Hey Guys, completely new here, but definately destined to stay considering the wealth of information here.

I'm Roo, a Classical Percussion Major at McGill University, and I'm doing serious research into building a recording studio next Fall. I've always been a musician by trade, and am currently working on solo material, but I've always been completely fascinated with how people like yourselves project and portray sound so beautifully.

I'm saving all $10,000CAD from my summer job to invest into new instruments and recording equipment.

Currently I'm looking into buying a new house here in Montreal, and will probably turn out being something between 1800-2200 sq. ft. with a large-as-possible basement for my studio plans.

So, budget-wise (after instrumental purchases) I plan to be left with $6000-$7000 to put to good use.

Because I'm completely new to this, and have absolutely NO recording experiences (except being recorded by someone else doing all the work), I'm finding it impossible to figure out exactly what quality of equipment I can afford, and actually require.

To give you an idea of what I plan to do with this:

I plan to renovate a future basement to suit a decent-sized rehearsal/recording studio. I want the recording equipment to cater to the following genres: Pop-Rock, Alt-Rock, Acoustic-Rock, Jazz (small combos), Funk, and last but not least Classical (small ensembles, solo recordings).
I want to build a medium-sized studio room for the ensembles, as well as a small room for vocal recordings. Outside, I'd like to have the mixer and moniters behind double-layered-glass looking on to both rooms.

Of course everything is pretty far off, however I want to be able to have an educated look into equipment to purchase so that I can make smart decisions about where the money goes.

If you might have some recommendations, taking into considerations my budget and plans (forget about construction costs for the moment), I would be extremely grateful.

Throw any questions you have at me Nice to meet you guys!!

- - - Roo