If your home recording efforts have progressed to professional-grade recordings, investing in professional-grade software may be wise. Sweetwater offers an expansive selection of titles from top developers – making it simple for you to find something suitable.
If you’re new to digital audio production and editing, Audacity may be an ideal place to start. With free access and its open-source nature, this audio editing program offers the ideal way to learn the essentials before investing in an advanced DAW system.
PreSonus Studio One Artist Bundle
PreSonus offer an outstanding all-in-one recording studio package at an exceptional value, complete with studio monitor, USB audio interface, midi keyboard and Studio One software – everything needed to begin making music from scratch! This package contains everything needed for starting off creating new sounds in your own home studio.
The Studio One Artist Bundle contains an abundance of content designed to speed up and simplify your creative workflow, such as audio loops and virtual instruments to kickstart song writing processes as well as sound replacement samples.
There’s also an extensive library of acoustic drum sounds in this package that are ideal for creating beats. There’s both electronic and acoustic versions, giving you plenty of choices from which to select.
It comes packed with useful content, including synthesizers and effects not normally included with Studio One bundles; nevertheless, these extra plug-ins make an invaluable contribution.
Another useful feature is the spectral analyzer, which gives an indication of what your tracks are doing at certain frequencies – this feature can be particularly beneficial if you are struggling with EQ issues in your mix.
De-esser software helps reduce harsh vocal sibilance and other high-frequency noises that could otherwise annoy speakers, providing easy taming at a convenient frequency setting.
Use this feature to tame the frequencies of acoustic guitars and other instruments, providing accurate mixes. It works well both with Studio One and Notion (included as part of this bundle).
Fader Flip is another fantastic bonus feature, enabling you to quickly flip a fader from any track to an effect or cue mix mix in seconds – saving both time and energy when working on multiple projects at the same time. Additionally, it helps ensure that each track receives equal attention from you!
Mackie Studio Bundle
The Mackie Studio Bundle is an effective way to get your home recording studio up and running quickly and cost-effectively. It features an adaptable audio interface/monitor controller, two microphones, headphones, and studio monitors – everything needed to start making music!
This bundle includes two Mackie CR3-X 3″ Multimedia Monitors, a Big Knob Studio monitor controller, an EM-91C large diaphragm condenser microphone and an EM-89D dynamic vocal microphone – as well as the necessary software and pair of Mackie MC-100 professional headphones – giving you everything necessary for setting up a home recording studio.
These monitors make an excellent upgrade from the budget desktop speakers typically used for home recording, providing an improved audio experience than anything in their price range. With their full and warm sound they are ideal for anyone wanting to create and edit music on a tight budget.
They make for an ideal compact setup when recording on location, fitting easily into a bag for transport. Although their bass response may not match that of larger monitors in this range, these still offer exceptional sound quality and would suit most music editing and mixing tasks well.
These monitors could serve as your main music system for movies and video games, or connect them directly to your smartphone via Bluetooth for mobile listening. Unfortunately, their low bass response may not compare favorably with similar desktop monitors in this range – making critical mixing work difficult.
These studio monitors boast another great feature – they include a notched front panel to make them easier for anyone unfamiliar with monitor positioning to use them easily on any desk surface. This makes using them very straightforward!
This studio monitor bundle also comes equipped with a USB audio interface and pair of headphones that may prove beneficial if you prefer working from their laptop rather than their PC. This package is targeted toward beginners looking to record voiceovers or other audio tasks on a budget, without investing in more complex audio interfaces or headphones yet.
Universal Audio Volt 276 Studio Pack
Are You Starting a Home Recording Studio? The Volt 276 Studio Pack Is an Excellent Way to Jumpstart It This bundle includes a Volt 276 Interface, Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone, Closed Back Headphones and Industry Leading Software so you can get recording right away.
Universal Audio’s Volt Series audio interfaces represent Universal Audio’s initial entry into the budget audio interface market. While they don’t offer all of the premium features found on more expensive units, these affordable interfaces still deliver top-tier audio quality at a reasonable price point. Their 24-bit/192 kHz conversion, two mic preamps with switchable 610-style analog sound capabilities and user-friendly input metering make these affordable interfaces an excellent value proposition.
What sets the Volt Line apart is its 1176-derived compressor, which adds extra punch to your sound. While many other budget audio interfaces use off-the-shelf converters, this unit employs all analog circuitry in order to recreate the signature character of Universal Audio’s classic 1176 limiting amplifier.
Though some background noise remains present in all three compressor modes, most should not find this an issue. It can be an invaluable feature when beginning home recording projects; even just making use of this one feature could dramatically change your final output!
Volt 276 stands out from other interfaces in this range with its five-segment level meters, which are much larger than standard models and enable greater accuracy when dealing with multiple channels and instruments of different types.
The Volt 276’s most stand-out feature among other interfaces in its price range is its full-range signal output, making recording easier for newcomers while making life easier for musicians who work with multiple instrument sounds and styles.
The Volt 276 is an ideal choice for anyone aiming to produce professional-sounding music productions, livestreams and podcasts at an affordable price. Offering superior analogue circuitry and 24-bit/192 kHz audio conversion at an attractive price point, the Volt 276 makes an invaluable addition to any home recording studio.
Avid Pro Tools First
Pro Tools is an increasingly popular DAW for audio producers who specialize in recording. Additionally, Pro Tools has earned its place as an invaluable tool for emerging producers to capture live audio performances.
Avid Pro Tools First is a free version of Pro Tools designed specifically to appeal to newcomers and beginners, featuring most features found in paid versions with some restrictions and caveats.
As an example, Soundbooth only supports up to 8 tracks of audio, making it an excellent starting point. Plus, with templates designed to get users started quickly.
Beyond its core DAW features, Pro Tools 5 is well known for its powerful audio editing options such as Beat Detective (introduced with Pro Tools 5, 2001), Elastic Audio and Elastic Pitch.
The software allows you to edit audio with maximum quality. This means using high-grade compressors, limiters, EQs and equalizers; adding reverb, delays or any other effects to enhance your music is also an option.
Pro Tools has one of the greatest advantages available to it in that it allows both audio and MIDI tracking, making it simple for recording different instruments or voices before using them for mixing purposes.
Pro Tools makes it easy to connect external hardware such as drum machines or synths using MIDI controls, making this perfect for overdubbing or punching in new audio tracks.
Pro Tools’ Loop Recording feature is another essential part of its DAW capabilities, enabling you to record multiple passes of an audio track before comping them together later in a process known as comping.
Create a playlist of all the takes taken and reuse them later for future projects, saving both time and ensuring that any important material doesn’t get deleted during an editing process. This approach may prove particularly useful when performing destructive editing operations on material that might otherwise have been lost during capture.