Dennis Mount Joy

hi im making a studio in my room im going to record everything on ipad with vocalive or garageband but i need professional equipment at my budget. what is the best mic under 500$, whats a good mixer thats easy to use and under 100$, what else do i need to record my demo?
Thank You

Sounds pretty awesome what you are doing. As far as the mic goes, I recommend getting a condenser microphone for vocals, acoustic guitar, more delicate sounds.
http://www.homemusicgear.com/products/large-diaphragm-side-address-cardioid-condenser-microphone-by-audiotechnica
It even includes a shock mount!

If you plan on recording more electric guitars, louder sounds, get a dynamic mic
http://www.homemusicgear.com/products/hypercardioid-dynamic-instrument-microphone-by-audiotechnica

I recommend this mixer
http://www.homemusicgear.com/products/mini-mixer-15-input-with-usb-interface-by-nady-systems
I know it is a little bit above your price range, but it is so worth it. It has built in phantom power for the condenser microphone, and it has an USB output. But you would probably have to get some kind of cord so that you can plug it into the ipad.

So if you buy that equipment, you should be on the path to good recordings!
If you have any questions, we would love to hear from you!
http://www.homemusicgear.com/

I am building a home studio and was just wondering what types of equipment are necessary for me to get. Also if possibly you could recommend some cheap but good brands of the equipment that would be good. I already have my audio technica at2020 microphone, pop filter, and shock mount and that’s about it. My next purchase is most likely going to be pro tools software but all of your suggestions will definitely be helpful.

If you have the normal at2020, you will also need a USB interface with phantom power.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Fast-Track-USB-Interface/dp/B002QZ402Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1310479617&sr=1-2

If you have the USB version of the at2020, you are all set.

were 15 and 16 year old rappers looking to get discovered , we either need some music equipment like a beat machine or some studio time , give me some ideas.

Check out my music because it was made all with a cheap netbook and cheap software like mixcraft. Although it is not rap you can see what kind of quality and beat sounds you can get on a budget. Here is the link. Hope it helps and good luck with getting your rapping started. I hope it goes well http://www.facebook.com/Actionslikemelodiesband?sk=app_178091127385

I’m trying too get all the best equipment for a music studio.

Okay, this all depends on how big you are planning to make your studio, but I’ll give some advice anyway.

You’ll want a dual-core (at least) PC with as much RAM as possible (4 GB is good for a start) and two hard drives. They must both be fast (not 5400 rpm!). The system drive should be a couple hundred GB (200 is a good start) for sample libraries. The data drive should be 500 GB at least. You’ll need Firewire 800 or USB2 (or USB3, I don’t know if that’s available yet).

Then you’ll need a good multiple-input audio interface, like a MOTU. Number of channels depends on your desk – if your desk has up to 16 channels, then get an interface with that many inputs, but if it has more, then get an interface with as many inputs as your desk has busses.

Next you’ll want an analogue desk: Neve, SSL, API, Soundcraft, that kind of thing. Get something with 16 channels at least, and mic pres and EQ on every channel.

Now, mics. For starters, you’ll want some Shure SM57s (get at least four) and some Rode NT-1As for general usage. For drums, get an AKG D112, a Sennheiser MD421, a pair of AKG C451s, and a pair of Rode NT-5s. You might also want a pair of ribbon mics for room – Shinybox ribbons will do. For vocals, get a Rode K2, Rode NT2000, and some Neumanns.

You’ll want some standalone preamps. Focusrite, TLA, Presonus, ART. You’ll also need some compressors (LA-2A, 1176, dbx, ART) and gates (Drawmer – get at least four channels), as well as a reverb (TC, Alesis, Lexicon).

You’ll need mic stands (Samson, get 20), hundreds of meters of cable (solder your own, it’s cheaper), a patch bay or four, and pop shields.

Now, instruments. Get a nice acoustic guitar (Taylor, Martin) and a handful of electrics (Fender, Epiphone), and a bass (Ibanez). Get a variety of amps: maybe a JCM, AC-30, and a Fender Deluxe, and a bass amp, maybe an Ashdown. Get a good drum kit (Mapex) and a handful of cymbals (Zildjian, Sabian). Get a nice small grand piano (Yamaha, Kawai) and some synthesizers (Nord, Korg, Alesis, Waldorf, DSi).

Oh, I almost forgot: monitors. Get a pair of NS10s and a pair of nice B&Ws.

You’ll need Cubase or Pro Tools, some Waves plugins, and Native Instruments Komplete, and maybe Addictive Drums or Superior Drummer.

…I think that’ll set you up nicely. I didn’t discuss acoustic treatments because you just asked about gear.

Oh, crap, and get some nice DI boxes, Jensens are good.

I’m starting a business and need to buy some dependable equipment. I need to know what the best is for lighting etc….

As far as entry level kits, I would say Alien Bees or Calumet Genesis. I’ve owned both and both are good products.

Genesis:

Pros:

More consistent in color temp and exposure across the power range than Alien Bees.
Cheaper than Alien Bees.
Accepts elinchrom brand modifiers.

Cons:
Won’t work with all radio triggers. Both my elinchrom skyports and Alien Bee Cybersyncs would not work well with these lights.
Powering more than one light on location is a PITA. Plugging two into a Vagabond or Xplorer battery pack makes them fire at random and beep like mad (personal experience).
SLOW recycle times
LONG flash duration (no freezing fast motion)

Alien Bees:

Pros:
Built better than the Calumet Genesis lights.
Analog power adjustment (which I prefer, but that’s subjective).
Can run two lights from one battery pack with no problems.
Respond well to multiple brands of radio triggers.
Customer service from PCB is second to none.
Much faster recycle times.

Cons:
Color temp can vary noticeably when you go from full power to below half.
Output isn’t always consistent. It can jump up/down 1/3-2/3 of a stop between pops.
More expensive than Genesis.

All that out of the way, as I said, I’ve owned both. I sold the Genesis’ lights to get my Bees. The main reason was I do a lot of location work and at the time there wasn’t (and still isn’t to my knowledge) a solid one unit solution to power two Genesis strobes. That paired with the slow recycle times of the Genesis (6 seconds at full power when used with a battery pack) made the cons of the Bees seem minor. I can work around the Bee’s shortcomings before I could work around those of the Genesis kits.

I never had either system fail on me so I would say both are reliable.

I don’t have enough hands on to speak to the other systems that are out of the entry level range. You have hensl, elinchrom, profoto, broncolor….all great lights, 100% consistency, 100% reliable…but all that comes at a price to match the quality.

Good luck!

I want to be able to record my vocals and acoustic guitar, but I have no idea what equipment I need. I looked online and none of it makes sense to me…please tell me, what microphone, head phones, etc. would be good for female vocals and acoustic guitar playing. I would like to be able to edit my recordings and be able to transfer to a cd. Links to websites with prices would be helpful…thanks!

You can set up a simple project studio with your home computer for a fairly reasonable price. You will need the following (at least):

1) An audio interface. Preferably firewire, but if your computer doesn’t support that, get USB.

2) Recording software. Most audio interfaces come packaged with some sort of software, you can stick with that for the time being if your budget is really tight.

3) Studio monitors or a good pair of headphones. Monitors are better, but will cost you more. If you get headphones, get heavy-duty closed-back ones. Buy them with your recording gear, not at Best Buy or Wal-Mart

4) Microphones, cables, and mic stands. You could get away with just a single microphone. You want a large diaphragm condenser mic suited for vocals.

You can get all this stuff at any large music retailer like Guitar Center or Sam Ash. You could also get it on these websites, but I recommend going to a store and looking at stuff in person first.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com
http://www.sweetwater.com

All of these stores offer discounted recording packages that will include everything that you need to get started. They usually run between $250 and $500.

EDIT: In regards to Mikey’s answer, the SM58 IS the standard vocal mic, but only for live situations. It’s not that popular for recording. The SM57 is the standard microphone for electric guitar in both live and studio settings, but acoustic guitars are best recorded in other ways.

My studio will either be 12′-9"x11′-8" or 11′5"-10′8".

This is my first studio equipment purchase and I’m not sure what would be my best option so I thought I’d give this a try.

I don’t know what wattage bulb would be right, what type of umbrella’s would be best, or if I should use flash lights or continuous lighting for example.

Thanks for your help!

- Evelyn Vaughn

Recommend flash not continuous – gives you more option over controlling the ambient/flash balance.

For a small studio, around 250W/s would do (though get as powerful as you can afford).

You may also want to consider battery operated speedlight flashes, if you want to branch out to do location work as they are portable & lightweight.

Read the Strobist blog (Lighting 101 & 102 archives) if you know nothing about lighting;

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

Any good ones that you could recommend? I’m looking at studio monitors specifically.
Thanks.

The obvious place to look is the manufacturer’s web site.

Any decent stockist should also give specifications on their website/s too.

I want too get some studio equipment, my budget is $1,000 dollas
any ideas?

Please ignore the poster Thomas. He is just a pathetic spammer with a huge number of IDs, spreading his Amazon affiliate links and copy-and-paste "answers" all over the site, hoping someone will click a links so that he can steal a few bucks in commission. Oh and feel free to report him also…

But I digress. In order to get a more complete and solid advice about your purchase, I would go to a site with people who knows what they’re talking about, if I were you. Just type in terms such as "home recording+forum", "music recording+forum", "home recording equipment", "home recording advice" "home recording tips" etc. and see what comes up.

Alternatively, I would visit a store with professional advice on this matter, before spending a rather large sum of money.

The point here is to get the best value for your money, as well as things which goes well together

I’ve tried on Amazon to buy a pop filter, mic stand, a shockmount, and an Audio Technica AT2020, But the only thing they ship is the AT2020.. I need a site that ships all to Australia.. Help? Thanks

All amazon items are not eligible for international shipping. Check this Firefox add-on, it may be helpful to you to find amazon.com international shipping eligible items @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/219053/