PRITHVI RAJ
parallel walls running through it. Unfortunately, all of these features
negatively affect the room acoustics. Hence choose a room with
comparatively a larger space and a higher ceiling. Once you choose
your room for setting it up, make sure you clear the entire floor space
and remove all that is hanging on the walls or anything that vibrates.
All this will ensure you have a great take in your recording. 2. Open back headphones for mixing – which offer optimal sound
quality at the expense of lesser isolation.
Next up is Choosing the right gear: Despite the fact that many home studios now
do the majority of their mixing on headphones,
traditionally, mixing has always been done on
speakers. Or as they are commonly known in
pro audio: studio monitors or nearfield monitors.
Compared to consumer speakers, which are
designed with various tonal “enhancements”,
studio monitors have a much flatter frequency response, which
provides a more neutral, uncolored sound to objectively judge your
mix. And while they can get pricey, there are still plenty of affordable
options for beginners as well, like the M-audio BX series and the KRK
Rokit series.
The following 7 items are the basic essentials to get things started in
a home studio.
1. A Computer
When starting a studio from scratch, the
computer is the biggest expenditure by far.
But these days, virtually everyone already
has a computer of some sort. And virtually all
computers are fast enough to at least get you
started. So in the beginning, regardless of your
budget, I recommend using what you already
have. Once you get a few recordings going and ready to buy another
machine, I would recommend a Macintosh, which would be a one-
time, stable investment for the next 5 years.
While open back headphones are considered more of a luxury, for
your first studio, a pair of closed back headphones are a necessity.
5. Monitors
6. Cables
One day, your studio will have tons of different
cables, but for now you will need three important
ones.
2. Daw/Audio Interface
The DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is the
primary software used to record, edit, and mix
music on your computer.Originally designed
to mimic look-and-feel of analog mixing boards
from the pre-digital era. The visual design of
these softwares have remained basically the
same ever since. Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic Pro,
Ableton Live, Nuendo are a few industry standard DAWs available
today. And the Audio Interface is the hardware used to connect your
computer with the rest of your gear. In a home studio, the audio
interface or the sound card allows you to connect the microphone to
the computer. These two items can either be bought separately, OR as
a combo. Most of the pro-audio brands offer a lite version of the DAW
software for free when you buy their audio interface. For example,
Cubase SE software comes complimentary with Focusrite Scarlett
range of audio interfaces and Ableton Live comes complimentary with
the M-audio M-Track series. Avid offers a free copy of their Pro Tools
Express DAW with their interfaces.
3 . Microphone
While most home studios acquire dozens of
microphones over time, All you really need to
get started, is one good, versatile mic. It can be
a Dynamic mic or a Condenser mic, although
condenser microphones are widely used in all
recording studios over the world. The standard
“first mic” that everyone recommends for
recording vocals is the legendary ‘SHURE SM58’ because its super-
versatile and is recognized worldwide as an industry standard model.
If you would be recording an instrument in general, then you should
go for the ‘SHURE SM57’ microphone.
4. Headphones
A good pair of headphones is necessary to get
your recording going well. Because when you’re
just starting out, most of your time is spent
recording by yourself. There are two types of
headphones available in the market. The Closed
Back Headphones and the Open Back ones.
1. Closed back headphones for recording – which
offer optimal isolation at the expense of lesser sound quality.
• One long XLR cable for your mic, &
• Two short ones for your monitors.
7. Mic stand
While many beginners assume that all mic
stands are the same,the truth is a solid mic stand
is one of the most worthwhile investments a
new home studio can make. However, since mic
stands can get pricey, and most beginners are on
tight budgets, a cheap reliable stand is more than
adequate when you’re first starting out.
A few accessories to complete your Home Studio
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