I got enough. Enough of having my bedroom, my music room and my professional video studio in the same room. Last week I decided that I will empty one of our rooms (which has just old junk) to be my studio. I will start emptying the room this week and I will clean it. Next week I would like to carry my stuff there. I would like to buy some new stuff there and I need your help.

I do video productions for living (and I study it also). I also play music as a hobby. I have Yamaha TYROS keyboard and Roland RD-150 stage piano. I also play soprano and tenor saxophones. Now I need new music gear for my studio. With video equipment I am fine (everything is pro level), but with music I need more.

I would like to record music and edit it later, like with videos. For that I need monitor speakers, audio interface, computer software and a microphone. My dealer recommends the Genelec 1029A speakers for me. Are they good? He made me an offer of 780 euros a pair. I know Genelec is finnish (like me), but I don´t have any experience about them or about any monitor speakers. I know a little about HiFi speakers.

Then I need an audio interface. I have been told that Digidesign Mbox is good and that the Pro Tools LE 6.0 is a good program. Is this true? I want to record good quality audio. Does the Mbox have good sound quality? What kind of computer do i need? I have PowerMac G4 Dual 1 GHz with Apples 17 inch. LCD screen. One gigabyte of RAM, 320 Gb of hard disk space, CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-R drive and Mac OS 10.2 operating system.

Then I need a microphone for recording my sax playing and vocals with the Mbox. I would also like to use this microphone with TYROS vh. There things are very complicated. What microphone should I buy? There is Rode, Audix, AKG, Shure, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Sony and many others also. Which of these is the best maker? Again my dealers recommends for me something. That is Rode NT1000 (or was it TN1000 or something). Is it good microphone?

One thing what I also need is a notation software for Mac. There is Finale and Sibelius and some others also. Which of them is the best? I would like it to be Mac OS X compatible.

Again I would like to remind everyone, that I am not a professional musician. I am just a 20 year old young man for who music is just a very important hobby and passion. My dream is to make my own CD someday.

I forgot to mention that I would be very thankfull of all your help.

Micco

For a good Microphone you might look into the Shure Beta line, ie., 54,58,87,. The Beta 54 is a head worn mic. A good Mic for Instruments is the Shure KSM109. Another great Mic is the Neumann KMS 105 handheld. It is arguably the best handheld on the market for vocals although you will pay dearly for it, ie., around $600 USD.

For good notation software Finale is the best selling notation software and it is considered top of the line. A comparison would be: "the Photoshop of Music Notation software", if your familiar with Photoshop. You probably are if you have a Mac. To purchase Finale in Finland you can find it in Rajamaki at Hellas Piano or at their online store at: www.hellaspiano.com I would shop around online to try and get the best price though. In the USA there are special prices for College Students and I think it applies to Students worldwide.

PS: Maybe your Folks could help you out financially (Birthday, Christmas, gift) type thing; for some of your new gear although you may have all the finances you need already.

Best regards Micco,
Mike

I wanted to love that mic, and I gave it thorough test when it first came out, but I couldn't justify the difference between IT and my EV 767a. It's all over the Grammy's and MTV, but I just didn't hear a $400 difference in my ears. The Senheiser 855(865?) sounded very much like it for about 1/2 the price, but still ....... my EV sounds as good to me as almost anything out there under "road" conditions. My studio setup is more discrete and demanding and i use higher end mics there, but as for stage - I recommend the 767 as a "best buy".

I bought the EV 767 on Uncle Dave's advice and Electro Voice's reputation and I love it. It is a great mic. I also have an Audio Technica MB1000 that is not bad for the money. I have Finale software and it does everything great but it is not intuitive to use. The old MusicTime Deluxe was very easy for writing out parts and fake sheets.

Tom

I A/B'd the EV767 and the Senn 855 and to my ears the Senn 855 was more crisp and had a much more overall better sound to my ears, especially in the [Mid-Range] which ultimatly won me over returning the EV767.
I also like the ergonomic design and screen shape when I sing nighly. Studio mics are a whole other thing.... Just my opinion!

Today I bought the Rode NT1000 microphone. A friend of mine (who is a pro level musician) told me that it has fantastic sound quality and that it is also very well made. He told me that it is much better than the Shure for example. Also a friend of his has the same microphone so we can borrow it if we need to do stereo recordings.

Rhode NT1000




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 03-27-2003).]

That´s my new microphone, except that it is Rode, not Rhodes.