I knew when I posted that last entry that I should've included some info about what I use, but I felt like the post was already getting a bit lengthy. So, what am I using these days?
A/D Converter: RME Fireface 800.
A cheaper alternate with fewer channels would be the Fireface 400 or even the Apogee Duet. These would be ideal for single instrument recordings.
Monitors: JBL LSR4326's.
Room Treatment: Here's one small example of a cheap treatment for my control room: http://jeremylarson.typepad.com/jeremy_larson/2011/04/control-room-fix-with-re-purposed-materials.html I record all of my string parts in the control room, so the acoustics are important.
Preamps: I've used a ton of different pre's, but I really like the Tube Tech CL1B . It's kind of pricey, but I'm not going to go into a post about "best preamp for under $1000". I'll save that for another time. As I mentioned before, if you get the converter, room, and monitors right, the mic's and pre's become less important (by the way, when you get those things right, the mic's and pre's also become much more efficient!!).
Microphones: Again, I use different mic's on different things. I use a Neumann M-149 for strings, but I'm not completely in love with it for vocals. But it works. I will mention, that the Peluso Mic's have been getting RAVE reviews for years. My good friend Ryan Strong has one that he swears by, though I've never used one. They're fairly cheap, they look cool, and it's hard to find a negative review on them.
This was not really meant to be a "budget" post, but I will probably do one of those soon as well. And in case you were wondering, I'm not getting paid for all of these plugs and links:)
Thanks for reading.
Jeremy