The Right Sounds: Shopping for a Home Recording Geek
By Max on May 10, 2008 in Home Recording
You may not understand them when they talk about the last effects sampler they bought. You may even find yourself drifting off into a waking coma when they start up about how their PC is incompatible with the latest version of Fruity Loops they downloaded…but you love them.
They’re the recording geeks in your life and you find yourself needing to shop for one. Whether it’s a birthday, graduation or holiday gift, you know that socks, a sweater or even an MP3 player just won’t cut it. Your geek deserves to light up like everyone else and gift cards are just too impersonal. So, as my gift to all of the recording geeks who have gone without when there is a celebration, I bring you these ideas:
Buyers on a Budget
If you really love your geek, the sooner you accept that a $100 gift is a budget gift, the better. And if a hundred bucks sounds like a decent price for you, congratulations. You can afford to buy your geek something useful.
However, don’t despair if you really can’t afford the full $100. CD Rom discs, re-writable DVRs and USB cords are each under a hundred and are widely useful in extra quantities for any electronics lover.
Microphones are a great way to go for a hundred dollar budget. The Ball Dynamic Microphone made by Blue Microphones is actually a very good deal for what it is. This microphone can help out a geek in a pinch when they find that their usual mic has suffered liquid damage or a cut in its cord. The Blue Ball Dynamic Mic has been well rated despite its inexpensiveness and has surprisingly decent sound.
Musicians and recording specialists alike need to keep their data portable, which makes a flash drive a great gift. Even if your geek already has a flash drive, another will still come in handy and says that you’ve been paying attention. For around a hundred dollars, you can get an 8GB flash drive from Best Buy. If you’re willing to spend an extra twenty, get a decent name brand 8GB drive, like SanDisk, Sony or Kensignton.
Lastly, for about a hundred bucks the Sony MDR-7506 studio headphones will delight your recording geek. These inexpensive and cutting edge headphones feature the closed-ear design that hugs the ear to reduce external noise interference, gold connectors, copper cord and a case for protection.
A Few Hundred Bucks, a Lot of Thanks
If you’ve got more than just a $100 to spare, your gift just got a lot better. For around $300 you can get your recording musician the Cakewalk Sonar 7 software. With Cakewalk, your gift receiver will be able to mix, record and edit their work with this user-friendly program.
The Alesis MultiMix 8 professional mixer is another great idea for the home recorder. This bad boy is around $300 and features 2 1/4 inch line inputs, 100 preset effects, 4 mic lines, a 3 band EQ per channel and it’s compatible for both Mac and PC users.
The Whole Shabang
For around $2000 to $3000 you could set your professional recording specialist up with a Macbook Pro. These exquisite computers run the OS X, Apple’s most recent operating system and they come with some of the most advanced Apple software.
If you want to buy the ultimate in recording gifts, the Sound Master Recording Engineer School is a specialized program for those who plan to make careers of their recording passions and talents. It was established in 1972 and sports some of the most modern studios and equipment. For more information, visit www.soundmaster.edu.
The Los Angeles Recording School is another awesome choice. It was established in 1985 and offers cutting edge classes taught by industry professionals. It’s located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and offers plenty of information at www.recordingcareer.com.
