Trying to make a home studio (need some suggestions)

tanamo00420 wrote:[
I have good headphones that I use with my turntables, do I really need speakers?

I tried this before i bought my monitors, it didnt work too well for me. the bass never came out like i wanted it. i bought some m-audio studio monitors for like $300, it made a whole world of difference[/quote]

funny. thats exactly what i was going to say

you have the bx5's right ?[/i]

you have the bx5's right ?[/i][/quote]

yep, there really all you need to start out with

..and buy fine monitors,like the Belgian FAR systems.....

In response to your question on how long it takes to learn the MPC, it could take days or weeks or months, depending on you. I been on my MPC2000 for four years almost and I pretty much can make it do what I want, but I still learn new tricks, even to this day, so you never know... look at how many cats on this forum had been using mpc's for more than five years and still learn new stuff or even seek advice...

2 computers eh?? I'd say network your computers together and store all samples on one hardrive and store all completed songs on the other.

Skip the MPC 2kl and buy a MPC 1000 as SCSI zip/CD rom drives are outdated by USB. MPC 1000 is designed to work hand-in-hand with computers via USB so all files can be transferred to your desktops.

Hard disk recorders are far more reliable than a PC studio setup, but software recording is:

1. much, much cheaper
2. offers more options and possibilities.

You can get a used MPC 2kl and a new MPC 1000 for around the same price give or take 200 bucks. I only been in the game for a little under a year and my advice to you is to read these forum posts and educate yourself about what you're buying before you shell out the money. You won't regret it.

MPC1000 all the way - zips, scsi and floppys are dated! The 1000 is really tight! The 2000xl does have midi / seq editing capabilities the 1000 doesn't have but they're not missed.

Plus the 1000 will take up less space in your studio -

It took me 2 years to learn how to really use my 2000xl, sold it and flipped the script turned around and bought the 1000 - everythings gravy now - you just have to live and learn

get a tascam 788....its mad cheap with the burner, easy to use and jusat looks good next to an mpc....not too mention it sounds great, has toooooooooooonnnnnnssss of features, great fx, and you can pop in a nice chunky fat HD in it if you wanna...and you can save the rest of that cash and get some more gear too!

Swissmaster Cheese wrote:get a tascam 788....its mad cheap with the burner, easy to use and jusat looks good next to an mpc....not too mention it sounds great, has toooooooooooonnnnnnssss of features, great fx, and you can pop in a nice chunky fat HD in it if you wanna...and you can save the rest of that cash and get some more gear too!

and an MPC 2kxl...nice machine, nice machine

Stay w/ Vinyl

M Audio Monitors 8inch (Studio Monitors) Headphones wont do. ($600)

M Audio Delta 1010 (10 in 10 out PCI sound card for pc) ($399)

Any MPC ($850-$2000)

A good DJ mixer (Rane, Vestax, Pioneer depending on your style) (a good quality mixer will not cost less then $500)

Decent needles for your tables....pair of Shure M44-Gs ($100)

A multitrack recording program for your computer. I'm a PC guy so I would suggest Adobe Audition, Reason, Pro Tools or Cubase...I perfer Adobe Audition for it's ease of use. (You can pay or get Kazaa and d/l it, your choice) Your program should be a huge resource for your MPC, you will be able to use any program capable of waveform editing to cut, chop, munipulate, shape, or flat out steal your sounds to load onto your MPC. You can use one of the above mentioned programs to rip cd audio, record vinyl, and sounds recorded on your mic and visually cut out the sounds you want.

Keep in mind that you will need to buy some soundproofing equip. to get good vocals on track. ($60-$10,000)

and a good condensor mic (usually around $300)

All the cables for all this equipment ($150est.)

And most importantly TIME and DEDICATION

All this equipment should give you some really good sounding recordings but, will be limited to the time you spend learning it like the back of your hand.

As you go along you will realize that there will be other things that you "Can't live without". But, this is only the basics.

And of course, this is only my opinion, and like bass holes, we all have one........1

Good luck!