Studio Cost

GoDJ

GoDJ

New member
On average, how much did it cost to set up your own studio, and what does it consist of?
Also, how long did it take you?
 
It really depends on the kind of quality you're ok with settling on ... this is not a cheap hobby/career ... personally, by the time I graduate I'll have about 5 or 6 grand in everything and I'll be looking to keep building on that.. but you can get a basic interface/D.A.W bundle package and a cheap 100 dollar mic for like 300 bucks.
 
I'm still putting the pieces together, but so far I've accumulated an MPC1000, a set of Audio Technica LP120 turntables, a Pioneer djm-250 mixer, a set of yamaha HS80m's monitors and I'm still on the hunt for a decent sized DJ table and I'm considering, for the future, a synthesizer, preferably the Moog Slim Phatty, though that's at quite a high price point, I'll need to save.

All up so far, roughly 2200 Australian dollars, which is a little stronger than the USD at the moment.
 
About $25K Australian over some 35 years - my studio is also sometimes used for live gigs - i.e. some parts are "portable", being in their own rack cases

E-16 1/2" 16 -track tape
A-77 1/4" 2-track tape
Mackie Onyx24.8 (->2->1) mixer
Mackie Control ca. 95
No-name 24->8->2->1 mixer
Multipe multi-gates
multiple multi-compressors
Multiple multi-fx
DEQ x 2
GEQ 31 band stereo
GEQ 31 band mono
Parametric eq x 4
patchbays x 15
several other mixers for sub-mixing and live mixing

U110 x 2
U220
FB01
TX81Z x 2
SP555
akai sound module
SC55

multiple guitars
multiple basses
saxes
trumpet
trombone
flute
Electronic wind instrument (MIDI controller in a clarinet-sax style profile)
61 key keyboard
Tascam US2400 control surface
Maschine original
BR8 x 2
Power amps
guitar amps x 3
bass amps x 2
multiple speaker enclosures including - pa columns, pa trap boxes, wedges, subs x 2, other PA enclosures
guitar effects - some 20 different
DJ setup with cd controllers and multiple channel mixer

dell GX620 tower with 4gb ram and running both XP sp3 32 bit and XP 64 bit - multiple hard drives 1TB, 2TB
dell GX620 sff with 4gb ram and running XP sp3 32 bit 1TB
dell gx260 with 2gb ram running 98Se (for mackie control software)

Cubase Studio 5.5.3
FL 10
Reason 4, 5, 6.5 and Record 1 and 1.5
Komplete 5, Komplete 6, Komplete 8
BiaB 2012
Garritan Personal Orchestra 4, Jazz and Big Band 3, Concert and Marching Band 2
Miroslav Philharmonick
Sample tank
Sample moog
Sampletron
Sonick synth
Amplitube 3
Guitar Rig Controller and Guitar Rig 5

Cabling including multicores, patch cables, speaker cables, etc......
 
i already have logic pro 9 and a bass

i want to build a studio over some time that has like two rooms with glass so you can see into the booth.
i want to sound proof the rooms.
connect my bass to logic
get monitor speakers (was looking at m-audio..good choice?)
right now i have an akai mini, i probably will get an upgrade (choices?)
eventually MPC
any thing else you guys think i need?
 
GoDJ said:
i already have logic pro 9 and a bass

i want to build a studio over some time that has like two rooms with glass so you can see into the booth.
i want to sound proof the rooms.
connect my bass to logic
get monitor speakers (was looking at m-audio..good choice?)
right now i have an akai mini, i probably will get an upgrade (choices?)
eventually MPC
any thing else you guys think i need?
Click to expand...

Focus on getting the hardware that's absolutely necessary first, you're thinking way too far ahead with the two-room glass studio deal. Unless you're already an experienced, professional producer, which I'm assuming you're not, theirs just no need for it.

Get a decent audio interface so you can connect your bass to your computer, do you have a bass amplifier? Nobody could tell you if m-audio is a good choice if we don't know what genre you'll be producing and what your budget is.

Is it really worth it to upgrade the akai mini instead of going straight to MPC/Maschine?
 
I have a Korg Pandora PX5D that I use to connect the bass to the computer.
I have an Ampeg BA115HP 220 watt bass amp.
I primarily make hip-hop, heavy bass rap, that type of stuff.
Wth the akai mini, i barely use it for the pads it has, i just use it for the key. I was thinking I shold get a better keyboard, and then get an mpc/maschine for the pads. I just because i think their cool.
Honestly, I dont see the need for them because I don't know what u can do on an mpc that i cant do on a keyboard or in the daw.
 
GoDJ said:
I have a Korg Pandora PX5D that I use to connect the bass to the computer.
I have an Ampeg BA115HP 220 watt bass amp.
I primarily make hip-hop, heavy bass rap, that type of stuff.
Wth the akai mini, i barely use it for the pads it has, i just use it for the key. I was thinking I shold get a better keyboard, and then get an mpc/maschine for the pads. I just because i think their cool.
Honestly, I dont see the need for them because I don't know what u can do on an mpc that i cant do on a keyboard or in the daw.
Click to expand...

Alright, sounds good. The MPC is a standalone (meaning you don't need a PC connected to it) sampler, sequencer, drum machine, it has it's own in-built memory that you can connect via usb for it's internal memory or through it's compact flash card if you need to switch anything out. It's essentially an all-in-one tool, you can produce entire tracks solely on the MPC without the need for anything else. Sure, a DAW can be used as a source for a midi controlled drum machine and they can sequence and sample, but the appeal to the MPC is it's awesome pads, the fact that it doesn't need a computer to function and it's tried and true quality. The Akai mini and a DAW will be able to achieve basically the same thing, but you're getting double the amount of pads and they're probably of a higher quality on the MPC, I wouldn't really know for sure, I've never had my hands on an Akai mini. The pads are way easier to finger-drum with rather than a keyboard though, by far.

As for the monitors, what sort of budget do you have to spend on a pair? You have a lot of great choices open for 400-700 for a pair, the KRK Rokit 5's, 6's and 8's, the Mackie MR5's or larger, the Yamaha HS80m's or HS50m's, the much loved NS10's even.

Just had an idea, if you're set on using a DAW or just being connected to a PC, I'd recommend you skip the MPC, keep the akai mini for the keys, and pick up an MPD26/32 instead, you get the same awesome pads, four sound banks to switch between, 8 assignable knobs that you won't find on an MPC unless you go for a higher end version and you'll be able to pick one up a tiny, tiny fraction of the cost. I own an MPC1000 that cost me 700 bucks, but you could get an MPD32, the most expensive of the MPD's for roughly 220.

Hope it helps.
 
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Zedism said:
The MPC is a standalone (meaning you don't need a PC connected to it) sampler, sequencer, drum machine, it has it's own in-built memory that you can connect via usb for it's internal memory or through it's compact flash card if you need to switch anything out. It's essentially an all-in-one tool, you can produce entire tracks solely on the MPC without the need for anything else.
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...or at least it used to be. None of the new models work without the computer, so this only applies to the 500/1000/2500 & older.
 
krushing said:
...or at least it used to be. None of the new models work without the computer, so this only applies to the 500/1000/2500 & older.
Click to expand...

The 5000 is also stand alone, the only two that aren't standalone, as far as I'm aware is the Renaissance and the Studio. I don't see why you would need anything better than a 5000 in terms of a solo music production center, personally, but even still, I don't see them phasing out the idea of a stand alone MPC anytime soon if that's what you're suggesting.
 
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Zedism said:
I don't see them phasing out the idea of a stand alone MPC anytime soon if that's what you're suggesting.
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Well...actually, I can see them doing just that. The 5000 was recently discontinued as well, so only the 1k & 500 remain. I doubt there will be any more "big" standalone MPCs.
 
krushing said:
Well...actually, I can see them doing just that. The 5000 was recently discontinued as well, so only the 1k & 500 remain. I doubt there will be any more "big" standalone MPCs.
Click to expand...

Huh, I wasn't aware they discontinued the 5k. I guess we'll see, in time.
 
Since 2007, I've spent about $10,000 on studio equipment. Some of the equipment has been sold or upgraded by overall around 10k.
 
For introduction it would break down approx:
DAW - $300
audio interface - $200
monitors - $300
headphones - $150
midi controller - $100

But sky is the limit!
 
The instruments their selves are hella expensive i want a 10000 guitar and a 20000 bassoon that's cost more than most studios look for grants homie
 
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