I'm glad that Richiebee is here to present the other side to the argument. There are people who probably shouldn't build their own computer. Of course, if a person is not capable of building a computer (from sheer lack of intelligence, aptitude, etc) I don't know how they are going to setup their own studio.
Setting up a home studio is fairly technical. You have to understand how to install drivers, uninstall drivers, contact tech support, install PCI devices, know how to backup your audio data, etc. This is stuff you have to deal with no matter if you are using a Dell or something you put together yourself. So if a person can not handle these sorts of technical issues, they probably will never get to the music part without paying someone else a premium to do it.
Walking into a pro studio and just producing generally requires very little technical knowledge. A pro producer can simply focus on music (and a pro producer is damn good at that!). The reason a pro producer can do this is because he, the label, or the band are paying $1,000 per day or more to use the facility and the facility already has techs, engineers, and guys who know how to do the technical stuff in order to get to the creative stuff. However, with specialization, requires enough talent to get the $$. So if you are not a good enough producer to convince a band to pay $1,000-5,000 per day for the room and then pay your wage on top of it, you are going to need to do a lot of "specialized' things yourself that maybe you could pay someone else to do.
- Sweeping Floors
- Booking Clients
- Wrapping Cables
- Dealing With Computer Issues, Drives, Harware, etc
- Troubleshooting Hardware
- Fixing Shockmounts
- Promoting Your Studio
- Reminding Your Clients Of A Date Beforehand
- Answering Email Leads
Your situation will dictate if all of these things are necessary, but none of them involve music. In most cases, someone has to do these if you are recording more than just yourself in a home studio until you prove yourself enough to charge enough to have someone else do at least some of these things.
Normally, I don't buy the argument that "It would be good for you learn how to do this". I hear that a lot from computer programmers when I need a web script. No, I don't to learn php. I need to pay you to do it. I need to focus on building up my site, (which is kind of like focusing on the music). The only problem is that web software generally either works or it doesn't. Computers have problems sometimes. What do you do in the middle of a session when the computer doesn't detech your soundcard? If you can't work your way out of that one, you are screwed. I think that building a computer is a necessary part of the job for many people who are knew to recording. Someone more experienced may decide to pay more money for their computer, but they also understand how to use it.
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I've not regretted the purchase of my current PC ever. It runs fast, quiet and is very stable. I put a lot of thought into the model that I bought. I did research and got a good deal. Could I have made it for less? Sure, but I wouldn't have the same peace of mind. I wouldn't have the same confidence in its stability.
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This is the difference in Richiebee and myself. Personally, I've never seen a shred of evidence that would even begin to convince me that a Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP, Emachines, etc is anywhere near "stable" especially when you start pushing them with audio.
I feel you get inferior components for subpar support. You pay double or more and most of that money is going to pay for some Superbowl commercial.
I would also argue that you'd have to spend about the same amount of time researching which piece of shit name brand computer to buy as you would selecting the components to build the computer yourself.
Again, there is no right or wrong here. But, in closing, if a person can not handle plugging 3 components into a circuit board, they probably aren't going to figure out how to plug a mic into a preamp, into a compressor either. They are pretty much the same difficulty.
Brandon