What to get?

Ok here are my options.
I already have a 2KXL, mackie dfx12 Microkorg, CD, HD, Event monitors.

I will have about $2000 to work with.
Here are my choices.

ION, KARMA, MPC60, MPC1000, New PC P4+ with usb midi interface, Large digital mixing board (roland, yamaha), Or a digital multi track, midi controller for PC.

I am just trying to expand the studio in the best direction. Please add you imput, or at least tell me what purchasing order you would choose. After I get this piece, I will be saving up again

Yo I was looking at that ION as well, I like it so far but I haven't had enough time with it to decide what I'm gonna do about buying it though. I hear good things about that Karma but I never tried it, I don't want to mess with something that has the sounds of the triton... What do you think of the Roland Fantom and the Yamaha Motif? Those are good choices as well. If I was you I'd get some multitracking software and a controller for it, you can tweak your existing stuff with the internal effects plug-ins and even mess with the soft synths using your microkorg as a midi controller for them... maybe give REASON a try... I hear it's real dope and it's like 350 dollars.

Word, I thought about reason. It seams like a real good buy.

I am more of a hardware person though. I could give the Fantom a try. I would have to save up another couple of hondred, but I know that machine is bad ass!

I dont think the triton would be a good choice because, I already have a sequencer, and a sampler. I need a unit that will expand on what I have.

I have played with the Karma, and it is real dope for the price.
The synth sounds are awesome, and it packs a whole lot of editing power!

ditch the mackie mixer !!! seriously, i went from a mackie 3204 to an allen & heath GL2 and it was far and away the BEST thing i could have done for my setup. the mackie sounds cold and sterile compared to the allen and heaths warmth and juice. and you need better EQ, preferable parametric EQ, it'll do wonders for your music.

another mpc would be a waste, get yourself a nice old vintage analog synth that you can sample from roland juno or jupiter or sh101 or a prophet or a polysix or a mini etc etc etc

or a digitally controlled analog synth like a studio electronics se-1, se-2, atc-1, where you have real analog circuitry in addition to full parameter control thru your mpc.

howzabout a moogerfooger or my choice with that budget would be some sort of doepfer or similar analog modular suitcase with built in midi interface.

but first get a better mixer....

/p

Like you, I'm a hardware person myself. I had Sonar and found out I wasted more time learning the program than making music, so
I left it alone...a friend of mine gave me a CD he made with Reason...sounded tight, but I didn't want to go thru the process of learning another soft sequencer...he told me it was easy to learn, just like Audition, so I gave it a shot and I must admit, it was fairly easy to use. It comes with loads of sounds, but you can load your own .wav or .aif sounds into it. I remixed 5 tracks within 2 weeks using it and I'm going to add it to my set-up...download the demo version from the propellerheads website...

Does anyone have any input on waldorf? I found this fat ass rack in my local music shop. I cannot remember what it is called. It looks something like a Nord lead rack.

I think I will get a new synth, and then a mixer.

Buying a mixer isnt the most exciting thing, ya know what I mean.
You want to walk out of that store with something that makes noise!

Waldorf is good, they just went bust so make sure it doesn't have problems.

REASON is S******

My advice if you want an analog synth type thing: Nord Lead 2X $900
It has four outputs for four voices, it sounds incredible, fully programable, there is a knob for every parameter, high quality design and manufacturing, very easy to program. It's like having 4 separate synths at once. I just got mine and I'm more blown away than I thought I would be. I'll be selling my Juno106 now only because I won't need it anymore. The Nord is highly recommended. I have Reason also, but the Nord blows away the synths in Reason. Reason just sounds too cold and sterile.

I second that nord comment. Though I'm happy to tell you that it's possible to get the nord to sound cold and sterile too, but it doesn't have to (I kind of like cold and sterile myself).

waldorf stuff kills nord in my opinion.

Better sound, more mod options, and they even make a real analog module (the Pulse).

If you are talking about the Q rack, micro Q, or XT rack you will be golden.

If it is a microwave, I or II, you will still be doing it right.

Maybe I'm biased abou the nord. Hell, they have their offices on my street..

Don't kid yourself... Get a PC and CUBASE SX or Neuendo...
Its the way of the future dude, get some nice pluggins' Software effects and a software multi-tracker will enable you to produce top quality tracks for cheaper than in hardware, perhaps Reason is not what you want, you can get many classic sounding VSTi for much less than a hardware synth, and if you have a control surface its just like hardware anyway.... keep your Mackie they make solid mixers...

Or

Get a Virus C, the best sounding Synth ever (if you like analouge you won't be disapointed) Then cop some high quality cables'

I am being bombarded!!!!! PC/software recomendations comming from the left, Hardware from the right.

So many choices.

I guess I will have to flip a coin

try them out and decide yourself.