My new setup - lacking anything?

[Craig Walker]

Previously I've done tinkering/recording with a Boss BR1600 CD recorder.

I'm about to purchase a laptop, and get up-to-date in the recording world. :)

My setup will be:


Sony VAIO {VGN-FW490} 3.06GHz Duo processor, 320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm], 4GB DDR2-SDRAM - it has iLink [firewire]
Presonus FP10 Firepod
Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones
Mics I currently own: AT4040, AT2035, several Senn 835s, Audix ADX-51

I've tinkered with Reaper and have purchased/used EZ Drummer...

Need monitors, obviously. Suggestions?


Any other holes I'm missing?

[tripp2k]

What do you plan to record? What is your budget for monitors?

Reaper is great. If you haven't already made the DAW determination, stick with it.

[Craig Walker]

I'm mainly just goofing....record stuff for church praise band, etc. We have two girls who write, so I'll flesh out arrangements etc.

Want something nice, but doesn't have to be 'the best', but I'd want quality. I've read a bit about the KRK Rokit series.....would you recommend different?

[lespaulreedsmith]

I'm mainly just goofing....record stuff for church praise band, etc. We have two girls who write, so I'll flesh out arrangements etc.

Want something nice, but doesn't have to be 'the best', but I'd want quality. I've read a bit about the KRK Rokit series.....would you recommend different?

Look for some KRK V6's on eBay... I've owned them since they first came out (discontinued now) but they are accurate, used to get great reviews, and you can get them cheap on the 'Bay if you look... New they were like $600 a pair and sometimes more... on eBay $200 - $300 now I think :munch

[Craig Walker]

Nice. Thanks :)

[johnwtuggle]

Monitors are one of the most important things to have. If you can't hear it, then how do you know where to put the mic or to use EQ or compression.

I use Blue Sky MediaDesk which has 2 satellites and a sub. They are excellent! Also invest in some Bass Traps which will take your sounds to the next level without having really expensive equipment.

Monitors and Bass Traps are things you have to have to create good sounds.

[patrickisbusy]

As far as monitors go, get something with a flat accurate sound. Don't go all out and get something expensive unless you plan to properly treat your room. You'll get a lot farther if you have a cheap flat stereo system that you are familiar with and you know the sonic deficiencies of your room then if you have really nice monitors that you're not used to in a room that has not been treated.

IMO, anything can work, just as long as you know how music is supposed to sound on whatever you're using.

[LSchefman]

After much experimentation and money flushed down the toilet, I've learned that amateurs can't really properly "treat" a room. There are simply too many variables, and there's a lot to deal with. Proper studio rooms are built from the ground up.

A couple of bass traps in corners is probably ok, I use ASC tube traps for that, as well as ASC tube trap speaker stands, but going beyond that created more problems than it solved in a standard room. Even following the ASC recommendations made things worse when I added more traps around the room (at one point I had eight). And yes, I also had wall panels. Heck, I've read (and recommend) the Alton Everest book and other books on acoustics. But compared with a room that's the real deal, say, a Russ Berger designed room, well, anything we do by ourselves is a joke.

I've found that monitors with DSP software for room correction, or room correction software like the IK stuff, strapped across the stereo buss, is simply more effective at correcting anomalies than all but the most basic necessities in do-it-yourself room treatment such as a couple of bass traps.

I work daily in a Russ Berger ground-up designed room, and I promise that I know the difference and anyone can hear it. You are not going to have an accurate room by hanging some acoustic panels. You can actually make the imaging and frequency response unnatural and worse-sounding unless you have the know-how and can properly measure it from various points in the room, know how to deal with the modes, etc.

But this is one reason most of us use nearfields in project studios. To have more speaker in our ears than room is the purpose of the near field speaker.

I also see guys putting together acoustically "treated" rooms, who then put the mix position and speakers in the wrong place, right up against the wall, instead of on stands a few feet from the wall, and about a foot from the meter bridge, etc. The mix position should be well away from the walls more toward the middle of the room than most do it. Finally, I see gear all over the place, causing reflection problems of its own, and completely un-ergonomic setups that in order to work the gear, no one could possibly hear the changes in the monitors!

Like, if you have an outboard EQ, and it's under a table at the bottom of a rack...how ya gonna hear the results as you turn the knob? Same with lots of other kinds of gear. Hello, put it where you can operate it and still hear the changes in the monitors, that's what they're for!

[johnwtuggle]

If you know how to read and listen you can definitely make your room sound better with 4" 2' x 4' bass traps placed in the corners. This could be as many as 16.'

Be sure to place your monitors 30% out from the wall and record 30hz-500hz at the listening position with an omnidirectional mic. Just walk around the room and listen to before treatment and after treatment. You'll notice huge differences in the low end and you'll start to understand how sound works in your room.

To really start understanding this stuff please visit Ethan Winer's site. http://www.realtraps.com/

Even if you don't get the total pro sound, you will get a way better sound by doing just a few things that just require some reading listening and building some bass traps.

Most of all have fun!

[Bassomatic]

Monitors and Bass Traps are things you have to have to create good sounds.

Not necessarily bass traps. Each installation/space is different, as are its sonic challenges and issues.

[Craig Walker]

Thanks everyone.

[GregoryL]

One practical addition to your set-up ... most DAW's work best with (or require) an external hard drive.

[Craig Walker]

Was planning on getting one, but didn't know that.

Why is that? [diff btw internal and external]

[s2amps]

Was planning on getting one, but didn't know that.

Why is that? [diff btw internal and external]

If you run your OS, virtual memory page file, programs, etc. off your internal HD and write your music to an external drive, you can reap tremendous performace gains and data throughput. While all that other stuff competes for HD resources on one drive, your music can stream directly to the other drive uninterrupted.

Just make sure it is a FW drive or at least USB2.0.

[s2amps]

I'm also going to recommend that you don't ignore room treatment--even if it is minimal. At least do enough to get rid of any "ring" you hear in the room, which are the ugly early reflections you hear when you stand in the middle of the room and clap your hands once.

If you are handy, you can do this for very little money. I built 14 broadband absorbtion panels (24x48x2") for $266 including shipping. I bought 1x2s from Home Depot for $1.15 each, OC703 type panels from ATS Acoustics (http://www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustics-Rigid-Fiberglass-Board--AB2.html) for $10 each (plus shipping), and fabric from Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50054811) for $2.99/yard. Some glue, screws, and staples later, and I had dramatically improved the sound of my room.

Even if you just use 6 panels (I would make them 4" thick) and strategically place them, you will have done yourself a world of good.

http://cdn-2-service.phanfare.com/images/external/4823592_2990568_74230468_Web_2/0_0_a1613dd391c6b26e3aa8129eddb6f1c6_1

[Bassomatic]

One practical addition to your set-up ... most DAW's work best with (or require) an external hard drive.

Or a 2nd internal.:YinYang

[Craig Walker]

Thanks again.