NEED HELP designing my AUDIO STUDIO SETUP

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NomadxJess

Member
Hey all..

My buddy and I are going to turn his back sound proof bedroom into a sound studio for designing music tracks for our short films (editing at a different post house). We plan on getting LOGIC PRO 8 and the rest of the new STUDIO box set.. We've also got a brand new MACBOOK PRO.

My question is.. What is the best setup (mixer hardware, etc...) I should have.. Lets say with about 5 or 6 thousand dollars..

At his music studio we want to CREATE MUSIC using our live musician friends and our technological abilities through Logic Pro, and would also like to be able to record our ADR and or FOLEY there as well, because of the sound proof enviornment.. Anyway to set up a network so we can connect the TWO POST HOUSE LOCATIONS? and send music and picture back and forth to each other as I edit picture and he works on music?

Thanks..

Dream Setups, Your setups, We are very serious about making this happen in the next week or so, I'd love as much input as possible.. (mics, mixers, keyboards, what's the best way to go?)..

Thanks,

J
 
It sounds like a lot to cover for 5-6K. You need to sit down and make a more specific list of requirements before you start spending money.

You say the bedroom is sound proof, but it is pretty hard to do ADR or VO cleanly when all the gear is in the same room (and making noise).

How many live musicians do you want to work with simultaneously? (This will give you some idea of how much I/O and monitoring you might need).

Is Logic a good choice for ADR? (I don't know personally)
What else do you want to do?

Come up with some more specifics and I'm folks can come up with some ideas.





Also, your RANDOM capitalization of words is OBNOXIOUS. Try to RESIST the temptation. :)


RE: Apogee. Their stuff is good, but it might be a bit high end for your budget. You could end up with a world class set of converters and have to make all your music with a comb and wax paper.
 
NomadxJess said:
Hey all..

My buddy and I are going to turn his back sound proof bedroom into a sound studio for designing music tracks for our short films (editing at a different post house). We plan on getting LOGIC PRO 8 and the rest of the new STUDIO box set.. We've also got a brand new MACBOOK PRO.

My question is.. What is the best setup (mixer hardware, etc...) I should have.. Lets say with about 5 or 6 thousand dollars..

At his music studio we want to CREATE MUSIC using our live musician friends and our technological abilities through Logic Pro, and would also like to be able to record our ADR and or FOLEY there as well, because of the sound proof enviornment.. Anyway to set up a network so we can connect the TWO POST HOUSE LOCATIONS? and send music and picture back and forth to each other as I edit picture and he works on music?

Thanks..

Dream Setups, Your setups, We are very serious about making this happen in the next week or so, I'd love as much input as possible.. (mics, mixers, keyboards, what's the best way to go?)..

Thanks,

J
Click to expand...

Having built my own studio, rebuilt it several times since, and having consulted on/designed numerous other folks' studios, I can tell you that this is much too big a question to ask as simply as you have. There are *way* too many variables.

Since you're in LA, I would strongly suggest retaining the help of a local recording engineer or studio consultant with some experience in seting up the type of facility and workflow you plan to have. If you were in NYC, I could do that - but you're not : )

There are nearly infinite variables at play, and a meeting with an expert *in your actual space* and discussing your specific needs and goals is almost certainly the only coherent way to do it properly. Having said that, to get it done right for $6K in a week is for all intents and purposes impossible. Within that time frame I could only suggest you acquire a few "sure thing" items like DAW software, mics and speakers.

You mentioned Logic, which is great, but has a pretty steep learning curve, and Pro Tools is likelier to be what the other post studios are using, so it might be a better bet even though it doesn't come with nearly as many "toys" built in. A Digidesign 003 or 002 (used) with the built-in mixer might be a good place to start. If you have no experience with it the learning curve will be pretty steep there too, so don't expect to use any DAW terribly efficiently right out of the box.

An outstanding bargain in a great microphone is the M-Audio Sputnik, from Alto Music in NYC for $418. A $100 Shure SM57 or 58 is a great bargain in a dynamic mic. A pair of good powered speakers should also be on the short list. There are too many brands now that are reasonably priced that I haven't heard though, so again, a good local source will be key for you.

Try to keep your goals reasonable and don't blow your whole budget at once. There will inevitably be things you'll really need that you won't find out about until you start using the gear. Save some budget for them, and you'll be better able to prioritze when you need to. Try as much as possible to get some time with a given piece of gear on a returnable basis so you minimize expensive mistakes. These are almost epidemic in turnkey studios built by beginners.

Best of luck to you.
 
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"Dream Setups, Your setups, We are very serious about making this happen in the next week or so, I'd love as much input as possible.. (mics, mixers, keyboards, what's the best way to go?).. "

Hows it going man, well to give you some advice, I just built a studio for 5.1 mixing, 2.0 recording, ADR, Vocals. So film editing on one computer, VFX on another, and sound on another, all in the same room. I work on the sound as CGI renders out, or as I capture footage, vise versa, its great.

Anywho, I could not have done it without the help of the guys here at this forum, and many other forums, knowing where to go to ask for what.

1. Research; Research each item intensely, go to a store, see it, ask why, why not, how much, do I need it, etc. Many people buy a lot of crap they don't need because X person says its essential for a pro, then Y person will say, yeah, thats right, but thats really just bull ****, there are work arounds for everything, well, almost, you just have to be smart and a go getter of knowledge. Know what you want as an end result, see the many paths, then go for one, simple. They say buy a mic, they say buy speakers, etc, yeah, sure, maybe, which ones, why, why not, etc. Just don't annoy anyone, Im a student and 22 and didn't know much a while ago, well thats changing now thanks to many questions being answered. I know film school would have been a waste of time for me, Id rather spend 8 hours a day on forums for 2 years sharing and learning knowledge with others, rathing than taking notes on the same Hitch-huck films. So step 1, knowledge, you came to the right place, just realize that your going to need lots of it, more than equipment or money if you ask me.

2. Get the equipment once you know what exactly to get, going for the lowest costing stuff mostly, try ebay or craigslist for sure! Set it up, quickly. Any ideas or ways to save money, too many cables? Return it, get your money back.

3. Noodle. Use your gear, have fun. Do personal projects for fun, make sure all your gear and software works along the way, and is good professional quality, always, don't waste time doing crappy low quality projects, even if its for fun. That way when you work on your big film projects, you don't waste time noodling there, but if you have no choice due to time, learn as you go, but make sure on each project your able to go back and fix stuff, because if you learn something cool when your almost done, you may want to apply that new thing to the whole project, etc.

4. Do your project. Keep logs of all your equipment, software, techniques, presets, etc. STAY ORGANIZED!!!!!! (See, i learned your technique of capitalizing certain words, ha.) Really, keep all your drives clean of duplicate files, keep everything in labeled folders, have a system of your own, that you will use between your two networked sound and film edit suites as you say. Make a system of your own that works!

5. Self promote, expand, strengthen what you already have. Your going to be mixing? Get better at it, faster. Too good, do something else to add to your title card.

Peace Im out.
 
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