How can I improve my sound for around $300 - $500

Question

My simple setup is this...
iMac G5
Presonus FireBox preamp / interface
Rode NT1-A condencer mic
Audio Technica AT2020 condencer mic
Sure SM57 dynamic mic
monitor w/ my home stereo system with Cambridge SoundWorks
Classic Series Model Six Two-Way Bookshelf Speakers (8inch woofers)
I record acoustic guitar with the condencer mics and electric guitar with my 70s Fender Princeton amp, clean with the condencer mics and if I am using a overdrivesound on the guitar I often use the SM57 mic.
I only record guitar and bass guitar, no vocals. I use the built-in soft synths and loops in LE as well.
So, as you can see this is a "low end" budget system.
Over the July 4th weekend I had the pleasure of recording with a Jazz quartet at a very high end studio in New York City. The owner (an old friend of mine) had serious gear (Neve mixing board, about 10 qute old Neumann mics, tons of old analog tube outboad gear (compressors, preamps etc..). He had both Pro Tools and a 24 track tape machine. Our budget for the recording was low so we recorded on to Pro Tools.
The sound was great to say the least.
My question to you all is........
With my limite finances, where should I spent next on my gear.
-Real Monitor Speakers instead of my home stereo system? (I was thinking of powered monitors perhaps)
-Some type of outboard gear? (channel strip, mic preamp, compressor) Are the preamps in the FireBox good enough for my level? I notice that ART and Berhinger have low cost outboard gear. Would they help?
-A better mic?
-What abouit a small mixer to perhaps run some outboard gear through or run LE through to perhaps warm up the sound a bit?
Generally I have been quite pleased with the guitar sounds I get at the moment with the above equipment. But when I saw all the gear at the big studio I started thinking about what little improvements I might be able to make in my setup. My friend who owned the studio in NYC did make use of lots of the outboad gear.
I've been reading several articles on the Tweekheadz site.
http://www.tweakheadz.com/
And I've been learning how to get a good sound with what I have.
Thanks for your help,
Morris Acevedo
iMac G5   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   1.5 gigs ram

Answer 1

Definitely monitors. It doesn't matter how
well your room is tuned, nor what kind of mics or
mixer you have, if the actual speakers are not up to
par. If your speakers are putting out inaccurate
sound, then you'll never get a good mix. Not to say
that a well-tuned room isn't well worth the price.
I'm just saying that if you have to choose one or the
other, go with the monitors. Then, when your budget
allows, tune your room, or get Neumanns, or
whatever.
But, get powered speakers, so that you don't have to
put the signal through a crappy amp before it gets to
the speakers.
For under $500, I'd probably suggest the
M
ackie HR624. Sweetwater is listing them
her
e for $449.99. They're good speakers for the
price, they're powered, and they'll definitely give
you a more accurate picture of what you're doing than
a home stereo system, which is build more for
"excitement" than studio accuracy.
Edited to add: P.S., if you can afford an extra $150,
I'd recommend stepping up to the Mackie HR824, which
is a little bit bigger speaker. Sweetwater sells them
for a little over $600.00
Wow, I couldn't disagree more. I'll take a good room before half-as*ed monitors any day.
Monitors are CRUCIAL for good mixes, so I would save my money and get something that will last me for 20 years or more. Don't skimp on analog components (preamps). Don't buy cheap transducers (mics, speakers).
A $500 input into most rooms will make a world of difference, and will improve the music SO much more than a pair of HR624s, which, while not a bad set of speakers by any means, are not something I'd consider as my "20 year" set of monitors. By contrast, those MiniTraps will ALWAYS be useful.