Taking Your Studio Home – Four Basic Steps to Begin Home Recording
Getting your music recorded in the not-too-distant past was an expensive, formidable process controlled and “owned” by the professionals. Fortunately time and technology have made tools available and affordable, so we can learn from the experts and take recording home.
1. Your Computer
Begin with a computer, produced within the last few years. Apple’s Macs, since 2005, contain built-in recording software and offer the best operating stability. PCs, with at least 1 GB of RAM, will also do the job.
2. The Audio InterfaceThe next piece of hardware crucial to your recording set up is your interface. Selecting your interface is a challenge with so many out there to choose from.
A good place to begin your research is Pro Tools, today’s most popular computer-based digital music production system on the market. Check out Pro Tools LE and Digidesign’s Mbox series, the most basic and affordable of their graduated systems. Also look at MOTU, who produce an extensive audio interface line. If you use Apple’s Garageband, you’re good to go with your internal sound card and a special adapter for instruments. This software serves as your interface.
3. Truth in MonitorsThird in the line up of studio equipment are your monitors – speakers with “rue” sound presentation that can sustain peaks, overload, and feedback errors and keep going. Active monitors have a built in power amp, and “regular” (or passive) speakers require an amplifier to drive them. Some contend that “flat” monitors are best, because they don’t color your sound.
Others argue for speakers you like to hear your favorite music through and refining your mix to parallel the sound you love. “Near field” monitors are positioned within 3-5 feet of you allowing for moderate volume and direct relationship to your sound. Room acoustics will profoundly alter your sound relative to speaker placement. Knowing your monitors well and discerning how your mix translates to other listening conditions, in relation to yours, will augment your recording success.
4. Your MicNow, step up to your mic – the primary channel for the flow of your music source. Intend to match your mic to the instruments you record. Aspire to capture color combined with accuracy in the human voice, in high definition warmth, rather than brightness.
- Large capsule condenser mics work well, but distort with too much vocal volume and/or closeness.
- Dynamic mics temper loud voices well and are preferable in rooms with heavy ambiance.
Practice and experiment with mic placement and positioning. Even a high-end mic placed too closely to a vocalist will boom and distort. Too much distance or improper angling of the mic in relation to an acoustic guitar will cause it to drop out completely.
Big bucks may not even get you the mic you need or like. It’s in your favor if you can swing $100. A favorite $100 dynamic mic is the Shure SM57 that can capture everything, but does vocals and acoustic guitar best with a preamp. The $100 Studio Projects B1 is a great large condenser mic, if you’re going with just one now, especially if you plan get by with the preamp in your audio interface.
Over time prepare for a microphone preamp and MIDI-Controller.