Anybody can put together a home recording studio today. But how do you build one that will fit your needs and function well? That’s what I want to cover in this brief article. You will see that building a better studio is all about planning. So get into “planning” mode right now, and start reading.

Recording Studio Designs

If you happen to be beginning from scratch, that’s an excellent thing. You have a clean slate. That means you can build your studio from the bottom up, and everything will be as you planned it. But usually, you have some equipment lying around or pieced together. That equipment needs to be integrated into your studio somehow, correct? Not all the time. Beware that temptation – developing your studio around gear you already have can be frustrating and pointless. Sometimes it’s best to just get rid of the old stuff and start over. For instance, if you have a 4-track recorder… it’s probably time to move on. Sorry!

These days, there really is no excuse for not recording to a computer. Even the larger studios are doing it. So we can start here. Get a newer computer – brand new if possible. Try to make this a dedicated “studio computer.” You don’t want your friends surfing the internet 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 perfect computer for running a studio. But if you need to stay with Windows, that’s alright too. Plenty of studios utilize Windows for their software. One more tip – it really doesn’t matter how fast your computer is. If it was made in the last year, it’s fast enough.

Audio Studio Recording Software isn’t keeping up with the computer manufacturers. You can find 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 huge, so make sure you have a large hard drive and a large backup hard drive.

Moving on, you need an interface of some sort. This transfers the audio into the computer. Choose a USB 2.0 interface (most new interfaces will use USB 2.0 or Firewire – either is okay). You can get them cheap with minimal features, or you can buy the farm and get all the knobs and lights. Start with at least 2 channels, so you can record in stereo. But break the bank and get 8 channels if you are able to. You’ll thank me when you have to mic up the drums. An 8 channel interface can be bought 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 begin with. That’s the bare minimum. Later, you need to have a variety of mics so you can experiment with different sounds and combinations. Spend your money wisely. Sometimes 2 inexpensive mics 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 had for about $150 for an inexpensive pair. Add some cables to your setup, and you’re done! Now you have a simple, easy recording studio that can be a lot of fun – or a lot of money, if you wish to charge bands for your services. Enjoy!

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