Home Studio..
 

I've Had Enougth Of My Broke Down Mic Been MY Home Studio
I Have £260 Pounds To spend so far on equipment
wot r the basics that i need
aka $500.

im just a newbie but ill tell ya wat to get!!! i never knew nething bout studios now i know a fair share, cuz of alkatracs and opey!!! ther the best to ask!!! but here wat to get in that price range!!!


mic: behringer b2=$150
soundcard: delta 44=$ 230
pre-amp: presonus blue tube=$130

and your gonna need:
a good mic cable bout $40-50
tripod mic stand $20-30
pop filter $20

lol that aint mine!!! thats wat alkatracs told me to get for around $500!!!lol (it also dependz on if ur canadian or american) cuz i live in canada and that price went up a good range!!! so if ur canadian and want cheaper talk to alkatracs!!!!

lmao... hes most likely from the UK. and u paid more because u paid in canadian dollars. but yea wut he said to get is about right

get all dat stuff of ebay 4 cheap saw a mixeer for $75

For basic shit you can start off wit.....
A Mixer
Keyboard
Mic and Stand
Voice Equalizer
And some Software

do you produce, or do you just record your vocals?

if you just record your vocals...

get a MXL 990 mic, MSRP $70 USD, you can get them around $59 ... this is THE best mic for the money. it compares to $1000 mics, and it is only a small fraction of the cost.

as far as mixers go a Behringer UB802 isn't too bad. you can pick one up for $60 USD.

and then for soundcards...m-audio has some descent stuff for the price. can be had for $100 USD.

that all comes out to $220 USD. Well under the $500 you have to spend. Once you throw in shipping you should be able to spend under $300 USD and have that last $200 to save for future additions.

You may want to purchase a mic stand and pop filter too. I did not include those.

You will be more than happy with this setup. i have heard this exact setup and i must say it blows away just about everything i have heard from netcees to date. even people with $100+ mics and fancy mancy setups.

read reviews on what i have posted above. you will find out they are all very good products for relatively cheap prices. especially the mic.

Good look on that mic pric and model dren.. i been looking fo ra cheap mic, i payed 60 bucks for the one i got now.. it blows hehe.. got a question tho.. when i use this mic, how does it hook up to my Computer ?

all you need is an audio jack adapter city, does your mic have one of those big plugs or small ones, tell me where u bought it ill give u some links for some adapters

I've got that MXL 990 as well and I can only recommend it! I was just wondering though... what's the best keyboard relative to price and quality?

i got my mic for 25$ and i can say that it sounds way better then its price!!...best keyboard..i dunno i have a Yamaha PSR-GX76...it's a reall good keyboard in matter or pricing..check for yourself

iight cool, thanks for the tip! what software do you combine it with?

heres just some opinions, figured couldn't hurt if you got more opinions on stuff to use.

Stay away from Uni-directional dynamic microphones - While portable these are usually the cheapest and generally offer the worst sound quality- For between 75-125 USD you can pick up a decent B-1 or B-2 Class Studio Microphone. These Microphones operate on transducers or condensers and are made in a much higher quality than your PC mics or Radio Shack hand me downs. I originally began recording with a $50 dollar radio shack mic, and have since upgraded to a Studio Projects B1 Mic which was purchased for under $80 on sale.

If you have any of the Music downloading programs such as Kazaa, I-mesh, Lime-Wire- etc. You can find pirated copies of "Cakewalk"- "Cool Edit" (Adobe Audition)- Fruity Loops (More for beats but whole songs can be worked on in it)-Acid etc. Any program that lets you work with multiple tracks will suffice, I find Cool Edit is usually the easiest to use for beginners. I occasionally will use Cakewalk to mix down my vocals to an instrumental however I have a seperate setup now which makes this obsolete.

Accessories-- These are things you should probably pick up---
Mic Stand- You can get a nice Tri-pod extending Mic Stand for between 25-35$ at any music store, The Shock Stand should come with your microphone, but make sure because you may have to drop another few bucks on one.
Pop-Filter - Almost any mic you buy will have that foam removable cover which is a cheap way to filter popping noises, but its not completely effective all the time-- A studio quality Pop-Filter can be found for between 15-25$ in most music stores and it will dramatically improve sound quality. I have yet to aquire this yet myself.

Pre-Amp- You will need this if you are using a microphone requiring a phantom power source- This powers the mic and there are differences in quality between differnt pre-amps... Some will leave a loud humming if the mic sensitivity is too high so its best to shop around... We have a Rolls 12/48 Volt Phantom Power adapter which was picked up for 50$- I find the sound quality relatively good.

Sound Card-- If your recording directly to your computer or doing any work on your tracks on the computer it is wise to upgrade your soundcard... I have yet to do this, but there are some good suggestions mentioned here already I have heard good things about "presonous blue tube" which can be found for around $100

Now This Item is the first Item we purchased for our home studio-- It will put the whole setup over the 500$ limit, but if your in the market its a great purchase---
We purchased a Digital 64 track Portable Studio-- Everyone is like "wtf?"- but these are relatively inexpensive for what you get... For under $500 Used (we paid around 450) We were able to get a Studio Quality Digital Mixer, 8 tracks to record to, with 64 virtual tracks to bounce to, effects bounce and mastering abilities- USB connection so you can import and export tracks to and from your computer- Midi in and out- and the ability to run off of 8 double A batteries so you can load up a beat, grab your headphones and portable mic and go record anywhere.... This is much cheaper than say 8 track studio mix board that the professionals use (2 Grand and above) but yields comparable quality.

Headphones-- I reccomend you get a quality set of studio headphones, this will show the true quality of the recording while working on it so you know where any imperfections may be. We use AKG K141 Monitor Headphones purchased from a music store for about $100.

Of course you will also need the necessary cables- Keyboards are optional- and there is more equipment you could always add, but with what I said above you will have an actual Home Studio where you can produce high quality tracks without paying for studio time.

i put it up wit reason 2.5...it works good...

@ Darc Mind: thanks bro... I'm using reason 2.5 as well, just need to get my hands on a decent mic now.

in terms of keyboards, I was thinking of savign up for a Korg Triton Le 61-Key Workstation... anyone got any experience with it by any chance?

mic..lool i am a really low budget thats why i bouht a dynamic Sony F-v220 microphone..well by my quality i should say im impressed..btw it was 25$

www.soundclick.com/darcminddm
www.soundclick.com/darcmindsongs

chekk them out and see 4 urwself..