buying professional equipment for less??

[samsome123]

hello,

there are mics that cost a fortune, but there are mics that cost much less and they also get same results...

this topic is not mic specific

i want all decent equipment out there relating to recording/mixing/mastering that gets professional results

if you write just 2-3 things u think are important that would be great!

[Cosmic]

Pre Amp!

Get a great pre amp and everything else is handy.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar09/articles/goldenagepre73.htm

[G-Sun]

Shure sm7b, sm57
Gap73

[Cosmic]

two for the GAP 73!

[samsome123]

am already taking a look at that pre-amp! seems like a must! :)

i knew sm57 but not the other one :) will take a look

keep the info coming thanks a lot!!!! :D

[XITE-1/4LIVE]

FMR pre amps work in the studio and live. They are really for stage, just hapens that they also sound good in a real studio of Computer too.

[rothchild]

To achieve 'professional results' I think, at a minimum you need

Great songs / tunes

A nice sounding room / a sophisticated idea of what sounds good

An intimate understanding of the gear you have to hand


Given that we (still) don't know what kind of music you're trying to make advising you about what gear you need is a bit of a shot in the dark

[Marah Mag]

Is the question about the professional equipment itself, or the cost of professional equipment?

If it's equipment recs you're looking for... I'm afraid I have little to contribute.

But if the question is about cost... then eBay is your friend.

People are always trading up and getting rid of their older stuff. Since most users of this stuff take good care of it... especially studio-based stuff... the conditions of these things are usually fine. I bought my audio card (Delta-66 and Omni i/o box), my POD X3, and my PCR-800 kb on eBay. Wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

[trevlyns]

But if the question is about cost... then eBay is your friend.



Agree! About 80 percent of my entire studio was acquired on e-bay.

But just a word of warning. Watch out for fakes! I bought a Shure SM 58 which turned out to be a fake. Just type in "Fake Shure SM 58" into Youtube. Since watching that, I've observed that about 50% of SM 58's on eBay (UK) are fake - and going for realistic prices. This is based on just one observation - a genuine Shure has two holes at the bottom of the barrel, and the fakes have three.

Let the buyer beware!

I recently bought an SM 58 capsule so I now have a genuine Chinese Shure hybrid! :)

[G-Sun]

am already taking a look at that pre-amp! seems like a must! :)
Gap73 - Well, to add: I bought one and sold it fast. I was not my taste. And a dynamic wouldn't be my preferred mic for that pre.

If your going for a pro mic/pre, I think I would look at a sm7b paired with something like a Grace Design m101 or Focusrite ISA one. I'd guess that'd be a pro sounding combination.

You're question is valid, but as the others say, there are so many other factors.

[ivansc]

another one of Ivan's REALITY CHECKs

No point buying a good pre or even a good mic if the rest of your chain is crap.

FWIW I have a GAP73 and three other halfway decent mic pres, also own some fairly decent mics, although none of the current Gearslutz darlings.

I also have a GOOD soundcard/interface (RME HDSP9652) which is far more likely to materially affect your whole recording experience than a preamp or a mic.

With the RME I get really excellent latency and a good basic sound without caning my computers cpu too hard.

Equally, if you cant hear the difference accurately because either your monitors suck or your room sound is unbalanced, it makes a nonsense of suggesting just a mic or a pre.

I built my room from scratch to be a recording environment and even with NO acoustic treatment it sounded surprisingly good and made getting accurate recordings relatively easy. And now I dont want to move... unless I an have a bigger room of the same quality! (grin)

Seriously, just throwing money at gear without looking at everything in your chain is not going to result in improvements that would be as dramatic as adopting a systematic approach and THEN buying carefully selected stuff.

I am currently selling off some stuff I bought using exactly that ill thought-out first method and for which I now have no use.