one man band complete recording studio>

[vejichan]

starting from scatch.
I am primarily a guitar player. No drummer/bass player. I play prog/metal/80'
s shred (dream theater/evergrey/george lynch/evh) I would like to build a compact very easy to use effective mini home recording studio.
What do you guys recommend for

1) laptop computer
2) studio monitor/pc speakers
3) headphones
4) amp software
5) drum software
6) audio interface
7) something that simulate bass( i prefer not buying a bass) maybe something that can do a bass sound.
8) what else would i need???

i want something simple easy to use... any suggestions/recommendation?

 

[anotherpaul]

I'm kind of in the same boat, because I'm looking forward to renew my entire setup. Now using old HP Pavillion Core2Duo laptop with ExpressCard FW adapter and Focusrite Saffire LE. Reaper projects with around 50 tracks loaded by 3-8 plugins each are getting really hard to work with. And looking at the newer PC laptops - FW seems to be gone (yes, I know Macs have it). So it's either USB interface or some obscure laptop series.
Any specific laptop+audio interface combinations that are reliable would be appreciated!

 

[CubanDude]

1) no idea, working on a PC
2) depends on what you're willing to spend. the equators D5 are probably your best shot if you want "cheap" monitors
3) ATH M-50 are highly recommended around here
4) use the free stuff from lepou and onqel
5) the easiest way to go is metal machine. sounds pretty good out of the box
6) depends on your budget and laptop, so can't say anything here
7) either you pitchshift your guitar or you buy the trillian or zombass vst (heard zombass is pretty awesome, especially for the price
8) cables, passion and the search function of this board

 

[Chainsaw Calligraphy]

1) Depends on your budget. Read some reviews and find something reliable with a decent processor. Make sure you have plenty of RAM if you're going to be using samplers.
2) HS80Ms or Equator D5s. Don't cheap out on these.
3) Depends on what you're planning to use them for and how much you want to spend. The ATH-50Ms are a safe bet and are decent for mixing on. If you only want something to monitor with while you're recording just look for a comfortable set of closed back headphones within your budget.
4) Look for TSE x50 and Lepou's Lecto. They're both free and awesome. You'll also need some impulses to go with those, Catharsis IR, God's Cab and Guitar Hack's impulses are the way to go and Lepou's Lecab works fine as an impulse loader. There's also a good tubescreamer sim by TSE if you need one.
5) Steven Slate Drums or Superior Drummer.
6) Mackie's Onyx Blackjack is a good choice if you only have to record guitars and vocals. If you want to record live drums or need more inputs check out the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.
7) Zombass.
8) A decent DI box would be useful if you're mostly going to work through amp sims. I'd also recommend buying an sm57 so you have to option of recording real amps. It will also double as a decent vocal mic with a pop shield.

EDIT: Don't forget a DAW. Go with Reaper, it's cheap, intuitive and effective.