>>Dude, mine came in at about $40 000 !
heh..friggin plug-ins alone cost me over 25 grand and I only use about 5 of em. :rolleyes:
If you get a used computer, just make sure you have at least the minimum processor and ram for the software you're using. You can use less, but it's a pain in the butt trying to keep multiple tracks running at once or using live plug-ins
For about a coupla thousand bucks you could get a Digidesign Mbox 2, ProTools LE, UAD-1 Project Pak, Event ALP1 monitors, a studio projects vtb-1 preamp, cme uf5 midi controller and an m-audio luna mic. If you wanna go up to $2500 total, you could add in a bare bones dell computer with a 2.8ghz proceser, 160 gb hard drive and a 17" flat screen monitor.
You could upgrade to a m-audio project mix that gives you a firewire audio interface with a built in mixer. upgrade the monitors to dynaudio bm5a.\
If you want to go the really cheap route, get a Mac G3 beige for about $100.
ProTools Free, a behringer 8 track mixer, a pair of paradigm 3se speakers, roland pc-200 keyboard and a rode nt-1 mic. You're probably talking under $500 if you buy used. That's about all I used to record my first CD.