home recording studio basics
"how to setup your own simple home recording station!"
Setting up your own home recording station can be a pretty complex task,
but if you are up for the job it has some great advantages in the end.
Every home recording studio should include the following basic elements:
Computer (basic huh?!?)
Sound Card (preferably with PL and XLR capabilities)
Microphone connected to soundcard
Sound editing software (cubase, sonar)
Cables to connect everything together.
Mixer --- recommended
Monitor speakers --- recommended
Condenser microphone --- recommended
Home Recording Computer
The most basic element in this whole bundle of joy, the good news is that it shouldn't
cost too much these days to get a solid computer which will perform well and fit your
home recording needs.
Keep in mind that stronger machines give you the ability to add more tracks and effects
to your mix
Basic requirements for a home recording computer:
Pentium 4 - 1.4GHz CPU or equivalent
Windows XP any edition is acceptable
1 Gigabyte of RAM - recommended 2 Gigabytes
60 gigabyte of hard drive space - recommended 120 Gigabytes
Home Recording Sound Card
There are many home recording sound cards on the market today, for almost every budget.
In order to build a good home recording studio we will need a solid sound card (ex. echo Mia)
A fit sound card should contain the following:
Atleast 2 Input / 2 Output PL jacks
Atleast 1 XLR jack (not required if you have a mixer with XLR on board)
Atleast 24bit recording capabilities.
Phantom power (not required if you have a mixer with phantom power abilities)
There are two types of sound cards:
Onboard Sound Cards - a PCI card which is installed on the motherboard of your computer
Exterior Sound Cards - connected to your computer via USB or Firewire
The main difference between the two is that the exterior version is alot more mobile.
but both are just fine for the job...
Home Recording Microphone
A good quality microphone is an essential feature in a good quality home recording studio.
There are two main types of microphones:
Dynamic Microphone
Condeser Microphone (requires XLR jack and Phantom Power)
Condenser microphones are actually amplified dynamic microphones
this gives them the ability to pick up more sound, and because of that it is recommended
that you use them in acoustic prepared environments. (see more info)
Dynamic microphones offer a smaller range of sound quality, but in most cases it is a
prefered option if you do not own a proper acoustic environment. (see more info)
I myself work with Rode NT1000 - you can check out some of my recordings here
Home Recording Software
There are a few good home recording software on the market today... you will need
a software that will allow you to :
Record multiple tracks
Use effects (Dxi or Vst - more info)
Have MIDI capabilities - for using sound samples --- recommended
I don't really know alot about Cubase. rumors say it is the biggest home recording software
around, I myself record using Sonar 7 - its a solid system with everything you need.
but then again every music software which has the features talked about earlier
is just fine.
Home Recording Mixer
With a mixer you can record several tracks all at once. it is a recommended upgrade
if you are planning to record drum kits or something that requires multiple track
live recordings.
I use Yamaha MG10/12 - it has been a loyal friend in my studio for about three years
still working well
Home Recording Monitor Speakers
Now look, I can't say that recording without monitor speakers is impossible... but whenever
you have some spare time, go visit the nearest home recording shop and get an idea
what it sounds like... its a good upgrade if you have the budget.
