The computer has changed a lot of things in our lives. Listening to or composing music on a computer is easy for us. Gone are the days when attempting to record your own songs was more like a nightmare for you. The latest computer technology made it even better to allow home-based music recording studios. I am a passionate musician and have already built my home recording studio since 2009.
When I started my home recording studio, there was not much help or info available for me to properly set up that studio. For the time being, I have learned many things after wasting a lot of money to improve my recording setup. I am sharing my personal experience and recommendations for you, so you won’t lose much money to get a proper recording studio built for you. Here is a list of equipment to get before you set up your home-based recording studio. Contents
Home Recording Studio Setup
A proper recording studio needs many things, therefore I would instead focus on keeping that list small, so it would be really cheap for starters.
- Computer
- Large Diaphragm Electret Condenser MIC
- Headphone
- Microphone Stand with Shock Mount
- Pop Filter for Microphone
- Audio Cables
- Audio Interface
- Recording Software
- Best Camera for YouTube (optional)
Home Recording Studio Equipment List
1. Recording Studio Computer for Home Recording Purposes
When you talk about computers for recording purposes, I would say that is the essential part of that recording studio, and you should not compromise on it. In the past, I used some low-profile computers for recording purposes and finally found out that was totally a waste. I would instead suggest you choose or build a custom computer with the minimum specifications given below.
- CPU speed 2.4 GHz (at least core i3 or upwards)
- RAM should be DDR3 and equal to or larger than 8MB, and 1600 BUS speed is recommended
- HDD should be 500GB or larger (I would prefer SSD instead)
- A Sound Card should be fine, whichever you have, We will be using an audio interface to get proper results
- The computer Monitor should be at least 21 inches large. Most of recording software require large screens to use that interface easily
2. Large Diaphragm Electret Condenser Microphone
Did you hear your own voice on your computer with an ordinary microphone and compared to the professionally recorded voices in studios? Yes, the more significant difference is made using Large Diaphragm electrode condenser Microphones. Those microphones were really costly in the past, and still, there are a lot of brands and models that are so pricey. Fortunately, some companies launched junior models too, which could work well for you. I am going to list down some microphones with good frequency response.
- BEHRINGER STUDIO CONDENSER MICROPHONE C-1
Price starts from USD 49.9 - Samson Meteor Mic USB Studio Microphone (Chrome) Price starts from USD 69.9 (My Favourite)
- CAD GXL2200SP Studio Condenser Mic Recording Pack Price starts from $112 USD
Price starts from USD 49.9
Price starts from USD 69.9 (My Favourite)
Price starts from $112 USD
Samson Meteor Mic is my favorite one since this is a USB microphone and does not require external phantom power. Especially when you use USB microphones, you will get low noise because the audio is converted from analog to digital and then it’s transmitted to the computer. So this type of microphone does not produce or pick noise from microphone cables.
3. Headphones for Studio Monitoring Purposes
I am personally not more specific about using certain headphones for studio recording monitoring. Since we are going to build a cheap home recording studio, I would recommend some low-price headphones that will let you hear the sound recorded by you, and that sound should be closer to reality. I use this Behringer HPS3000 Studio Headphones
headphone to monitor my audio recordings, so you can surely choose.
4. Microphone Stand with Shock Mount
You would probably put your microphone to a Microphone Stand. A shock mount should be placed on top of that microphone stand. The microphone should be put inside that shock mount. This will make it flexible in the sense that while recording, microphone stand vibration will not be recorded and will be skipped. You can surely find those things from Amazon or eBay for a few bucks.
5. Pop Filter for Microphone
A Pop filter is a fine cloth mesh screen. It is used as a screen to filter out consonant pressure waves. This means when you record your vocals and have high words like Shhh! phhhhh! etc. The pop filter will help you there. This filter reduces those voices and sighs from the recording. It also cleans the voice received through the microphone. This is a regular product; you can buy it from Amazon or wherever you want.
6. Audio Cables for Home Recording Studio
You surely need some high-quality cables to connect your microphone to the audio interface or your computer. Most of all cables may be used to transfer audio signals from the audio interface to the computer. Remember, low-quality cables will also make noise themselves as they could pick some radio signals from the air and can make noise out of them.
7. Home Recording Studio Bundle Pro Tools & Audio Interface for Recording
Suppose you are going to use your computer as a recording machine. In that case, You will probably need an interface that can receive audio signals and convert those signals to digital composite audio. There are lot of devices/interfaces available for that need. Some people use some special sound card inside the computer to use multiple inputs and high quality audio. Therefore, I rather use some external solution which works well for me. In short audio interfaces make life easy when you are building home recording studio.
- M-Audio M-Track Two-Channel Portable USB Audio and MIDI Interface
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2 In/2 Out USB Recording Audio Interface
8. Home Recording Studio Software for Music Recording
When you are ready with your hardware, it’s time to install recording software. It will let you record your audio onto your computer. There is a large variety of software available to accomplish this task. You should always see if the software allows you to edit your audio with the ease of a few clicks and if that is user-friendly. I use Garage Band since I am a MAC user. For Windows users, I list some other software used in professional sound recording studios.
Conclusion
Hence, setting up a home-based recording studio for your personal music creation can be as much cheaper as some passionate musician or singer can build it. It’s adorable to have your audio recording studio at home. You can record your music and upload it to social networks. If you are a professional musician or singer, you can also take your first mockup home. You can go to professional studios for the final recording if you need to.
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