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Agreed, through there are some people who spend quite a bit of time replicating all the imperfections -- say in the Arturia MiniMoog emulator :)

I've purchased that turntable, tried it and given it away to an enemy.

I'm not a crazy stereophile by any means, but the quality of this turntable was so poor that you would not use this for any collectible vinyl, or anything worth keeping. The quality of construction is poor, the cartridge is utter crap, it was difficulty to set up the anti-skate, it tracked marginal vinyl not at all. In short, don't get this.

Instead, just buy a used turntable in good condition (so many are available), or I realized my 40 year old Dual turntable ( http://www.dual-reference.com/ ) was still head and shoulders above this unit. Couple it with a reasonable phono preamp ( http://www.zzounds.com/item--ARTDJPREII ) and send it through your line in. Combine it with very nice free software ( http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download ) and you have a solution, possibly for as little as $50 and you'll have a turntable that won't ruin your good vinyl, and get excellent sound as well.

Wasn't this idea thrown around when the MIDI interface was created, 20+ years ago?

But of course...we're now coming full circle when people realize that they can do this Guitar Hero stuff on real guitars, and without the buttons either. Turns out, guitars actually make music all by themselves (with possibly just an amp)!!! But I digress--for those interested in music, here are the relevant things that precede this in time and in awesomeness:

Yamaha MIDI pickup for guitars -- turns the note you're playing into a MIDI note that can then control a synth on your computer. And I don't mean the 80's era crappy "synth" sounds, modern sound synthesis engines are INCREDIBLY realistic.

Alternatively, you could skip Guitar Hero completely and do the following:

1. buy yourself a real guitar
2. Get Guitar Pro 5 with it's "Realistic Sound Engine" or use TuxGuitar on Linux.
3. Download a Guitar Pro file of your favorite song / use TuxGuitar to import a MIDI file -- the modern software synthesizer sounds nothing like what you might remember from the 80s. Bass and drums are very realistic.
4. Mute the guitar track in Guitar Pro/TuxGuitar, and play along with full drum/bass accompaniment. The software even scrolls as you play along.
5. If you like eye candy, route your sound card's output into Winamp and run a visualization.

This is the method I use and it's incredibly satisfying if you don't happen to have a band lying around. Plus it also lets you choose which part you want to play along with, speed up/slow down the song. Sure there aren't any vocals, but it's still mucho fun and way better for impressing people with.

If you're at all serious about recording, something like the MBox mini from Digidesign is more than worth the investment.

I'd MUCH rather be able to use my 1/4" cable directly than deal with plugging into a Firewire interface.

For about $5,000 you can buy a complete set of recording equipment - the necessary laptop, software, mics, etc. to go with your instruments. If you want to do it on the cheap, well... that's why recording studios exist.

5 Grand isn't needed. Using a laptop, free software (Ubuntu Studio) an inexpensive interface, small mixer, & mics can be done for about half that. It works fine for the band I record. Many small bands already have most of the supplies already such as a laptop, mixer and microphones. If these already exist, then free software and an under $300 interface will work nicely.

Cheap is the under $30 Berhinger which does CD or DAT sample rates and bits. In Linux Ubuntu Studio it it truly plug an play as a USB input/output device. Open Audacity and select the USB audio for the source and hit record.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHUCA202

Don't record off a Sound Blaster compatible card except for maybe webcasts and other lower quality work. The hardware has a fixed bitrate, regardless of what you set in software.

The next step up in hardware will give you 96K 24 bit recordings.

Many studios are finding competion from the inexpensive gear that just works.

My setup excluding the already purchased computer cost under $500 for the mixer, a couple mics, and the interface. I have the ability to record 4 tracks at once and and layer over 30 tracks for post processing and adding wet tracks.

A typical session is recording the 4 drun tracks to a click track which are then played back while recording the back-up vocals, bass, keyboard and lead guitar. These are synced (remove latency) and then the lead vocal is recorded while the prior 8 tracks are played back. This is followed with adding wet tracks with EQ, effects, delay, reverb, etc. prior to the final mixdown for the CD.
Under $200 4 channel interface able to do 96K 24 bit recording is here;
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&m=Y&IC=PRI1394&A=RetrieveSku&Q=

For a little more money, recording 8 tracks at once is the studio standard for PC based recording studios, but mics, mixer, and interface will run over $500 for that set-up.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Echo-AudioFire8-8-Channel-FireWire-Audio-Interface?sku=247003

The cost of the set-up is less than a typical studio session. This recording in your own studio is common now that the high cost has been eliminated.

this is an old excuse, and it is not true. If you take guitars instead of software, you'll see comparable differences. The Gibson Melody Maker costs 399, dollar or euro.

Netherlands: 399 euro http://www.maxguitarstore.com/store/index.php?productID=2133

USA: 389 dollar
http://www.zzounds.com/item--GIBMMP1

Maybe not at the consumer level, but there are plenty of Firewire at the amateur/semi-pro musician level. Check out http://www.musiciansfriend.com/, http://www.zzounds.com/ and http://www.sweetwater.com/ for examples.

What I find interesting is the contrast between your linux story and the rest of the "OMG, linux doesn't work on the desktop!" posts here. You're using linux for a pretty specialized task, that 99% of linux users will never use it for, and it works.

My laptop an ex-Windows 2K machine and my Win 98SE dual boot machines are traditional desktop configured. For the most part, they are plug and play. When I built the Core 2 Duo tm machine, I could have simply used it to replace the older machine, but for web surfing, typing documents and playing the extensive list of included games (vs the short MS included list of cards and minesweeper) the older hardware is just fine. Hardware compatibility was almost non-existant. I have an HP scanner that SANE didn't recognise, but a trip to Goodwill replaced it with a nice Cannon LED model for about $10. I knew to avoid Winmodems and multi-function printers, so these were never an issue. The flatbed scanner and my HP inkjet and laserjet worked out of the box. They are on stand alone printservers and do a fantastic job for my entire network. Only the Vista laptop had trouble connecting to the printers. The new network authentication standard as default in Vista is problematic in existing home LAN's. The MS solution is of course to upgrade your entire lan and toss the working hardware.

I wanted to get into hard disk recording, so I decided to try the free offerings. If they didn't work, I could drop a half grand or more in software. Fortunately, the free stuff works quite well. Ubuntu Studio using a low latency kernal and the AISO interface makes it easy to do multi-track recording in real time. Putting down a drum track and playing it back to add the lead and bass guitar is easy. (play and record at the same time with little delay) Then the 4 tracks can be again played back and the lead and backup vocals can be laid down. In post production a little reverb can be added to the backup vocal track as a new track, so if you don't like it, you can redo, adjust tweak, eq and such till it is just right. Normally this ability is a several grand expense. I use a small under $300 mixer with some good mics, the under $50 A/D Behringer U-Control for the hardware and free software. Other than the price of a good PC which can be dual booted if desired, the studio solution including the mixer, mics, and A/D converter for cutting demo CD's was under $500. Home recording doesn't have to be expensive even when the result sounds like it. The plug it in and it works is more the norm than the exception. The stuff that is hard to make work gets lots of attention and is often a well known issue.

Example hardware is here.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-UCONTROL-UCA202-USBAudio-Interface?sku=702540

http://www.americanmusical.com/item.aspx?i=YAM%20MG124C&src=D0407FG0HAMS0000YAM%20MG124C&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=feed&

http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUPG48

Miking drums, alone, is a good $1000 enterprise.

Not anymore.
http://www.musicstudiodirect.com/products/5207/7kit+Drum+Mic+Set/
http://www.instrumentpro.com/P-SAM8KIT?source=froogle
http://www.zzounds.com/item--MUPDRUMPAK

There is enough money left over for a good multi-track digital audio workstation to plug them into.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--TASUS1641
It has 16 channels to record the entire band for post production mixdown.

Miking drums, alone, is a good $1000 enterprise.

Not anymore.
http://www.musicstudiodirect.com/products/5207/7kit+Drum+Mic+Set/
http://www.instrumentpro.com/P-SAM8KIT?source=froogle
http://www.zzounds.com/item--MUPDRUMPAK

There is enough money left over for a good multi-track digital audio workstation to plug them into.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--TASUS1641
It has 16 channels to record the entire band for post production mixdown.

They are there, no one but the dog can hear them but they are there and the mic picks them up not well but it picks up 33Khz.

Not all mic's. Most vocal microphones do not go that high. Check the spec.

The old industry band vocal mic, the Sure SM58 response is here;
http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups/public/@gms_gmi_web_us/documents/web_resource/site_img_us_rc_sm58_large.gif

Sure SM57;
http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/sm57-0e448d5589fdc8d6658bd863b801f637.pdf

The newer Sure vocal mics are here;
Sure PG58 http://cachepe.samedaymusic.com/media/pg58-d7a8418e0d8d830ff025d91f4eef8a58.pdf
Sure PG48 http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups/public/@gms_gmi_web_us/documents/web_resource/site_img_us_rc_PG48_large.gif

Even ditching a dynamic for the better condensor mic gives this response;
http://www.americanmusical.com/manuals/shure/shusm86_userguide.pdf

Some instermentation microphones may extend into the ultrasonic range, but most are flat through 20HZ-20KHZ with a rapid roll-off above 20KHZ.

OK, so from reading what you say and my experiences (plays/musicals/live sound/djing/recording & minor electric/tech nerd skills)... I believe you are 100% correct and informative.

Though as far as powered speakers go, I love the Mackie SRM 450 powered speakers connected to a Rane, Urei, Vestax or Allen & Heath dj mixer w/ balanced outputs. I think they sound wonderful and is a nice portable dj solution.

Anyway... I revere the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook like a creationist does the bible. What do you think of the book and do you reccomend anything else?

Not necessarily. There are noticeable differences in price between pro audio gear and "audiophile" audio gear. Pro gear is technically superior, more flexible, more powerful, and cheaper. Audiophile gear has gold connectors and blue LED's on the front and the prices are anywhere from double to quadruple that of similar pro gear.

Examples?

Power amp: McIntosh MC602 vs. Yamaha P7000S.

$8000 (Source) vs. $700 (Source)

The former is undoubtedly a nice amp. 600W x 2 channels. Fancy-looking VU's on the front, gold-plated connectors, and a recognized name make this a "must have" for the audiophile with more money than sense (and his neighbor, who now has to keep up with that Jones guy next door...). And on a more substantial note, it has balanced inputs, a feature you don't often see on gear meant for non-pros, and it's a feature that can make a meaningful difference in audio quality.

The latter is nicer. 1100W x 2 channels or 2000W x 1 channel, a pro-level class-A amp circuit, a multitude of options for configuration, and the ability to buy 11 of them for the same price as the other amp and still have $300 left for cables 'n' stuff (or pizza for all the nights you'll spend hooking 11 amps up). Things like balanced inputs are a given on this type of gear. VU's are left out, since pros generally like to have the VU's on the console and stuff the amp in a rack somewhere out of sight. There's still a "peak" indicator, just in case.

I'd be worried more about pro-gear getting the gouge-em-for-all-they-have reputation of audiophile gear. Which would suck, because as it stands, I can keep up with the Joneses (so to speak) for a fraction of what "they" spend. Hell, I can usually afford enough power to melt "the Joneses'" walls from 1000 feet away.

Do you know of any stand alone DAC's that would be good?

How much do you want to spend?

$130? Behringer SRC2496
$700? Apogee MiniDAC
$1000? Benchmark DAC1
$1700? A used Apogee Rosetta 200
$2800? Universal Audio 2196
$5900? Weiss Engineering DAC1
$9400? Prism Dream DA-1

These are some options I know of from the Pro Audio world. What sounds better than your built-in DACs is up to your ears. You might also look into a USB audio interface that someone makes Linux drivers for. You'd get a lot more than a DAC, but it might suit your ears and wallet better than some of the options above.

I use a behringer deq -2496 as a poor peoples graphic equalizer / DAC .. the DAC in this is actually a high end pro DAC .. the entire thing only costs $300 .. you can also use it as a room equalizer (w/ a mike) which is only really available on really high end equipment .. (note this is a 2 channel dac)..

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHDEQ2496

sometimes ignoring consumer equipment and just going w/ pro equipment is actually both (ironically) much cheaper and *much* better in quality

"And when the CD came out, one could have imagined people saying "If you're in the record player manufacturing business..."

Look at this and this and this.

CD players have been out for so long that people are declaring the CD itself to be dead, yet there are still people making money by manufacturing record players.

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/quality,85/brand, zzounds/CMM503R-d17aa143880be691baf92ef56c06532f.j pg/

Recording software: Audacity

I think amateur guitarists would rather just sit in an empty room playing with themselves than dream of being in a big-name band like Korn

Fender Strat = 1399. PS2 + Guitar Hero + 40" DLP HDTV is about the same. Take your choice.

No, you order them online.

http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=turntable

Don't forget that there are people called "discjockeys" who still peruse the medium. As long as that market's big enough, you'll have no trouble whatsoever in getting a turntable.

maybe not: http://www.zzounds.com/item--NUMTTX1

Seriously, unless you have a very small computer, you're not going to sit it on your stand. If it can't sit on your stand, it's pretty much useless. Get a small chromatic tuner and a metronome. Korg makes a decent all-in-one box..

All of the posts pushing you toward a tuning fork are fine as far as they go, but the visual feedback you receive while working on the bridge end of the fingerboard is valuable.

Also, I play in a couple of ensembles, one of which tunes to A=442 instead of A=440, so when working those parts, it's especially valuable.

Oh, and the metronome is way more important than the tuner. It's the most useful tool you can buy. Ignore those 'just listen' posts -- most drummers can't play in rhythm. It's hard. You need a metronome.

(playing 23 years)

these headphones have excellent response, are portable, reliable, and comfortable. sometimes you can even pick them up at best buy... and there's probably plenty floating around on ebay, since they're pretty popular for musicians and have been around a while.

again, why is there a whole article devoted to advertising some random headphones?
-os

I remember meeting Robert Moog at a music technology convention in 1981. He was still designing new instruments, but was in the paradoxical position of not being able to put his own name on them...thanks a lot CBS Music.

He was able to get his trademarks back and his designs, and a new version of the Minimoog came out at the most recent NAMM convention in California in January. Here's a non-sponsored link to it.

He was a geek's geek, and put the tech in techno. He will be missed.

Here's a good example. This item that just closed I'd been monitoring to see what it's going for on eBay. If instead of paying the typical Brick & Mortar price for the item they had done the teeniest bit of shopping around they would have found this, which pops up at the top of Google if you enter the product name, and is a pretty typical Web price for it. Even B&M Sam Ash is selling it for this same price. The eBay one also comes with 128M of smartmedia which goes for about $20, but also has $15 more shipping making the difference here about $136 (resealed) or $106 (brand new). Looking at the bidding history, there appears to have been a last-minute frenzy where one yayhoo kept bidding up and up finally unwilling to pay more, not yet having exceeded the previous bidders max (either that or time ran out).

It did tell me that if I want to buy one anytime soon, eBay probably won't be much help. (the item's pretty new and few have been showing up on eBay).

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--PCI-Audio-Interfaces-- 2421

or

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/s=comput er/search?c=9132

Choices galore.

A firewire device for musicians. What a great idea. That's Apple for you, always on the forefront of new technology.

Or if you care about the sound, drop a hundred bucks on something like an M-Audio 2496 that has rca outs and run that into your tuner. I have a similar setup with the outs going to a Sony receiver that I bought at a garage sale for five dollars, and a half-way decent set of home theatre speakers which I plan to replace with a set of entry level studio monitors at some point. But for the money I spent on the receiver (garage sale), speakers and soundcard (ebay) you can't beat the performance. It gets loud, and it stays clear. It amazes me how many gamers spend four or five bills on a video card and that amount again on a monitor, but they run tiny little pc speakers out of the onboard audio from the motherboard.

"OK, are you talking about the 3M weatherstripping adhesive?"

No. This is what he's talking about.

I definitely disagree with your statement that using off the shelf PC technology would leave you lacking in quality. As compared to a multi-million dollar studio of today - Yes, most definitely. But, using a cheap thousand dollar PC and relatively good cables/connectors and intruments, you can record an album with comparable audio quality to the machines that the Beatles or the Who used to record some of the greatest music the world had seen. If you want to jack up the quality more, get a 24/96 card.

Okay, zZounds is back up. Here's the link to the 20-space Raxxess economy rack.

In this article we'll do something that so far we're not aware anyone has done yet - discuss building a small 18-unit ... rack cabinet for as little as $50.

I've got a 20-space Raxxess elite rack, and it looks and works great. The Raxxess economy rack series is probably closer to what you would get if you built it yourself. Zzounds (a leading online music store) has the best prices I've seen on Raxxess gear. Their website is down right now for some reason, but the cache of their rack section shows that the Raxxess 20-space economy rack is $84.95 (+$5.00 shipping).

A professional 20-space rack for $84.95 sounds better to me that a "do it yourself" 18-space rack for "as little as $50," particularly when you consider the cost of your time and labor.

As has been mentioned earlier, music equipment places have nice, cheaper racks:
12-Space, $29.95 rack
Other racks

As has been mentioned earlier, music equipment places have nice, cheaper racks:
12-Space, $29.95 rack
Other racks