Many music producers around the globe have established home studios as their creative oasis. From portable setups to professional-grade recording spaces, home studios provide music producers a safe space in which to craft music.
Home studios require several critical components – namely a computer, audio interface, MIDI keyboard/controller and DAW – but there’s much more to keep in mind.
Building a Room
If you’re serious about recording music at home, ensuring a great-sounding room is key. There’s no point investing in top-of-the-line equipment if the sound quality is subpar; investing in professional acoustic treatment services is therefore essential.
Many people find the easiest solution is converting an extra bedroom or area of their house into a studio space, but this may lead to noise and vibration issues in neighbouring rooms and be an intensive project that includes installing double walls and floating floors to isolate it from the rest of their property.
Building your own studio may be the better solution, though that could prove expensive if it involves hiring contractors and purchasing materials.
Modern technology has enabled us to achieve professional-sounding home studio results even on a tight budget, as evidenced by Billie Eilish’s award-winning debut album being recorded and mixed at her own home studio.
There are professional design and construction firms offering advice to turn any room into the ideal home studio, but these services may not fit within most people’s budgets. When on a limited budget, planning carefully and future-proofing your studio as much as possible should be prioritized; rather than purchasing only 6-channel mixers now, consider opting for 12-channel versions so that extra channels can be added as you expand.
Be mindful of ergonomics when setting up your studio, as you will spend long periods sitting during recording and editing. An uncomfortable chair may lead to back issues or inhibit your creativity – consider purchasing one with adjustable lumbar support and armrests as a solution.
Finally, don’t overlook insurance as an essential component of running your home studio. Protecting valuable equipment against theft or any mishap is vital, and usually a rider can be added onto existing home policies to cover this aspect.
Soundproofing
An essential component of creating a home recording studio is soundproofing. No one wants the noise from nearby lawnmowers or dogs barking to appear on your recordings and disrupt your creativity, nor should noise from family or pets interrupt studio sessions either. With careful design and planning, however, you can build a home studio which allows for uninterrupted music creation sessions.
While there may be soundproofing hacks available to you, professional-level results require both time and money investments. First step should be creating a “room within a room”. This involves building walls made from decoupled stud frames with no overlap on existing walls as well as being insulated with acoustic insulation to block external noise from entering your studio space. These measures should help minimize external noise entry.
Once your walls and insulation have been constructed, it’s time to treat the floor and ceiling of your studio. One effective way is through installing acoustic panels and bass traps which absorb low-frequency sounds to eliminate reverberations in microphones.
Your choice of acoustic treatment depends on what genres of music you plan to record and play back in your home studio. Porous absorbers work best with higher frequencies while panel and resonant absorbers work best with lower frequency sounds.
Last, soundproof your doors and windows as these can be major sources of sound leakage. Furthermore, seal any air gaps in your ceiling or floors such as cracks or holes with acoustic caulk for maximum sound insulation.
Once your acoustic treatments have been installed, you should do some fine-tuning of the room. First and foremost is to minimize sound that travels into the bedroom above – an issue often faced by home studios. For this, installing triangular bass traps or hanging some acoustic foam from the ceiling may help.
Lighting
Lighting in your home studio is vitally important to creating high-quality images. There are various types of studio lights designed to create specific effects; some work better for photography while others may work best with videos; while some lights can even serve both purposes simultaneously. When selecting the ideal light type for your project, take into account its purpose and style; this will determine how much power and light sources you require.
Those on a limited budget should start by using natural lighting, then gradually add controlled sources. The more control over the light in your studio, the better its results will be. One simple and affordable way to begin would be using an all-in-one strobe lighting system; these units provide all of your needs in one unit while saving space by eliminating extra light stands.
Continuous light sources are another effective way of saving space, and make perfect subjects for video and photography as they allow for real-time effects to be seen right away and brightness adjustments without replacing bulbs. Unfortunately, however, they lack the same power as studio flash units and may not work well when photographing fast-moving subjects.
Once you have the equipment in hand, the next step in creating your home studio should be selecting its location. A large room with neutral colors is best as this will minimize undesired color casts, as well as big enough for accommodating your studio gear and providing for comfortable shooting sessions. Furthermore, having an effective storage solution for equipment and supplies should also be prioritized – for instance Visual Education member Vera Change has devised several techniques for her studio equipment storage including tucking lighting under couches and stacking backdrops in cupboards.
Another crucial consideration for your photography studio should be what type of photography will take place within it. Product photography typically requires less space and equipment, while portraiture often necessitates additional pieces. A lava lamp adds a whimsical charm that can elevate the quality and mood of images captured.
Equipment
Acquiring the proper equipment is key to building a home studio. Essentials may include a computer, audio interface, speakers, MIDI keyboard or modular unit and headphones – plus any necessary microphones or other pieces depending on what style of music you intend to produce and your desired production method. While professional-grade recording studio gear may be costly to purchase initially, building one on a tight budget is possible.
When selecting a computer for a home recording studio, ensure it features a fast processor, sufficient RAM to process audio you’ll be working with and an ample hard drive space. A desktop with dedicated graphics cards would be optimal, but laptops will do just fine as portable recording studios.
Audio interfaces are another essential piece of equipment for home studios, converting analog signals from microphones and instruments into digital information that your computer can process. While a basic USB model will suffice, we strongly suggest investing in one specifically designed for recording studio use – such as the Solid State Logic 2, from a company known for producing quality analog mixing consoles, featuring a preamp suitable for recording guitars that require 1/4in inputs.
Headphones are another must-have in any home recording studio, providing direct sound without room reflections from monitors in your room. A quality pair can cost as little as $100; there may even be sets available that are suitable for professional use.
Finding a desk that will support all your gear is paramount in any home recording studio, especially if you intend on using lots of MIDI controllers and modular units. When shopping around for desks that can accommodate this equipment, look for ones with features such as cable management solutions (holes for routing cables) as well as speaker storage space.
Many musicians spend much of their time trying to decide what equipment is needed for a home studio, yet the truth is there is no universal answer. What matters most is creating an inspiring space where you can focus on creating music without distraction from expensive equipment. With enough planning, space, and know-how you can easily build the ideal home studio environment to realize your musical vision.