Home recording studio
Home recording studio,
where to start?
Familiarize yourself with the most important elements of a home recording studio.
The optimal preparation of the room and equipment for home conditions allows for trouble-free work and focuses only on the process of creation. That is why many musicians and producers – including well-known ones – work on their ideas in the privacy of their homes. It helps them to record what they expect to get in the studio with greater awareness and focus on the mastering mix under the supervision of a professional. Of course, some traces created at home may turn out to be so good that they will be used in the final material.
The history of sound recording
The history of sound recording dates back to 1860 when one printer and bookseller named Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville recorded a song with a device he invented. The next step is the famous phonograph created by Thomas Edison and demonstrated in 1877 that really began a new chapter in the history of recording sound waves. The entire 20th century is a constant striving to improve the quality and mobility of equipment but also simplifying the recordings’ edition.
The real breakthrough is the end of the 20th century and it is continuing up to this day – together with the development of digitization, the Internet and mobile devices. Even at the beginning of the 1990s working in a professional studio was based solely on analog devices. This meant that the development of the so-called home recording and access to these kinds of places were logistically and financially constricted.
The first computers and sound cards definitely stood out from professional devices in terms of quality. However, today the situation has changed immeasurably. There are many devices and programs that allow you to make high-quality recordings in your own home and don’t cost an arm and a leg. I will try to briefly describe what is crucial to achieve good home recording results.
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Room
A well-adapted room is the core from which we should start. Unfortunately, here we usually encounter the first problem – namely in home conditions we are mostly limited by the size of the room, the material from which the walls are made and by its dimetric shape. I really encourage you to read articles about acoustics and the properties of sound waves.
The most important principle is the dependence of the wavelength on the frequency height. In general – the lower frequencies we generate the longer the wave will be. It means that in the case of a small room this frequency and each one below it will bounce off our walls … This will cause a rumble or a standing wave effect that makes it difficult to assess all low frequencies in our mix. How to fix it? In home conditions, the best solution would be trying to make the room soundproof. There are many so-called acoustic pyramids in different sizes.
You can also get corner panels at a reasonable price and put the corners of the walls. It is worth investing in it and to start from this point because the effects will be very audible. I recommend buying several panels of different thicknesses. The largest (distracting) pyramids will show their full
potential being placed in the front of the stage monitors (behind our back). The smaller ones can be laid just behind the stage monitors. If you use the subwoofer and it is placed next to the wall you can also try to muffle it right behind it. If you have a window in the room curtains will definitely be a great solution – the thicker the better. An underfelt or a carpet on the floor will also be a very good option.
If you already have a well-adapted room you can go one step further and start completing the equipment. For home recording you will need:
- computer
- software
- interface (sound card), microphone and midi instrument (optionally)
- stage monitors
Computer
I assume that nowadays everyone owns and uses a computer. At the beginning, you should ask yourself whether you will be using the computer to work only with audio files (e.g. recording vocals for an incidental music) or to work with virtual instruments. If our recording is limited to audio recordings then every relatively modern computer (with an external sound card – an interface) should be able to handle it. If we want to use virtual
instruments the matter gets complicated and the prevailing principle is that the sooner the better. The absolute minimum is a 4 core processor, 16 Gb Ram and an SSD drive.
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Software
There are loads of free and great software for recording, mixing and mastering. There is also a huge amount of virtual instruments from analog to synthesizer (sounding really great) – and that’s what I recommend to start with. Many prized producers use programs such as “Reaper” for sound recording and processing. The basic version is free. You can also search for competitive programs. I encourage you to browse the current promotions, especially the audio interfaces – which you have to buy anyway and paid programs (e.g. Cubase) are often added to them in the basic version!
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Interface
It will be the heart of your home studio. Integrated sound cards presented in computers, especially in laptops are not suitable for professional work with sound. In terms of budget the best option is to buy a USB-connected card. Buying such a card you have to be sure that it has a microphone input (xlr interchangeable with a large jack input), the ability to turn on phantom (48v), 2x xlr outputs or 2x large jack outputs, a headphone output and a large stereo jack. If it has more options (e.g. 2 microphone channels) it is of course even better. The amount of money that you should spend on the interface that will serve you well for a long time is about PLN 350-500 (e.g. Behringer UMC, Focusrite Scarlett).
This sound card will immediately be your “mixer” in the studio. Even if you only work with virtual instruments the day will come when the possibility to connect a microphone or an external instrument (bass, guitar) will be an invaluable plus.
The microphone is optional – if you are planning to record vocals or other acoustic instruments that require a microphone it will be an essential purchase. There are a lot of microphones on the market – a capacitive microphone will work best for your studio (it requires 48v phantom power, so it’s important that the interface has such a possibility!). Regarding prices, it all depends on your budget. However, I recommend recognized companies in the music industry because more expensive microphones will guarantee the appropriate quality. These are for example: Audio Technic (at 2020, 2030), Rode (nt1) or AKG (p 120).
Connecting a midi keyboard to a computer will be necessary if you plan to work with virtual instruments. The cheapest drivers can be purchased for nearly one hundred PLN. Before you go to the store, think whether you already have a synthesizer, a digital piano or an old keyboard? Check if there is a midi output. If so just add a USB midi cable / adapter, connect it to a computer and everything should work properly. Working even on an old Casio or Roland keyboard will be much more convenient than working on the cheapest new, tiny keyboards …
Sound monitoring
Sound monitoring is the last element necessary in our work. Generally, we can divide it into sound monitors and headphones. Each of these solutions have its advantages and disadvantages.
Sound monitors.
This is a very important element and usually even more than others in the recording studio. The principle of operation and purpose of professional studio monitors is simple: show us the bare truth about what we do with sound. If we use special effects then the smallest movements should be heard. The listening session must be as linear as possible – equally throughout the whole band, nothing raised (e.g. bass) and sound not “embellished”. Of course, this is the guiding rule – as you know each company has its own patents and the nature of the game but the goal is similar – to play as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, this is related to the high cost of professional equipment. Good monitors can cost even up to tens of thousands PLN and this is their biggest disadvantage. However, a definite plus is the fact that we can sit many hours in front of the monitors without straining our hearing and they give us a lot of control over the appropriate spatialization of subsequent traces. Ordinary home loudspeakers (e.g. computer or hi-fi speakers) will not work well for work, as they tend to distort and color the sound. Of course, they will be most useful as an additional source of control for our recording but not in the process of creating a mix. We have a whole range of companies and models to choose from. Search forums, read about cheaper monitors and try to choose something. On the other hand, if your budget does not allow you to buy reasonably good monitors try:
Headphones
invest in headphones. This is a solution that will solve some problems with a limited budget. First of all, good headphones that play evenly in the band and are suitable for a professional mix are much cheaper than a stage monitor. Secondly, there is no problem with the acoustics of the room and thirdly, you can work even at night without disturbing others. Of course, this solution is not without its drawbacks. In headphones hearing gets tired much faster and thus the ability to assess the correct use of tools in the mix. Another thing is the fact that the sound directly reaches our ears so headphones do not have the “space” of loudspeakers that gives us a slightly different psychoacoustic experience. The ideal solution is to use stage monitors and headphones. If your budget is limited I would bet on good headphones. In the studio world (don’t be confused with hifi here!) popular companies and models that are standard in the creation of professional headphones are Bayerdynamic (the entire DT series), AKG (e.g. k 240 or higher models) and Sennheiser (HD series with the famous HD 600 ).
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