Hello guys, may I ask for your opinion about audio production equipments?
I have saved money... Just say it has collected to $700...

Before that, so far I already have :

Spoiler: Specifications

My old PC.... So old....
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz (I bought it in 2010)
Motherboard Biostar TA880GB+ (probably I bought it around 2012)
RAM DDR3 V-Gen PC 10600/1333 4GB x2 (8 GB totally)
Hardrive Hitachi HDT721025SLA380 250 GB
Hardrive Hitachi HDS721010CLA632 1 TB
Hardrive Seagate ST2000DM001-1ER164 2 TB
External Hardrive WD My Passport WDC_WD10JMVW-11S5XS1 1TB
Monitor Philips Brilliance 224CL 22 Inch LED
Power Supply Enermax NAXN ENP550AWT-B 80+ Bronze (probably I bought it around 2012)

and to produce music, I use....
Audio Interface M-Audio MobilePre 2nd Gen
Speaker Monitor DS Coustic DS5A
Headphone Sennheiser HD206
General cheap 1/4 Jack TS Cable

MultiFx Zoom G1Xon (I happy regret having bought this)

Guitar 6 String - Yamaha SE-110
Guitar 6 String - Cort KX5 With PU Bridge Modification (Seymour Duncan Dimebucker SH-13)

I usually make Vocaloid songs with a mixture of pop, rock and metal... Usually for guitar and bass distortion, I use the reamping method with whatever Amp Simulation VST that I can use...
If anyone is interested, I can share the music I'm working on (still in the process of mixing and not yet mastered) via the inbox.... Here

Spoiler: My song on mixing progress

https://drive.google.com/open?id=16Sklqk6PxvyOJmtU3E6tky_jlV-3GBtv
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LX37vTLzfiVX4YpOh7OsdF8NEny3wsuw
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uiYnZJuSL3I_T5r0-KPOSIUKpWS-rBpC

I was very tempted to upgrade the computer, but I also afraid that I would spend money on unnecessary things.... This time I'm very picky.... Moreover, in my opinion at this time the tools for my music production are still fairly incomplete....


My questions are :

Spoiler: Questions

1. With my pc's specifications above, should I upgrade?

2. In the future I also want to be able to edit videos using Adobe like Premiere CS6, After Effect 4, etc. What type of NVIDIA VGA is cheap but fair quality for Adobe PR-CS6 and AE4? Should I keep the AMD Phenom II X4 procie or I upgrade it to Intel Core i7 8700-CoffeLake? Or I forget about video editing and focus on music production enough if my budget is only $700?

3. I see in this thread, almost all of them use the midi keyboard controller. Is it really necessary? What brands are suitable for poor bedroom musicians like me? 25-key or 49-key?

4. With my music creation that I have worked on, should I buy a 7 string guitar for the future? what brand fits my budget?

5. Do I need to buy a DI Box? like Behringer Ultra-G GI100

6. Do I need to buy a little preamp? Like Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp. Or I only use the VST preamp?

7. Should I buy a second headphone besides my HD206? Especially my room is not treated acoustically. Edifier H840? Takstar HD2000? Audio Technica M30x? DS Coustic DS-50? or other brands?

and the last....

8. What are the main or additional equipment that I have to buy for the future?

Sorry if my question is too much. I already googling, but most are theoretical and general. I need direct opinion from all of you here who are also experienced fellow musicians....
Please help with the advice and apologize if my English is not good... Thank you

 

Last edited: Jul 24, 2019

Go off for a fortnight's shagfest in Ibiza.

 

Personally I would invest in the heart of your studio, i.e. a decent audio interface such as a MOTU UltraLite-mk4, or something similar, this should have inputs for synths/mics and guitars and outputs for headphones and monitors, then maybe upgrade your PC to the best and fastest specification you can afford having SSD hard drives ( that sort of future proofs things, if that's possible ), this should handle any sample based programs you need to run.
Next a decent recording package, such as Studio One 4, Cubase etc finally some decent monitors.

There are some very good software try outs on audio Z including guitar amplifier simulators.
But I'm afraid that it would cost more than your budget, you could maybe find stuff second hand. Hope this helps.

 

If you don't know what you should get, I'm almost certain you don't need anything. The CPU you listed is adequate for recording and basic music production, I see how you can quickly run out of steam if using a lot of synths or amp sims. Remember upgrading means you need a whole new package - motherboard, CPU, cooler and RAM

The audio interface you have basically has a DI box built in if you plug something in using one of the 1/4 TS sockets. You definitely don't need a preamp, unless you spend at least $300 on a Golden Age Project Pre-73. And even then, if you're not recording lots of vocals and acoustic guitar and getting paid for it - you won't make the money back and you don't need a preamp. Please stay away from cheap preamps, you're just adding one more "thing" in the signal chain for no benefit.

The HD206s seem decent. Though if you want to upgrade there, HD280s can be had new for $100 and those will last you a lifetime. They're one of the industry standards. If you see a photo of a recording session, it's either Sennheiser HD280, Sony MDR7506 or Beyerdynamic DT-770. Sometimes you see Beyerdynamic DT-100s, too.

7 string guitar is just like 5 and 6-string bass, you don't really need it. If you have ideas for how you would use it and feel like you're missing out, I guess you can try. Just make sure you have a purpose for the 7th string. If you end up playing just like you did before you'll only be adding more noise and making it harder for yourself to play (especially with muting). Lots of heavier bands will tape down the strings that are not being played in a specific part of the song to get rid of the annoying ringing of other strings. So think twice before you go there.

The monitors you mentioned seem to be a local manufacturer in your area. I don't know the brand and likely nobody except people from Indonesia will be able to tell you anything about them. That said, I'd rather go with recognized brands - KRK, Tannoy, ADAM, EVE, Yamaha.

If you look at the graph they give:

The solid horizontal lines are actually 10dB marks, the finer points are 2dB. That means you actually have -4dB at 30-100Hz. There's also a steep rolloff at high frequencies. Again, if you want to up your game, getting a pair of good brand monitors (preferably really good used instead of okay new) would not be a bad choice. Make sure you leave enough of your budget for acoustic treatment though. If you don't have enough for new monitors, then just do your acoustic treatment and that will do more than just replacing your speakers.

Whatever you do, please don't buy plugins. You don't need any more, there's already too many of them everywhere.

 

donate me 100$ so I can buy an old GPU

 

700..
I'd Go get a Native instruments A49 ($240ish)
then the rest into upgrading your PC.
I'f you are already producing on current set up its decent rite?

Is a Midi controller needed? No absolutely not.
Does it make it more fun, Emotional, and eventually grow to be a piece of your body like any other instrument, Twisting knobs and Tapping pads like a gat damn pro!

Im huge on Controllers.... They are very very nice.

Condensor Microphone? I just purchased a Golden Age Preamp if your into vocals that i highly suggest.

UNLESS your recording Vocals or seriously plan to get this out to a A and R agent to get played on the radio your current audio interface is just fine and will be. Ive been doing this for almost 20 years and im just getting to the point of having to use the High rates.

Better Monitors ALWAYS!
You could easily pick up a used pair of Yamaha HS5's (pretty widely accepted) for around 300-350


New pair of HS5's and NI A49 Midi controller.. That sound like a producers mini xmas for sure.

 

That's a new one on me! Which lots of bands do you refer to?

A DI box is the last of your worries. I would make sure that your computer was healthy first and foremost. If that goes you cannot record your songs. It sounds as if you have everything else you need to enjoy yourself.

 

Please share! I'm not sure what kind of advice you can get with this current written description. vocaloid sounds like a computer sample-based source so maybe don't need mic?

I'm not a fan of used monitors, feels like buying a car without CarFax, or as they call it "auto-yagen" in Germany (not really). I've seen Maudio 5 and 8 inch monitors in a few AnR offices which sound like they are supposed to, was going to move to those after my current krk's. Good monitors are decieving to me because they make you think you have more sonic space then are present...

 

One-man-band music production in a box is not a myth nowadays. One can produce as sonic as closed to his/her favorite song or album, all by virtual instruments/plugins available today. With that, maybe re-imagined or traced back whether you have enough gears/plugins/tools for each music production stage from
1) songwriting,
2) arranging,
3) recording/rendering instruments,
4) mixing,
5) mastering

I supposed you maybe already in comfort at stage 1 and 2. If not, maybe getting Band-in-a-Box Audiophile version is worth it for that purpose.

On stage 3, maybe consider whether you have enough gears/virtual instruments to cover your genres, from drumkits, basses, guitars, pianos, strings, and others. Kontakt based samples like Cinesamples, Native Instruments Abbey Road Drummer, and other titles alike: those were recorded in studio professionally and should deliver sonic studio sound quality for your genres. Another option is EWQL Composer Cloud subscriptions.

On stage 4 and 5, what needed is self discovery. If you're looking for making that sound like it was recorded and produced in Sound City studios, maybe do some google search for gears/hardware/console used there and search for any good vst emulation and add any missing plugins you don't currently have for your production needs. Maybe also consider Harrison Mixbus DAW for that analog experience, if you like.

Just my opinion/suggestion and none should be taken like I'm very well versed with Music Theory (I'm not)

 

ah this is really tough;
you have fairly decent setup, so I'd recommend deciding what priorities you have and buy one high-end piece of gear instead of wasting money on multiple mediocre pieces of stuff,
I can't tell you what you should buy, but let me write down some suggestions on what is possible to buy for around 500-900$ which each isn't a waste of money:

1) usb audio interface - RME Babyface Pro - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BabyfacePro--rme-babyface-pro-24-channel-usb-audio-interface
2) usb MPE MIDI controller - ROLI Seaboard RISE 25 - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SeaboardR-25--roli-seaboard-rise-25-key-mpe-midi-controller
3) motorized fader controller - PreSonus FaderPort 8 - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FaderPort8--presonus-faderport-8-production-controller
4) entirely new computer - Ryzen 2600X cpu, 8GB graphics card, 16GB DDR4 ram, 500GB SSD, 1TBHDD, appropriate psu, mobo, case etc.. - https://www.wepc.com/builds/best-gaming-pc-under-700/
5) new monitors set - PreSonus Eris E8XT pair + T10 subwoofer - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...tudio-monitor-pair-with-temblor-t10-subwoofer
6) new studio headphones (for mixing) - AKG K712 Pro - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...-open-back-mastering-and-reference-headphones
7) best plugins for mixing - FabFilter FX Bundle - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FFFXBun--fabfilter-fx-plug-in-bundle
8) ultrawide (3440x1440) 34" curved IPS display - DELL U3415W - https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/del...15w/apd/210-adtr/monitors-monitor-accessories

there's more, but those are the "core" of modern audio production I'd say

 

OK, I'll just think about it ... thanks for the advice ...

Ok, I get it... Maybe I should try to look at a better monitor speaker ... Because all this time I am still comfortable with the old one ... So it is unthinkable to replace the monitor....
HD 280 looks very attractive ... But after it's been calculated, in my country the price reaches $ 140 from $ 99.95 on the official website ...
Which one do you choose yourself? HD280? MDR7506? or DT-770?

The A49 Native Instruments Komplete Control is cool too... HS5 seems very tempting... Try to consider it first ... thank you bro

Means I'm relieved not to have to buy a lot of things that aren't really necessary... My computer has indeed been around since 2012 ... So I also thought about the state of my computer... Thanks Bro

Somehow i can't PM you... So I sent it through here...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=16Sklqk6PxvyOJmtU3E6tky_jlV-3GBtv
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LX37vTLzfiVX4YpOh7OsdF8NEny3wsuw
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uiYnZJuSL3I_T5r0-KPOSIUKpWS-rBpC
What do you think? How's your advice?

Wow, thank you for your input ... very useful ... Actually I also did everything myself also at the stage of mastering

Wow ... Thank you very much bro ... I went to the link you gave ... I tried to check one by one ...

 

Last edited: Jul 24, 2019

7x uploaded premium two year plan

 

Take that and then go to sister site right?

 

Thanks for letting me check out your tracks! I'm surprised at how realistic vocaloid stuff sounds, kind of sounds better then a lot of Jpop stuff actually, ..don't tell Japanese people (They are ok with me making that comment)

I still can't actually get a feel for the best route for you on this though... Your songs sound complete but unmixed so if you wanted to work on mixing, then monitoring could be a focal point, again I'd go with something cheap + decent mix headphones to reference. I think if you know your soundsources well enough you can get away without high-end speakers, just my thoughts. Sounds like you need a controller, Roli is great for writing with advanced midi automation record/tweak abilities (my preference to standard controllers with the addition of akai drum pad controller), that plus monitors and open back headphones might be an option that could reach 700. I'm using lower spec comps and gauging by your tracks it seems you can finish a track right now however if not that Ryzen build for 700 looks super legit.

Not trying to be contradictory but I'd steer away from sony 7506 phones for production, I have these and they will mess up your mix and possibly damage your ears if listening a lot. honestly would go with samson sr850 open back in the 35dollar range instead.

 

buy new pc...when you build a new one you will have enough horsepower for ever but then the WIN10 hick up..or you find new stuff which is still working with 7
or you buy an older and used quality build from pro IT..you will still have the feeling of lightspeed and endless resources after upgarding from youre current system
----
when u use vocaloid i wouldnt invest in preamp or di box....but external preamp is surely better then vst..or good preamps in interface which is the heart of studio...and its never wrong to invest in good fundament to have no troubles later and to have enough in/outs
but you didnt say you want to expand on intruments ...
----
with adobe its same as with other you can ''downgrade'' version to best performance of youre system
i dunno if its able when you are legit cause update force maybe...

 

Thanks bro... Are you a Japanese citizen?
I was also surprised by the results of this fourth generation Vocaloid ... But I happened to only use one type of soundbank...

Can you please tell me about which parts don't mix well?

I recently sold my samson SR850...I honestly like the sound...
By the way... There is a suggestion to me in this thread to use Sennheiser HD 280 .... How about it compared to the ATH M40X? Which is the best value for mixing monitoring?
ROLI Seaboard Rise 25-Key MPE MIDI Controller is very expensive, the price reaches $800
If you are told to choose personally, which one do you choose? M-Audio Oxygen 49 or Samson Graphite 49?

Now I am more convinced it seems that I don't really need the preamp and in the box...
Maybe on another occasion I will invest in a better preamp like the Golden Age Preamp... Thanks bro

 

From what I have heard so far, overall I feel there is no big problem except in a few small details ... One of them is like a guitar sound that is less thick not like Metalcore reference ... Therefore I try googling about cheap preamps and DI Box but it ends with confusion ... Do I have to buy the DI Box and the preamp mentioned earlier? or should I buy a 7 string guitar? or actually don't even need ...?
What do you think?

And thank you very much for Yes from you ... Any opinion?

 

I'll take the remaining 600, thanks. I'd like a new GPU