Now that I've finished studying a while ago and started working (but still leading a student's lifestyle) I've got some decent money left to spend on recording gear. So here's my general idea:

• a note-book to keep everything mobile if necessary (I will need a new one anyway so why not one that's suitable for recording?!)

• an audio interface (2-4 inputs: direct input for guitar, mic input)

• a DAW (I've started first attempts with a "student's licence" copy of an old cubase I'd like to replace with a decent one). I'd prefer a linux system but so far I've only tried ardour which I'm not very convinced of. Are there other linux DAWs?? In the end I will choose the operating system matching the best DAW so that's not a restriction.

• a multi-purpose mic

• a VST drum-kit (I will need one that I can also feed with my own samples. I like the idea of using everyday noises as drum sounds)

• some sort of re-amping box to feed directly recorded samples to a guitar amp and record them (this is one reason I'd like to keep everything mobile. I can't make much noise at home. Well, it might be fine with my room-mates but I'm not sure about the neighbours ) Can this be done DIY style??

• an inexpensive, versatile bass with a good bang/buck-ratio

• a DI-box?

So far I haven't worried about any details so any recommendations are welcome. Please include an approximate price if you can. I'm not yet sure if my "decent money" is enough to afford what I've got in mind

Thanks for your input!!

What are you not convinced of about Ardour? I've been using UbuntuStudio for a pretty long time and don't find it lacking anything for my (limited, I admit) Pro Tools-like use.

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crew

Selling BOSS FW-3. I live in Brazil, mind you, so prepare yourself for $30-ish for shipping and waiting. Local pickup available, along with beautiful beaches and cheap bitches.

I could not find a decent parametric EQ and this is essential foundation for a proper mix to me

Are we talking Mac or PC?
For Mac I highly recommend MOTU hardware and software - used it for years and love it. They have a new small interface that could be up your alley - if you want more inputs the 828's are great.
Also the Masterworks EQ that comes with Digital Performer is superb.

Reamp box? Dunno, never needed one...

DI? Most good audio interfaces have a decent DI input... yes you can better standalone DIs but unless you're going to go super high end I wouldn't bother.

Drums? Sorry, I just use Ableton or hardware stuff for that.

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Crustaceo ergo sum

I'm open minded on this. I'm not stuck to a certain operating system. How good is the latency of the MOTU? I'm a little worried here because a friend of mine had an audio interface with a next to unusable long latency.

by the way: thanks for your help;-)

Hey no prob...
By latency do you mean for general monitoring or running things like Amplitube?
For general monitoring there's no latency at all - the MOTU interfaces have their own hardware monitoring system and mixer built in so you are monitoring off the hardware before it enters your computer. I think most other interfaces do this now too - it's pretty essential. Latency during monitoring is hideous.

If you are wanting to monitor with effects or things like Amplitube, Guitar Rig etc, the latency will depend on the software itself and how fast your computer is.

I have no experience with PCs but the MOTU drivers have been rock solid on the few of Macs I've used them with.

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Crustaceo ergo sum

I've found that MOTU has a great reputation for being really quick and rock solid. I'm a PreSonus fan myself, and most of their products work nearly flawlessly on Macs. I use a PC, and I have actually experienced quite a few weird quirks and glitches with the Windows 7 drivers for the AudioBox series. Latency's not much of an issue if your computer can handle the stuff you throw at it (BIG DEAL, you NEED that 3.4 GHz CPU!), but when you have underrun problems or cheap USB controllers, you're stuck with them!

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The Hindsight Rig

Some recordings and other stuff.

Lesson on acoustics in amplifiers.

Maybe I should get a Mac. I just don't like the way apple rips off their customers. Too bad someone declared them cool and now they can charge whatever they like. Especially prices for memory or hard-drive upgrades are just extortionate. But I do like the idea of having no troubles with drivers.

A friend of mine mentioned Focusrite audio interfaces lately. Anyone experinces with those ones?

by the way the bass is off the list. I've bought a Squier Vintage Modified jazz bass. Now I just have to learn how to use it properly

Got myself some christmas presents: a shiny new macbook. A M-Audio Fast Track C600 and the latest cubase are ordered. I did some research on the focusrite interfaces and read quite a few comments that the instrument input clip no matter how weak the input is.

Microphone-wise I quite settled on the SE2200a II C.

I'll keep you posted and will certainly bother you with the results of my home-recording experiments;-)