- How To Turn Your Computer Into A Recording Studio Windows 10
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- Turn Your Computer Into A Recording Studio
The first thing to note when setting up a home recording studio is that while having really high quality and expensive gear and a multimillion-dollar facility is a great asset for making professional recordings, it pales in comparison to how important the actual skills are required to make a great recording and/or mix.
Of course, the actual space you designate to turn into your voiceover studio is paramount. In fact, according to voiceover pro and Backstage Expert Jamie Muffett, the space itself should be your. “A simple home studio can consist of a computer, an audio interface (to get your audio into the computer), and maybe a microphone, if you plan to record any live instruments or voice. This could be done for less than $500 and be well done. If you go into Studio OneOptionsLocationsUser Data and you see the word 'OneDrive' in the path to your documents folder, you are more than likely actively using OneDrive. After de-activating OneDrive, reboot your system, and try re-mapping to DocumentsStudio One in the User Data window.
Knowing what you’re doing will trump any piece of gear.
With today’s technology, you can ultimately make an incredibly professional sounding recording and mix with very little money spent on “gear” and in the comfort of one's own home.
This article will address some considerations when setting up a home studio on a budget..
How to set up a home recording studio
1. Computer
First of all, you’ll have to own a computer.
You don’t need the latest Mac Pro that’s all decked out with every single possible specification that could power a spaceship and cost you a pretty penny, but you also don’t want to be doing your recording on hand-me-down Windows 95 computer from the 90s.
We recommend a middle of the road currentMac Book Pro, iMac, or even Mac Mini (or any of the PC equivalents—although the greater percentage of creatives in the music business choose Mac).
The computer is going to be your center of operations and is a very important part of the home studio.
Most music biz creatives choose to use a Mac.
2. Digital Audio Workstation
It doesn’t really matter which one you choose, but you’ll need to purchase a DAW (short for Digital Audio Work Station). This “app” is what allows you to record, use virtual instruments (VIs), and mix.
The industry standard is Avid’s Pro Tools, and for complex audio mixing, manipulation and routing, is probably the best for the task.
It used to be very expensive to get a Pro Tools rig running in a home studio, but now for around $100 a year, you can have the exact software that the pros use.
Or, for around $200, you can purchase Apple’s Logic, which is the choice for most songwriters, producers, and musicians both professional and beginners who are just getting into the game of producing, recording, and mixing. If you’ve used Garage Band, Logic is a nice segue into the world of pro audio because it has a similar layout and look.
Ableton Live—which is a bit more expensive if you buy the complete version—is another great option and is the choice for the larger percentage of producers in the EDM, hip hop, and electronic genres because of its excellent MIDI, VST, and song creation workflow.
You can explore other options like Cubase, Reaper, Fruity Loops, etc. – just remember that there is no difference in audio quality between DAWs, and no DAW “sounds” better than any other.
It’s all about the DAW that allows for the best workflow for you, which varies from person to person.
Many of the companies allow for you to demo the software for free, so try them out!
3. Audio Interface
Unless you’re planning to solely use virtual instruments (VIs) and samples in your productions, you’ll need an audio interface.
Not only will an audio interface allow you to record audio such as your voice, guitar, synth, etc. via a microphone or instrument cable, it also will provide you with some quality outputs for a set of speakers—or “monitors” as we call them in the audio world.
You can use the headphone output of your computer, but it is not as good as an interface, it will require adapters, and can generally be a bit of a nuisance sometimes with buzzes and other artefacts of the computer and audio converters.
Audio interfaces can be as cheap as $100 or can climb into the thousands of dollars.
For most home studio enthusiasts — unless you’re recording a live band/ensemble or desiring to track drums with lots of microphones — you won’t need that many inputs and can thus buy a cheaper interface.
We recommend on the lower end the Scarlett 2i2 (~$150) or on the mid-range end the Universal Audio Apollo Twin (~$700).
If you decide you need more than two inputs, we recommend the Scarlett 18i20 or the Universal Audio Apollo Quad.
If you’re on a tight budget, you can do a LOT with the Scarlett 2i2 — it's a seriously great interface for the money.
Besides the input and output count (I/O) the difference in audio quality between the more expensive stuff and the cheaper stuff is there, but it is not night and day difference.
If you intend on combining some live instruments (such as guitars and vocals) with virtual instruments in your productions, the difference is even more negligible. The high-end interfaces really are geared towards engineers who are recording mostly audio, as opposed to electronic producers.
4. Speakers (Monitors) & Headphones
Being able to hear what you’re recording and mixing in the best of detail is of utmost importance for making a quality record. Luckily, you don’t have to break the bank to get some good monitors and headphones.
Monitors have the advantage of being “flat” as opposed to commercial speakers that are tuned with a hyped EQ curve. While your car audio system or home entertainment HiFi may be fun to listen to music on, you certainly don’t want to mix on those systems as you may make some very faulty mixing mistakes.
For example, if the system has super heavy bass, you may make up for it by mixing your track with less bass, and then when you play your track on a generic car system or listen on headphones, it will be completely top heavy and will lack the necessary low end.
You can purchase some decent monitors for as little as $400. Yamaha HS5s or KRK G2 5s are great for getting started.
You don't need to break the bank when it comes to buying your first monitors.
However, once you get into the midrange cost of monitors, you will definitely notice a difference and the extra money spent will really help you with your recording, production, and mix decisions.
Yamaha HS8s are becoming an industry standard and you can get a used pair for as little as $600.
Monitors from companies like Adams and Focal will cost well over a grand, but are truly incredible and should be considered if you have the budget.
If you plan on recording vocals or any other instrument with a microphone, you’ll need some headphones as it will create feedback and other unwanted noise and phasing if you record while listening through monitors in the same room.
You can get headphones that are fine for tracking for as little as $20-$30. However, if you intend on being able to use headphones for mixing and producing, you’ll have to spend quite a bit more.
One of the industry standards for mixing headphones are the Beyerdynamic DT700s. These are truly incredible, flat, and accurate headphones that you can use to mix.
When it comes to headphones, you get what you pay for.
Historically, there’s been a sentiment in the audio community that “you can’t mix on headphones,” but that’s simply not true as countless contemporary records have been mixed using headphones. As a matter of fact, sometimes it’s better to mix on headphones because if you’re listening to your monitors in “bad” room that has echo, unwanted resonance, and other undesirable room artefacts, you will get a distorted version of what you are recording and mixing. At least on headphones, if you’re using good ones, it will be flat and will always be the same in a neutral environment (right next to your ears)—something you can rely on.
Remember, when you first begin mixing, it’s a good idea to use reference tracks while mixing so you know what truly great recordings sound like on your system. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to copy someone else’s mix completely. Instead, you’ll have a better idea of where things should go in your own mix.
5. Microphones
You’ll need a microphone in order to record vocals or any other acoustic instrument. More than likely, you’ll just need one microphone.
Ensuring that your vocal tracks shine in a mix is the most vital part of your recording endeavor if you’re involved with popular music. Luckily, you can record stellar vocals with a relatively budget microphone.
Spyware for windows xp. The Rode NT1A is a great choice.
Paying a bit of homage to the famed Neumann U87, it costs a fraction of the Neumann’s $3,700 retail price tag: $229. Don’t get me wrong, a Neumann U87, U67, Manley Gold Reference, or any other fancy microphone can do wonders on a vocal. But you can still record completely professional tracks with a Rode NT1A.
Getting a great sound is about more than just the microphone.
What will really make a true difference in the quality of your recorded vocal tracks are:
(A) the quality and skill of the singer
(B) the quality of the room you record in.
If you record a so-so singer in a room that has unwanted resonance and noise, your tracks will sound unprofessional. It doesn’t matter if it’s a U87 or a Rode NT1A. If you record a great singer in a room that is free of unwanted noise, resonance, and echo, you will have stellar tracks.
It should be noted that you don’t need to go out and buy the most expensive acoustic treatment for the room you’ll be recording in.
You can buy budget materials or even use stuff lying around the house like blankets, mattresses, pillows, etc. to dampen the room. Bookcases with books really help to diffuse the room.
When I first started engineering, I had my vocalists record in my walk-in closet. I couldn’t charge as much back then because of the way it looked, but now I have a professional vocal booth and can charge a lot more. However, the difference in sound quality between the two is practically non-existent!
If you plan on recording a stereo source, such as a piano, drum overheads, stereo room, etc. either buy an additional mic to match what you already have, or you could buy a stereo pair.
Perhaps if you did buy something like the NT1A, which is a large diaphragm microphone, a stereo “pencil” pair may be a good compliment. The Rode NT5s are a good budget choice.
That’s it! Anything else you buy will be just embellishing the essentials of a fully operational recording studio. Outboard analog gear is fun and can add interesting and beautiful colors to your recording and mixing arsenal, but are not completely necessary. Better yet, purchase a few quality plugins and really learn them.
Below is the equipment for a sample budget recording studio:
Mac Mini: $699
Logic Pro: $199
Scarlett 2i2: $149
Tracking headphones: $29
Rode NT1A: $229
Yamaha HS5s: $400
Total: $1,705
Mac Mini: $699
Logic Pro: $199
Scarlett 2i2: $149
Tracking headphones: $29
Rode NT1A: $229
Yamaha HS5s: $400
Total: $1,705
When you have made your home-recorded demo, it’s a matter of turning it into a master track, ready to compete for airtime on major radio stations. The easiest (and the best) way to achieve this is by hiring professionals.
If you’re worried about the costs, don’t be. In the day and age we live in, where everything can be done through online collaboration, hiring a professional music studio is affordable and you get master-quality tracks thanks to A-list engineers, musicians and producers who are now one click away.
Do you have any question about setting up your own home studio? Or any tips for other musicians hoping to start recording at home? Let us know in the comments below.
This is a guest article by Jake Gakovik, a session guitarist, music entrepreneur, and co-founder of www.supremetracks.com, a professional online recording studio where you can get your songs arranged, recorded and mastered by award-winning music professionals.
Have you ever wondered how much it might cost to build your own recording studio?
If you are interested in the academic “book report” answer to this question, click here.
“A home studio, or a project studio can cost anywhere from three or four hundred dollars up to, you know, 10, 20, $30,000 to build. A professional studio starts around 40 to $50,000 on up to a few million, or better.”
– Rick Camp, RC1 Productions & Master Mix Live, Las Vegas, NVCredits: Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Usher, Dr. Dre, Earth Wind & Fire
“I would say realistically 10 to $20,000 for a home studio whereas a professional studio would cost, say between 150K and a million plus to open the doors.”
– Mike Johnson, Clear Track Recording Studios, Clearwater, FLCredits: John Legend, Jeff Berlin, Boyz II Men, The Roots, Alice Cooper, U2, Madonna
One of our mentors, Doug Boulware, of The Abstract Los Angeles Recording Studios, documented the process of building his studio.
“A simple home studio can consist of a computer, an audio interface (to get your audio into the computer), and maybe a microphone, if you plan to record any live instruments or voice. This could be done for less than $500 and be well done. Some limitations will be that, if you are working at home, it’s not as comfortable for clients to be in your bedroom or garage. Although not unheard of, a “real” studio is not just about the gear. It has a lot to do with the room in which you record and the experience of the engineer. I mean, let’s look at music that was recorded back in the day. The Doors? Probably a total of 8 microphones, all recorded live, at the same time, in the same room. If your artist has the talent, it’s your gig to capture that talent in a way that translates. My favorite way to record a band is to put them in the room and put microphones up in a way that works and have them play the song. That’s hard to do if your computer and interface can only handle 2 inputs at once.
A pro studio can be put together with just an MBox and a laptop. There is nothing wrong with being able to produce great music or work on film and TV shows at home with a simple setup. With that said, if you want to have a facility to bring an artist into and have them be creative and comfortable, having a world-class facility can be very expensive. The point here is that you could do it for $300 or $3 million and still get the same results.”
– Donny Baker, ES Audio Services / Open Call Productions, Glendale, CACredits: Beyoncé, Brandy, The Klassics, Alex Cantrall, Silkk the Shocker, Candace Glover
“It really depends what type of work you are hoping to accomplish. You can do a lot with a computer and a good set of monitors. If you want to track vocals you need a nice mic and a decent vocal chain. If you want to track drums you need quite a few mics and pre amps, a multi-channel converter, and a good sounding room. The cost of a good home studio is in the $5000-$50,000 range. A professional studio, well, it cost’s a lot! Hundreds of thousands if not millions. It is endless. Don’t do it. There are so many great studios struggling to keep their doors open, most studios will give freelance engineers a cheap rate just to keep the rooms booked. Find a studio you like, build a relationship with them, the more projects you bring in the more flexible the rates will be.”
– Zach Phillips, Freq Lab Recording – San Francisco, CACredits: The Kooks, Talib Kweli, Dnae Beats, Jayleez, J-Banks, The Game, Alice Russell, Comedy Central
“For the majority of today’s music makers, you can get a very nice, very functional home studio together that can handle everything but big multi-mic recordings, which you don’t typically do even in the big studios. So, if you’re a music producer in today’s landscape, chances are you’re going to be creating music using plugins a lot of the time, maybe integrating select pieces of hardware, tracking vocals, and doing some rough mixes at your studio. Spend time and money on creating the atmosphere. Go paint the walls the right color. Hang the right pictures. Buy some simple acoustic soundproofing that you can put together yourself. Put the right couch in there. As far as the gear, it really depends on the kind of music guy you are. Like, my setup at home is tailored to what I need most from it: instant access to laying down ideas. I have a USB mic and a USB keyboard and Ableton Live loaded up with plugins. I use it to plan out all of the demos and from there, and I can bring in 70% of what I’ll use on the final recording, and then I can replace all the live instrumentation and vocals when I get to a proper studio. If you can get together $3500 to $5000, and if you’re handy, you can put together a very nice, very usable studio that has almost every component of what you’re going to need as a modern songwriter.
“With a professional studio, there are a lot of costs associated with it that are different than a home studio. You have to decide on a few things. How long are you going to stay there? Like a lot of business owners you’re probably not buying the building where you’re going to conduct your business. So, you’re going to be leasing it from somebody. So, you don’t want to over improve the space that’s there because you can’t take it with you. So, if you’re going to be building a commercial studio in a popular city, you got to understand that you’re going to probably be paying $4 a square foot for an attractive location. You’re also going to be improving that space per square foot to professional acoustical standards, at anywhere from $100 a square foot to $150 a square foot. You’re going to need to hire an architect, and designs for basic production room at say, 700 square feet, could run you $10,000 designing a room. Then you have to execute it. You could spend another $15K to $20K, just getting it built, and then you now have to equip it. You’re talking another… well you get the idea.
“And now that you have it built, you now have your monthly overhead to handle. You have a loan for the gear and the build-out and then, you’re paying rent. So, say your rent is something like, you got a really good deal at $3500 a month. And you’re in the scenario where you built it all. So, you got to pay debt service on a $50,000 loan. So, you know, it depends on the term of your loan, but say you did a 10-year loan. So, what is that? $6000 a year with interest? So, now you’re up to $9 to $10,000 a month in overhead to run a commercial studio. You can book that studio out. Say you’re getting $500 a day for the room. It’s an okay price. And then, you’re booking yourself out as an engineer. So, you’re working, right? You got to book out that room out for at least 20 days a month just to cancel everything out. So, do you want to build a commercial studio?
“You know what I mean? Like, people ask me that question a lot. I’ve run . . . This is my third major recording studio that I’ve run and, you know, it hasn’t . . . You know, time hasn’t changed the way you have to build these things, but the dynamics of how you make money off them definitely changes.”
– Cameell Hanna, Serenity West Recording, Los Angeles, CACredits: Justin Timberlake, Adele, Florence & the Machine, Eva Simons, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg
Thinking about building a recording studio?
The best way to learn how gear works, and how best to use it, is from an audio professional. So, even if you’re just hankering to build your own home recording studio, ask the experts. Now you could beat your head against the wall trying to find these experts and get them to sit down and talk with you or you could get in touch with us, the Recording Connection. We knock on doors for you, so you are on the inside dealing directly with a bona fide audio engineer from day one.
Take our survey to find out if you have what it takes to succeed in the music business!
We don’t take everyone. In fact, we only take about 1 in 20 applicants. Take our 60 second survey and see if you have what it takesHere’s the academic “book report” answer:
With the advent of digital music, recording studios are sometimes thought of as being industry dinosaurs. The entry level for setting up your own recording studio has become far less expensive than it was just a decade ago.
So, how much does a home recording studio cost? It can be anywhere from $500 to $20,000, depending on how technologically sound your studio currently is. You can use a new laptop with a few microphones as your recording studio, or you can go all out and buy soundboards and synthesizers.
The first step towards building your own home music studio is examining the room and deciding what can be done with this. If you are setting up the recording studio in your room or in your basement, it is important to remember this room must be acoustically sound. Some rooms are not set up to bring out people’s vocals. This all makes a huge difference on the record. It is suggested that everyone go out and get acoustic foam and stick it on the walls to provide proper acoustics. Acoustic foam can cost anywhere between $70 and $100 for a crate and depending on the size of the room, you may need about seven crates.
Technological equipment is what most people worry about when they ask “how much does a music studio cost?” When it comes to buying technological equipment, you will need computers, music recording and processing software, a soundboard, an interface, and a good microphone system set up with a stand or microphone cable. The microphone technology alone will cost around $500 for just a decent one. The digital software you need to edit music on the computer might also cost anywhere from $100-$900. Optionally, you can get a keyboard to help produce beats and melodies, which can cost from $100-$200.
There are other additional costs to consider. Will you be giving the room a makeover before moving equipment in there? If this is your own personal studio, this may not be necessary, but if you will be renting out your studio, re-designing it can help bring in clientele, who will be looking to check if the studio looks professional or not.
You can also keep instruments handy for yourself or your clients to use. You may skip out on this particular section but sometimes, musicians will forget their instruments and have to borrow them from the studio. There are also times when artists may want to tinker around with an instrument during the recording process.
No matter how much a music studio costs, it is easy to make a profit off of the studio. As long as you have the right technology to make artists sound better, artists will keep coming around.
© 2019 – James Petulla. All Rights Reserved.« Back to Recording Entrepreneurs
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