Establishing a home studio can be expensive. Therefore, it is crucial that you make wise choices regarding the equipment and acoustic treatments you purchase.
An impressive computer is an essential element of modern music production. While small songs won’t put too much strain on its CPU, large scale productions could quickly exceed its capacities and force your machine into malfunction.
Headphones will come in handy for listening to recordings and overdubs, while balanced XLR cables allow your microphones to connect.
Workstation
Home music production setups begin and end with a computer. This computer will serve as the central hub for recording MIDI and audio files, playing them back, running software instruments and effects and more. A laptop equipped with fast processor and lots of RAM would be optimal, though desktops may be more space efficient. In either case, invest in high quality keyboard and mouse for an enjoyable studio experience!
Your workstation should have space for all the new equipment you’ll be collecting over time, such as a sturdy desk large enough for both your laptop and any additional gear you might acquire in time. If you plan on spending an extended amount of time in the studio, an ergonomic chair would also be beneficial.
Audio interfaces are another essential piece of equipment for creating great music. While you can certainly produce great tunes using just your laptop and music-production program, having access to an audio interface will provide more options for recording both analog instruments and vocals simultaneously, as well as transcribing them into digital files for use on your computer.
Last but not least, you will require headphones or speakers and some form of acoustic treatment in your room to create the optimal environment for mixing music. A properly applied treatment will make sure that your mixes sound fantastic without filling your headphones with bass notes that disrupt their acoustic properties and ear canals.
Most studio equipment doesn’t include signal cables, so it is wise to stock up. You will require XLR and TRS cables for connecting microphones and audio interface, headphone and speaker wires for monitor connections as well as headphone and speaker wires for connecting headphones or speakers.
Monitors
One of the essential tools of any home studio is a pair of high-quality studio monitors. These help compare different song’s sounds, tweak their mixes for optimal results and produce more accurate sounds than through headphones alone. While headphones can give some feedback regarding music production, quality studio monitors will offer much more feedback that keeps your creativity on track.
Mounting studio monitors on the wall should be avoided as this will create too many reflections and interfere with how you hear music. Furthermore, keeping them away from walls may reduce bass build-up that often occurs and help with clarity and balance issues.
Placement of studio monitors will depend heavily on both your room and personal preferences, but there are some guidelines you should abide by when setting them up. First, ensure both speakers are an equal distance away; otherwise music may sound warped or overemphasized if one speaker is closer than the other, plus it’s essential that both are pointed in the same direction.
Beginners often make the mistake of positioning their monitors towards a wall rather than away from it, which can create serious problems because sound reflections bouncing off of walls will travel further before reaching your ears later than if the speakers had been farther from it.
Professionals usually place their monitors several feet from the back wall in order to minimize bass buildup and other acoustic issues in a room. Doing this will also help avoid bass buildup that can exacerbate issues caused by bass buildup in corners.
Microphones
Recording music requires an excellent microphone to capture high-quality audio. Microphones transform sound waves into electrical signals that can be read by recording devices, so make sure to invest in one with studio-grade capabilities for optimal results. Microphones come in all shapes and sizes; some are multipurpose while others specialize in particular areas such as vocals or instruments.
A keyboard can also help enhance your recordings and add texture to the music you’re producing, adding another dimension of expression. A MIDI keyboard offers excellent versatility as you can play virtual instruments such as guitars, drums and synths that can be saved directly onto your computer and later used within production software.
Last but not least, headphones will be needed for listening to and mixing the final product. When starting out in a bedroom environment, closed-back headphones with noise cancellation may be better as open backed models allow sounds to escape more freely which makes listening and mixing less effective.
Home recording studios will benefit from investing in a microphone stand, as it will keep mics off desks and away from anything that can pick up vibrations. While quality will depend on how much money you are willing to spend, decent models are available for under $100. Smartphone mic stands such as the iRig are an inexpensive alternative that allow recording directly onto phones before uploading it directly into music production apps such as Ableton Live or Pro Tools – plus come equipped with built-in EQ capabilities so they’re perfect for singing or instrument recording!
Audio Interfaces
An audio interface is an indispensable piece of equipment for home recording, providing access to instruments, microphones and other studio gear directly from them to your computer so music production software can process their signals.
Interfaces also serve as buffers between your computer and speakers, helping reduce noise and echo to ensure the quality of recordings isn’t affected by poor-quality sound cards on computers – this is especially useful if using recording software to mix music.
Audio interfaces come in various configurations to suit individual requirements; for instance, if all that is required to record two sources simultaneously (such as singer-songwriter with guitar), a 2-input model should suffice.
Apart from having multiple inputs, a top-quality audio interface will feature high-grade preamps to help your recordings sound cleaner and more balanced – giving you greater control over the final recording results.
An audio interface’s primary role is to convert an analogue signal into digital so it can be processed by your computer; therefore, a higher bit depth audio interface such as 24 bits should be preferred.
Focusrite and Universal Audio are highly-regarded home studio recording interface brands, known for their superb preamps, conversion, feature sets and software bundles that come included. If budget is an issue then check out Scarlett 2i2 or Audient iD14 models which provide an outstanding combination of price and functionality.
Lighting
Lighting is key when creating an effective home studio, and three-point setup is typically used across various genres such as product photography and portraiture. It typically consists of three lights – key light, fill light and backlight. The key light provides brightest illumination while fill and backlights provide additional softening lighting effects to soften shadows. A basic speedlight with remote trigger is usually sufficient; more advanced systems may include multiple strobes and stands.
Power supply is another integral element of a home studio. A powerboard supporting 3-6 standard outlets and several USB ports would be an ideal option; though more than one powerboard may be necessary depending on your equipment needs and shoot schedule.
Home studios require backdrops as an essential piece of equipment, from small pop up versions to rolls hung from a backdrop stand. No matter which option you select, make sure it has no wrinkles or gaps, with collapsible backgrounds ideal if space restrictions prevent permanent installations.
Beginners to studio photography may prefer starting off with continuous lighting, then gradually upgrading as their knowledge increases. Unfortunately, this approach can be expensive due to energy use and room heating up quickly; for a more cost-effective option use an independent strobe lighting system like the COLBOR CL100 which comes equipped with lights, stands, and power sources – perfect for home video studio lighting applications!