New studio

B

buddhacub

Guest
Yo, I am trying to set a up a pc based studio for my new label. I have a pc and a midi controller but I know I need a bunch more. Any hardware and software suggestions anybody could give me to get the most proffesional sound possible would be helpful .Thanx all!
 
Steinberg Cubase 5.1
=> high-quality sequenser

Steinberg WaveLab 4
=> I still have version 3, but nevertheless it's a great wave editor to me

NI Kontakt http://www.native-instruments.com/
=> software sampler; I haven't tried it, biu NI makes quality

NI Pro-52
=> great software-version of the legendary Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synth

NI FM7
=> great software-version of the legendary Yamaha DX-7

Waldorf Attack http://www.waldorf-gmbh.de/
=> drum/percussion plugin

Waldorf D-Pole
=> decent software filter from Waldorf

Sonic Timeworks plugins http://www.sonictimeworks.com
=> hi-quality plugins (especially reverb & delay)

Waves plugins http://www.waves.com/
=> high-quality mastering plugins

Do you need suggestions for hardware synths too ?
Or should it completely be a software studio ? Please tell me so I can help.

Peace !! :cheers:
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the help, that was really cool of you. Here's the thing, I need a way to mix my software and hardware. For example, I use reason for a lot of things but I also use acid. In acid if I loop a sample on one channel theres no way for me to stick computer created, wave file,drum loops (from reason)on another channel. So I'm wondering if there was some way to manualy do the drums on a drum machine and record it onto the computer. Anyway, I am heading towards trying to create a hardware/software mix so as to get the best of both worlds. Thanks for the help and please hit me up with anymore advice u might have.
 
Why don't you try Cubase ?

Acid is a great application, but for the "serious work" I think programs like Cubase or Logic have alot of more interesting features.

Cubase is a very decent sequenser, completely multi-track, with great MIDI ánd AUDIO editing features. Ánd you have all the plugin features, of course. And decent mixing panels, with EQ features, FX, ...
And Cubase has with his "ReWire"-technology an automatic link with programs such as "Reason" and "Rebirth" (that means you can control the BPM from within Cubase, and you can put all VST FX from Cubase on the Reason or Rebirth channels - yes there are seperate mixer channels in Cubase for all sub-parts of Rebirth/Reason).

You could operate from within Cubase things like the BPM of your drummachine, and you could record within Cubase the drum stuff on one or more stereo audio channels (I mean the BD, HH, SD, etc. all seperately).
 
Maybe try Sonar, by Cakewalk... you can open Reason "inside" it, and control everything from sonar itself. that way you can have reason going, and bring your samples into Sonar (i'm fairly certain Sonar supports ACID loops). I don't know if that helps, but if you're interested you can look into it.

operator
 
i agree with THM, look into Cubase or Logic. the price tag for either is pretty hefty if you go full blown, but in the long run, i feel it's worth it...if you are a student, you can check out the academic superstore for a break in price. i've never been that impressed with sonar, and in conversations/interviews/etc there are three programs that come up: ProTools, Logic, and Cubase. And typically in that order. I've used protools and though audio editing is great, midi blows (pretty much everyone will tell you theexact same thing). the decission between logic and cubase can be a tough one (it's typically a religious battle). i opted for cubase because of it's interface and use an outside audio editor (because cubase's 5.x and previous audio editing ain't great). a month or so ago i had someone over that uses the free version of protools to do some work and she was just blown away by how easy it was for me to just get everything to sync and line up.

another fun thing to do is to output some rebirth/reason channels and shove them into an audio editor....you can do things to them then that they werent' capable of before...

hope that helps.
 
don't think anybody's mentioned it yet, so i might as well get in:
buy a good sound card! there's no point in spending 1000s on gear if u'r recording it into a consumer soundcard like an SBLive! card or something.

may i suggest the maudio delta range:
www.midiman.com
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i would definitly agree with you guys about cubase and logic for software. i was just thinking that sonar is (maybe) easier to get a hold of and quicker to learn to start with. But ya, i definitly say cubase would be the way to go... as long as you can afford it, and are willing to put in a bit of time.

props to all
operator
 
sonar might be easier to grasp initially, but despite what people say, i didn't think cubase had a very steep learning curve....now granted i've spent quite a bit of time working with a lot of gear, and a wide variety of it at that....if you go with cubase, hit the cubase.net forums....lots of very helpful and nice people there that are more than happy to help....

sound card is a deffinite....go ahead and set aside a minimum of $700 for a solid audio interface....being able to send out a stereo signal and bring in a stereo signal is pretty limiting....i'm in the process of saving for one and i'm torn between a pci solution (as yet to be decided), or a motu firewire interface (initially the 828 but the more i look at the 896 the more i lean towards it)....
 
Back
Top