Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ audio computer

well guys, i wanna build a computer, but i wanna use it with recording and maybe making acouple of beats here and there. i'm not any pro or whatever, i just wanna play around. but i don't want anything crappy. any suggestion guys?

If the box you're building will have the horsepower, Smack, (most do), the M-Audio series of cards offer extraordinary features for creating and recording music. There's no processor on the cards so they are more CPU-intensive when playing games. It's a matter of whether or not this trade-off is worth it to you, however, for the additional audio feature.

~SC

This post has been edited by SailCat: Dec 4 2004, 07:18 PM

well, this box is just going to be for music recording, no games. i would think audioyoda would help me with some recommendations. my budget is 1500.

Once piece of advice... don't get a Mac.

They are really good in the studio, if you can get them properly configured. We had quite a few problems getting ours in the studio up and running with everything. Managed to in the end, but generally what happens is you get the apple guy out to install and setup everything and then DONT touch the settings... now if you're anything like me you'd rather stuff around and tweak things. Apples seem to be a little more sensistive to this. Dunno why.

I'm not real current on the current hardware solutions, but can offer some advice from when I was running the recording studio at the station DIY Radio.

Are you planning on setting your PC up in a recording booth or somehow isolated from the recording source? If not, it is imperative you build a good QUIET PC. this can be achieved more easily than many would think. You won't need any hardcore graphics cards to record audio so as far as power supplies are concerned you could consider the Antec 350w Phantom fanless. Or if you need more juice, you can look at one of the SilenX Luxrae PSU's that range from 340w ($200USD) to 460w ($280USD).

Don't forget a HDD Silencer. SilenX make a good one. Be careful that you don't overheat the drive, maybe consider the reviews at siletpcreview on the right type of HDDs to get. Recommended HDD

Hope that gets you off to a good start. Post some of the processor stats you want / if you've seen any mobo's your interested in and more details on your recording environment and I'll see what I can do to help out.

cheers.

:mcelb1200:

How many channels do you want to record at once?
Do you need mic/preamp included in the budget?
What will be recorded (instruments, vocals, combo)?

just vocals. i would need a preamp i guess, i'm totally new to it, lol. i just wanna rap over some beats when battling audio style on forums.

Audiophile 192 card from M-Audio. Or go cheaper and get the Audiophile 2496.

Behringer Ultragain MIC100 preamp and Behringer B-1 large Diaphragm condenser mic. Get a pop filter since this will be rap.

Ableton Live4 and Propellerheads Reason 2.5 software. Live4 is perfect for any kind of groove-based or sample-based production. And Reason 2.5 is a given.

Everything else has been said.

This post has been edited by Audiyoda: Dec 7 2004, 10:38 PM

Thanks for the help guys, i'm off to make money so i can build this mofo.

hey audioyoda, what do you think about shure or samson condenser mic? i'm using a shure sm-58 right now, and i love the quailty of shure mics. your take on this?

The Samson sounds plain terrible. And Shure's stuff although rugged, isn't much better.

If you love the 'quality' of a SM-58, wait until you use a real mic. Don't get me wrong, some of Shure's products are very good - but their low-end mics are garbage. Try a Beta-58 and a SM-58 -- you'll swear they are two totally differnet mics. Although they are, the Beta-58's roots come from the SM-58 - but the Beta-58 is so much more brilliant and quiet. The SM-58 is noisy, has no highs, and very little headroom.

I've got two of the Behringer B-2Pro mics in the studio for clients I don't trust with my AKG414 or Neumann U-47 or when I need a ambient room mic. I'll tell you, other than some transients and and little less brilliant highs, the B-2Pro holds it's own against the 414 and U-47.

i see. well good thing the b-1 is only a hunder bucks. any recommendations on headphones that has great clarity.