My New Setup:
 

This is what I just bought and is being shipped as we speak:

Nady Pop Filter

M-Audio Fast Track USB Computer Recording Interface

Sterling Audio ST55 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Mic

I bought those for my studio I am building which will be almost an exact replica of Tzsar's..

What all feeling about that set-up?

thats pretty cool.....I'm happy with what i got haha,

Haha yo man I ain't braggin, I'm trying to find out what ya'll feel about that set-up.

I didnt buy a phantom power supply, because I am pretty sure that USB is powered by itself but I am not 100% sure...

I just want comments and opinions and shit..

^^yeah nah man....I have m audio fast track usb and the rode nt1-a condensor and still need the phantom power..it's not about the USB..you got a condensor so LIKELY it will need extra power that the m audio fast track won't have..so I suggest the ART PHANTOM POWER III...dolla

prah pretty much took the words outta my mouth. a phantoms not a suggestion, it's a necessity.

^I hate you lol I needed you online when I was ordering and you haven't been on in ages lol

I was talking to Tszar and thinking it was you for some reason and discussed my whole order with him lol

Ok, just ordered the phantom power III..

So that is all I should need right?

yeah i'm not surprised. that happens everytime i talk to an audio newcomer. i tell em what they need and they always go "well do i really need this do i really need that". then they screw something up and come right back to what i said to begin with.

Newcomer? Nah, but newcomer to actual recording equipment, yes lol

Anyways, so those 4 things and I'm set right?

well im talking audio newcomer from a gear perspective. and yeah don't forget you need XLR cables. 2 of em.

lol ok, with the phantom and XLR cables, that is all I need right?

Oh yea, what was some guy talking about that two mic inputs at the same time is better than a single or someshit...read the reviews under the M-Audio Fast Track USB on Musiciansfriend.com if you're interested..

P.S. Which XLR cables? There are plenty of them on the site, so which ones do I need?

most advice you get online or even in stores about recording equip is for bands. bands where there's more than one vocalist, multiple instruments, and so on. now you're a rapper and all you record is your own voice, do you need multiple mic inputs? nope. instrument inputs? nope. soundcards and preamps? hell nah

keep it simple.

btw, i'd reccomend mogami gold's ideally, but if you can't spring for em, aim for monster.

Straight, what exactly do these cords do besides transmit my mic to my interface?

they transmit the tiny electronic signals from your mic into your interface and they're arguably the most important piece of a set-up. wires can affect your sound (or to state it in a way you'll readily understand, your "sound quality") more dramatically than anything else in your set-up.

Aight cool, most definitly appreciate it.

Aight which one lmao..

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...able?sku=339034

or

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...able?sku=339034

And 20 feet? lmao I'ma have made coiled wire lol

Wait a second.
The dude @ GuitarCenter kept telling me I didnt have to buy an extra Phantom Power thing, and I have the M-Audio Fast Track as well.
He said its got it built in or whatever, and I looked at it and that was the case.

So will I be alright? Or did the guy just give me false info?

well depending on what he was talking about he may have been accurate. they make a Fast Track Pro which has an integrated phantom.
those are both XLR to 1/4" stereo. what you'll need is simple XLR male to XLR female, and in the shortest lengths possible.

I can't find what you are talking about..

This is what comes up when I search for it at Musiciansfriend.com

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/home...ogami+gold+XLR+

Let me know...

the first two are exactly what i'm talking about. XLR male to female is the 'standard' "XLR cable".

is that sterling mic better than a nt1a?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...tors?sku=338011

So this is it then?

yes.
on all levels.

fuck ordering your xlr cables and basic shit like that u'll just get ripped, head down to ur local music makers or whatever music store you got you should have a shit ton of em.... no doubt in my mind

And those places will just hand them out for free? lol

lol apexx basically told me everything i need lol.. well almost.. i got the nta-1, m-audio usb, imma upgrade it to this other thing, little better, pop filter.. etc.. cost over 500 bucks intotal.. but yea.. it was all worth it, just i dont record nemore lol.. i got the perfect beats but with skewl and work.. jst dont have the time nemore :(

^lol The set-up I just posted up is what Apexx told me to get =/

Maybe he told you a while back before this shit came out..

lol yea.. i got the silver/purple m-audio.. but when i record i can only hear myself off one side of the headphones.. so gay.. does that happen with u too?

word, lol that was long before i knew about the ST55.

and chris if your shit only comes out of one ear, set your mic input channel from Stereo to Mono 1 or Left. problem solved.

i jus bought a new set up to.....i bought an Imac , MiniMbox2 wit pro tools 7 LE, Yamaha HS 50M Studio Monitors,K240 AKG Studio HeadPhones.... oh and a 250gb External Hard Drive to back up all my Files.....it was a wonderful day at guitar center lol

^haha sounds like an adventure in a candy store

do you do that in cool edit? lol sorry.. after all the years i've been here im still a newb to eq/editing :( :help:

guitar center has everything lol

Aiyo how about that XLR cord? They don't make any smaller than 20 feet....so is that going to be a problem?

yeah you can do that in any recording program. its how it knows where to listen for the mic.
thats the downside to buying online. in the store you can get XLR in 3ft, 6ft and 10ft lengths

Hmm..alright well I'll definitly peep some stores then. Would it be like privately owned stores or somewhere like Best Buy, Sam Goody, or anything like?

best buy might be iffy. sam ash, guitar center, etc are definites. worse case, go to radioshack.

Haha for sure, no doubt, appreciate the looking out.