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[Adam The Truck Driver]

[danickstr]

maybe start with one question at a time.  I don't remember your post but it seemed a bit overwhelming.

[Adam The Truck Driver]

Oh well sorry I blew up and that my thoughts mostly come out in flood like fashion.

I can afford it, just not all at once, or a crate full at a time even as I would really prefer rather than a piece at a time, cause I am in a hurry to accomplish an old dream before I die. I don't have stacks of extra cash about so piece at a time is it less I win the lotto...I'd better start buying tickets though if thats going to happen.

All I want is 8-16 tracks of professional grade equipment. I don't need every liitle luxury extra efx, microphones that cost in excess of 2.5K. I'd spend that for a preamp, like a MEQ1NV or something as I think a higher quality pre is the more important piece of gear, barring anything that is actually flawed in the chain. All I want to do with those tracks is make simple recordings of the best quality I can. Might only do live stereo recording but want a modest option to multitrack, and I really want to record live in a studio. I'm an old school soul.

What I don't know is what pre to get. Is some 4 channel for 4+K, 8 months for me to pay for but 4 channels, or in 4 months time that 4 channel for 2.5K as capable? Better I get that 2 channel for for 3.6K, 6-7 months to get for 2 channels, because how could a serious studio not have at least one? Should I just go for straight ahead pres, or get Pre/EQs, or Pre/CLs, or Pre/EQ/CL channels to track with. The DVC or the 737sm? Would 4 to 8 RNPs be just as good to track and forget all those high brow big bucks pieces? Should I get some sort of nice used console, or something like a LiLo or would I be just as well off with an 8816 & 8804? I want to DAW of course.

I can spend/save to spend, if things go well, around .5K a month on this, some months maybe a full 1K, and some months only .25K or nothing.

Again, sorry for the flood.

[danickstr]

if I were you, I would find the DAW that you like, first and foremost.  Many are demos, and you can get your daw engineering chops up and running, to make sure it is teh one for you.

then look at just getting a small board to experiment with, like a 80 dollar Behringer.

sell it on craigslist later if you like, but you need a basic setup to start.  get an SM57 and use the board pres to begin with, until you are able to run it all.

then you will have worked out a lot of shit, like your soundcard integration, control room to live room isssues,  etc.

then come back and yell at everyone again

[Adam The Truck Driver]

Hows about I just order me one them Korg, Roland, Akai, Fostex, er Tascam all in one boxes and call it a day? Oh wait I need an SM57...hey Fletcher...think I need another one of them hot rod 57s you have to go with the one I already have.

[danickstr]

Adam you make helping you such a pleasure....

[Fletcher]

It takes years to build up an arsenal of gear... unless, like you mentioned, you hit the lottery in which case real estate would probably be a way better investment as it's getting pretty cheap [comparatively] at the moment.

Starting with one of those "all in one" things is probably a great idea to get the ball rolling and your musical ideas recorded somewhere.  From there, as time goes on and you're sure you're interested in doing this on a heavier basis you can start to move into a better DAW system, better pre's, better mics, etc.

It always has been and always will be about the music!! The presentation of that music is only part of the program when the music will benefit from a more audiophile presentation... in other words, ain't no motherfucker ever walked down the street humming the mic pre.

Peace.

[dbmusic]

"ain't no motherfucker ever walked down the street humming the mic pre"  

I love it!  

Adam, relax man.  I know the feeling of time running out on your dreams. Download Reaper, get a Fireface 400, and you already have one of them hot rod 57s. Get a few plugins and make your music. The rest will come.

Peace bro..  

[brett]

Buy what you can afford for now and don't think about the other things you cannot afford. Get to making music on what ever you can. Save up but with the idea it will be your upgrade fund, but never upgrade or be driven by a particular piece of kit, especially if you haven't gotten you core system in place.

There is no one thing that will magically change your sound.

You start with the room. Treat it first. Then good monitoring. Converters. The daw isn't the most important thing. It is just a medium and enviroment. If you can adapt, you can use any DAW to make a good product if the room, and monitoring are good granted the converters hold up as well and the material is good.

Best place to start are tried and true industry staples.
the 57 is a good example as you already know. Can't go wrong with SM7, RE20, etc. Die hard dynamics that will work in may aps.  Have good pre's... API 512, Neve 1073. In my experience none are more of a work horse than these two pre-amp designs. API is used on so many drum kits and Neve is my default starting point on vocals.  

LILO is a pricy product for what it does. If budget is important and you need a decent line mixer, the Speck Xtramix is a good choice. That being said a good low end budget mixer with usable pre's and eq's are the mackie onyx. They are not high end but you could squeeze a decent recording out of one it you don't push the levels hard.

But design always starts at the ends and works it's way together in the middle. You always start with the end users needs when designing a system. from the artist side, and the engineering side.

1. Are you a pro studio catering to clients.
2. Are you an individual and need only 2 channels to layer and stack up.
3. are you a band of 5 members and drums and need a mic and input for all at the same time.

Answer these questions about your needs to know what the physical typology of your system needs to look like.

Then answer these.

1. what is the sound I am looking for.

It won't hurt to reference other bands and their sonic, style and tonal qualities. diferent gear is like using a completely diferent brush to paint with. Then post some questions relating to achieving that general kind of sound.

My recomendation for a bare minimum foot in the door setup for professional sounding results for under $5000... It would be a used mac G5 dual 2.7($1000), logic8($400), and an apogee duet($500). Slap some treatment on the walls made from fiberglass and burlap ($250) and a pair of Adam A7's($900). A budget system but all these products have been used by professionals. Like the duet and a7'S they have some of the mojo of thier more expensive siblings.

And you can get a two channel Neve clone pre(1500-2700) when you have more cash.

You can get away with no mixer, unless you need a alot of pre's and have outboard to insert while tracking. Low budget mixers seem to get in the way of the sound more than help it anyway. I would much rather go through a good pre to track directly to the DAW than have 16 or 24 channels of any mixer I have ever had access to or could afford.  

[Adam The Truck Driver]

Eventually I'd like to have a regional level pro studio, or nice alternative to the bigger professional studios in the near by big cities or at the very least a studio nobody else can touch within my county and all surrounding counties...thats probably 40-50 miles in every direction...I'd also like to one day have said studio located right by, or close to Texhoma Lake Resort, so it's right there...casino is a short drive...Dallas, or OKC less than 2 hours away, so there are all kinds of entertainment activities for the clients when they aren't in the studio working...a Midwestern Compass Point of sorts.

Initially though this is just to do my own demo covers while my voice is in blossom, and I want absolute unquestionable quality for said demos...to draw said clients. Thats what I'm thinking as of now. I don't want to be a truck driver all the way up to the end of my terminal life. Nothing interests me more than music...well movies maybe, but then there is music and sound efx in movies right?

[JDNelson]

brett wrote on Wed, 21 May 2008 16:36

The daw isn't the most important thing. It is just a medium and enviroment. If you can adapt, you can use any DAW to make a good product if the room, and monitoring are good granted the converters hold up as well and the material is good.

True but regardless of whatever DAW you choose, there is a learning curve to come to grips with the full features of the software.  I think what Nick (danickstr) is saying, and correct me if I'm wrong Nick, is that having the best tools is less important in the very beginning than the time put in learning.  IOW spend as little money as possible while you're finding out what is most important for your workflow and individual needs.  Then the time comes to spend, with the knowledge gained on the cheap.

[Fletcher]

JDNelson wrote on Thu, 22 May 2008 17:57

spend as little money as possible while you're finding out what is most important for your workflow and individual needs.  Then the time comes to spend, with the knowledge gained on the cheap.

IV-I!!!