$3000 to spend

well,ive been a good boy and have been dropping change in the old poland springs bottle.

I think its time I buy some stuff!

My primary objective is to make music,so a mesa stack isn't really what i'm after.

A computer based setup with some software tickles me nicely.(note that I don't have a computer).I'm renting this one until I choose a final system.

Lay it on me recording buffs of GT!

God,I missed this place...

Heres a small setup idea...

*Event Tuned Reference TR5 Active Monitors

*PreSonus FIREBOX 24-bit/96kHz FireWire Recording System

*Cakewalk SONAR 5 Producer PC

*Toontrack Drum Kit From Hell Superior

it comes in a $1368.97

Am I on the right track here?

Originally Posted by: chucklivesoninmyheartHeres a small setup idea...

*Event Tuned Reference TR5 Active Monitors

*PreSonus FIREBOX 24-bit/96kHz FireWire Recording System

*Cakewalk SONAR 5 Producer PC

*Toontrack Drum Kit From Hell Superior

it comes in a $1368.97

Am I on the right track here?

Sounding good so far but I don't see a PC mentioned anywhere. Get a PC that's already setup as a DAW. Look on Musicians friend to get some ideas and then shop around. Look on EBAY for the models on MF, alot of sellers will offer you a warranty and the whole 9 but you can usually score a deal. The PC I use for recording is one I bought off EBAY. Complete PC for 500 bucks. It's a P4 2.2ghz with 1.3 gigs of DDRAM and it came with a 17 inch LCD monitor plus keyboard, mouse, original copy of XP Home. My motherboard only has a 400mhz front side bus and I would like an 800mhz but so far it hasn't slowed me down much.

If I were you I Would Forget about a computer and get a Roland VS-2000. I'm telling you now you will not regret it. If you go to listening post and find my thread I did all of those songs on it and I got rave reviews for the sound quality. They run around $2000 so you could still get a decent Dell if you wanted. I find recording to a computer somewhat difficult and touchy sometimes. If you get the Roland You will thank me I assure you.

or a Korg D1200 mk I / D1600 mk II from eBay. You will have plenty of change left to expand when you know what you want to expand into.

They are both great bits of starting up kit.

Are you thinking Mac or PC? Do you need MIDI sequencing? How many inputs do you need? Do you want to do any outboard processing? Do you want to you use an external digital interface to record/mix, or do you want to do it all with your mouse?

Here's a list of what I'd get:

- a nice desk/workstation with room for 2 medium sized computer screens side to side, and with elevated posts on both ends to put the monitors on at about earlevel.
- a nice and fast PC, preferably with 2 hard drives, with the possibility to run two screens, and with a DVD burner (for storing audio data)
- Digidesign's Pro-Tools M-Powered with whatever M-Audio interface that fits your needs.
- a pair of Mackie HR824's
- a nice comfi chair

Of course, if you're new to this, I wouldn't go wild and spend all that money at once. Start small, get the hang of things. You'll automatically learn what you need and what you don't, and just expand from there.

Originally Posted by: magicninjaI find recording to a computer somewhat difficult and touchy sometimes.

With any equipment you're going to use there is a learning curve. I assure you that recording on a computer doesn't have to be difficult at all.

Originally Posted by: SPLWith any equipment you're going to use there is a learning curve. I assure you that recording on a computer doesn't have to be difficult at all.

I'm sure It's the case I just found using the VS-2000 to be easier than computer recording.

I just spent a small fortune getting my home studio setup, if you have 3 grand to play with on gear (excluding guitar and a pc) then I would suggest the following.

Rack Gear:

1. Mesa Boogie Triaxis - you can get one on Ebay for around $700. Digital with real tubes, sounds a lot more realistic than the POD.

2. Preamp - you can find plenty around, do some research then check out Ebay. You need this is you get passive speakers/monitors.

3. M-Audio Delta 1010 - I can't recommend this highly enough! Zero latency soundcard with a rack mountable interface


Software:

1. ProTools or Cubase SX3 - You can get the full version of Cubase SX3 on Ebay for around $350 (student version but it is the same as pro version but cheaper - Ebay sellers dont require proof of id!!). Cubase also has the most plug-ins (VST) available.


Speakers/Monitors:

One of the most important parts of the whole set-up. Get flat response system, either M-Audio, Tannoy or if you can afford them Genelex (the best there is). Active speakers have built in power supplies and preamps and will save a lot of space.

If you are looking for a really good pc get a Dell from the manufacturer. If you go the Dell route get the following: an Optiplex with 2Gb ram, Current top speed processor, 19 inch TFT screen, Windows XP Pro, don't get Microsoft Office! Don't get ANY extra software besides the XP Pro. I found this out when I installed GigaStudio 3, the relly good packages require a freshly installed pc with no crap on them otherwise things go wrong. Also, don't get an onboard soundcard. No matter what you read, Creative Labs hardware is not up to scratch for recording pro level sounds. An M-Audio card will solve this problem. If you buy from the manufacturer, you will be able to get all the tech support you need (important when setting up a home studio) and you get it at it's cheapest. Also get the fastest cd/dvd burner they have. You don't need a pc with hyper-threading, all of the big software packages require that this is turned off for them to operate properly. Also, get the biggest drives you can afford - I got two 300GB drives, with the second being a skuzzy drive (much faster - necessary for pulling samples over to the master drive). Make sure that you are going to get ayour c customised to provice as close ts close as possible to sero latency for audio applications.

Ancillaries include: a really comfy chair, a large desk with two levels (upper level for TFT scren and studio monitors), an Evolution midi keyboard (very important for programming beats and any other midi - which you WILL end up doing at some stage).

There you have it, the guts of a kick ass studio!

Originally Posted by: Superhuman2. Preamp

Correction: Poweramp.

Also, does the Triaxis come with speaker simulation?

[QUOTE=SPL]Correction: Poweramp.

QUOTE]

Noted and accepted;-)

Re the Triaxis, it doesnt have all of the cab simulations etc found on the POD but I firmly believe that the POD just doesnt cut it for realism (probably an invitation to be flamed!). Cab sims can always be added on in post production anyway, it's more important to get a decent root sound sorted in my opinion. I have a Rectifier Recording Preamp but I am already thinking or trading it in against a Triaxis for the flexibility it offers.

Have a gander at my equipment page:

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/SchmangeOnline/Soundtrackst0964.htm

Out of most of that stuff, the equpment that gets used the most is the computer, Cubase, the Guitar Synth and MIDI keyboard, behringer mixer and Boss ME-5. Everything else is pretty much software based.
If you're going to be doing multitracking, concentrate your money on VST stuff and get some decent plug-ins, VSTi synths, and mastering software.

Like seriously, you don't even need to do squat to put a whole song together just by holding down a few chords.

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/SchmangeOnline/DarkBattle.mp3

On that tune, all I did was load up drum loop, then play A chords all the way through. Then you just tell the software to play a dozen different instruments and it sounds like an orchestra.

Hell.... My computer was $500. Cubase was $500 about 3 years ago.
SampleTank I got for free for doing a review. The behringer mixer was a coupla hundred. The guitar was $300 and the ME-5 I got used for $150.
The loops I got off eBay for $10 or free from PLP. And t-Racks was a few hundred.

For a song like this one:
http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/SchmangeOnline/Maya.mp3

I just used VSTi instruments like Absynth and a whole bunch of royalty free loop CD's. If you want to customize the loops so that they're all in the same beat, buy ReCycle.

Like, the whole setup for this song (and the other 30 on my PhaseIV CD - http://cdbaby.com/all/schmange) was probably just a coupla thousand bucks...and only took a coupla months to put together.

Thanks for the advice.I would be building my own computer though.It comes in under a grand(without soundcard).

At the price point of the mesa,I would find it hard to ignore the pod xt pro.
The only thing i'm really not sure about are the drums.Does SX3 have drum sounds for use in the sequencer,or do I need to buy a plug-in(like DFKH superior)?I'm not good enough to lay down tracks physically on a set(at least for what I play).

For drums, I'd honestly get yourself a ton of royalty free drum loops and a copy of ReCycle. Then get a drum machine like Battery.

The loops are already pre-made and if you take you time you can either replace the the individual hits or accentuate them with overdubs from Battery.

...I don't know...i'm pretty lazy,Hehe.I'm willing to pay for good hit samples and a nice interface.

Crap,I almost forgot,I need a bass!I like those peavey grind basses(going on looks alone here).

Does anyone know much about the line6 toneport UX1 or UX2?Heres a link...

http://line6.com/toneport/

Originally Posted by: chucklivesoninmyheartThanks for the advice.I would be building my own computer though.It comes in under a grand(without soundcard).

At the price point of the mesa,I would find it hard to ignore the pod xt pro.
The only thing i'm really not sure about are the drums.Does SX3 have drum sounds for use in the sequencer,or do I need to buy a plug-in(like DFKH superior)?I'm not good enough to lay down tracks physically on a set(at least for what I play).

The mesa gear is expensive but it is good quality, real tube sound. I have a PODxt and I hate it, in fact, if you live in Europe I'll sell you mine! Re SX3, it comes with a basic drums synth which will do the job but you can download free vst's and plug-ins too, I used DFH (regular not superior) on the track in my sig file below (that track was also done before I got all of my gear so excuse the overall sound!). You can download free midi patterns anywhere and once you have a good plug-in you probably won't have to get another. I recently got a really cool one though that could interest you called Stormdrum by EastWest Samples. It all depends on what sound you are going for. DFH is great for metal though;-) However, you will need to run it through Battery, Halion or GigaStudio as a patch into Cubase (just so you know before you rush out and buy it).

I take it that you are into Death, well Chuck got his guitar sound by playing without any effects through a Marshall stack, simple yet effective setup. And DFH would most certainly suit that sound, in fact if you spent enough time at it you could set up a virtual drummer to rival any of the dudes who played on the last few albums (from 'Human' to 'Symbolic'). There are probably only a handfull on the planet who could actually play like like that!

I see.I was under the impression I could just use the DFH drum sounds in SX3's interface directly.

I had an XT and it was decent to my ears,but I couldn't put it to much use at the time.

Heh,when I can sequence something similar to gene hoglan or richard christy i'll know things are progressing.

I actually am not a massive fan of chucks sound...I think the best example of guitar distortion would be that of Necrophagist.They use engl power and pre amps.The heaviest "clean" distortion ive heard.
Michael Romeo's sound is awsome too.He uses line 6 vetta's.

Originally Posted by: chucklivesoninmyheart...I don't know...i'm pretty lazy,Hehe.I'm willing to pay for good hit samples and a nice interface.

Crap,I almost forgot,I need a bass!I like those peavey grind basses(going on looks alone here).

Does anyone know much about the line6 toneport UX1 or UX2?Heres a link...

http://line6.com/toneport/

Buy a Boss DR 880 drum machine. It is fully programmable as far as drums and it has a bass player built in that is also fully programmable. It's very simple to use, some folks say it hard but if you have any experience with step editing it's a breeze. I like recording in real time with it myself and then step editing the touchups I need. Very nice piece of equipment though.

I'm confused on the software side of things...Are there any recording programs that also are a vst host or do I need 3 programs(separate recording,sequencing and drum vst plug-in?)

heck,I would also like the option to add some lutes,flutes and orchestrated sounds.Besides the midi keyboard,I assume it would require an entirley different plug-in too...geez,I can see how this stuff adds up if you want anything more than a dry bare demo.