Recording Studio Floor Plans: Find Out How To Set Up Your Recording Studio At Home
Anybody can throw together a home recording studio these days. But how do you build one that will fit your needs and work well? That’s what I want to talk about in this brief article. You will discover that creating a better studio is all about planning. So get into “planning” mode right now, and start reading.
If you happen to be beginning from scratch, that’s a very good thing. You have a clean slate. That means you can develop your studio from the bottom up, and everything will be as you planned it. But typically, you have some equipment lying around or pieced together. That stuff needs to be integrated into your studio somehow, correct? Not all the time. Beware that temptation – building your studio around gear you already have can be frustrating and pointless. Sometimes it’s best to just ditch the old stuff and start over. For instance, if you have a 4-track recorder… it’s probably time to move on. Sorry!
Today, there really is no excuse for not recording to a computer. Even the big time studios are doing it. So we can start there. Get a newer computer – brand new if possible. Try to make this a dedicated “studio computer.” You don’t want your friends surfing the web or checking their Facebook on this computer. And you shouldn’t be doing your homework on it either. Having a single purpose computer means it will last longer, get fewer viruses, and work better when you are recording.
In fact, just get a Mac. Apple makes the best computer for running a studio. But if you must stick with Windows, that’s okay too. Plenty of studios use Windows for their software. One more tip – it really doesn’t matter how fast your computer is. If it was built in the last year, it’s quick enough.
Best Recording Studio Software isn’t keeping up with the computer manufacturers. You can use a $300 computer that will be plenty fast enough for your studio. But you should have a lot of hard drive space. Audio files can be large, so make sure you have a big hard drive and a big backup hard drive.
Moving on, you need an interface of some sort. This puts the audio into the computer. Select a USB 2.0 interface (most new interfaces will use USB 2.0 or Firewire – either is alright). You can get them inexpensively with minimal features, or you can buy the farm and get all the knobs and lights. Begin with at least 2 channels, so you can record in stereo. But break the bank and get 8 channels if you can. You’ll thank me when you need to mic up the drums. An 8 channel interface can be purchased for under $500 these days. Oh yeah, and your software will come with the interface.
For microphones, you need a condenser mic and a dynamic mic to start with. That’s the bare minimum. Later, you need to have a variety of microphones so you can experiment with different sounds and combinations. Spend your money wisely. Sometimes 2 inexpensive microphones is better than 1 costly mic. Having backup equipment will save you a lot of headaches later on. Trust me – I’ve seen it all!
What’s left? How about speakers or headphones? I recommend headphones at first if you’re on a tight budget. Spend $50 and purchase something decent. Then later purchase a good pair of active monitors. These can be found for about $150 for a cheap pair. Add some cables to your setup, and you’re finished! Now you have a simple, easy recording studio that can be a lot of fun – or a lot of money, if you want to charge bands for your services. Enjoy!
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