Hi my name is Jacob and I'm new to the board, this is actually the first of what I hope to be many post about dance music. I've been DJing for several years and want to make the move to production and playing live with ableton. I've been researching what to get and there are just to many options so I was hoping one of you could help point me in the right direction. I have a budget of $4000 US.

If there is already an existing thread that covers this please direct me to it. back to my rambling....

From what I've read and correct me if I'm wrong but the new imac 24" 3.06 dual/4 GB Ram would be more than sufficint as my computer. Some people have told me that going with this option forces me to use an exteranl card (understandably) and that I may loose sound fidelity. Is this true? If I go with this option it puts me at 1500$ left. I'm not exactly sure where to go from here.

I know an external sound card/midi interface is next on the list but I'm not even sure where to start. Any Suggestions? M Audio, Pre Sonus?

What would be the next to focus on? Seeing that I only have a 2 channel mixer would getting a 4 channel zone or pioneer be the logical step or do I dare say a Korg Xero 8. I know that doesn't relate to production but I want to be able to play ableton/vinyl/cd's.

I have 8" event 20/20 monitors that I use for my dj set up that I will use for production as well. Ultimently I want everythign inter connected.

I don't really plan on playing out to much here in San Diego (Promoters check how many friends you have on myspace before they listen to your demo, true story) so mobility isn't a consideration for any of the equipment.

TO recap: imac 24" yes/no external sound card/midi interface : suggestions? Mixer/midi controller?

My Goal: to make quality music and have the capability to dj with the same set up.

I still plan on researching on my own but find myself in a time crunch to use or loose this money and after reading some post here see that there is a wealth of knowledge on this site.

I very much look foward to your advice, guidence and to being part of this community.

FYI arnie palmer recommended me to the site but I failed to post it during my set up.

Re: Building a studio

i just purchased a presonus Firestudio project and I believe I should never need to upgrade after this purchase. It is very nice with plenty of ins and outs.

Re: Building a studio

Thank you for the reply! [COLOR=white]I realize now I should have spent a little more time researching before posting the "hey what equipment should I get for a studio post." I've come to a decision of how I want to use this set up initially and that dictates what I need. I definitely want to be able to dj with ableton and work my way into production. I’m going to have to get a new mixer to accomplish this, my vestax pmc 25 is not going to cut it. So I’m thinking pioneer 800 or a zone 92. Most likely the Pioneer because of cost, LOVE the Allen and Health though. This cuts into my budget but I there should be enough to cover a a product like the PreSonus you mentioned. By the way is the model you were referring to [/font][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][URL]http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-FireStudio-Project?sku=241723[/URL] [/COLOR][COLOR=white]Do you think this might be overkill for someone like myself just starting out?[/COLOR]

Re: Building a studio

the djm 800 is sweet, but for almost the same stuff you can spend a bit less and get the 700 series...it just doesn't have all the same effects parameters as the 800 does.

and you are welcome

Re: Building a studio

I'm trying to decide between the 700 and the zone 62.

Re: Building a studio

i'd go with the 700 when it comes to that. I don't think the 62 is nearly as good as the 92...but the 700 is just as good as the 800, just without the effects that make you seem like James Zabiela.

Just a thought.