Help me blow $2000 on gear! Not that kind, audio gear!

[sparrowhawk]

I currently use a PowerBook G4 w/ DP and a MOTU 828MkIII converter. For mics I have an SM57 and a KSM27. That's pretty much it. I just want to make my recordings sound better! What are some basic pieces of gear that I simply need to have? I'd assume a preamp should be on my list as well as a compressor and maybe another mic. Also, I could use some better monitors. I know $2000 isn't much for all that but any help would be very, very appreciated. Thanks!

[I'm Painting Again]

hey when I had a g4 and a motu and pretty much my mics were 57 and the ksm27..I noticed a big up in quality with the addition of the sytek preamps..then I got even better ones and noticed a bigger up in quality..upgrading from motu to lavry conversion i noticed an up too but not as dramatic as the upgraded preamps..another big quality jump was the investment in really nice instruments and amps for the studio..

[snatchman]

hey when I had a g4 and a motu and pretty much my mics were 57 and the ksm27..I noticed a big up in quality with the addition of the sytek preamps..then I got even better ones and noticed a bigger up in quality..upgrading from motu to lavry conversion i noticed an up too but not as dramatic as the upgraded preamps..another big quality jump was the investment in really nice instruments and amps for the studio..

Yep. beard of bees is right. Even tho' I haven't stepped up to the Lavry level just yet, better pre-amps gave good improvements. But actually, I sort of went in reverse of beard of bees. I upgraded to better instruments first, which gave an improvement even with the "low-end pres/converters! So....I guess it don't matter which pane of dirty glass you clean first (stacked in front of each other) It will allow you to " see" ( in this case) hear a little better until you can clean them all ( upgrade to great gear) ..! ..

[Professor]

I know someone will throw a tomato at me for suggesting this, but I think you'll get a more dramatic difference (not necessarily improvement, as that is a subjective term - more of a broader palette) by adding more microphones. Sure, a 57 amp'ed through a pretty mic pre can sound like a much prettier SM-57, but it won't sound like a condenser or a tube or a ribbon, and no preamp will ever turn your KSM-27 into a stereo pair.
Now that, of course, presumes that you are recording acoustic instruments, and that those instruments are of fairly good quality and are producing the acoustic sounds you want to capture, and that you are seeking different options for colors and tones for those instruments. If you are instead looking to invest $2000 to make your recordings sound the same, but better, then you should buy something that is the same, but better.
My philosophy is probably best described as more of a Tonmeister approach where capturing the acoustic event is most important. Of course having the highest quality signal path throughout is extremely important, but in the realm of improvements and upgrades, the place to start is always the transducer as that is the point where one form of energy is transduced into another, and therefore where the equipment has the most profound effect on the character of the sound. After that comes the place where the greatest amount of amplification occurs (the mic preamp) and after that everything else. (Well, to be fair, transduction of a sort also happens at the A-to-D converter, and most certainly at a magnetic tape record head, but honestly I think that converter quality is generally high enough once you're beyond the 'utter crap' level (and MOTU is beyond that level) that it's safe to place that in line third after mics and preamps.)

Of course, if your recordings are sucking because you can't hear that they are while you're making them then you must do something about your monitors and/or your room treatment. Likewise, if your recordings suck because the instruments sound like ass meat before you hit record then you'll need to improve those instruments first.
And so on, and so on....

-Jeremy

[thebookofkevin]

I know someone will throw a tomato at me for suggesting this, but I think you'll get a more dramatic difference (not necessarily improvement, as that is a subjective term - more of a broader palette) by adding more microphones.

I was thinking this myself. With $2000, you could get a couple of nice Beyerdynamic mics (maybe an m201 and an m160 ribbon or something), maybe an AT or Oktava LDC, and a Shinybox and still have enough money for a nice compressor and maybe 2 channels of better mic pre.

What you're recording and how you're recording it is a factor as well. Perhaps your situation might be better suited to a matched stereo pair like the Josephson c42s.

Good luck.