The first rule stops you from buying something with fifteen features when you already own something that has the three features you actually need. The second rule stops you from buying something cheap that will be obsolete or break down in one or two years.<\/p>\n
Computer<\/h3>\n
The hub of today’s home recording studio is almost always a computer. Unfortunately this is also the piece of equipment that is hardest to offer buying advice for. Windows based computers are varied in configurations and the combination of some hardware can result in instability.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Low price: The computer you already own – 0$<\/strong>
\nYou aren’t going to find a cheaper computer than the one that is already sitting on your desk. Seriously, your five year old computer probably has enough horsepower to get some basic tracks going. I started recording on my computer in 1996 with a Pentium 100 and 16mb of ram. Your computer is probably miles better than that. If I could do 16 track recordings on that old thing, you can certainly start experimenting and cutting demos on your sister’s hand-me-down rig.<\/li>\n- Mid price: Big box or roll your own – $300-$2000+<\/strong>
\nYour next option is to buy a machine from a well known manufacturer or build your own. It is perfectly acceptable to grab a machine from Dell or HP and put it into studio service. If you’re handy with computer assembly you can also piece your own system together. Either way, try to have at least 1gb ram for Win XP or 2gb ram for Vista. Stick with a machine having an Intel or Nvidia chipset on the motherboard and you should be ok.<\/li>\n- High price: Custom made DAW – $1800-$5000+<\/strong>
\nThere are some companies marketing computers specifically for recording purposes. These computers are pieced together from hardware that is extensively tested and verified to cause no conflicts. You will get a smooth running computer that is somewhat guaranteed to work as a DAW, but you will<\/em> pay a premium price for that privilege.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nI recommend using Windows XP for any home recording computer as it currently has the widest compatibility between hardware and software. Vista has been out for a while and is gaining momentum in the audio world, but XP is still the better choice.<\/p>\n
Ben’s benchmark:<\/em> I used the same home studio computer from 1998 to 2005. I built a new machine for my own home recording studio in 2005 and will likely be using that for a few more years. Don’t feel the need to get a bleeding edge computer system every two years.<\/p>\n
Soundcard<\/h3>\n
The soundcard is the part of your computer that will actually transfer audio from your instrument to your recorded tracks. When shopping for a home recording soundcard you will see the term “ASIO<\/em> driver”<\/em> getting tossed around quite a bit. Don’t be scared if you don’t know what that means. ASIO is a set of technologies developed by Steinberg. ASIO drivers do not make a soundcard sound any better and are not required by any conventional home recording software packages. Use it if your soundcard has it but don’t let Joe<\/em> down at your local Guitar Town<\/em> talk you into buying a soundcard because, “you just gotta have ASIO drivers if you want pro recordings, dude!”<\/p>\n
Another tip is to not be drawn into buying a soundcard because it supports 192khz and 24-bit recording “quality.” If you can’t recite to me a detailed technical explanation of the differences and commonalities of 24\/192 and 16\/44.1 recordings, then you really want to stick with recording at 16-bit and 44.1khz sampling rate. This is another area where people at your local Guitar Town<\/em> store or around the internet will try to convince you to record at 24-bit and 92khz (or higher) to get “pro” results. They are all full of it. Trust me, if you are looking in internet forums for buying advice, then you are not<\/em> doing a job that requires the extra resources necessary to make these high resolution recordings a necessity.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Low price: The soundcard that is in your computer – $0<\/strong>
\nIf the computer you are using as the hub of your home studio was made any time after 1995, there is a near 100% chance it already has a soundcard in it. If your computer was made after 1999 or so, there is a near 100% chance this soundcard will work to start getting some basic recordings done.<\/li>\n- Mid price: Line 6 TonePort UX2<\/strong> – around $140 (price check<\/a>
)
\nThe TonePort UX2<\/a>is a USB home recording device which means you don’t have to be a computer expert to install it. You plug it right into the back (or front) USB port of your computer. You can go cheaper (see the TonePort UX1<\/a>
or other USB sound modules) but I recommend UX2 because of the extra features. It is a stereo recording device with built in mic preamps (including phantom power), instrument inputs, and line level inputs which you can use in just about any combination. It also includes modeling software to give you the sound of some classic mic preamps and other great recording gear. You can use all the features of UX2 with any DAW that supports ASIO drivers, or sacrifice a few of the highly specialized features to use it with a DAW that doesn’t support ASIO (but those are few and far between).<\/li>\n
- High price: Presonus FP10<\/strong> – around $400 (PreSonus FP10<\/a>
\nThe PreSonus FP10<\/a>
\nAlternate: Line 6 TonePort UX8<\/strong> – around $500 (price check<\/a>
\nA good alternative is the TonePort UX8<\/a>
\nAlternate: M-Audio Delta 1010LT<\/strong> – around $200 (price check<\/a>
\nCheck out the M-Audio Delta 1010LT<\/a>Ben’s benchmark:<\/em> I am able to complete nearly all my home studio tasks using my TonePort UX2. Don’t get sucked in to buying a 8×8 interface unless you need to regularly record lots of simultaneous live tracks. The majority of my readers don’t need more than stereo input and output, and that probably includes you.<\/p>\n
DAW software<\/h3>\n
DAW stands for digital audio workstation<\/em> and the term has been used to describe everything from keyboards with advanced recording features to all-in-one mini digital recorders. I think the best bang for your home studio buck is using your computer as the hub. So when I talk about your DAW, I’m referring to your computer and the software you have installed for use in your recording studio.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Low price: REAPER<\/strong> – about $50 (non-commercial, price check<\/a>)
\nI don’t think it’s possible to do better than fifty bucks for the power you get with REAPER. The version of REAPER<\/a> for non-commercial use is identical in capability to the commercial version. This is a great opportunity to pick up a professional piece of software at a modest price.<\/li>\n- High price: REAPER<\/strong> – about $225 (commercial license, price check<\/a>)
\nIf you are setting up or improving your home studio for commercial purposes, REAPER is still a great choice. There isn’t much extra you can get from the “other guys” that you can’t do with REAPER<\/a>.
\nAlternate: Cakewalk SONAR<\/strong> – about $500 (price check<\/a>
\nI often say I would be using Cakewalk SONAR<\/a>
\nAlternate: Steinberg Cubase<\/strong> – about $600 (price check<\/a>)
\nSteinberg Cubase<\/a>
\nAlternate: Digidesign ProTools M-Powered<\/strong> – about $250 (price check<\/a>
\nPro Tools<\/a>Ben’s benchmark:<\/em> Cockos is not one of the big guys<\/em> in terms of marketing dollars spent, but don’t let their marketplace anonymity scare you away. This is one serious software package. Start with REAPER for $50 and you’ll be able to go toe to toe with the big boys. Don’t be fooled by price or magazine ad space, make your own decisions based on research of your individual needs.<\/p>\n
Studio monitor speakers<\/h3>\n
Your recording studio monitors are your aural link into the home recording world. I do agree that a talented engineer can do great mixes on the worst speakers, but I’m all for hedging my bets. With over fifteen years of home recording experience, I think I’m at the point where I could do some decent mixes on sub-par speakers, but I got here by learning on decent studio monitors that allowed me to learn that skill. I don’t think I would have progressed to this level without that experience. Don’t sell yourself short when it comes to studio monitors.<\/p>\n
Active<\/em> and passive<\/em> are two terms you will hear when shopping for studio monitors. Active monitors are those that have the power amp built in, while passive speakers require an external power amp. Active monitors have come down so far in price that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to consider passive designs for the home recording studio on a budget.<\/p>\n
You’ll notice a common theme among the three sets of studio monitors I’ve recommended. All have approximately eight inch woofers. There certainly are cheaper speakers you can get with smaller woofers, but no matter what the salesman tells you, there are some physical constraints with producing convincing low frequency sounds through small diameter speakers. I find the eight inch woofers to be the most convincing in terms of low frequency reproduction without use of a subwoofer. Subwoofers are also something I shy away from as they tend to hype the sub-bass frequencies too much, leaving you with a mix that is thin in the bottom end. You do have to be careful to learn the low frequency behavior of your speakers though, so you don’t have the opposite problem of bass-heavy mixes.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Low price: Behringer B2031A<\/strong> – about $340 (price check<\/a>
\nIn true Behringer form, the TRUTH B2031A<\/a>- Mid price: M-Audio BX8a Deluxe<\/strong> – about $500(price check<\/a>
\nThe Studiophile BX8a Deluxe<\/a>- High price: Mackie HR824mk2<\/strong> – about $1300 (price check<\/a>
\nMackie have created a high-tech aural masterpiece in their HR824mk2<\/a>Ben’s benchmark:<\/em> I use a set of Event 20\/20 passive studio monitors powered by a Carvin HT150 power amp. Don’t bother looking, because you won’t find either item for sale anymore (though modern equivalents may still be provided by the manufacturers). While my setup may seem a bit old or quaint compared to more modern designs, these were great speakers when I got them around 1998 and continue to be great speakers today. Your gear never loses its original capabilities just because something newer and shinier comes out. This speaks to one of my guiding principles, when you are ready to buy, get one that will last you a lifetime.<\/em><\/p>\n
Microphones<\/h3>\n
Most well stocked internet retailers actively stock over 500 models of microphones. The sea of choices is practically mind boggling. There are a few guiding rules you can go by when deciding on what order to build your mic collection in.<\/p>\n
- \n
- A cool dynamic mic can record just about any sound source you throw at it.<\/li>\n
- For whatever is left over, a nice large diaphragm condenser will do the trick.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Because of these two microphone truisms, I recommend starting with one or two great dynamic microphones, then adding a decent large diaphragm condenser, and later expanding to more dynamics and large or small diaphram condenser mics as necessary.<\/p>\n
When it comes to that first microphone, you really can’t go wrong with picking up a Shure SM57<\/a>
or three. This is the mic that costs $100 (price check<\/a>
- \n
- Low price: AKG Perception 200<\/strong> – around $160 (price check<\/a>
)
\nThere are lots of great condensers for lower prices, but this is about the lowest price point at which you can get a switchable pad and low cut filter (two essential features for a flexible condenser). The pad is great for those times when you need to record very loud sources (like a snare drum or cranked guitar stack) while the low cut filter is great creating clear tracks on nearly everything that is not a bass focused instrument.<\/li>\n- Mid price: AKG C3000B<\/strong> – around $330 (price check<\/a>
- High price: AKG C214<\/strong> – around $600 (price check<\/a>
Ben’s benchmark:<\/em> It is apparent that I have named all AKG brand mics in my recommendations. I have had great personal experience with mics by Audio Technica, Shure, Neumann, Oktava, and even budget mic company MXL. Consider these mics and price points basis for comparison of features.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Computers have made building an advanced home recording studio a reality for many of us. It has also caused a flooding of the market by dozens of products (and more) that all basically do the same thing. The sea of marketing created in this environment has left quite a few home recording enthusiasts scratching their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[13,14,10,3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p74Q5-7o","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.benvesco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Mid price: AKG C3000B<\/strong> – around $330 (price check<\/a>
- Low price: AKG Perception 200<\/strong> – around $160 (price check<\/a>
- Mid price: M-Audio BX8a Deluxe<\/strong> – about $500(price check<\/a>
- High price: REAPER<\/strong> – about $225 (commercial license, price check<\/a>)
- Mid price: Line 6 TonePort UX2<\/strong> – around $140 (price check<\/a>
- Mid price: Big box or roll your own – $300-$2000+<\/strong>