The Cheapest Way To Get Into A Pro Tools Recording Setup

    Not only do I play professionally in a live band but I’ve also been a home recording enthusiast for many years. My first piece of recording equipment was my good old Tascam Portastudio 4-track which came with microphone, mic cord and a box of good cassettes. I made a lot of great recordings on that old Tascam and eventually wore the recording heads out. After the Tascam died I moved to a Fostex hard disk based recording setup that I built up to create a 24-track studio. But to get in line with the rest of the recording industry I had to build a Digidesign Pro Tools based recording studio.

   I now have a Digi 003 rack system running Pro Tools LE in my home studio. It has been a great system to work with and I’ve become really good with computer based audio editing. It would be really difficult to go back to editing tracks without the ease of being able to edit audio on the computer. Pro Tools is a very powerful program that is fairly easy to learn but can be a challenge to master. If you’re going to get into home recording, I recommend starting with an entry level Pro Tools LE system.   

   Today I’m going to recommend a home studio recording package that is based around the Pro Tools LE software. This package includes everything you’ll need to get your home recording studio up and running. This package includes a Digidesign Mbox-2 Mini computer interface, a pair of M1 Active 320 USB Studio Monitors, an MXL 990 condenser microphone with shock-mount, 20′ mic cable, tripod mic stand, and a 3 meter RCA-to-1/4″ dual patch cable.

   Not only do you get all that hardware but you get a fully functional copy of the new Pro Tools 8 LE software. This software will give you up to 48 simultaneous stereo audio tracks. You’ll also get a professional MIDI sequencer with a dedicated MIDI Editor window. To take a look at all the amazing features in this version of Pro Tools, just click this link -> Pro Tools 8 Upgrade. The bottom line is, you’ll be using the same brand of software that all the worlds major music studios are using.

   If you’re just getting into home recording I highly recommend this package. If you’re moving from a traditional standalone workstation based recording system to a computer based system, I highly recommend this package as well. Just follow the link below and get a Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Recording Bundle today!

Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Recording BundleStudio package includes a Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini, M-Audio M1Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Pair, MXL 990 condenser microphone with shockmount, 20′ microphone cable, tripod microphone stand, and 3m RCA-1/4″ dual patch cable.Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Audio Workstation The Mbox®2 Mini is the world’s smallest, most affordable Pro Tools LE™ recording, editing, and mixing system ever. Whether you’re a singer/songwriter who’s new to recording or a seasoned pro on the go, Mbox 2 Mini packs professional features into a robust, ultra compact, easy-to-use audio workstation to record and mix music wherever your inspiration takes you. And with its diminutive size, Mbox 2 Mini literally puts the power of Pro Tools in the palm of your hand.Like its siblings, Mbox 2, Mbox 2 Pro, and Mbox 2 Micro, Mbox 2 Mini delivers superior sound quality and includes plenty of powerful creation tools for composing, recording, and mixing music. It comes with award-winning, easy-to-use Pro Tools LE™ software, which provides you with many of the same tools the pros use on major recordings and in films. And because Pro Tools is the industry standard, you can use your Mbox 2 Mini-recorded sessions in any Pro Tools-equipped studio around the world.M-Audio M1Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Pair Alesis monitors connect via USB to your laptop or computer for plug-and-play listening. These compact speakers are equipped with I/O for connecting a keyboard, mic preamp, guitar effects, mixer, and other audio components for easy computer recording.M1Active 320 monitors deliver 16-bit/44.1-48kHz audio quality through a USB 1.1 port-without the need for special drivers. A Bass Boost switch increases the low-end for monitoring in big spaces. Besides the USB cable, the I/O includes quality 1/4″ plugs and standard RCA jacks, a TRS headphone output, two unbalanced 1/4″ phone jacks inputs, a stereo 1/8″ mini-jack input, and stereo RCA inputs. Another nice benefit is that each speaker is magnetically shielded, so you won’t have to worry about placing them near TVs or computers.MXL 990 Condenser Microphone The MXL 990 Condenser mic has a silky, sweet high-end while retaining tight, solid low and midrange reproduction. The 3/4″ gold-sputtered diaphragm creates a professional sound suited for digital and analog recording. Attractive vintage body style with champagne finish. 30Hz-20kHz frequency response. 130dB maximum SPL. Includes custom shockmount, mic stand adapter, and case.