Ok, so now i have £500, what do i do?

[last & least]

Ive been saving up my cash into a pot for music production, and have got to my goal of £500! WOO! Ok so i know its not a great amount but it's a start

Anyways, i was wondering what you guys think i should spend it on music production wise?

I already have production software and all the midi controller stuff i need.

Don't have monitors yet though so i think thats a definite buy, and i have an audio 2 dj interface, which i think is sufficient cos i don't want to record anything, just here my music being played back.... hOwever if you guys think its pretty essential to get a decent soundcard i d love to know.

Any recomendations on a soundcard/monitor combo would be great....

i was looking at these as monitors http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/8 ... ingle.html

or maybe the hsm50 or the krk rokit 5.... is the bigger one worth the extra money?

anything else that i have vitally missed out would be great if you lemme know!

cheers

edit: also any hardware synth recomendations plz! what ill save up to next

[BananaBomber]

Subwoofer Asweel As Monitors Its Vital That You Hear What Your Mix Sounds With And Without One

[polygonfiction]

Subwoofer Asweel As Monitors Its Vital That You Hear What Your Mix Sounds With And Without One

Any recommendations for a sub?

[BananaBomber]

Err Not Really Im Just Running A Cheap Set Of Logitech Z-4 Speakers They Came With A Sub Its Only Like 40 Watts But I Work In A Small Room With good acoustics but tbh im not fussy with speakers and monitors so have a look GOOGLE IT safe

[FSTZ]

if you get the rp5's get the rp 10

[basicanarchy101]

So, what kind of midi controllers are you working with?

N what are you currently listening back on, if not monitors, some kinda home stereo Im guessing? Ive got cheap ass Wal-Mart sony speakers runnin to a pretty quality head unit, and a striaght up car make 10 inch sub, just to get those low ends big enough to feel... A sub might be one to think about, but, as long as your speakers get good frequency response and have some definition too em, monitors might be hold-off-onable. Sub end can really bury your mix though if you dont have something to define it with, when your just listening back through speakers, those bottom 50 or so often end up way higher then they should be, because you find yourself pushing them up so they affect the small speakers, n this can lead to some real unpleasantries on bigger equipment..

On the monitoring note, a great set of headcans is a must, Id be lost without them for mid and high end mixing.

What are you using the Audio 2 for? Processing and playback? As long as you dont demand any fancy Dj connectivity like Traktor control or something along those lines, it should handle your processing as you need it too... Honestly, if I had 500 eu tommorow, Id be upgrading to vinyl, but then again, Im primarily Dj-end.

Do you have a mixer? Thats something Id have on hand before worrying too much about hardware synth and sampling.

Do alot of reading on how different artists set up thier studios, and see how you would apply the conepts, how youd wire it all, and what you wanna do. Its not about what you use. But how bad your willing to miswire it.

[Depone]

Get some adam A7's I know a lot of producers and industry professionals who swear by them for the price range

[sinehere]

To be honest, I don't know why people spend so much on a pair of monitors, to me it isn't about what gear you have or how much you spent on it, it's how you use it.

[paradigm_x]

/\/\/\/\/\

if you cant hear what youre doing properly youll never be able to make informed decisions...


hence decent monitors are essential....

[ehcsztein]

I went with the HS80M over the HS50M because they sounded a bit clearer at lower volumes.

I also felt with the 80s that I could reasonably get away with not having a sub. I have not been disappointed with them yet and still do not feel that a sub would add much to improving my mix. Last time I had a dedicated sub in the studio I wound up needing to compensate via EQ to get the bass mix right when playing out because the lowend was always a bit thin on a PA compared to my studio. I do not have this problem any longer and can run primarily flat EQs at this time.

I would say monitors would be a good investment at this point then probably a good sound card etc. I can offer no advice on the sound card as there are a lot of variables in that decision.

[darkdub]

got to have decent monitors

[narcissus]

On the monitoring note, a great set of headcans is a must, Id be lost without them for mid and high end mixing.

Do you have a mixer? Thats something Id have on hand before worrying too much about hardware synth and sampling.

no.. don't use headphones for mixing. they color the sound. just use monitors..

and if he's got software, why on earth would he need a mixer? that's just more noise in your signal chain.

i would spend the 500 pounds on monitors, definitely.

[deadly_habit]

Get some adam A7's I know a lot of producers and industry professionals who swear by them for the price range

yea but would be kinda overkill if not investing in proper acoustic treatment.
a good interface, monitors and pair of headphones would be my advice along with some acoustic tratment.

[safeandsound]

Assuming enough sound sources investing in good monitors will rarely be regretted.

Stretch the budget as far as you can (even if you wait another month) as this will
be evident on everything you produce.

I know Gearlust can be a real difficult one to stave off for a month or 2 but it could be very worth it,
where possible try and audition before you buy.

I cannot recommend these highly enough, they would be well worth the wait if possible.

http://www.studiocare.com/store/index.p ... 1glo2hpiq5

[itronz]

I'd say get some HS-50's for £230, you can't go wrong with them IMO or even the HS-80's for £400. Then you've got money left over for a MIDI keyboard.

[SubMalishus]

I'm spendin 400 on some HS 80's within the next week or so. Cant wait, should make my mixes more clearer!

[corpu5]

Hey mate im in the exact same position as you innit, Ive got like £600 odd to spend on upgrading....so i've decided to get a pair of krk rokit rp5 g2's (or maybe mackie mr5's not really sure yet) thats £250 odd gone, im gonna spend £200 on an audio kontrol 1 audio interface...(and i get a free copy of massive or fm8 with it...fancy that) and the rest on a bed/desk some kind of cheap carpet/drapes, maybe some bass traps....just general stuff to try and fill my small room so it can catch some unwanted frequencies from the monitors. Might even treat myself to a chest of drawers...i dont have a wardrobe so ive been living out of my suitcase

[last & least]

thanks for the recomendations everyone

Really like the look of the A7s but they are just too good for the stage i'm at, same with the dynaudio (liked your interrogation by the grid safe and sound, haha and then you turned out to be pretty fucking ace, so they told you your site was crap, and your room didn't look nice.... pffff big ups )

I reckon i'm gonna go for the yamaha hs 50m s , i got no space at all and i think anything bigger will cause problems acoustically. Definitely going to get some acoustic treatment going though, and a new audio interface if the audio 2 dj doesn't work out.

I f your feeling kind would love to know what your using as an audio interface and whether or not you thought it was a good buy?

[CHUNK]

To be honest, I don't know why people spend so much on a pair of monitors, to me it isn't about what gear you have or how much you spent on it, it's how you use it.

How exactly do you use a shit pair of monitors to get awesome bass?........No offence!

[wirez]

To be honest, I don't know why people spend so much on a pair of monitors, to me it isn't about what gear you have or how much you spent on it, it's how you use it.

How exactly do you use a shit pair of monitors to get awesome bass?........No offence!

I suppose he compares his mixes on several different systems... If he had monitors and decent room acoustics he shouldn't have to do this too much, although it's never exactly a bad idea...