Home Based Recording

Whether your space for a budget recording studio is essentially in your home or in your garage or in a small commercial space, this article is primarily for fashioning a music studio that uses athe least gear.

The most budget-friendly way to record has become the employment of a computer and software programmes. I would recommend Apple’s Logic 9 which comes bundled with a program devoted to the creation of music. ( The program only runs on an Apple platform. ) Not only is it able to record live performances but it includes several software instruments : piano, organ and several great sounding synths. Logic nine also has two other rather unique items – a fully functioning sampler which simply can turn recorded sounds into a playable instrument of your own making. Logic nine also comes stuffed with loops ; everything from drum beats in every style possible to orchestral fragments to sound fx and lots more. These loops will mechanically adjust to your selected tempo also. For more information – go to the Apple link and check out all of the features. The truth is you do not want an array of synthesizers and samplers rigged with midi wires which is mostly a headache in the end.

The second thing to consider is the digital to analog converter that transfers the analog sound waves in to a digital format that your computer can understand – and back out of the PC so you can hear what you have recorded. Most computers have a converter but they are inferior to several “outboard” and cheap converters on the market. The best ones to my mind are manufactured by Apogee. They’re also fully integrated with the Logic program. If you’re counting on doing just overdubs one track at a time then the “Duet” is the best bang for the buck. The next which is also made by Apogee is the “Ensemble” which has eight channels vs only two on the “Duet”. If you are planning on recording a band you would obviously need more than 2 channels for individual micing of instruments.

Of course you will need microphones and stands.(Check out great deals on microphones!) The best ones for vocals in the recording studio are the cardioid condenser mics. You can buy fairly good ones for under $200, although the range goes up to $8000. ( For condenser mics you will need ghost power which is basically included with many converters with input boxes. ) For instrument micing you can use dynamic mics which are not as sensitive as the condenser mics. The rule for mic placement and as well as all things audio is – experiment until you like the way it sounds.

You will also need studio monitors that hook up to your converters and at least two pairs of headphones for doing any overdubs. I recommend powered monitors as they’re quiet and you do not want the effort of having another power amplifier. The Yamaha powered NS10s are good – but let your ears be the judge. Essentially you want a flat response to get an unhyped picture of the music when mixing and forceful enough to not distort when played back at high volumes.

lastly it’ll be obligatory in most cases to treat the walls of the recording and mixing space to reduce the room tone ( i.e, any live echos or reverberation, irrespective of how short the reverb time looks to be ). This important detail will affect the picture of your recording. The surfaces of your walls will often need something to moisten those artifacts. Foam panels are one solution, covering roughly thirty percent of the surfaces. Another very cost effective solution is the utilization of egg cartons to make the surfaces irregular and also absorbent of the sound waves.

I would like to conclude with a note about computers. The more powerful the processor the better. You’ll need the most RAM that you can afford. This will insure that you will have enough power to run the various synthesizers and effects without frustrating. It’ll also allow more tracks to be recorded simultaneously.

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