What to purchase for home studio

[aenimictool]

Hi all, I have a few questions. First is I'm thinking of either buying the Korg D1600, or a more computer based program. Which would be a better choice for the money, or would it be better to go analog? Also any other suggestions would be welcome such as mic choices, mic pre's or anything else you all would think I would need for a home studio.

[michaelhoddy]

My $.02 opinion says go for the computer-based route if you already have a computer that is capable of handling digital audio (PIII or better, 128MB RAM or better, 7200RPM ATA drive or better, etc). This allows you more room for expansion, and also allows for much easier editing, use of MIDI, etc. than a self-contained hardware route. I do recommend a dedicated hard drive for audio, and 256MB RAM or more is preferred.

Almost hands down, the best one-stop solution for a smaller home studio is the Digi 001. You get Pro-Tools LE, some plug-ins, and I/O all for under $800. I'd add some 3rd-party plug-ins (especially EQ and dynamics), but you don't need them to get started.

The Digi has a couple mic pres built-in. I'm always a fan of good outboard mic pres, but I think that you have to spend a decent sum to get into the kind of quality that is really any better than say, a Mackie console. Speaking of Mackie consoles, a 1402 or 1604 is not a bad way to get some more preamps and I/O.

You'll need a couple of decent mics to get started. I'd recommend a large-diaphragm condenser like the Audio Technica AT4033 (an excellent choice for under $300), and a couple of Shure SM57's. The 4033 will work for vocals, acoustic guitars, and most other acoustic instruments, and the 57's will work on pretty much anything you put them in front of (but especially drums/percussion, guitar amps, etc.). After that, I'd look at getting a pair of small-diaphragm condensers like Shure SM81's.

You'll also need a pair of studio monitors (some of the Tannoy and Event stuff is fairly decent and inexpensive, and there's always the standby Yamaha NS10's), a bunch of cables and stands, and some good headphones. This should be a reasonable start.

[Geeheeb]

Follow Mr. Hoddy's advice. I would give my own, but I'd just end up re-typing a lot of what he wrote. I'd just like to mention that if you're going to go the computer route (which I HIGHLY recommend) that you shouldn't use the computer for ANYTHING other than audio.

[UPCHUCK]

I am still a beginner, but the first thing I decided was that my gear had to be portable as I am recording bands live in the clubs. If the group is just looking to make an audition CD, I use my fostex vm88 8 ch digital mixer and the club mix to my tascam CD-RW5000. I use an ultramizer pro DSP 1400 ultra-high resolution multi-band loudness maximizer program enhancer ($89) between the VM88 and the CD burner. I just bought 200 CD-Rs for $49 bucks. The bands really like getting something right away. The Fostex was about $250 bucks and the Tascam was around $300 bucks. All of my equipment was bought as scratch and dent eqp. at a bargin prices. For multi track, I chose the akai dps12i. It can do 8 tracks ( 6 analog inputs, and 2 optical) at one time and can do 12 tracks total. It came with a 20 gig HD (free dsp board included) for around $750. I use the optical output on the fostex mixer to the optical in on the akai to get 8 tracks down. Tot. cost is around $1500. uPchuck