I am in the process of setting up some hardware in my home/small studio. I have always worked with software so am looking for some pointers on some initial rack purchases.

I am about to build my own custom rack cabinet that will be about a 12U size. I already have a couple of things, like a MOTU 828 Mk2 19" rack audio interface, a Phonic PPC8000 Power Conditioner and an M-Audio Midisport 8x8 19" MIDI rack unit.

I mainly make electronic-based music and use an Access Virus A and a Novation Nova hardware synthesiser, and will soon be adding more hardware. I also plan to record guitars and vocals where needed. It will be used primarily to make progressive trance, techno and house music, mostly MIDI based.

Any recommendations or essentials you think would be good, without being £3k units?

 

I don't have any hardware suggestions, except perhaps a patchbay, but I have some advice for building a home studio.

One small thing that is easy to overlook is to keep your audio and power cables separate. If you have, for example, a need to run audio and electrical cables to the same location, you wouldn't want to have them all bundled together. Electricity running through a cable creates a magnetic field, and it can affect the things around it. Sometimes it doesn't cause any problems, but it's definitely something to be aware of while setting everything up.

Depending on your setup and location, it might also be a good idea to give your studio a dedicated ground. It's easy to do, the materials are cheap, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Of course, it might not be big deal if you're in an area without much lightning. When I lived in Florida (the lightning capital of the US), however, a dedicated ground was a necessity. You can find plenty of tutorials online.

Cheers, and good luck!

 

Interesting post. I think I should be fine with this bit. I am in UK and we rarely get lightning storms really. Also, the power conditioner I have 'cleans' the supply for rack gear and also has a dedicated built in system so that if there is a power surge, it's circuit breaker takes the hit and doesn't damage any of the rack gear as I understand it.

Hadn't really got as far as thinking about the power and audio cables though, but good point!

 

A decent tube based preamp may be useful for vocals and guitar. Try for something with balanced tranformers
to help with signal conditioning and isolation.

 

Just a few thoughts/suggestions :

A good LDC mic (Michael Joly U87 clone) (Advanced Audio)
A good dynamic mic (Shure SM7B)
A flat-frequency speaker for reamping (ALTO 12" speaker)

A good di box like a RADIAL JDI
A good Neve/SSL/API inspired preamp or two.
A Hardware buss-compressor. Check out STAM Audio GSSL clone. They're sooooooo good. (They make LA2A, SSL Pres, etc... for cheap)

Maybe build a vocal booth using furniture grade PVC piping and fittings, producers choice acoustic blankets (or moving blankets), 9" spring clamps, bungee cords.

Midi guitar pickup, like the FISHMAN, or GK-3 w/GI-20 brain.

Something you can hit with drum sticks, like an Alesis Controlpad.

Some guitar pedals and looper for your synth. Look at the Zoom G3/G5. Digitech Jamman.

I'm just throwing suggestions out there. Not sure of your ultimate goal, or budget.

 

with all the respect for the other posters, here's my opinion:

Hello, about electric system and vocal booth:
Electric system https://audiosex.pro/threads/studio-electric-system-europe.22946/
Acoustic chamber https://audiosex.pro/threads/basstraps-and-acoustic-chamber.22948/
PVC is not a good material for a vocal booth It s reflective You won t have lows issues, there, too small So Just high bass, mid highs reflections and standing waves problems If you have a large room where you do it all, mix and vocal recordings, put some basstrap around the singer to create a provvisory booth Especially on the rear of the mic, not very close An U87 like mic will be perfect for vocals and as guitar mic along with a SM57 About the pres, transistor pres are ok to handle high pressure sounds and fast transients attack, like a guitar amp, drums To me valves are ok only for vocals and guitar arpeggios I wouldn t start from equipment, but from electric system, power conditioning, acoustic chamber and speakers Then... Little by little... The models depend on the budget Peace

 

Last edited: Mar 28, 2016

ok I had to check for that:

Groove3 recording vocals and recording guitars tutorials
the second one is on the twin site, the first one is a bit old but still good
very well done
mics, pres, comps, limiters, vocal booth explained
bye bye

 

Hi Bunford.No idea about studio gear but hit up Baxter on this forum and you will get a lot of help regarding your issue

 

Apart from your rack, I recommend reading "How to Build a Small Budget Recording Studio from Scratch" - it's the best book you can find on that topic.

 

as a midi guy that started with a midi studio in 83
transform your PC in a mackintosh and use Logic X, it will give you pleasure that no other daw have.
buy a seaboard arise
if you intend to use a lot of midi, replace your m-audio

 

That compressor is not out there yet. Besides that, for electronic productions a bus comp with internal sidechain is a must.

A better suggestion would be the IGS S-Type 500, an 'expanded' SSL bus comp clone (you will need a 500 series rack for that, which is IMO a good investment, since you can add preamps and other interesting stuff for your setup), it's decent priced and sounds excellent.

 

The Daking Mic Pre/EQ is a fantastic microphone preamp with a class eq as a bonus. It is based on the Trident A Range console and is amazing on electric guitar and vocals. The EQ is more a broad stroke tool for tracking and is a very, very musical and expensive sounding It is also humanly priced at approximately $1099 and would leave enough to also by a Great River ME-1NV for $1150 for that Neve-ish flavor and something that contrasts with a different color than the Daking. They go well together, a sweet pallet to enhance any microphones that you choose. I don't know your mic budget, but if you are to record vocals, and since a microphone's sound is like 80% the capsule sound, a Microtech Gefell UMTS 70S ($1600 ish) which has an M7 capsule but is like 800-1000 bucks less than the Neumann U87. It will sound good to killer on most male and female vocals, and additionally, beside a cardioid pattern of course offers figure 8 as well as omni. It also tracks well on lots of different instruments and can be a great all arounder in your studio. For $100 you could get a Shure SM57 for the second mic on your guitar cabinet and blend it in with the UMTS 70S. There are tons of options out there, but these I proffer would certainly work out well with your described need and give you high quality tracks, and with proper placement and a decent room, professional results. Good luck in your endeavor and have fun.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 29, 2016

TK BC501, SB4001, or an Xpressor.