studio questions

[aakeor33]

have anyone soundproofed a room for recording? if so what material did you use?
when recording, what noise blocking headphones do you use?
what microphone do you use? would you suggest mxl 990 or other versions?
what virtual mixer do you use? any keyboard mixers or of the like?
preamps? pop filters? what do you think it takes to make a homo studio? i have a budget of $500 at the moment, with these limits what do you suggest?
what computer do you use? would a mac be better for media type things like recording and whatnot?

and finally, what type of speakers do you use? :p

[det0nator]

you wont be able to afford all that for $500. soundproofing is pretty expensive for sq ft. considering you will want to buy a professional quality soundcard with built in mic preamp your budget wont be big enough for all that.

for speakers i recommend you buy studio reference monitors. dont use any consumer speakers for mixing audio. they arent designed for mixing.

[aakeor33]

so would these be any good? if not do you have a website where you buy yours?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7705307&type=product&id=1138085354138

[det0nator]

so would these be any good? if not do you have a website where you buy yours?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7705307&type=product&id=1138085354138

no those are no good for mixing audio. you need studio reference monitors that have a flat frequency curve. they are specificly designed for mixing and mastering audio. i recommend powered monitors cause they have a built in matching amp.

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Active-Powered-Studio-Monitors--2863

[aakeor33]

oh, so something like ? http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHMS20

when you adjust the bass and whatnot on the front of the speaker, it will record your voice like that?

i chose that from the list :
http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=&cat2=&cat=2863&ob=pop&rl=0&rh=120&button=search%2Ffilter&form=search

[det0nator]

oh, so something like ? http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHMS20

when you adjust the bass and whatnot on the front of the speaker, it will record your voice like that?

i chose that from the list :
http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=&cat2=&cat=2863&ob=pop&rl=0&rh=120&button=search%2Ffilter&form=search

of those 4 that's the best one to chose. you also dont want to adjust the bass and treble on speakers. you want it to have a flat curve to represent what the actual recording is. and no it wont record that way. thats why studio monitors with a flat frequency response (no excess bass or treble) are preferred so you know exactly how its being recorded.

those 4 speakers you showed me are very entry level but probably will give you the best bang for your buck.

[aakeor33]

for a preamp i was looking into :
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MIC800.aspx

or how about this entire set for 300$ :
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/PODCASTUDIO-FIREWIRE.aspx

[det0nator]

for a preamp i was looking into :
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MIC800.aspx

or how about this entire set for 300$ :
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/PODCASTUDIO-FIREWIRE.aspx

yeah that looks like an ok setup. behringer is known for being cheap and affordable. they also have a bad reputation for stealing ideas. honestly i dont care about that part. if they can copy an idea and make it more affordable thats great. keep in mind everything you are getting is entry level. i cant tell you how good or reliable that firewire sound card is. the c1 mic is great for what it costs. i own two.

some words of advise you may want to consider getting an m-audio soundcard. the reason is that the majority of m-audio soundcards are compatible with m-audio protools 8. protools is the standard in most major studios. the software itself is around $250 and is the cheapest way to get a protools setup. the behringer firewire card also doesnt have a midi interface incase you need one in the future.

id recommend an m-audio fast track pro for $199 http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOFTRACKPRO

for a mic get an audio technica at2020 with tripod boom stand and mic cable for $129 http://www.zzounds.com/item--AUTAT2020

this combo would only be $29 more then the one you where looking at and it would be way better. that mic would kill the mic you where planning on getting. add a pop filter for $25.

[aakeor33]

thanks for all ur help

[det0nator]

i forgot to say that doesnt include headphones so you have to buy those separately. otherwise it comes with everything else you need to record. if you want to get into beat making all you have to do is add a midi controller. the equipment is compatible with all 3rd party music software.

[aakeor33]

ok, i'm looking at it rite now planning to buy. so would you agree that the mic there is better than a c-1 or c-3 / mxl 990?

[det0nator]

way better. at2020 is highest rated mic for the sub $100 range. its got the best freq range of all those mics in that price range. definitely good enough to record an album. bheringer isnt known for quality just cheap prices. c1 is a value mic but it cant compete with a name brand mic. mxl990 is a discontinued product its good but not better than the at2020.

[aakeor33]

okay, and do you think a pop filter would be necessary?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--RAXPOMT

i'm making a list of what i need to buy in total ;p

[det0nator]

okay, and do you think a pop filter would be necessary?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--RAXPOMT

it really depends on the person you are recording but its better to have either way. may as well order it all at the same time due to shipping etc.

[aakeor33]

yeah, so the studio monitors i showed you before should be okay? :
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHMS20

[det0nator]

yeah, so the studio monitors i showed you before should be okay?

if thats all you can afford those are the best of the 4. they have digital inputs so you can keep the sound clear. for what you are using them for they should be OK.

[aakeor33]

i could go to 200$ if you have any suggestions, but thanks

[det0nator]

i could go to 200$ if you have any suggestions, but thanks

the next step up in studio monitors costs around $400 a pair. theres the ms40 for $29 more has louder volume and bigger speakers. http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHMS40

honestly if you are going to spend extra id get a midi controller so you can control the virtual mixer with the faders and knobs. something like this would do great.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--EDIPCR300

[det0nator]

id suggest getting a pair of closed back headphones instead of the midi controller i get the feeling you dont plan on making beats just recording. closed back headphones are important so you can monitor yourself while recording. you can run the audio through your speakers cause it will pickup or feedback.

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--General-Headphones--2380

[aakeor33]

added to list, i also looked into soundproofing. would prob cost 630$ for good quality soundproofing. will closed headphones like this suffice ? :
http://www.zzounds.com/item--AUTATHM50

[det0nator]

funny i was looking at those same headphones. yeah those look good and probably sound good. sound proofing does 3 things. it makes recordings cleaner by preventing external acoustics from being recorded. it prevents your room acoustics from coloring your recording example reverb. when mixing and mastering it prevents your room acoustics adding ambient noise while you are listening. these things basically remove or prevent unnecessary sounds.

are they really needed? depends. do you plan on making demos that will be the final versions in use for commercial production? if yes then long term it will be wise to save up for sound proofing. you may also consider that you should have your studio good enough to work on demos and if you do anything bigger to take it to a professional studio with the best mics and equipment. for the fraction of sound proofing you can get your ideas recorded by pros instead.

ive got friends with studios that use 2-3 thousand dollar mics with 3 thousand dollar + mic preamps. if i feel the need to record something outside of a demo ill rerecord in their studios one day.

[aakeor33]

lol, i will probably try hanging sheets up before i spend 650$ on that. other than that the recording equipment you suggested seems VERY useful and i will buy exactly what you said. so its about 640$-$700 total for everything not including the midi keyboard, that's a fair price. within a few weeks i'll buy everything at once and start recording with it :p

if you think i need anything else i'll probably get it too lol, but again, thanks!

[det0nator]

cool if you have any questions with anything or need help let me know. i suggested the midi controller even if you dont make beats as it functions as a full control surface with all the knobs and faders. it also has drum pads incase you want to make your own drum beats.

[aakeor33]

okay thanks, will do. i'll get the keyboard too then aswell

[det0nator]

okay thanks, will do. i'll get the keyboard too then aswell

in a way im kind of jealous. you guys who are just starting have it good. when i started getting into music back in the 90's computers couldnt do what they do now. so everything had to be done with hardware and it was way more expensive. now you can build a home studio for under 1 grand. you dont even want to know how much money ive spent over the years on dj, studio, sound and lighting equipment. :(

[aakeor33]

:p lol it would be 1500$ if sound proof and everything else including keyboard. only thing i need to know now is which software to choose.

i've heard of cool edit, mentioned by A LOT of people. is that the best? i can buy any software aswell, regardless of price

also the sound card, so you have any suggestions?

[det0nator]

thats still cheap. it cost me 3 grand for 1 korg x3 workstation keyboard back in the days. you wont need to buy any software. i forgot to mention the roland midi controller comes with cakewalk sonar le. that will be more than enough for recording, mixing, mastering and beat making.

http://www.roland.com/products/en/PCR-300/images/Cakewalk_PPP.pdf

the m-audio device i suggested is a soundcard/mixer/mic preamp all built into one. you wont need anything else.

[aakeor33]

oh wow lol, i though it was just a preamp lol, thanks 4 ur help

[det0nator]

oh wow lol, i though it was just a preamp lol, thanks 4 ur help

no it does everything. you can hook up your monitors, headphones, instruments, mics etc to it.

the m-audio soundcard is usb. so is the midi controller. make sure you have 2 free usb slots and youre good to go.

[aakeor33]

kk, but wouldn't firewire be better or at least until usb 3.0 comes out? usb is 480mb/s and firewire is like 800mb/s or does it really matter since im not transfering data?

[det0nator]

kk, but wouldn't firewire be better or at least until usb 3.0 comes out? usb is 480mb/s and firewire is like 800mb/s or does it really matter since im not transfering data?

actually usb 2.0 is more than enough considering the amount of bandwidth used in audio. firewire is also very iffy about what chipset firewire card youre using. it can be problematic. sometimes leading to compatibility and reliability issues.

[aakeor33]

kk, thanks

[djredshift]

actually usb 2.0 is more than enough considering the amount of bandwidth used in audio. firewire is also very iffy about what chipset firewire card youre using. it can be problematic. sometimes leading to compatibility and reliability issues.

I use firewire and USB devices and both work flawlessly on a mac. If you are trying to do firewire on a PC use a PCI firewire interface. That gives you full bandwidth for multitrack devices. Solid. Wouldn't go with any on-board firewire unless it's on a mac or unless they've somehow improved PCs in the last 8 years :hmmmm:

The next high speed devices are more than likely gonna be infrared and wireless. You can a lot higher speed with infrared than radio wireless and it's not subject to interference unless you got some asshole like right there.

[det0nator]

I use firewire and USB devices and both work flawlessly on a mac. If you are trying to do firewire on a PC use a PCI firewire interface. That gives you full bandwidth for multitrack devices. Solid. Wouldn't go with any on-board firewire unless it's on a mac or unless they've somehow improved PCs in the last 8 years :hmmmm:

The next high speed devices are more than likely gonna be infrared and wireless. You can a lot higher speed with infrared than radio wireless and it's not subject to interference unless you got some asshole like right there.

more specifically use a firewire interface that has a texas instrument chipset. those are the most reliable.