Setting Up A Studio, Questions, please help Options

[DannyMac]

Hello to everybody on the forum at first. I'm very glad that I found this site.

I'm currently working as a Dj and want to set up a private recording studio for myself to produce mainly electronical music (UK Garage/ 2 Step, House, Downbeat...a little bit of Bhangra).

I haven't had any experiences with a mac but definalely want to get one for producing because I've heard from many sides that mac's the only choice for proper media- quality.

So what do I exactely need for a good private studio?

- Mac (which one?) Is the 1,8 GH enough?
- Logic? Or is Garageband enough?
- Do I need something else? Like Keyboard, Mixer, Interfaces...

I would be very thankful if someone could help me because I've currently no idea because there are so many opportunities if you're getting started.

Cheers
Dan

[lepetitmartien]

- the mac: well it's mainly a budget question, but a mono or dual G5 is the best, with RAM, 512 Mo is a minimum, 1GB will make you happy, more can help if a lot of synth/sampler are used. "Old G5" are already selling second hand for "cheap".
- Garageband is a great step in, but if you're musician, you'll outgrow it. It's fast at putting idea together for a decent result. Logic is a professional software, daunting for some, and needs learning. There's an entry level version to step in
Now It depends a lot on you musician ship and the amount of control you want.
- A little keyboard controller at least would help, interfaces, mixers etc it all depends on what you plan to to, like recording someone playing or singing, having some external gear etc.

[DannyMac]

Thanks for the reply. I know it's very hard to find the right equipment in the beginning. Recording singing / s.o. playing a keyboard would be welcome.

So, would a G5 1,8 GH with 1024ram and Logic (Express?) on it enough at first?
And do you think it would be the best to get everything from one hand for example

-M-Audio Firewire 410
-M-Audio MK-449c USB-MIDI-Keyboard

which is directly distributed by Apple?

Which soundcard would you rate?

This post has been edited by DannyMac: Sun 8 May 2005, 15:20

[lepetitmartien]

The G5 will do fine (I've got he first generation mono 1,8). Plenty of power. Check second hand, there are some deals right now (collect and verify the G5 in person, no money till you've seen the G5 and tried it).

If you have the money, I'd stay away from M-Audio/Edirol stuff if I were you, we have regularly people coming in for setting up problems.

Now, if you're tight… prefer M-Audio. Check about the 410 here for eventual problems.

Evolution (even if property of M-audio) seems to work fine (controller keyboards)
RME makes great audio interfaces
MOTU MIDI just works (even if after-sales/upgrade policies on software s…s)

The trouble with audio interface is you need to touch the semi-pro/pro market to meet some next to/no fuss peripherals

Be aware that the fact a product is sold on the Applestore doesn't mean it'll work perfectly, it's a trade deal. And sometimes it's less expensive elsewhere…

One thing you don't have to bother too much are preamps, you'll have one on most interfaces, and they are at least decent now. If you need something better, you'll use a separated preamp to match the mic.

For mics: it's better to have a few, but you can start with one, it you treat mics well they will endure. SM57 are general workhorse, and there's plenty of cool mics from Rode, Studio Project (C1) and SE Electronics (SE2200) to start with. Start with one or 2 all rounder. Buy a stand and a pop shield! (especially for condenser mics)

You must be able to monitor too… think about it (avoid M-audio and similar)

There are some threads here in the getting started and other other forums which could help you too.

(btw, nice avatar

[DannyMac]

Thanks lepetitmartien!

Your answers helped a lot.

So, in general, I'll need the following equipment to set up my little studio:

- Apple G5 (maybe 1,8 GH, 1024 ram)
- an Audiointerface
- a Midi- Keyboard
- Logic (Express? Where's the difference?)
- a mic and monitors


Do I need anything more to start up mate?

(btw: Thanks for avatar- props, just my luck I found it )

This post has been edited by DannyMac: Mon 9 May 2005, 07:53

[clouvel]

Hi Danny,

I think Garageband will be too basic for your work. Before purchasing Logic Pro (good application but a bit expensive), you can try the demo-trial version of Logic Express :

http://www.apple.com/logicexpress/trial/

(btw too : pretty cool avatar... )

[DannyMac]

Hi Danny,

I think Garageband will be too basic for your work. Before purchasing Logic Pro (good application but a bit expensive), you can try the demo-trial version of Logic Express :

http://www.apple.com/logicexpress/trial/

(btw too : pretty cool avatar... )

Yeah, this is exactly what I thought, too. I've had a few expriences with Cubase but think that Logic woulg be the better solution for a Mac.

Is Garageband a simple samplebased programm?

[DannyMac]

AND: If you're saying that a G5 1,8 GH would be enough, why don't use the Mac Mini in order to reduce costs?

Would a Mini 1,42 Gh be still enough?

[StevieBoy]

Since you get GarageBand 2 free with your new Mac (it's part of iLife 05) why don't you see how you go with that? When you reach its limits, then move up to Logic. The basis of both is the same: apparently the 'engine' - correct me if that's the wrong term - of GB2 and Logic 7 is the same.

Flatten the learning curve as much as possible.

I have an M-Audio FW410 which is great: stable and sounds good. I've only had one problem, and that was driver-related. If you follow the best practice of always downloading the latest driver from the company website, I doubt you'll have problems.

[B3 Basher]

Garage Band 2 will work OK for the type of Dance music you intend to create. It will provide a grounding for your aspirations and will not complicate things too much at the 'newbie' stage. You can graduate to bigger and better things later. It's free with the Mac so it can't hurt eh? If you do graduate to Logic Pro/Express, GB2 is equally processor intensive, so you'll be auditioning your set up for any processor/RAM limitations as Stevie Boy says.

Lepetitmartian talks a lot of sense about Audio Interfaces. If I may add to his advice, I recently installed a Mackie Spike for another musician and it is brilliant. The mic-preamps are the best on any sub £300 model, so vocals that you capture will be at their truest. The owner uses it with an SE2200A and the results are scarily good for the price.

Finally and not many people advise this on this forum, but get APPLE LOOPS Sound Developer Kit, mash up your beats in your audio sequencer, and import them into the above program and you will find that thing that all musicians/DJ's seek.....Originality.

Apple Loops SDK 1.1 can be downloaded from the Developer website at Apple (after a bit of searching)- And once again it's FREE!

This post has been edited by B3 Basher: Tue 10 May 2005, 08:07