Question about the selection of equipment for home studio

[defeated]

Hello

I read many topics about 'how to build a home studio' on the internet. I want to build my first home studio, who has accepted to try to play music? At the moment I don't know which genre I want to create probably ambient, techno, and movie music.

Bellow my setup, can someone confirm that it is ok? or advice on other equipment? The budget is such that the equipment is acceptable, and then I could resell and buy a better one.

Hardware which I have:
- computer - MacBook 16 pro / 32GB ram
- digital piano - Roland FP 90x (I love this key, btw I also playing piano for +3 years), but I use it only as a piano controller, without included sounds

Hardware which I want buy:
- DAW - Ableton 11 Suite + Push 2
- midi interface - FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 4 I 4 3GEN or Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 3gen, but at the moment I need only an audio interface for the microphone and guitar electric.
- microphone - RODE NT1
- monitors: KRK ROKIT RP7 G4 5inch
- headphones - Beyerdynamic-DT-770-pro-250 - should I buy an amplifier?

Can I ask for information, is this equipment ok or should I choose something else?

[BertKoor]

Very decent setup, many will be jealous.

Warning: if you're just starting out, everything will sound crap. That is completely normal, nothing to do with your equipment. Don't give up, keep in going, it will only get better. Try to apply what you have read, develop a critical ear.

Good luck!!

[whyterabbyt]

- DAW - Ableton 11 Suite + Push 2
- midi interface - FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 4 I 4 3GEN or Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 3gen, but at the moment I need only an audio interface for the microphone and guitar electric.
.
.
- headphones - Beyerdynamic-DT-770-pro-250 - should I buy an amplifier?

The 4i4 has a headphone socket, and the 18i8 has two, so I would suggest not.

Looks like both may come with Live Lite, not sure, but there's possibility that'll give you a discount on Live.

[cryophonik]

The only thing on your list that makes me frown are the KRK monitors. I'd look at similar priced/spec'd options from JBL, Presonus, and Mackie.

[defeated]

I talked to my store, and I suggested in many of the following products, explaining that they are better than for cooperation.
What do you think, it really is, does the store want to sell me what it has, or what is its profitability?
- midi interface
- my suggestion: FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 4 AND 4 3GEN
- the shop suggested: MOTU M4
microphone
- my proposal: Rode NT1 /
- the store proposed: Sontronics STC-20 PACK + ‌Samson MBA48 (arm)
monitors:
- my proposal: KRK ROKIT RP7 G4 5 inches
- the shop suggested: ‌Pioneer VM-70 - Active monitor 6.5 "+ stands: IsoAcoustics ISO-155
headphones:
- my suggestion: beyerdynamic-dt-770-pro-250
- the store suggested: ‌beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80
- wires:
- my suggestion: none
- the store suggested: SSQ XX3 PRO + SSQ JSXM3 PRO

[morelia]

Hardware which I want buy:
- DAW - Ableton 11 Suite + Push 2
- midi interface - FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 4 I 4 3GEN or Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 3gen, but at the moment I need only an audio interface for the microphone and guitar electric.
- microphone - RODE NT1
- monitors: KRK ROKIT RP7 G4 5inch
- headphones - Beyerdynamic-DT-770-pro-250 - should I buy an amplifier?

Strangely, for the last 15 years I have been using a Rode NTK (apparently pretty comparable to the NT1), KRK Rokit 6" and Beyer DT770 250 with no headphone amp. And I can't remember how long I've been using Focusrite interfaces but currently it's a Scarlett 6i6. That gear has kept me more than happy and is probably a list of the gear I haven't even thought about changing because there has been no problem with any of it.

[BertKoor]

- my suggestion: FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 4 AND 4 3GEN
- the shop suggested: MOTU M4

I guess both are equally OK, especially on a Mac.

- my proposal: Rode NT1 /
- the store proposed: Sontronics STC-20 PACK + ‌Samson MBA48 (arm)

Sontronics? Not heard of before. Could be equally well as the Rode.
You do need a mic stand.

- my proposal: KRK ROKIT RP7 G4 5 inches
- the shop suggested: ‌Pioneer VM-70 - Active monitor 6.5 "+ stands: IsoAcoustics ISO-155

RP7 is 7 inch, not 5. You mean RoKit RP5 or RP7? The number in the model is inches of the woofer. In general bigger woofers are better because they have more bass.

Regardless, choice of monitors is going to be very personal. None are ideal. This definitely is one of the weak links in the chain where an upgrade one day will give you benefits (up to a certain level)
You need to hear them, compare the sound. Only then you can decide which ones you like better.

- my suggestion: beyerdynamic-dt-770-pro-250
- the store suggested: ‌beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80

Here I agree with the store. I'd suggest lower impedance headphones because these work fine even on gear that does not have a really powerful headphone amp.

- wires:
- my suggestion: none
- the store suggested: SSQ XX3 PRO + SSQ JSXM3 PRO

No opinion on any brand of cable. They all are copper with plastic around it.
Perhaps the mic comes with a cable (you need to check) but monitors usually come without any audio cable. My rule of thumb used to be that a decent price for a cable is $10 (for two connectors) plus $1 for each meter. Maybe correct that now for inflation with factor 1.5.

[Bombadil]

My advice is to buy the best you can afford to fill your needs. I'm another one of those people who bought 'best bang for the buck' gear for recording, only to replace the cheap stuff with better later on.
Also, I've been a musician for more than 50 years and will tell you that regardless of what you think you want, those things will change with experience.
The RKR monitors I'd pass on. Look at Dynaudio or Adam.
I'd alsothink about a better audio interface. RME is one of the best. Not cheap, but very good.

[vurt]

nowt wrong with focusrite

your list and the shops list both seem pretty good for starting out tbh, as has been said, you may change any one of these things later, due to taste or quality, but as a starting point youd be well on your way

[vurt]

ps: just make sure the shops list is of a similar price to yours, as most stuff will be available online nearby anyway

[BertKoor]

Forgot to ask: what is your motivation for one thing instead of the other?

[defeated]

@BertKoor I want buy good mid-up hardware, its all.

[BertKoor]

@BertKoor I want buy good mid-up hardware, its all.

Alright. Both the shop recommendations and your personal picks fall into that category indeed. I was just curious whether you saw some appeal in certain items which the shop did not recommend, then it could be worth discussing that further.

[tehlord]

I would buy an Audient interface instead of Focusrite, you're getting better pre-amps for your money and that matters for actual recording.

Also, KRK Rokits are terrible speakers compared to the available alternatives these days. Don't listen to the reviews, they are geniunely bad. Look at other options like Kali or the Yamaha HS series (which would be the ideal choice).

My experience with MOTU interfaces are that they are 'ok', but build quality is not the best and customer support simply does not exist outside of the USA.

[ghettosynth]

I'm going to be that guy. I think that the shop might be recommending stuff that they either carry or have in stock. The only thing that I have strong agreement with is the headphones. I would run, not walk, away from the pioneer monitors. I would stick to the Rode NT-1. Sontronics appears to be a new brand, and there very well may be nothing wrong with them, in fact, they may be very nice. That said, when you're starting out, you often find that you don't like things. An NT-1 will be easy to move along, you might not find this to be as true with the Sontronics. I'd let other people do the testing of new products unless YOU have personal expertise and can make a solid judgement based on that.

The thing that might be driving the Pioneer recommendation, however, is the size, and with that I agree. I don't think that newcomers should buy small, i.e., 5" driver or smaller, monitors...here's why...

Monitors are designed for mixing and depending on the kind of music that you make, small monitors may not be loud enough for jamming with yourself. When I was doing dance music I used a small set of PA speakers across the room along with a small (15") sub when I wanted to get loud. These days I only do ambient and downtempo stuff, but I'm still not happy with using small monitors for "performing" in my studio. I use a pair of three way mid-fields with 10" woofers. A friend of mine plays classical piano and he was looking for speakers for his very limited home studio setup. Really it was just his piano and a two input audio interface. He ended up with the larger Mackies. This was a few years back when they were really popular.

The point here is not that you need to buy two sets of speakers, but you need to consider how the intended purpose may not be all the ways that you will use the speakers. To that end, often larger speakers are a better first choice. You aren't really going to suss out the subtleties of how a 5" driver might be better for mixing when you're first starting, but you are almost certainly going to try to play them at a higher volume, or with more bass, than they are really capable of delivering.

These days I do most of my mixing on a pair of nearfields with 4" main drivers, but I still like the 10" three ways for performing in my studio and working stuff out when I'm writing.

Given that you are buying midrange gear, 6.5" is a good compromise, 8" is definitely better for dance music.