Music Equipment help

[Benzine]

I'm doing a music degree at the moment and a music studio is being built ready for later this acedemic year and beyond. We are being asked at the moment what we would like to have in the studio.

I am currently creating the specification of a brand new music laboratory that you will begin using from the start of the 'Music Software and Hardware' module later this academic year.

This laboratory will feature hardware and software for both music software development (for the BSc DM students) and a number of 'project studio' set ups for everybody on BSc DM and BA DMC to explore, study and make music with.

Hardware will include specialised music PCs (and hopefully one Macintosh), DAWs ('digital audio workstations'), keyboard workstations and various synth and sampler modules.

Software will include Cakewalk Sonar, Pro Tools, MAX and software synths.

I would like you to use this forum to tell me (and the other members of staff involved as well as all of the DM and DMC students) about the hardware and software you would like to be made available in this new lab: tell us WHAT and tell us WHY...

Discussion and debate are welcome but no flaming and justify the points you make. Just think in a few months time you could be playing with the musical 'toy' of your dreams...

The trouble is i know flip all about recording equipment (i just play the guitar) etc and at the moment most of the people on my course are all DJ's and their only suggestions are things like "I wanna see leik "Pr0 DJ dek spinnAr mixMaSTer version 1.1337 beta" and "mOre dEcks"

So can anyone tell me some good software/hardware/equipment for recording/playing guitars/drums(Roland TD-10 perhaps)/vocals/metal etc?

Spanks