Budget 31-40k Setting up a home music recording environment

K

kallol163

Recruit
Hello,

I need a to set up a small home recording environment. Please suggest the best configuration possible within the specified budget. The main purpose will be to record and mix vocal and instrumental music. I prefer to use Nuendo or SoundForge for the purpose.

My preference is :

HDD: 1 Tb , 7200 RPM.
RAM: 8 GB
A good Sound Card.
A cabinet with 10-12 Input.

Please suggest .

Regards

Kallol
 
kallol163 said:
Hello,

I need a to set up a small home recording environment. Please suggest the best configuration possible within the specified budget. The main purpose will be to record and mix vocal and instrumental music. I prefer to use Nuendo or SoundForge for the purpose.

HDD: 1 Tb , 7200 RPM.
RAM: 8 GB
A good Sound Card.
A cabinet with 10-12 Input
Click to expand...

@kallol163 please use the following template to frame your needs for the RIG you need, http://www.techenclave.com/pc-buying-advice/template-what-should-i-buy-73107/p2/#post839513.

Also, what do you mean a cabinet with 10-12 output?

Welcome to TechEnclave, wish you a pleasant stay here. Cheerio!
 
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If you're multi-tracking the cheapest card you can buy is the Delta 1010LT. That is more than half of your budget.

The cheapest card I would trust for just mixing and the occasional recording (two tracks max) is the E-mu1212 PCI. Even that is just below half your budget.

Maybe your aspirations exceed your budget. You may need to think a little bit more about the design of your machine, or if you have, provide more detail.

Also, Nuendo and Soundforge are both pretty costly pieces of software (we don't talk about illegal stuff here). Are you sure you want to shortchange the rig?
 
@Cranky > Audio Recoding Equipment

Cranky Sir,

I have seen your posts in the past too about Audio Production PCs. In my knowledge, till date only you appear to be a person who knows something genuinely about the subject and are able to direct in the correct manner.

My request from you is that like TE PC Buying Guide, why don't you please find a little time and create a thread that is guided specifically to the needs or requirements of a Audio Production PC. Most other threads are basically directed towards Gaming or Over-clocking.

I don't want to invest too much of your time, but a simple plan outlining even an entry or a mid level PC catering to Audio Production will be a lot welcome by people around here.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks in advance
 
Thanks for the kind words, I do my best even though it's been a while since I've actually recorded anything!

Re the thread, I have no issues doing it, but Intel's annual cadence kills it. Also the transition from PCI to PCIe is not over (no matter what people tell you!), and USB3.0 is still emerging as an external interface. Mac has introduced Thunderbolt as well, so the the interface world is a little complicated right now. Any thread like that can get outdated real quick.

I'll still give it a try if I get some time.
 
Hi Prabs,

Just to add to what Cranky said. I would first decide on my audio interface and my mics before deciding on the computer. I recently picked up the Apogee One for a project on the road and for 13k, I was very impressed by its sound and the built in mic it came with. Apogee sound is kinda famous in the circuit. If you are not considering a mac, then i would really recommend the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 for your needs. You can pick it up for around 10k and its features are all you need for a home recording environment. You get world class clean preamps and direct monitoring with no latency. You can hear the examples in thier website or on youtube. Scarlett supports 24bit/96khz resolution so you can capture high dynamic range without distortion. This comes with Ableton Live Lite and some focusrite plug ins to polish your mix. Its also compatible with protools. So you can record your session and take it to any big studio for mixing or mastering as a complete session. Hope this helps. I will upload the examples i have for the Apogee one and send it to you if you are interested.

Cheers
 
Hello , I run a home based single man progressive metalcore project named XaiKeN and I don't posses very advanced setup . Of what I know of recording you don't need very expensive gear to get decent results .
Obviously for that quality you need a studio .

As far as your setup is concerned , a fairly moderate pc would suffice as mixing mastering doesn't require very high bandwidth operation only rendering is CPU intensive but how often does one render ?

My advice for would me

1.> Ge a good recording interdace
with good mic preamps and make sure it has phantom power for the mics which require it Roland UA 25 , UA 55 , Saffire Scarlet 2i2 2i4 would be a good option .

2.> Get decent monitors with neutral character ,
because its monitor that will give you the genuine sound , Unless you wanna end up with a mix that sounds not desirable .

3.> Use Reaper as the DAW
its opensource and is infinitely customizable , I am yet to find a function that I cant perform on Reaper that any other DAW does ( Unless you opt for pro tools ) but that's completely irrelevant

4.> Get a SSD
for Work drive ,Most of the projects require huge layering ( up to 40 tracks) Which takes huge amounts of time to load , t would be better to inest in a 60gig SSD work drive .

5.> For the mics SM 57 and SM 58
are industry standards and are used in Studios as well and don't come at the cost of your kidney .

6.> Get noise free cables ,
its a very neglected fact but cable quality effects sound quality a lot .

7.> Get 2X19' monitors , really ? . Yes you should .
I currently mix on my 19'monitor and find it to be very small for the kind of mixing I do , If you have an option for another Monitor go or it because investment in this real estate is really worth it .

8.> Lastly USE FREE VSTS
I know paid programms are worth the moolah but you can get nearly good results with free Vsts as well you just need to scavenge internet a bit , and you will find how much good stuff is available for free online .


The thing is you need to separate your budget for PC and Recording Devices .

I run my setup on 5 year old Core2duo with 3gb ram and I dont have ANY problems what so ever , It isnt the PC that matters , its how you do it and with what you have .
 
Thank you!

Thanks to all my friends here who have chosen to respond so positively.

@ cranky > Sir, the world of comps will continue to change. My first comp was a 286 that I had purchased for nearly a Lakh in '88. Now, a lakh can take me pretty far in computation power. So why wait for things to settle down before passing on the knowledge. I request you to begin with the bare minimum, nothing flashy, and when people like have managed to make our foundation strong, can build on it.

@ sidz2bt > Thanks a lot for pitching in. Truthfully, I have never been a Mac guy as I never had the pockets deep enough, so "Apogee One" is out for me. However, your recommendation about "Focusrite Scarlet 2i2" is pretty cool for a beginner who can afford to spend 11K. Otherwise, M Audio Fast track is always an entry level choice. I have used Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 in the past and I agree with you about its performance.

@ pYe > With your outline, you have certainly taken us a little closer in that direction where my desire to get my hands dirty start kicking in. Thank you.

@ terence_fdes > Keep pitching in my friend.

Truthfully, I have been exposed to professional studios and have rubbed shoulders with a couple of well known artists and have also been in the home recording arena for a couple of years now, but I am still not as advance as you guys sound. I keep doing some VOs, mixing and mastering in my own small way, but the learning curve had been pretty steep for me. I have learned things the hard way, but even today, I have not been able to find enough foundation material, except for getting them in a piece-meal manner and then putting the pieces together through trial and error to form a complete picture.

With all of you pitching in, just see how the picture has changed. Things do look a little brighter.

Let's bring it together friends. Thanks a lot again.
 
Hey Prabs1 - I really liked all that you said. I too have been dabbling on PC's since the 8088 & 286 days (ah those were the days...when we could carry around all that we needed on 5n Quarter inch FDD's)..... and I paid over 8-9k for a huge 20MB HDD........ Times have changed. I have been a professional Video Editor past 20 years or more and used to use a 16 Track Audio Mixer for my video work. We always used to have a pro-sound recording studio too. At home I was satisfied with my Audigy 2 Platinum & served me well for over 9 years. In fact, it is still lying around .....sadly as I am not able to configure it on my i7-system with win 7-64 bit. I came across some links with creative customised drivers....but not working for me.

Sadly, I am not in touch with many of my colleagues - who are all pro sound recordists (and neither are they around here on these forums).

But it's time we put together a system/s for basic & pro level audio recording & mixing. Suggestions as to the audio peripherals/consoles could be restricted to an entry-level and an intermediate level needs [based on local availability]

In fact there is another simultaneous thread going on - http://www.techenclave.com/pc-buying-advice/need-comp-studio-146129/ | - both the OP's need to cross check the feedback that is appearing here to better assess their needs.

Cheers
Terry
 
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