Expand your DAW to 16 inputs
The biggest frustration of many Digidesign 001/002 and MOTU 828/896/2408 is the limit of 8 inputs. What many people don't realize is that these devices can easily be expended to 16 inputs. Focusrite, Presonus, RME, Apogee and M-Audio each make units that connect to the above interfaces over ADAT Lightpipe and add 8 more channels and preamps. Starting at just $699, there is no easier way to expand your studio.

Control Surfaces - Make Mixing Fun Again
The best parts of digital audio? Affordable, convenient and a wealth of great sounding options. The worst part? Mixing with a mouse. Tired of not being able to move two, three or four faders at once? Tired of bad ergonomics? Tired of staring at a screen when you're trying to be creative? You can change all of that. Control surfaces let you work faster and more creatively. Get back to the feel of analog boards, but keep the convenience of automation with motorized faders. Control levels, panning, plug-in parameters, transports and many other features without ever needing to touch a mouse. Digidesign, Mackie, Tascam and M-Audio make great control surfaces starting at $1149.

Acoustical Treatment - Cheaper Than You Think
The biggest problem facing home studios is the home itself. No matter how great a recording system you have, you are still at the mercy of your room's acoustics. Small rooms in particular have many early reflections that create a world of problems. When recording, they make things sound boxy and unnatural. They can also cause some frequencies to either disappear or become overbearing, making it very difficult to capture great sounds. When mixing, bad sounding rooms make it impossible to accurately judge EQ, levels and reverbs.

People will regularly drop a thousand dollars on a microphone, preamp or compressor, but make the mistake of ignoring this critical step in the chain. Generally this is because they believe the cost of treating a room to be prohibitive. Fortunately, it is actually cheaper than most people realize. Primacoustic kits feature everything you need to properly treat a room and start at $739 for a 12' x 12' room and only $449 for a 6' x 3' booth. Forward Acoustics sells individual panels and gobos starting at $89. For well under a thousand dollars you can make what may be the most significant improvement to the quality of your recordings and improve the sound of the microphones and instruments you have already invested in.

Notation
Today's notation software is more powerful than ever. For those who havn't upgraded in years, a wealth of powerful new features exist in programs such as Sibelius 5, Finale 2008, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, Cubase 4 and Photoscore Pro. Each of these software packages brings something unique to the world of notation. With features such as integrated video playback, sheet music scanning and the ability to learn notation for rare instruments, your workflow can be made faster and easier.

Sound Libraries
Sound quality is everything. Gone are they days of cheesy sounding sample libraries. Vienna Symphonic Library, NI Kontakt, NI Acoustic Piano, Ivory and more provide extremely realistic orchestras, pianos and percussion. These libraries let you create professional sounding recordings or hear more accurately what your piece will sound like when performed live.

Realistic not your thing? Try Spectrasonic Atmosphere, NI Reaktor and NI Absynth where strange worlds and haunting sound design await.

Scoring History: Dirk Campbell's Origins Sample Library
The creator of the popular World Winds sample library, Dirk Campbell, brings us a new production that journeys to a place where no one has yet traveled. Deep into the sonic terrain of worlds past, Origins is an exhaustive collection of authentic, atmospheric historical sounds that will add color to any composer's palette. Along with a huge collection of multisamples presented in a variety of different dynamics and articulations, the library features a large number of expressive phrases and performances. Origins' vivid, dramatic samples promise to add sonic and musical interest to historical and archaeological productions, film scores (especially Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror), World Music soundtracks, Left-Field rock and pop, creative remixes and any recordings that require imaginative sound design and innovative textures. Many of the sounds in this collection are available for the first time in any sample library.

Post Production on a Budget
Need a full-fledged post system but can't afford Pro Tools HD? Get DV Toolkit 2 for Pro Tools LE. DV Toolkit adds support for SMPTE Time Code + Feet and Frames, OMF, AAF, MXF, MP3, DigiBase Pro and up to 48 stereo tracks. It also comes with TL Space Native Edition convolution reverb, Synchro Arts VocAligh Project time-alignment tool and DINR LE noise reduction.

To take things a step further, add a Canopus ADVC-55 and you can now output the video track to an NTSC display. Perfect for voice over/ADR, freeing up display real estate or impressing clients.