New Studio Buying Guide - Great Budget !!

[HerbieSwizzle]

Need your help guys!

I'll start buy saying I actually have a decent budget here! Around $2,000 give or take !! So we can have fun here .

My Goal: I will be opening up a studio to record and mix local bands. The least amount of money I spend the BETTER obviously. I want to be prudent in my spendings, but do it RIGHT from the start so I don't waste my time or money. Definately looking for quality at the cheapest price, BUT if I need to spend the $ to do it right, I understand wholly. NO MICKEY MOUSE HERE


My Gear: Yamaha HS-50M's with matching HS10-SUB. KRK Rockit 8's. MBOX MINI , Pro Tools w/ (Superior Drummer, Slate Trigger FX, Slate VCC, & many plugins.) Ermz Mixing Guide . POD X3 with PodFarm. Some old keyboard that works.. SM57's. Samson S-Direct.

My Needs:

A vocal mic !! (Screaming Metal + Singing.)
A preamp(s) !!
Any other necessary microphones.
Acoustic Treatment.
Workstation/Desk.
Outboard gear.
Upgrade from MBOX mini?
UAudio Plugins? Synthesizer plugins, maybe omnisphere?


Definately gear is most important here...

FYI: I am a dealer of at a music store so I have great deals on these products.

Joe Meek
Studio Projects

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Thank you guys! This is very serious for me so I am anxious to hear your replies and do ALOT of research.

Thanks.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Need your help guys!

I'll start buy saying I actually have a decent budget here! Around $2,000 give or take !! So we can have fun here .

My Goal: I will be opening up a studio to record and mix local bands. The least amount of money I spend the BETTER obviously. I want to be prudent in my spendings, but do it RIGHT from the start so I don't waste my time or money. Definately looking for quality at the cheapest price, BUT if I need to spend the $ to do it right, I understand wholly. NO MICKEY MOUSE HERE


My Gear: Yamaha HS-50M's with matching HS10-SUB. KRK Rockit 8's. MBOX MINI , Pro Tools w/ (Superior Drummer, Slate Trigger FX, Slate VCC, & many plugins.) Ermz Mixing Guide . POD X3 with PodFarm. Some old keyboard that works.. SM57's. Samson S-Direct.

My Needs:

A vocal mic !! (Screaming Metal + Singing.)
A preamp(s) !!
Any other necessary microphones.
Acoustic Treatment.
Workstation/Desk.
Outboard gear.
Upgrade from MBOX mini?
UAudio Plugins? Synthesizer plugins, maybe omnisphere?


Definately gear is most important here...

FYI: I am a dealer of at a music store so I have great deals on these products.

Joe Meek
Studio Projects

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you guys! This is very serious for me so I am anxious to hear your replies and do ALOT of research.

Thanks.

Unfortunately, two grands is not necessarily that big of a budget considering your needs. Let's break it down:

- Vocal/HH mic: Shure SM7B $349
- Drum shell mics (including an i5 you could use for guitars as well): Audix DP-- 5A pack $659
- Overhead/general purpose SDC mics: A pair of Röde NT5's $429
- An interface with at least eight preamps: M-Audio Profire 2626 $700
- Acoustic treatment: DIY, $300 will get you somewhere

That's already around 2,5 grand, and it doesn't include the desk, plugins or any outboard (are you sure need it? if so, what exactly do you need?). And FWIW, it's definitely not high-end stuff, just every-day tried and true gear that should get you started.

 

[HerbieSwizzle]

Unfortunately, two grands is not necessarily that big of a budget considering your needs. Let's break it down:

- Vocal/HH mic: Shure SM7B $349
- Drum shell mics (including an i5 you could use for guitars as well): Audix DP-- 5A pack $659
- Overhead/general purpose SDC mics: A pair of Röde NT5's $429
- An interface with at least eight preamps: M-Audio Profire 2626 $700
- Acoustic treatment: DIY, $300 will get you somewhere

That's already around 2,5 grand, and it doesn't include the desk, plugins or any outboard (are you sure need it? if so, what exactly do you need?). And FWIW, it's definitely not high-end stuff, just every-day tried and true gear that should get you started.

Darkko! Much help thanks... but honestly I actually don't have a budget, just a goal to keep the cash down.

BUT! The most important things are NOT the drum mics, interface for the drums and preamps for it. I am going to be programming and replacing drums entirely, even if I put a couple cheap mics and have to fake like I am recording real drums with my clients.

I am looking for gear for a clean vocal chain, including preamps and mic (SM7b with your suggestion) possibly that can work for bass and or guitar. I definitely need a good preamp for the BASS and guitar. If bass/guitar preamp needs to be a separate unit, I would be open to that as well. I want a clean, amazing sound coming in especially for these three! That way there's no "shit going in, shit coming out" going on.

Do you guys usually even use preamps for guitar?

Any Suggestions anyone? Let me know! I will be also financing some of this stuff. So I am open to all suggestions and possibilities here. I am looking forward to your expertise!

 

[Emdprodukt]

Amazing sound is expensive. Really good preamps cost a lot of money.with your budget you can go for something decent. If you take your stuff seriously you use a preamp for guitars. I mean... What else would you use with mics?

This is where stuff gets expensive. There is no need to invest 2 grands into an api 3124 if you're feeding it into a cheap/bad adda section. I'm on my mobile phone so I cant help with links but my advice is to start with a decent interface that's expandable and go from there.

 

[mva801]

Like these guys have said, $2,000 is NOTHING to get a studio going with even decent gear. Most bands I know would never record at a place where they can't even do real drums... Not much of a full service studio of you ask me. And pretending to record them? I dunno man. You're better off trying to get bands into a real studio for drums, then back to your glorified home/ project studio for overdubs.

Anyway, rant over. If I were you I would start with a much better interface.

Apogee Duet 2 - $600. 2 channels. Has GREAT preamps and AD/DA converters. Should eliminate your need for outboard pres for the time being.
SM7B - $330. Already been said. Amazing vocal/ guitar/ pretty much anything mic. Also if you can get a cheap one, the studio projects condensers are supposed to be good. It would help you to have 2 options for vocal mics...
Little Labs Redeye DI/ Reamp box - $240. The duet is great, but I'd pick up one of these as DI input (fantastic) and a re-amper in one. You need more options than the POD for guitar, and you'll most likely get mixing work that needs re-amped.

I'd spend the rest on acoustic treatment and plugins.

As far as a desk goes, I'd get a cheap ass table from Ikea and some monitor stands. They also have 19" wide bedside tables that make awesome racks. Just add the rails.

Also, with the clients you're probably going to get, they won't want to pay for additional mastering, so I'd think about getting some sort of mastering software...

 

[HerbieSwizzle]

Perfect!! I understand completely...

So a new interface with better AD/DA converters would make sound quality better than a new pre? After I get the new interface and mic, what pre's should I be looking at? Should I be looking for pre's next?

How about distressor and compression coming in... that's important for vocals no?

I think you guys got me started.. i'll start posting some stuff as soon as possible.

Thanks.



FYI: I will be doing drums in an external studio for a different rate. I was planning on offering the periphery/SD2.0 do it your self drum-programming with my standard rate.

 

[mva801]

The reason I said go for the Apogee is because it has good pres AND converters. If you can step above that budget a bit, you CAN'T go wrong with a GAP PRE73 and a Distressor...

 

[HerbieSwizzle]

Great! Would it be ideal to buy that pre AND apogee and use them in unison?

I am definitely going to buy a distressor eventually for sure...

you have been ALOT of help!! Only problem is I have pc and mac for recording and I see it would limit me to recording on the mac only oh well... Sucks cause my PC has double the power.

Again.. THANK YOU ALOT

 

[Melb_shredder]

I'll give you a quick rundown on what I started with.. This is purely interface/ gear.. Not even what I spent on PC or Cubase + Plugins etc...
Countryman T85 DI - $200
Safesound P1 Mic Pre/ Compressor - $900
RME Multiface AD converter/ interface. - $500 (With PCIExpress card too)
SM57 - $100
SM7B - $400

(AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR BTW)

$2100 is pretty decent for a chain that I've used pretty exclusively for a nice CLEAN chain. I tracked the whole Orpheus album (Minus drums) through that chain and it came up a treat.

That's just an example of getting some decent quality gear at a decent price. But as most have mentioned, that's really just a starting point. Good monitoring/ room treatment etc are just as important, if not moreso!

 

[HerbieSwizzle]

You're the man!

Now guys.. Through my research I see a lot of people saying the new mbox 3 pro sounds just as good if not better than the apogee duet 2 with more I/Os too!

So here are my options with interface.

MBOX 3 pro
Apogee Duet 2
RME Multiface
Other

Opinions if any

 

[Melb_shredder]

Just bare in mind dude, the Multiface is JUST an A/D converter. With Line ins and Outs. It's not a Mic pre at all. The idea is to run a dedicated Mic Pre into it

 

[LeSedna]

Omnisphere is a decent move of you don't have a synth yet, it would cover all your needs.

I can defend the duet option, it's a good one. Very good converters for what it is !

 

[AdamG94]

Has the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 been over looked a bit here? They're pretty damn good for the $500 price tag.

 

[mva801]

Dude stay away from AVID M-box's. I have a buddy who's gone through two of the god-damn things and issues/ weird noises still crop up. His clock just up and failed one day, they sent him a new one, and it's got phantom noises popping up. I hate them. Apogee is quality stuff. Plus you said you didn't need more than a couple inputs... I mean judge for yourself but don't say I didn't warn you when you're out of an interface for a week because AVID blows ass...

 

[C-Martin]

Has the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 been over looked a bit here? They're pretty damn good for the $500 price tag.

Pro 40 or a Profire 2626 is what i would've suggested to start off with too. They are very good interfaces for the money and it gets you started with 8 decent preamps so you don't have to spent on low/mid level preamps, which IMO is a waste of money when your starting. If your just starting, stock preamps on todays interfaces and some good plugin's will get you going for a good while until you start to fall into the world of outboard GAS.

I would recommend the same stuff Jarkko suggested, i would just remove the DP5 kit and find a local studio you can rent that includes all the mics, stands and accessories you need to track drums. The 2626 will have 2 DI inputs so you don't have to spend on a separate DI box yet, i would invest in a reamp box first like the little labs. The Profire will also serve you in the long run if you ever upgrade as it can be used as a independent AD/DA converter or 8 additional pres. Also look into getting used stuff if you can, allot of great deals can be had if you shop around and search deep.

When i first got into recording i started off with a similar budget, although i only really set myself up to track guitars. Things i got were:

Shure SM57 - 100$
Sennheiser MD421 - 250$ used
Dynaudio BM5a - 400$ for used pair (Amazing deal IMO)
M-Audio Delta 1010 + FMR RNP - 1000$
Cables, more cables, stands and more cables - probably about 300-400$
(Cables are often overlooked but it gets expensive if you start off with nothing)

When i got the 1010 + FMR, i was trying to avoid Presonus and it looked like the best budget solution for me, then the ProFire 2626 came out a few months later... I was pretty upset about that since i probably would have went with the 2626 and i would probably still have it today. One thing i didn't get was acoustic treatment until much later and now that i have some i wish i had gotten it way earlier than i did.

 

[HerbieSwizzle]

You guys have helped me MORE than enough so far! This will be a great start and I will weight my options out!

I really really appreciate the help.

Cheers to you guys! I hope to be posting some more stuff as soon as possible.




Cheers!!!!

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

If you're going to be replacing all drums completely, end of story, get a set of ES57s. They're crazy fucking directional, so you get very little bleed, plus, they don't sound bad either.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

If I had to do it all over again I would have definitly started with a bigger (more I/O) interface. I went through 4 of them before arriving at the current profire 2626 with an attached D8.

Another thing to note: The X3 pod (if it is the bean) has a s/pdif out, use that with whatever interface you have instead to free up the analog inputs.

 

[mva801]

Guess it all depends on your situation. I do ~70% of my tracking work in a really nice studio, so if I ever need more than two inputs, I just go there. I convince nearly all of my clients to let me take them to a real studio for drums. I'll be ditching my profire 2626 pretty soon and picking up an apogee for overdubs and such. The profire has been a workhorse, but I pretty much never use the extra inputs and could use the better pres and converters.