Starting a small home studio...

[NickolasSin]

Hey there,
As of right now I have a Mac Pro Quad, 4gb of ram, 2 250gb HD's.
A Presonus Firestudio, A Direct Box... A few XLR Cables, a few guitar cables...
A 23in Cinema on its way...
Logic Pro 7 and 8

Things I know I need:
1. Monitors
2. Mics

Anything Else? (besides Instruments that is...I have those)

Problem is after the Mac Pro, Firestudio and Cinema Display I only have... about 800$ to work with... and would like to spend the least possible (so I can save for a cloudy day).
Any thoughts on decent mics for vocals, drums, etc...
Any thoughts on monitors...
Any thoughts on anything else I will need?

 

[paul.b.davis]

No matter how many mics you get, you will need to have at least 1 Shure SM57

 

[AviationFan]

Don't forget about acoustical treatment of the room, both for recording and for mixing. It'll have a significant impact on what you can do with your setup.

- Martin

 

[Drumjim85]

if you're trying to save money, why did you buy an overpriced cinema display

You'll need some headphone for when you're tracking ... and depending on how many people will be tracking at once, you might need a headphone distribution amp. And depending on where the control room is in relation to the studio you might need a talkback system ...

 

[fernmeister]

Good Headphones (for tracking)
Mic Stands (cheap ones are a pain)
Acoustic treatment (even a small amount will improve your mixing and recording)
Another drive (for backups)
Preamp or Channel Strip (especially for vocals, guitars).

It's hard to give recommendations on monitors or mics without knowing a little more about the kind of music you are making. Also, what instruments o you plan to record?

 

[zimv20]

about 800$ to work with...
Any thoughts on decent mics for vocals, drums, etc...
Any thoughts on monitors...
Any thoughts on anything else I will need?

how many mics do you expect to buy for $800?

then throw in monitors, stands, cables, sound treatment, plug-ins, etc etc etc and $800 won't get you much.

adam a7's are fantastic for $1000. $500 will get you a high-quality vocal mic like the shure ksm32. get your bass traps from GIK acoustics, they're under $100 each for most models. don't skimp on cables (mogami is good). a decent set of headphones is $120 -- how many sets do you need?

you could go (ultra-)cheap for all this stuff, but you'll get junk* and end up replacing all of it eventually. so maybe save up for a good piece at a time and rent the rest.

* sm57 for $80 is not junk.

 

[Drumjim85]

don't skimp on cables (mogami is good)

all of what you said is good, but i want to add to this one statement ...

Cables are very important, and can affect the reliability and sound of your studio...

Mogami is very good, but sometimes its hard to find what you need pre-built..
I get all my cables custom made at www.procablesnsound.com ... great quality, great customer service, and for what they are, they aren't expensive...

 

[zimv20]

i get mine done at redco.com

good guys there.

 

[NickolasSin]

I will be recording heavier music, if that helps? Mostly, Metal/Rock Genre...
Bands like He Is Legend, Killswitch Engage...etc. Heavy but melodic, that's my style. So for monitors...any ideas? I like my low end, but I like clarity as well...