Building a hobby studio (help)

[DTDJosh]

So, i'm looking into building a little jam studio. Nothing special, but I just wanna build something to where I can record some little ideas, and some harmonies.

What interfaces or programs would you guys suggest?

I'm thinking about a POD, but I don't wanna spend 200 bucks, I just want something I can use, without spending my life's savings.

 

[felipe-x]

get presonus firepod or audiobox and some krk rp5 monitors maybe... you could start with that i guess..

 

[DTDJosh]

Sounds good. What do you think about the POD XT or POD 2.0. I found a few of those on Craigslist, but i'm not sure about them.

 

[felipe-x]

never tried pod 2.0 , xt is nice tho.. i think a "toneport" is a better option

 

[006]

Don't get a 2.0. XT at the minimum, and try to find one that has the MetalShop pack on it already. Or get an X3, it already has that installed from Line6 no matter what. I second the toneport idea. You can get that and the Line6 software to use completely with your computer, makes things a tad easier.

I don't think monitors are really necessary at this point for your needs. If you just want to jam some stuff out, not too serious, then you can make do with some decent computer speakers like something from BlueSky.

And get a program called Reaper (www.reaper.fm). It's free, just a nag screen every time you open it, but is fully functional and has plenty of features to get you started. Plus it's like $40 if you want to just buy it. And I'm assuming you are on PC, in which case there is a massive collection of free plug-ins for you to use if you head over to www.kvraudio.com and search for what you need. Not to mention that Reaper comes with quite a few plugs already.

Just my opinion...

~006

 

[AdamWathan]

Pod 2.0 > Pod XT for jammnig at home and quick demo ideas IMO. Neither sound good enough to compete with a real rig on record so the endless tweaking available in the XT/X3 is futile.

 

[DTDJosh]

Thanks in a big way everyone. A lot of this was helpful and I think I'm gonna go with 006 and get the XT. It just sounds better.

 

[006]

FWIW Adam is right in that both won't sound stellar, and the XT will make you tweak on-end because it does sound better than the 2.0, but not as good as a real amp. If you wanted to save some money there is nothing wrong with scoring a 2.0, it'll do the job, just not sound as good as the XT, which doesn't sound as good as something else, and so-on, etc.

~006

 

[AdamWathan]

I definitely found the out of the box tones on the 2.0 to be a lot more "album-ready" than what comes out of a Pod XT. You can tweak the living shit out of it and use external impulses to get it sounding better than a 2.0, but there are WAAAAAY more horrible sounds that you can get with an XT than you can with the 2.0.

Personally I'd save a shit ton of money and go V-Amp 2 over both options, I've had a Pod 2.0 and a Pod XT and the V-Amp is the only one still kicking around. Modern High Gain model on that thing is deadly.