well first off I would buy a good computer to use as your DAW, unless your computer is really good already.

i have a 2ghz pentium 4 with 512 mb ram i think thats sufficient for now. i might add another gig of ram in the future though

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Top 5:
1. R-Tem - Voiceless
2. New Order - Jetstream (Tom Neville Remix)
3. Pillow One - Ministry Of Love
4. Pulser - Point of Impact (Mike Koglin Remix)
5. Armin Van Buuren - Shivers (Christian Webber Mix)

I think it is always paramount to think about the signal path. Hope you know what I mean by that.

First off, you have your external hard synths, and what do you want to do with it? You want to make sounds with it and record it.

Well, you need a particular sound from that synth to be spot on timing-wise in this genre. So, first and foremost, get a quality soundcard with good drivers and low latency. The RME is a wise choice.

What about recording it? Well, Virtual Analog synthesizers are digital. The sounds goes out of it analog and into your card where it is converted to digital again. Enter the ADC. The Analog to Digital converter. I highly recommend buying a seperate ADC for this purpose. The difference in recording quality will be remarkable. One of the best ADCs for the money is the one by RME. It is compared to the best Apogee ADCs and some say even better.

But all of this is in vain if you can't hear the extra detail that the RME ADC affords you, so you had better get quality monitors. And once again you have made a wise decision in choosing the Mackies. Of course you could buy Dyns or Gens., but yikes!

The final piece of equipment that would seal the deal. The Benchmark DAC-1. This makes sure you hear every bit of what is going on. Can't hear your reverb tails, get a Benchmark.

I would also recommend buying a couple of nice external compressors such as the affordable Really Nice Compressor. Stupid name, legendary quality. For a killer reverb, look no further than the Lexicon MPX-1. Pro quality, bargain price.

Granted, this might cost a bit much, but every piece of equipment I recommended is widely agreed upon as being the best one for the money i.e. it's as pro as your gonna get without becoming a manwhore.

Good luck, can't wait to see what you do with your new gear.

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Business is very food.

wouldnt i need a mixer with busses to use the adc and adc?

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Top 5:
1. R-Tem - Voiceless
2. New Order - Jetstream (Tom Neville Remix)
3. Pillow One - Ministry Of Love
4. Pulser - Point of Impact (Mike Koglin Remix)
5. Armin Van Buuren - Shivers (Christian Webber Mix)

Yes, um, you posted a while ago about mixers so I thought you purchased one. Yes, you might think about going with a digital mixer. So, the synths go to the ADC, then to the mixer, then to the multi-in/out soundcard, then to the Benchmark DAC, then to the speakers. Very clean signal path. If you want to impart color to the signal, you can always send through a tube compressor before mixdown.

Again, this is kind of an idealistic setup, but if you can afford it great.

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Business is very food.

im really looking at the behringer digital mixer thats out as the mixer i might get but i got fired from my previous job so i havent gotten shit yet..and about compressors...hardware? hah....ive got waves diamond bundle...its amazing..when u got something like waves c4...with unlimited instances..u will never go back to sluggy hardware compressors!

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Top 5:
1. R-Tem - Voiceless
2. New Order - Jetstream (Tom Neville Remix)
3. Pillow One - Ministry Of Love
4. Pulser - Point of Impact (Mike Koglin Remix)
5. Armin Van Buuren - Shivers (Christian Webber Mix)

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHDDX3216

i was looking at this one

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Top 5:
1. R-Tem - Voiceless
2. New Order - Jetstream (Tom Neville Remix)
3. Pillow One - Ministry Of Love
4. Pulser - Point of Impact (Mike Koglin Remix)
5. Armin Van Buuren - Shivers (Christian Webber Mix)

Yes, I know what you mean by not having limitations created by hardware, but what I'm referring to is the fact that you have a signal that as soon as it is going digital it is going to stay the same exact way until it gets your DAC...so, there is nothing to add color to the sound (as oppossed to sending through an analog Soundcraft mixer that is know for adding subtle warmth to the signal). Not adding color isn't a bad thing, but it is nice to have the option and Waves C4 won't do that. The PSP Vintage Warmer adds nice color, but it can't replace real tube processors.

Again, probably overkill but it's worth mentioning.

___________________
Business is very food.

check pm ;p

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Top 5:
1. R-Tem - Voiceless
2. New Order - Jetstream (Tom Neville Remix)
3. Pillow One - Ministry Of Love
4. Pulser - Point of Impact (Mike Koglin Remix)
5. Armin Van Buuren - Shivers (Christian Webber Mix)

Defintiely stick with the Waves plugins.

As for a mixer, have you considered the Yamaha o1v over the behringer. I think they'r in a similar price range.

Mackie 824 ouch, expensive!!! Can you get me a pair while you're at it with your valuable American dollars.

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1 out of every 4 people in this country are mentally disturbed. Look at your 3 closest friends. If they seem okay, then you're the one.

quote:

Originally posted by Sirocco and about compressors...hardware? hah....ive got waves diamond bundle...its amazing..when u got something like waves c4...with unlimited instances..u will never go back to sluggy hardware compressors!

softwear is not yet able to simulate vaccuum tubes perfectly. it goes for compressors, amps, etc.

but if you just want a regular digital compressor, might aswell get softwear.