pg please pin this in the beginners forum please cos i
dont want to keep on posting this. OR include as a guide
for new beginners in your docs.
i am posting this as i see the same q's over and over ad
infinitum in these forums.
A NICE STUDIO SET UP FOR BEGINNERS/ANYONE.
AROUND 1.2 K IN COST.
(THIS SET UP I USE AND I HAVE RECORDED IN BIG STUDIOS.)
1. biab and reaper for software.
2. xtra plug ins. pay 20 bucks for an issue of computer music
magazine. great plug ins. see you tube for demos.
YOU DONT NEED TO SPLASH OUT HUGE MONEY FOR PLUG INS.
THE BUILT IN free PLUG INS IN BIAB AND REAPER ARE ALSO
WONDERFULL..
(inside tip check out the free JESUSONIC plug ins in reaper.
and also reaper stash.)
3. BUY A REFURBISHED COMPUTER WITH WARRANTY.
eg. i5//i7 cpu , one or more ssd's, 8/16 gigs ram.
300 bucks. ive found refurbs often better than new !!
AND you save a bunch of dollars.
make sure it boots fast , thats the clue.
4. add a STARTECH external box that accepts ssd's.
they are 40 bucks or so and look like a toaster.
great for fast back ups from pc internal ssd or you can use
as primary.
5. DONT USE ON BOARD SOUND. GET A PROPER INTERFACE.
i use steinberg ur22. works a charm. great drivers.
had it several years now. nice mic preamps.
6. A MIC , DONT USE DYNAMICS cos they need a lot of gain .
USE A CONDENSER.
i use this nice little tascam tm 80. under rated imho.
its 80 buks. now before anyone crits me ive used multi
thousand dollar mics . there are loads of other under 150 buck
condensers. but the tm 80 doesnt need a strict 48v dc.
the advantage of condensers over dynamic mics is you
dont have to crank the usb interface mic preamp like one does
with dynamics or need an in line preamp booster.
i got a load of mics i hardly use lol.
7. dont overpay for fancy monitors/phones.
i learnt that lesson the hard way. one reason being that the people
listening to your song often are useing cheap speakers.
remember often mixes done on 5k soffit monsters sometimes
dont translate well to your bro's 50 buck boombox.

the above set up should yield grrreat results.
irrespective of gear. songs are a ton of dedication and sweat.
i compare the above to when i owned big studio gear , and i will say
this is a golden age for cheap gear.
often its how one uses the gear rather than the gear itself.
i dont profess to have all the answers.
just hoping to help newbies a little.
keep laughing/be happy and make music.
my moniker is "mystery muso".

New Song "PRETTY GIRL" for my wife...Dec 2023
(my vocs....mixed for good earbuds.)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs/prettygirlrbfinalcalfsongsdec2023mp3
(and rock song THE STALLION and bluegrass song... BANKER MAN....90 songs useing bb/rb.)