Need advice on putting together a makeshift music studio.

This has been an aspiration of mine for a long time and it's finally coming together.

I'm planning on ordering the laptop for it today... I think it'll get the job done for the DAW I want, it has an intel core i5, 6gb ram, and a 640 GB hdd. I'm planning on recording guitar too so I'll be getting an instrument mic. I also scored a MicroKORG in great condition today for really cheap ($100 usd).

For the DAW, I was thinking of FL studio 10... I know it sounds noobish to some but i feel its very versatile, has an easy to use interface, and if i get sick of the stock sounds i could just use different VSTs.

Finally, I was planning on getting some studio headphones for when i'm making my music.

Please tell me i'm on the right track...

You didn't mention an audio interface - you will need one...

Sorry for the noobish question... Can you break that down for me?

You have your laptop with your DAW running, and you have your mic - but you need a means to hook them up together. You won't be connecting an XLR cable from your microphone directly to your laptop, you need an audio interface for that. It will be running sound in and out of your computer when you're recording and producing music. There are typically USB interfaces and Firewire interfaces, and they range from having 1 mic preamp (where you connect a single microphone) to 16 or more, to record with several mics simultaneously. There's a lot to be said about interfaces but that's what they are in essence - a dedicated device to get sound to and from your computer.

A good audio interface is generally perceived to have good mic pres, low latency and stable performance (i.e. will not crash on you, will not conflict with your DAW). Some of them come with built in DI's, which could be useful should you want to record something like a bass. Some interfaces come with MIDI in ports, which you'll find VERY useful if you're using VST synths. More mic pres, more inputs/outputs and more features also means heftier prices, so you have to find out what exactly are your needs and how much you can allocate to this.

If it's a long-time aspiration for you, this deserves a decent interface.

It seems I may have about 150 for this... I found out that I could run my line directly into the interface, thus getting rid of the need of the guitar amp.

  On 12/9/2011 at 11:01 PM, sergeantk said:

It seems I may have about 150 for this... I found out that I could run my line directly into the interface, thus getting rid of the need of the guitar amp.

There are a lot of amp emulator plugins about, for a cheap and short term solution to get around not having an amp. Record it like a bass, then get guitar rig, amp farm or something like that (I've never used FL, maybe it ships with an amp emulator plugin already).

150 (I'm gonna guess USD) should be enough to get you a modest but respectable interface, with 1 or 2 mic pres. Check out budget-minded brands like M-Audio, ESI, Presonus or Tascam. Also, Line 6 make some inexpensive interfaces with their POD amp simulation built-in, which may be useful for you.

  On 12/9/2011 at 11:24 PM, kokeboka said:

  On 12/9/2011 at 11:01 PM, sergeantk said:

It seems I may have about 150 for this... I found out that I could run my line directly into the interface, thus getting rid of the need of the guitar amp.

 

There are a lot of amp emulator plugins about, for a cheap and short term solution to get around not having an amp. Record it like a bass, then get guitar rig, amp farm or something like that (I've never used FL, maybe it ships with an amp emulator plugin already).

 

150 (I'm gonna guess USD) should be enough to get you a modest but respectable interface, with 1 or 2 mic pres. Check out budget-minded brands like M-Audio, ESI, Presonus or Tascam. Also, Line 6 make some inexpensive interfaces with their POD amp simulation built-in, which may be useful for you.

I actually have a guitar amp so thats not the issue; what I meant was how to run the signal out into the computer. I have a "direct line out" plug on the back of my amp head and i was wondering if this is where it would come out of.

Also, thank you so much for your help so far.

If your amp does amplifier modelling (like the Line6's, some of the Vox's and many others), a line out like that means you don't really need a mic because in theory the sound should be the same. This might mean you don't need mic pres (if you plan to stick to this and not use mics for anything at all) but it doesn't mean you don't need an interface... Interfaces aren't just for mics.

No problem, happy shopping :)

Hopefully someone can answer this question...

Would I be better off with studio monitors or studio headphones for my setup? I'm pretty much restricted to making a choice due to budget constraints.

  On 12/10/2011 at 4:16 PM, sergeantk said:

Hopefully someone can answer this question...

 

 

Would I be better off with studio monitors or studio headphones for my setup? I'm pretty much restricted to making a choice due to budget constraints.

This is usually where several people jump in to say that you should never mix/produce on headphones and then others will say its better to get decent headphones than cheap monitors. I think its a coin toss and you should rely on instinct here.

On that note, I guess my question would have to be what the minimum cost for getting decent monitors is (in USD). I think I'd prefer that honestly

Well, first you have to decide if you want active or passive monitors (i.e. monitors with or without a built-in amplifier). If you go with passive, you have to make room in your budget for an amplifier as well. After that, you need to decide just how much volume and low-end you want from your monitors - smaller monitors are cheaper and more convenient, but they generally handle less maximum volume and less low frequency response. So if you want to mix drum n' bass at club levels, you might need larger monitors - if you want to produce an indie band and have neighbours to worry about, maybe smaller monitors will do.

So, what is decent really depends on what you want from your monitors. Then, there's a plethora of manufacturers to choose from. Behringer, Alesis and M-Audio are for the budget-minded - some people hate their stuff, some people say they're a bargain. Yamaha speakers are generally perceived to be a bit harsh and bright (some people prefer to work with that). Genelec are also a bit forward sounding (imo, anyway). I've heard good things about KRK, Samson and Tannoy. Adam speakers are very detailed, but I found from personal experience they don't translate well to other systems. Dynaudio are also supposed to be extremely good, but I've never met anyone working with them.

Find out what type of monitors are best for you and check out what some of these manufacturers have to offer. If possible, try them out before buying - remember that monitors that sound pleasant and flattering might not be good monitors to mix with.

get headphones

headphones unless you want to drive everyone around you crazy

It seems i'm better off with headphones due to reasons stated above... I'd drive my whole block crazy.

So, what is the best usb interface for somewhere between $150-200? That's about as far as I can go (maybe a LITTLE more but only if its a big difference in quality). I'll only need to run 2 at the most at one time, so I guess something with 2 xlr/analog ports and midi in/out...

Seems i have too many questions dont it.

fuck your whole block. get monitors and a 20$ set of cans for reference.

or get good headhpones and 20$ speakers for reference