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Studio gear, I'm out of date
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| Mauricio |
Hi... hope someone will be able to help me.
I'm starting over on music, and I have a little questionnaire :D
Of course no one needs to reply everything, just what you can ;)
When I last had a home studio it was Cubase SX3, with a little midi controller from Alesis, Samson 80a monitors. PC was a kind of a DualCored PC with 1gb memory that was freezing up already. I think I already had Massive and Ambient on testing, and I liked Moog and etc but couldnt afford to buy hardware.
Now I'm coming back on this (cos I love), so I need a bit of advice. I do like Dubstep but I do like ambient/trance music as well. So I need goood bass synths like Moog, but I cant afford yet. Can't afford Prophet as well.
1. What version of Cubase 5 should I buy? I'm little afraid of getting the limited VSTi version and regret later. Has anyone using more than 3 VSTi's at the moment, or is there is good and complete VST instruments that would exempt from having many?
2. What VST's would you advice? Massive? What is the TOP 3 now?
3. I definitely want to go for UAD now. Is a preloved UAD1 still a good go for the price, or would it be better go for UAD2? Are those UAD solo for laptop good, they do enough? Do you advice a good setup of UAD plugins?
4. Should I go for a PC or laptop? With the amount we pay for a good laptop, I assume that I still better have a reasonable priced tower PC and invest money on gear.
5. What monitors do you recommend? My last clue was the KRK V8 being the good ones for the price, and nowadays?
6. I think KORG 49 would be the best midi controller for me. Do you agree? Any other midi devices advice?
7. Two big screens or one HUGE lcd screen? What you think?
Cheers... and sorry for the long post |
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| Eric J |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
I do like Dubstep but I do like ambient/trance music as well.
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| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
So I need goood bass synths like Moog, but I cant afford yet. Can't afford Prophet as well.
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You don't NEED hardware to produce dubstep or ambient or trance. While having outboard hardware is nice, most of these tracks are produced entirely with software.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
1. What version of Cubase 5 should I buy? I'm little afraid of getting the limited VSTi version and regret later. Has anyone using more than 3 VSTi's at the moment, or is there is good and complete VST instruments that would exempt from having many?
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Its going to be extraordinarily difficult to get anything going with a 3 VST instrument limit. I mean, sure you can bounce a lot, but its probably going to be a real pain in the ass. Get a version that has the fewest limits that you can afford.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
2. What VST's would you advice? Massive? What is the TOP 3 now?
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Sylenth1, Nexus, Vanguard are all popular synths with loads of trance presets, if you are looking for presets. That being said, just about any VST subtractive synth can produce any sound you want if you know how to program it.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
3. I definitely want to go for UAD now. Is a preloved UAD1 still a good go for the price, or would it be better go for UAD2? Are those UAD solo for laptop good, they do enough? Do you advice a good setup of UAD plugins?
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The UAD plugins are great, if you know what you are doing. If you haven't produced in a while (or ever), I'd advise trying to get the most out of the stock plugins first before trying to get into the UAD stuff. They are only good if you know how to use them.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
4. Should I go for a PC or laptop? With the amount we pay for a good laptop, I assume that I still better have a reasonable priced tower PC and invest money on gear.
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Tower machines are generally better for production because you can get more for your money. I only recommend producing on a laptop if portability is a major concern.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
5. What monitors do you recommend? My last clue was the KRK V8 being the good ones for the price, and nowadays?
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If you are just starting out, just get some halfway decent monitors designed to be studio reference monitors. No "hi-fi" speakers or PC speakers. Monitor prices range from $300 all the way up into 5 figures, so there is a lot of variation there. The choices are highly dependant on your budget, but the general rule of thumb is to get the best ones you can afford at the time. As you get better then you can invest in better monitors.
Incidentally, monitoring is one of the 3 most important things you can buy for your studio along with a good computer and a good audio interface, so if you do get serious, it would be wise to consider upgrading those devices before sinking any money into things like outboard hardware. They will have a far more profound impact on your productions.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
6. I think KORG 49 would be the best midi controller for me. Do you agree? Any other midi devices advice?
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The choice of MIDI controller is highly personal and subjective. You haven't really given us enough information to make any kind of recommendation.
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
7. Two big screens or one HUGE lcd screen? What you think?
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Again, highly personal decision. I mean what you you like? Two monitors or one? As far as production is concern, this type of choice is really irrelevant, go with what you like. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
7. Two big screens or one HUGE lcd screen? What you think?
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For Cubase, I would probably go with one huge LCD. Personally, I prefer the way Sonar, Studio One, etc. let you float the various editor windows (e.g., console, piano roll), in which case I prefer having two LCDs because you can maximize the windows in individual monitors and treat them as discrete views. Therefore, the split between the two monitors isn't even noticeable to me. However, with Cubase (and Live), you must stretch the interface across dual monitors, so the split can be rather distracting. That's why I think one large (i.e., 30"+) LCD would be more ideal for Cubase. |
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| Mauricio |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric J
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Thanks for taking yr time to reply.
| quote: |
Its going to be extraordinarily difficult to get anything going with a 3 VST instrument limit. I mean, sure you can bounce a lot, but its probably going to be a real pain in the ass. Get a version that has the fewest limits that you can afford.
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Good to know. I was guessing the VSTi limit wouldnt be that problem, as I presume that are no limits on VST FX anyway.
| quote: |
The UAD plugins are great, if you know what you are doing. If you haven't produced in a while (or ever), I'd advise trying to get the most out of the stock plugins first before trying to get into the UAD stuff. They are only good if you know how to use them.
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edit: Maybe I expressed wrong English up there, I'm actually resuming, not starting.. so actually, I'm not beginner on mixing, dynamics and stuff (although not an expert guru). I just want the best I can afford, and I guess if I want something serious I should go for UAD. I wonder if a "common" UAD1 would do the trick. I just don't think I need the best UAD setup, but I think the Reverb and one of the main compressors would be great for a start.
| quote: |
If you are just starting out, just get some halfway decent monitors designed to be studio reference monitors. No "hi-fi" speakers or PC speakers. Monitor prices range from $300 all the way up into 5 figures, so there is a lot of variation there. The choices are highly dependant on your budget, but the general rule of thumb is to get the best ones you can afford at the time. As you get better then you can invest in better monitors.
Incidentally, monitoring is one of the 3 most important things you can buy for your studio along with a good computer and a good audio interface, so if you do get serious, it would be wise to consider upgrading those devices before sinking any money into things like outboard hardware. They will have a far more profound impact on your productions.
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Agreed. Well I did like my Samson 80a, it was a good pair of monitors for the price. Just don't like Berhringer stuff. So I think I'll stick around KRK or Mackie (I think I can afford it)
| quote: |
The choice of MIDI controller is highly personal and subjective. You haven't really given us enough information to make any kind of recommendation.
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What kind of information should I give? What I din't like on my previous one: it was small (few keys) and when I swap the tracks I couldnt find an easy way to reset the knobs to match Cubase. It was a little confusing on presets as well.
Thanks a lot
Cheers |
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| Mauricio |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
For Cubase, I would probably go with one huge LCD. Personally, I prefer the way Sonar, Studio One, etc. let you float the various editor windows (e.g., console, piano roll), in which case I prefer having two LCDs because you can maximize the windows in individual monitors and treat them as discrete views. Therefore, the split between the two monitors isn't even noticeable to me. However, with Cubase (and Live), you must stretch the interface across dual monitors, so the split can be rather distracting. That's why I think one large (i.e., 30"+) LCD would be more ideal for Cubase. |
True. It reminds me the lack of space on Cubase and you cant drag anything outside the window. Maybe I'll go for a huge screen.
Not sure if 30+, but I think 24 will be fair enough.
Cheers |
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| No Left Turn |
1. Either Cubase 5 or Cubase Studio 5 will do for you. Check out the comparison charts to see if you can live with any of the feature limitations. Now that Cubase is a lot more affordable, it won't break your wallet to just get the full version.
2. Massive, Sylenth1 and Predator/Albino
3. Don't invest in UAD-1 unless you're going to be adding it to a UAD-2 system. Start with UAD-2 and then add UAD-1 cards to add more power for a low price. UAD-2 Solos would be good to start with, but if you can afford it I would recommend a Duo.
4. A desktop would be better if you want to use UAD plug-ins extensively. With a laptop, you'll be limited to a single DSP card, whereas with a desktop you can have multiple cards allowing you to run more UAD plug-ins.
5. M-Audio DSM1's. There's a lot of competition in that price range, but since I have experience with them, they're what I can confidently recommend. In the ~$1000 price range, I'd either go with those or the Adam A7's. |
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| user19503 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mauricio
True. It reminds me the lack of space on Cubase and you cant drag anything outside the window. Maybe I'll go for a huge screen.
Not sure if 30+, but I think 24 will be fair enough.
Cheers |
get the smallest iMac and Logic. |
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| Mauricio |
Yet about this
Are u guys using Windows 7 x64 on Cubase and so on?
Will a high range Core 2 Quad or Duo do the trick (using UAD) or should I go for i3 or i5?
Thanks though. |
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| Storyteller |
| I7 would be ideal and future proof for a while. I use windows 7 x64, but no 64bit sequencers for now. |
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| Mauricio |
| quote: | Originally posted by No Left Turn
5. M-Audio DSM1's. There's a lot of competition in that price range, but since I have experience with them, they're what I can confidently recommend. In the ~$1000 price range, I'd either go with those or the Adam A7's. |
Thanks. Those "cheap" M-Audio and Adam A7, can you do serious productions with that? Considering I plan to do third party mastering, maybe mixing.
I'm thinking about a resealed HR824 MKII for $1000.
I'm a bit uncertain. But thanks for all the clues. |
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| rulzz |
| adam A7 over mackies mkII any day |
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