Pages: This section seeks to answer your question on how to build a home recording studio. I shall explain the process step by step and try to make everything very easy to understand. Just like you, I have asked that very same question – how to build a home recording studio – before. Well guess what. Building a home recording studio is not difficult at all. As someone who owns a small home studio himself, and who has helped others set up their own, I shall try to help you figure out what the process of building a home studio involves.
The Home Studio Revolution
You see, gone are the days when you needed to spend money on expensive multi-track recorders, outboard gear processors, mixdown machines, and tons of cables. If you’ve got the money and you want to go that way, that’s okay, but it’s not necessary. Today, your greatest expense is a computer or digital multitracker. They replace hundreds of functions that you would need separate hardware units for. Today, it’s more about software than hardware. Nearly everything takes place inside of your computer or multi-tracker.
Believe me when I say that you can easily rival the sound of big-time recording studios right at home, thanks to modern music studio software. And some of the big hits you hear on the radio were recorded in nothing but a musician’s or producer’s bedroom. With
- recording software (such as Cakewalk Sonar, Cubase SX, and Apple Logic)
- a good studio microphone,
- a preamp,
- a MIDI interface,
- an audio interface,
- as well as a pair of studio monitors,
you’re good to go. If you already own a computer, there’s not too much to spend.
To continue answering your question on how to build a home recording studio I shall now focus on the various pieces of recording studio equipment that you will have to buy.UPDATE:
Read about my current studio set-up.
How to build a home recording studio – Mac versus PC.
I guess the first question that folks always ask when purchasing a computer for recording is whether to choose a Mac or a PC.
There is a never ending debate among producers as to which is more suitable. Personally, it’s a debate I do not like to go into. Both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages. There is no definitive answer, and as far as I’m concerned you should use what you like.
PCs are cheaper than Macs of equivalent power and unlike Macs, they are up-gradable. So they’re cheaper both short and long term. If you want to save money this is the way to go.
Mac has better integration than PCs since Macintosh creates both the hardware and the software. PCs have a billion manufacturers but the operating system is made by a different company, so there is a lot of inconsistency. With Macs, you don’t have to worry about viruses and worms like you do with a PC. So in essence, with Macs there are less conflicts and this makes them more productive than PCs. You want me to tell you what to get? Sorry I can’t. To me it’s a pretty subjective field and it’s about what works for you. The bottom line is sound. And Macs do not sound better than PCs, neither do PCs sound better than Macs.
How to build a home recording studio – Choosing a powerful computer.
Whether you use a Mac or PC, the following is important. I just hope that the computer you’re reading this on (if it’s yours anyway) is not a cheap 20 gig computer. If so you will need a bigger hard drive. I suggest that you get one with at least 120 GB. The more gigabytes the better. The one I’m using comes with 160 GB. You should also buy as much RAM as possible – 512 MB should be a minimum. So if you can get a great deal on a large hard-drive, go for it.
Keep reading article:
How To Build A Home Recording Studio Page One.
How To Build A Recording Studio Page Two.
How To Build A Home Studio Page Three.
How To Build A Music Studio Page Four.
How To Build A Home Recording Studio Page Five.
Click here to check out my list of recommended products for songwriters and musicians.
Comments on How to Build a Home Recording Studio
Comment #1 (Posted by Vincent)
As a writer of many 100’s of songs and poems, a lot never published, I always wanted to record but felt too stupid. I am reading this and believe I am going to attempt to record a song or two. I applaud your huge efforts here. Thank you, sincerely.
Comment #2 (Posted by David LeRue)
Thank you so much for guidance. I am the lead singer in a band looking to record an album, and more or less, we want to record all of our stuff and pick and choose. Through our experiences (and bankers) we quickly learned $1500 could much sooner be invested in our own equipment. Thanks for all the help. Yours truly, Dave.
Comment #3 (Posted by Bluesbarn)
After reading the above, I got reminded of the troubles I had with recording. I used to record on a 16ch Fostex, and I still do sometimes because of it’s warm sound. But I got a bit modern too, so for demo’s etc. we now use a Phonix Mixer. It has all included for a few 100. Just record 16 tracks at the same time, put the firewire cable in your computer and it’s working! It’s an ideal solution, without any problems if you want to start recording.
Basic-Home-Recording-Studio.com
Learn how to build a basic home recording studio with information from www.basic-home-recording-studio.com.
Bedroom-Recording.com
This is a great site for learning about digital recording.