How to Make a Home Studio

Home recording studios are on the rise. It’s possible for amateur and career musicians to outfit a home studio so it can compete with expensive pro studios. Musicians of all stripes want a place they can lay down tracks any day of the week, rather than having to reserve studio time. There’s a lot to choose: here’s a primer.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Multitrack recorder
• Microphones
• Headphones
• Monitors
• Mic stands
• Cables

1. 

   Set a budget. Some high-tech home studios may look no different than standard pro studio: with expensive wood paneling, separate rooms for recording drums or vocals, and more. Other people want to set up a rudimentary home studio in the corner of the living room. Both are possible.

2. 

   Get a recording interface. Two choices: hardware or software. You can get a 16 track reel to reel, hard drive recorder, 24 track recorder, and others. For a software recorder, you’re going to need a separate interface.

3. 

   Determine the number of inputs needed. Whether you’re recording on the computer or a hardware interface, make sure to have an interface with enough inputs. For instance, if you’re going to be recording live with a four piece band, you’re going to need separate inputs for each instrument and mics.

4. 

   Get quality microphones. The best room and 24-track recorder won’t sound very good with terrible microphones. Mics might be the most important consideration. There are a lot of good condenser mics on the market that aren’t too expensive. If you’re recording drums, you’ll want a separate bass drum mic. Large diaphragm mics are recommended for recording vocals.

5. 

   Get good headphones and monitors. This one’s sometimes overlooked—better-quality headphones will give you a more realistic representation of your recording sounds. A high-quality pair of monitor speakers will also play songs exactly as they were recorded, without any additional EQing.

6. 

   The accessories: mic stands and durable, high-quality cables with no distortion, any additional guitar/drum/synthesizer effects you might require.

Tips & Warnings

• If you’re going with a hardware recorder, see if it’s compatible with popular recording software, such as Pro Tools, or vice versa. You might want to expand in the future.
• Don’t bug the neighbors. Soundproof your studio so you can record any hour of the day.

[mesopotamian]

on 9/27/2009 thankkkkkkkkk great article

[killyrtv]

on 5/15/2008 I use the PreSonus Firepod, 8 awesome preamps connected directly to your computer via firewire, giving you full instantaneous multitrack capability for 400$.

[IKanRecordU]

on 2/29/2008 it all depends on what plat form your using and what you are shooting for as to what you are recording/mixing. Are you shooting for professional sounding tracks,,,do you need something that can handle the sample rate???? Since I'm frugal at the moment,,,I'm using a normal M-Audio Mini for my interface with a hand-me-down sound card,,,,can get a great "Lo-Fi" sound on the guitar

[ambientdreams]

on 8/30/2007 Hi Henry,
Thanks for the article! I have a question to ask...what soundcard do you suggest for a home studio setup. Is M-Audio advisable or should one go for a little expensive ones like MOTU?