Many people are undertaking home audio recording for various reasons - some of them are professional musicians trying to save money, and some are just making their first steps into recording and songwriting. If you do things right, it isn't that hard to get started. Here are a few crucial items/things you need to do to start recording at home.
1. First and most important - treat the room acoustically. I can't stress enough, how important this is. You can spend all the money in the world for most expensive gear, but if your room sounds bad, your recordings will sound bad, that's it. There's plenty of advice all over the Internet on how to treat the room, look it up and get cracking - it is a really cheap way to dramatically improve your studio and your recordings!
2. Get a decent audio interface. If you are just starting out, don't go for a fancy expensive one, you won't hear the difference. Just get a good one, and pay attention on how many inputs/outputs you will need - for example, if you want to record an acoustic drum kit, get an interface with at least 6 mic inputs. That is much more important than all those "jitter protections" and other stuff audio interface manufacturers are trying to sell you.
3. Decent pair of near field monitors. Luckily, nowadays, they are selling really cheap and sound quite good. Take a CD you know really well, and go to audio store. Listen to your CD through all the monitors you can afford, because, to be honest, each persons ears are different. Important thing to listen for - can you hear everything clearly? That is very important. For studio monitors, you don't need overhyped bass or high end. You just need to clearly hear what is going on in the recording.
4. Microphones. Start by assessing what it is you will be recording. From my consulting experience, I know that most people who start recording at home either just want to record their guitar and their voice, or are making electronic music and just want to lay over some vocals. If you don't need any of that, it is possible that you don't need to buy a mic right now. For an acoustic guitar/vocals, there are plenty of inexpensive, good sounding condenser microphones you can pick up at Amazon for less than $200. Examples of this include Audio Technica 2035, a great sounding condenser mic. A classic microphone anyone should just have in their studio just in case is Shure SM57. There's a common belief in the recording field that you can record just about anything with it, and it still will sit right in the mix.
5. Software. I suppose everyone looking at home recording is thinking of using their computer for that, and you will need software. Almost every sound card on the market now has something bundled, but those usually are the Lite versions. I can really recommend an inexpensive, fully featured home recording solution, which has real power when we talk about audio recording - it's called REAPER. If you are into electronic music, look at Ableton Live or Reason.
This is about it - if you get those things (and I was being absolutely serious about treating your room acoustically - that IS the most important thing you can do if you want your recordings to sound good) you will be well on your way to make your first radio hit at home. Remember, that it takes practice and patience, but it is an awesome feeling - listening to a finished song, all done by yourself.
Larry Stefson is a consultant for all things related to audio recording, mostly working with people who are starting their home recording - either as a business or just for fun. Check out USB Audio Interfaces for recommended sound cards. If you need a MIDI keyboard or any other MIDI controllers, check out MIDI Controllers for reviews.
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