Complete Home Music Recording Starter Kit, The: Create Quality Home Recordings on a Budget! By Buster Fayte; Published Oct 31, by Que.
Table of contents
- The 9 Home Recording Studio Essentials for Beginners
- Table of Contents
- How to set up a home recording studio
- CHAPTER 1: The 9 Home Recording Studio Essentials for Beginners
The truth is…a solid mic stand is one of the most worthwhile investments a new home studio can make. However, since mic stands can get pricey, and most beginners are on tight budgets…. Ear training software is definitely NOT one of the items normally included. Not now, not ever. As musicians, we learn to recognize notes , intervals , and chords. But as sound engineers, we learn to recognize bands of frequencies.
For more detail on this topic, check out this post:. Because just like with any hobby, by attempting too much too soon: It allows you to start ASAP with a minimal investment in both time and money. A Computer When starting a studio from scratch, the computer is the biggest expenditure by far. Ideally , you want the fastest one you can afford. Microphones As your studio matures over time… You will eventually amass a collection of dozens of different microphones, each for different purposes.
For now though, all your really need is 1 or 2 to get started. And the ones you choose will depend on the instruments you plan to record.
The 9 Home Recording Studio Essentials for Beginners
And in this post I reveal the best options for both: A Mic Stand While many beginners assume that all mic stands are the same… The truth is…a solid mic stand is one of the most worthwhile investments a new home studio can make. To see which ones I recommend, check out this post: For more detail on this topic, check out this post: Loving the content so far? Download the entire course and pay whatever you want. It also comes bundled with some great software from brands like PreSonus and iZotope.
There are also many dynamic microphones suitable for the beginning studio setup. The Shure SM58 is a good choice for vocals and will also serve double duty in live performance.
The Shure SM57 is a fixture in just about every pro recording studio for capturing instruments and vocals and is often used in both live and recording settings to mic guitar amp speakers. The Blue Spark SL Microphone provides classic, transparent sound and plenty of versatility, with a high-pass filter and dB pad, making it capable of accomodating loud vocalists, instruments or amplifiers with ease. To learn much more, read our expert Microphone Buying Guide. When you listen back to your recordings, you want the sound to be as accurate as possible so you know what you want to change in your mixes.
A good pair of studio headphones is often the most cost-effective option for beginners. Their sealed design prevents pre-recorded sound from leaking into the microphone as you monitor the backing track s while overdubbing new parts of the music. Studio headphones vary greatly in price. Plenty of good, accurate models are available within an affordable price range. Learn much more about choosing the right pair with our Headphone Buying Guide. The best way to get accurate playback is through speakers specifically designed for the job.
These speakers, referred to as studio monitors, come in different designs for different listening environments. In large studios—where the monitors might be positioned some distance from the recording engineer—mid-field or far-field monitors would be most appropriate, as they are designed to produce an accurate sound at a distance. Near-field monitors, on the other hand, are designed to be positioned directly in front of a listener, so they are the best kind to use in small home studios. Dig deeper with our Studio monitor buying guide. For a beginning recording engineer, a small set of near-field monitors designed for desktop use are a good option, as they fit take up little space while delivering an accurate representation of your recording.
Table of Contents
Can you mix using just headphones? Check out our tech tip!
Adding subwoofers for studio monitoring is not always a necessity for recording beginners. However, by adding a more accurate response at low frequencies, subwoofers can enhance the results of your mixes, no matter what type of music you are recording. Of course, if you are planning to record bass-heavy music, such as hip-hop, a subwoofer might be a more essential consideration.
To learn much more, read our Studio Monitors Buying Guide. In fact, there are some excellent standalone recorder options that provide great portability, extensive features, and excellent ease-of-use for very reasonable prices. Or, if you want a straightforward device for on-the-go field recordings, the Zoom H2n Handy Recorder is a perfect fit. The Zoom H6 Handy Recorder is a complete six-track recorder in a pocket-sized package. As an alternative to making individual selections, you may want to consider a recording package. These packages also save money on your total purchase price versus buying the separate components.
The On-Stage Stands Workstation is a good choice for the beginning studio, providing surfaces to hold your audio monitors, computer display and keyboard, and other recording gear. It can be assembled in two different ways to match your workspace and preferences. E-mail required, but will not display. In recent years, that has all changed. Computers and iOS devices for recording Nowadays, most recording setups are based around computers. I do my own recording and would like to collaborate with another musician in another town. What recorder should the other musician purchase that would be compatible to mine and allow transfer of music via smart card or CD.
Any information would be helpful.
How to set up a home recording studio
John engineer Joe Mohamed Fuard Ossen Lots of cool stuff any suggestions??? Richard Neal After recording my first mix I discovered the software won't allow me to edit effects that are added in pro tools. Can you recommend recording software that enables you to add effects for example reverb, and then edit them?
I have two guitars and two mics going thru it. I want to send the mix just one channel is fine to my iPad. What is the simplest way to do that, preserving the quality of the sound? Yamaha Joe Which type of mic i need to use for it? Condenser or dynamic mic?
CHAPTER 1: The 9 Home Recording Studio Essentials for Beginners
Condenser microphones require some kind of power, be it an internal battery rare or phantom power, which is an electrical current the is sent up the microphone cable from the unit preamp or mixer that it is plugged into. There are external phantom power modules, but your preference to use without a preamp or mixer would lead me to thing you may not want an external device between the microphone and the laptop.
John Neil I would probably be sending the finished songs to someone else to master. Don't know how to do any of this! I most likely would be sending the finished songs to someone else who could master since I don't know how to do any of this.. Wants to record the sound at the desk groupings with border microphones to minimize ambient sound. She is using an iPad to record so she needs the microphones to be bluetooth. Is there such a product out there?