studio setup inquiry...

>cheapest possible set up that will work for my needs.

Problem: We don't know your needs.

> bring instrument sounds (guitar..percussion etc.) into the puter

What is your guitar set up now?
Do you have an amp/cabinet simulator with a line out or will you be mic'ing a speaker in a guitar amp?
Do you want more control over the guitar sound than you have now?
What microphones do you have?
How many analog inputs would you be recording in at one time?
Several players at once, or one instrument at a time overdubbing?
Do you have a mixer already?
Is it live percussion or a drum machine? Or both?

All of these questions are fundamental to deciding on the interface, software and machine that are right for you.

 

ya what he said, more detail is need, and I doubt a mac mini will have enough juice for what you want

one possible cheap set up is:

Used Power Mac G4 tower
You can use garageband to record your stuff (guitar ect.)
1 cheap midi keyboard, (for the virtual inst. on jam packs)
Some kind of cheap 4-8 channel mixer if you want to record more than one sound at a time.
And Mics, again, cheap ones. (go to a pawn shop)

That'll get you started. Cheaper than the recommended G5, protools/logic, new shure mics, mackie mixer ect. $$$$

If you wanna save loot, go for used stuff, slightly riskier, but this is all about saving money right?

If you can afford Reason, that would take care of the Synth craziness, and sampler stuff, reason is like 299 or something.

Good luck

 

Just like quigleybc says.. some good advice there..

I'd also put in that you want a Line 6 Pod for your guitar. Trent uses one, loads and loads of people do

Another thing I'd say is DONT scrimp on mics. 1-2 good mics are a lot better than several cheap crappy mics. Couple of Rode NT1's/NT2's would be nice.
Believe it or not, you can easily get a good drum sound with 3 mics if you know what you are doing. If your going to do vocals, you want a pop shield make one with a coat-hanger and an old pair of tights. As good as the $30 ones, but cheaper than a can of coke.

Start off small with some nice equipment, then when you get better you can decide to upgrade. The beautiful thing about studios is you can constantly add stuff to your setup (just make sure you get a 3rd job to pay for it)!
If you only take one point from my post - DO NOT be cheap with your microphones. Couple of condensers and a multipurpose dynamic (a la Shure SM58.. ) should sort you out for a while.

Start practising your mixing skills by downloading those two NIN songs in Garageband format and have a go (search the forum for the links).