should I buy? In all honesty, I bought the Yamaha HS80m’s because we had them on trial at ‘work’ and stood up well against the Quested S8’s. So much so, they now sit alongside each other. Headphones give you a false sense of the stereo range.

4. What RAM, Hard drive speed etc should I look into getting? RAM = minimum 1GB and HDD = 7200rpm and partition the drive(s) with a minimum of 300+GB. 32bit platforms struggle with more than 2GB of RAM.

5. What Software/Hardware would be most suitable? That is a question you need to breakdown into specific areas… Sequencer, VST’s etc etc..

[quote quote="tobacco_slammers":2oojx50x]Ok time for an update:

After hours of research I think the most practical solution for me is to buy a mac. Now I need to find one that would do.

I was all for buying Pro Tools as it would help me with college but i’m now tempted to go for logic studio 8! still undecided so i’ll investigate more.

I’m looking at getting reason 4 too but would I need this if I get logic?

All the other stuff i’m still looking into.

Any more advice would be great;)[/quote:2oojx50x]

having a G4 orG5 is the first thing you need as you would have been told if you are at collage
logic or cubase sx/recycle/ are a must have
reason is a software you can use with cubase..
and of course a sound card
learning and understanding midi is a must..
add a good mixing desk with monitors and a midi interface..
and ur ready to go…

Good Luck!!!

You missed some acoustic treatment from the list. I agree you should build the furniture yourself. To buy quiklok will eat your budget, so get some wood, varnish, router, jigsaw, drill, and a screwfix catalogue and you will be designing before you know it.

check out http://www.studiotips.com/ and http://www.studiopeople.com/ for some ideas. Have a browse through the studio sos articles at http://www.soundonsound.com/search?sect … studio+sos and the studio design forum http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/postl … ard=DESIGN

hey, maybe we could have a competition to design it

First thing to look at which a lot of people forget is ur monitors get the best sounding monitors u can afford then sought out the acoustics of ur studio..equipment wise really and truly u can make a hit record on the most minimal equipment dont think u have to get the latest software or hardware..AND REMEMBER A TRACK IS ONLY AS GOOD AS UR IDEAS U PUT IN NOT THE EQUIPMENT USED..Peace

My advice is to go with a mac computer!!!
It’s easy to handle and you’ll be fascinated by the performance!!!
Apple Logic is always a good choice for every kind of recording or making music!!!
The new Version(8.0) is great and definetly the best solution for musicians and producers.

use macbook pro + sonar x1