Originally Posted by sdelsolray
It sounds like you want to build a home studio for recording. As you already know, there are numerous resources on the web which address this, perhaps too many.
Here are some thoughts:
1) Identify what you want to record, now and potentially in the future, and plan accordingly. Also, identify to whom you will distribute your recorded music and the purpose in doing so. For example, if you are only going to record an acoustic guitar and perhaps vocals, you don't need large near field monitors with extended bass response, nor do you need to be able to record more than two or three channels at the same time, nor do you need many mics, perhaps three or four at most. If you are recording for eventual commercial release, you don't need to fool with mastering software or hardware because you will hire someone else to do that, but if you are going to send your recordings to family and friends you will likely need to master yourself, so you might need something for that.
2) Determine everything you will need to acquire. Obviously, that includes mics and an interface, but also includes such mundane things as mic stands, cabling, room treatment, nearfield monitors, headphones, DAW software, software plugins, a work table, etc. Make a list of all the items. Many folks do without "everything" on the list, but if you do so you should first understand why that item is a normal item for studios before you decide to do without it. Also keep in mind that there are products that combine many needed functions into one product, e.g., an interface will have mic preamps, AD and DA converters, DI inputs, a monitoring path (headphone and near field outputs) and (often) DAW software).
3) Determine your overall budget for everything, or at least realize what would need to be spent to get everything. Double the budget. Within that doubled budget allocate funds for the major items, i.e., room treatment, mics, near field monitors, etc.
The things to try to avoid scrimping on (in a relative quality sense) are mics and monitors, which are the transducers at each end of the chain and which interface between the sound you make and hear with the world of analog electronics.
You can economize with DIY projects (e.g., bass traps) or purchasing used (there's plenty of excellent used gear out there that is barely used at low prices).
4) After all this, now shop for brands and models of gear and software. Don't be surprised in you end up doubling your budget (a second time).
5) Once you get the stuff, you will need to spend time learning how to use it. Hundreds of hours.
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