In my last post, I described the basic "building blocks" of the modern studio, and advised that your $ is best spent on these building blocks, before diving too deep into purchasing outboard gear and plugins:
As a continuation of that post, I'd like to give you some "starter" studio rig options...fully functioning studios that will give you a high quality studio from which to learn and grow. Many of the pieces I mentioned in my previous post show up here. The goal of this post is to brainstorm what fully functional rigs, made from gear I've used and trust, might look like and cost.
I will add to the "building blocks" a pair of headphones, so you can have isolated monitoring during tracking for vocals and other acoustic sources.
I've left out gear options that would put you out of range of high quality, professional sounding results (which means you can put together a working rig for cheaper, but will need to replace certain gear sooner rather than later if your goal is "studio quality").
Keep in mind that there will be some additional costs associated with ancillary equipment like cables, stands, furniture, screens, and acoustic treatment.
Studio 1:
Here is my list for a really great entry level studio. This will allow you to record vocals and overdubs at high quality, and monitor at a quality appropriate to mix well.
$500 - Microphone - Avantone CV-12
$900 - Pre Amp, A/D+D/A, and Monitor Management - UA Apollo Twin MKII Duo
$700 - Computer and HD - 2.6GHz Mac mini 8GB memory, 1 TB Hard Drive
$25/month - DAW - Pro Tools 12 monthly subscription
$700 - Speakers - Yamaha HS8
$100 - Headphones - Sennheiser HD 280
TOTAL - $2,900 + $25/month
Studio 2:
This arrangement expands your studio to 4 channels of quality pre amp, and gives you room to grow into your 8 channels of available A/D at a later time. The mic selection is a little better (making use of 4 channels simultaneously), the computer a little more feature rich, and the monitoring section adds a sub to represent low frequency information more accurately (which I find important). Headphones are the same.
$1,100 - Microphone - Mojave MA200
$400 - Microphone - Shure sm7B
$200 - Microphone - Shure sm57 x2
$1,800 - Pre Amp - Daking Mic Pre IV
$2,000 - A/D and D/A, and Monitor Management - UA Apollo 8 Duo
$1,300 - Computer and HD - 2.8 GHz iMac 8GB memory, 21" screen, 1 TB Hard Drive
$25/month - DAW - Pro Tools 12 monthly subscription
$1,150 - Speakers - Yamaha HS8 + HS8Sub
$100 - Headphones - Sennheiser HD 280
TOTAL - $8,050 + $25/month
Studio 3:
With Studio 3 we've upgraded quite a bit. Five microphones, a "legendary brand name" for the pre amp, dedicated monitor management with great features and aesthetic, a MacBook Pro which will allow for portability, a much improved speaker set, and better headphones.
$3,500 - Microphone - Lawson Tube/FET Combo
$400 - Microphone - Shure sm7B
$200 - Microphone - Shure sm57 x2
$2,715 - Pre Amp - API 3124+
$2,000 - A/D and D/A - UA Apollo 8 Duo
$2,000 - Computer and HD - 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro, 16 GB memory, 15" screen, 256GB SSD hd
$25/month - DAW - Pro Tools 12 monthly subscription
$2,000 - Monitor Management - Dangerous Music Monitor ST
$3,700 - Speakers - Focal Twin6 Be
$200 - Headphones - Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro
TOTAL - $16,715 + $25/month
When perusing the above lists, you should also consider mixing and matching certain elements. For instance, maybe take the computer and A/D+D/A from one option, and the microphones and pre amp from another...whatever works best for your situation and priorities.
So, what might my shopping cart look like if I just won the lottery? Or a distant relative left me a substantial inheritance? It's fun to dream...let's put together a super-studio.
$7,600 - Microphone - Bock 507
$10,100 - Microphone - Neuman M149 x2
$3,500 - Microphone - Lawson Tube/FET Combo
$2,600 - Microphone - Royer R-121 x2
$2,360 - Microphone - Coles 4038 x2
$1,140 - Microphone - Sennheiser MD421 x3
$160 - Microphone - Sennheiser e 602 II
$400 - Microphone - Shure sm7B
$200 - Microphone - Shure sm57 x2
$190 - Microphone - Shure Beta 52
MICROPHONE TOTAL - $28,250
$5,035 - Pre Amp - Shadow Hills Quad Gama w/ PSU
$2,715 - Pre Amp - API 3124+
$4,200 - Pre Amp - 1073MP dual channel w/ power supply x2
PRE AMP TOTAL - $11,950
$4,300 - A/D and D/A - Apogee Symphony I/O Mk II 16x16
$5,000 - Computer and HD - 3.5GHz Mac Pro, 32 GB memory, 1 TB hd
$2,500 - DAW - Pro Tools HD
$3,000 - Monitor Management - Cranesong Avocet IIA
$18,500 - Speakers - ATC SMC100ASL Pro Pair
$500 - Headphones - Sennheiser HD650
$800 - Headphones - Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro x4
THE REST - $34,600
TOTAL - $74,800
...just to start, then add to that a long list of outboard compressors, EQ, and whole lot of plugins...
Whew! That was fun! I should go buy a powerball ticket.
After investing in your studio rig's "building blocks", the next purchase I would advise is a good plugin bundle. For my next post I'll give you a couple different plugin bundle options, of varying prices, that I think are best to start with. Stay tuned!
Ty