forums : Producing

Purchasing New Production Studio?

I have a budget a little over a grand. Currently I have tables, vestax mixer, new pc labtop and bx8 monitors, . I'm looking to get into production of jungle, dubstep, and hip hop. What is the best equipment and software I should pick up? I'm leaning towards software with and mbox2 pro(protools), reason, and a axiom controller. Other plugins in the future. Cubase has also been an option. Any suggestions????

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

i'd say you need more than a grand to get a studio up and running, but that depends on my personal tastes. do you know what you like using? are you still learning how to use the tools of the trade? these are very important questions to ask - don't assume that there's any "best" setup to use, except for the one that feels right to you.

IMO if you're doing any sort of electronic or club music, cubase, logic, and ableton live are the way to go. not protools. protools is amazing for recording, arranging, and editing audio, but for a studio that uses soft synths (VST, AU, etc.) and soft samplers, it will be a nightmare. MIDI in protools continues to be a disappointment, to say the least.

also if you use reason as an all-in-one VST instrument as a slave to another program (i.e. cubase), you'll likely have a lot of CPU problems. reason 3 does allow you to beef up your sounds a fair bit with the combinator modules, but keep in mind that the more stuff you have in your rack, the heavier the CPU taxation, and using it in conjunction with a host program - ANY host program - is a hog.

in addition, prosumer-oriented mBox quality and capabilities are inferior to that of professional interfaces, which can be acquired for reasonable prices. i'm a huge advocate of all MOTU interfaces, and you can get either super-decked-out 8-i/o models or stripped-down 2 i/o portables, which all blow away the mBox. i wouldn't recommend presonus products, as my friends who've used them tell me they stink. do you have a firewire 400 jack on your laptop? in my professional opinion, firewire is the only acceptable format for external audio interfaces - NEVER USB (and excepting the formats used by higher-grade interfaces, such as a protools HD / TDM system).

the axiom controller might be a good idea, but you may find that your production style isn't so conducive to using keys. personally, i've never played keys, and only ever use keyboard controllers as a novelty; they are essentially useless to me, although i do find that the knobs and other controllers on keyboard controllers can be useful. you might want to try different controllers to see what works for you; different controllers include stuff like the m-audio trigger finger, for which i've heard mixed reviews. it's geared more towards programming MIDI data with pads (like you'd see on an MPC); good for drums and other percussive elements.

so - since you already have monitors (which i would eventually replace, for the record, because those bx8s will really color your low end), i would look into getting a good single-piece software package, an interface, and one or two plugins. ALSO, RECYCLE! recycle (by propellerheads) is an incredibly valuable tool and runs anywhere between $150-200.

since logic isn't an option for you, i'd suggest ableton live or cubase sx. the problem with cubase is that you need to acquire additional software to write with it - vst instruments and such. you need at least one sampler and one synth. do some research, see what each package has to offer... happy to answer anything else i can, so hit me up.

**********
According to mdub ...

I have a budget a little over a grand. Currently I have tables, vestax mixer, new pc labtop and bx8 monitors, . I'm looking to get into production of jungle, dubstep, and hip hop. What is the best equipment and software I should pick up? I'm leaning towards software with and mbox2 pro(protools), reason, and a axiom controller. Other plugins in the future. Cubase has also been an option. Any suggestions????
**********

[ 4th_level - 10 Jun 2007 18:50 ]

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

hey andy, you should check out the new update to protools, the midi is actually really good now and on par with logic. although im still 100% logic based, protools has gotten up to par with midi, plus the editing and environment is in a league of its own.

i think a combination of logic for creation and protools for mixing is the way to go!

if youre using alot of hardware though, you gotta get protools hd, its pricey, but well worth it, especially becuase of the automatic delay compensation!

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

Production is all new to me. I have a little experience with soundforge and recording my dj mixes. I also only have the standard IEEE 1394 firewire port on my labtop. I guess the best option would be to save a little more cash and purchase the right equipment/software. I am not actually in any rush. Also what type of single piece software packages are you talking about? I've also heard good reviews on the recycle software.


***********************
i'd say you need more than a grand to get a studio up and running, but that depends on my personal tastes. do you know what you like using? are you still learning how to use the tools of the trade? these are very important questions to ask - don't assume that there's any "best" setup to use, except for the one that feels right to you.

IMO if you're doing any sort of electronic or club music, cubase, logic, and ableton live are the way to go. not protools. protools is amazing for recording, arranging, and editing audio, but for a studio that uses soft synths (VST, AU, etc.) and soft samplers, it will be a nightmare. MIDI in protools continues to be a disappointment, to say the least.

also if you use reason as an all-in-one VST instrument as a slave to another program (i.e. cubase), you'll likely have a lot of CPU problems. reason 3 does allow you to beef up your sounds a fair bit with the combinator modules, but keep in mind that the more stuff you have in your rack, the heavier the CPU taxation, and using it in conjunction with a host program - ANY host program - is a hog.

in addition, prosumer-oriented mBox quality and capabilities are inferior to that of professional interfaces, which can be acquired for reasonable prices. i'm a huge advocate of all MOTU interfaces, and you can get either super-decked-out 8-i/o models or stripped-down 2 i/o portables, which all blow away the mBox. i wouldn't recommend presonus products, as my friends who've used them tell me they stink. do you have a firewire 400 jack on your laptop? in my professional opinion, firewire is the only acceptable format for external audio interfaces - NEVER USB (and excepting the formats used by higher-grade interfaces, such as a protools HD / TDM system).

the axiom controller might be a good idea, but you may find that your production style isn't so conducive to using keys. personally, i've never played keys, and only ever use keyboard controllers as a novelty; they are essentially useless to me, although i do find that the knobs and other controllers on keyboard controllers can be useful. you might want to try different controllers to see what works for you; different controllers include stuff like the m-audio trigger finger, for which i've heard mixed reviews. it's geared more towards programming MIDI data with pads (like you'd see on an MPC); good for drums and other percussive elements.

so - since you already have monitors (which i would eventually replace, for the record, because those bx8s will really color your low end), i would look into getting a good single-piece software package, an interface, and one or two plugins. ALSO, RECYCLE! recycle (by propellerheads) is an incredibly valuable tool and runs anywhere between $150-200.

since logic isn't an option for you, i'd suggest ableton live or cubase sx. the problem with cubase is that you need to acquire additional software to write with it - vst instruments and such. you need at least one sampler and one synth. do some research, see what each package has to offer... happy to answer anything else i can, so hit me up.

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

unless there's been any major changes to it since the last time i checked out PT7, it's just still unnecessarily clunky to me. i think what i would be satisfied with is an integrated reason-type midi sequencer in a separate window. i'm not saying the way protools does it is without merit, it's probably just more my personal experience with it - but i know a lot of people share my POV.

i feel you on using PT to mix though, i've heard a lot of good things about using it as a tool for the offline bounce, and i'd imagine for assembling raw audio data it'd suit my needs better than logic... of course, i'd need to buy a lot of software and equipment to make it worth my while, and i'm still unemployed yet. someday...

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

Ive never had any problems with my M-Box

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

in all honesty, you can get a pretty good head start with your setup, i'm sure. if you've got about a grand, i'd recommend a motu ultralite for an audio interface, because you could probably use it for a lot of different applications - i.e. home studio production, live show (if you ever play a set live via serato, etc.), and recording hi-qual mixes. the ultralite retails around $550, but you could probably find one cheaper if you look hard enough - floor models at pro audio shops like guitar center or sam ash and so on.

i'm not sure what cubase runs, but take a look at the package and see if you feel comfortable with the feel of the environment. i always say that cubase feels cluttered to me in its layout, but a lot of people would disagree. live might be a little convoluted for studio production, but i've never really used it and apparently you can do some amazing things with it. FL studio is worth a look too, i suppose - i've never bothered, because i'm happy with logic, but apparently FL studio has some beef innit...

do a lot of research... they want you to blow as much money as possible everywhere, so it's important to shop smart.

**********
According to mdub ...

Production is all new to me. I have a little experience with soundforge and recording my dj mixes. I also only have the standard IEEE 1394 firewire port on my labtop. I guess the best option would be to save a little more cash and purchase the right equipment/software. I am not actually in any rush. Also what type of single piece software packages are you talking about? I've also heard good reviews on the recycle software.
***********************

Re: Purchasing New Production Studio?

converters are not professional quality. and maybe you've never had problems with it, but there are plenty of limitations - mbox doesn't give you much room for expansion... of course, if you don't need to expand, then it's no big deal

**********
According to kellyd ...

Ive never had any problems with my M-Box
**********