The Budget
Actually, there was no 'budget' to speak of. I have simply added gear and equipment to my setup as I went along. Generally, if I needed the item, and I had the money to buy it, I did so.

Originally, I started recording on my previously antiquated computer system that consisted of a Celeron 433Mhz processor, 10Gb hard drive, generic audio card, 256Mb RAM, and not much else worth talking about. 

It quickly became apparent that the processor was just not capable of doing the job I wanted it to do. I estimated that out of every hour I spent in front of the computer recording and processing my sound files, 10-15 minutes was lost waiting for the Celeron to crunch the data so I could move on to the next task. In addition, the hard drive was almost full anyway with dozens of applications and thousands of files, most of which I hadn't looked at or needed in years. 

Friends, life's too short. An upgrade was essential.

Since the BENQ G774 flat screen monitor was brand new (my old 15" monitor having passed over several months before), and since I had all the software I needed already, I decide to buy a new 'box', and reinstall all my software from scratch. I had been adding gear and equipment over a period of six months or so, as it became obvious I couldn't do the job with the substandard stuff I already had. 

To cut a long story short, and get to the real reason you are reading this, here is a complete list of all my gear and the amount I paid for each item. Note: all dollar amounts are in Australian dollars. 

Also be aware that some of these items were bought second hand or marked down from their standard recommended retail price (R.R.P).

	Computer System (inc. monitor) NOTE: Since my initial purchase of this off the shelf system, I have upgraded RAM from 256MB to 512MB, replaced the CD burner with a DVD burner, and add an extra 80GB hard drive.	$900
	Behringer EURORACK UB1002 mixer R.R.P: $159.00 Photo courtesy of BEHRINGER  You can read about this little mixer here...	$136 Sale item
	Assorted cables and leads	$100
	Casio MZ2000 Keyboard Photo courtesy of CASIO  This keyboard is no longer in production but second hand models should still be available online or through other sources.	$995 S/hand
	Keyboard stand (recyled ironing board)	$0.0
	Casio CTK-551 Keyboard Photo courtesy of CASIO  You can read about this keyboard here...	$240 S/hand
	Keyboard stand (s/hand ironing board)	$3
	Audio-Technica AT3035 condensor mic R.R.P. $AU595.00	$325 Sale item
	Digitor Headphones	$49
	Alesis M1 Active Bi-amplified Reference Monitors These sell for as much as $AU1800.00 Images courtesy of ALESIS  You can read about these monitors here...	$750 Sale item
	Two, height adjustable stands for the Alesis monitors. NOTE: I bought a couple of secondhand slide projector stands from a camera shop to hold these monitors.	$100
	TOTAL COST AUSTRALIAN:	$3600.00

In addition to the above, I already had a Shure SM58 vocal mic; a Takamine acoustic guitar; a 100 watt amplifier; and a ZOOM 505 guitar effects peddle (all of which were bought secondhand). Since I already had these items, in some cases for many years, they have not been included in my 'studio' setup costs.

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