$1000 budget, need best sound I can get..ideas?

[theNeologist]

So I am looking to upgrade my current basically non-existent studio to something of the best sound I can get for what I can afford. I will be on roughly a $1000 budget.

I will not need: guitars, bass, computer

I will need: DAW, some sort of interface, only a vocal mic (since I am planning to do all guitar and bass recording through DI and programmed drums)

I have the original POD (dont even know the exact model name) which I will continue to use unless someone convinces me otherwise of the POD XT or something else..

This is what I am leaning to right now as far as things to get in my 1000$ budget

Pro Tools LE 8.0 with Mbox PRO
A good vocal mic (any suggestions?)

That's my basic thought for now...any suggestions ideas anything?

 

[Fox Mulder]

MXL 990

*You'd need really good acoustic treatment to get the most out of condensers*

 

[gabriel g.]

are you a Mac or PC guy?

 

[Joematthews]

Do you have some monitors or speakers to use? cus if not that would be on the list of shiz to get.

Joe

 

[LydonB]

Audio Technica 4050 or Shure KSM44 for vocal mic. These are pretty versatile microphones so should you need to mic something else, you will have one at your disposal.

 

[Via Noctis]

What style of vocals?

 

[mintcheerios]

SM7 (not 57) for vocals if your preamp has enough gain. It's more forgiving for rooms with less than ideal acoustics and has proven itself on many top rock albums.

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

MBOX + low end monitors = you're out of cash.

Why not use something like Reaper to start out (it's only $60), then upgrade to PT later? That will save you several hundred so you can afford a decent mic and decent monitors?

 

[Zack Uidl]

if you only have 1k, i would not recommend PT. just like Chris just said, something like Reaper would probably be better and just switch later to PT if you need/want to

 

[Sean in Silence]

+1 on getting reaper for now
Who knows
You may even end up keeping it as your permanent DAW
I definitely am
lol
That will definitely save you a big chunk of your limited cash

 

[KeithTidd]

mbox mini + at3035+ your choice of monitors ( most people like bx8's as a good low end monitor, but there's probably others left over you could look at.)

 

[Metaltastic]

REAPER IS SO FUCKING AWESOME

 

[JMarz]

REAPER IS SO FUCKING AWESOME

never read anything more truthful in my life

 

[iamdunker]

go to your local casino and place the grand on red, hope you win and you will be in a lot better shape. Monitors are a must!

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

You should get monitors and do what it takes to get your room to sound good. That will go farther than anything.

 

[Pot]

You should get monitors and do what it takes to get your room to sound good. That will go farther than anything.

yup

 

[theNeologist]

i like this approach...it is tempting...AC isnt too far away

go to your local casino and place the grand on red, hope you win and you will be in a lot better shape. Monitors are a must!

 

[theNeologist]

i am a PC user btw..

the way i figure right now, ill use my basic 5.1 Altec Lansing speakers because great monitors wont be worth it unless my production is decent to even start with

i keep hearing a lot about reaper, but unless im missing something, that is not an interface... whereas PT LE has the mbox which acts as an upgraded soundcard pretty much...which in turn should enhance my sound quality

what is so good about reaper?

 

[Sean in Silence]

Reaper is damn near free for one
and it does everything I've ever needed to do, and it does it well
plus it comes with a ton of free plugins (many of them actually being extremely useful)
You would have to buy a seperate interface
but this route is probably the better one
as you'll have more money to invest into other more important things, such as monitors