Connect With Us

Add Hypebot To Circleson

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

• TUNE MTT RADIO
SEARCH
« The basics of using an equalizer | Main | Fast Food for Thought: A World Without Art »
Tuesday
Jan222013

Preparing Your In-Home Music Studio

Serious musicians are well-acquainted with the high cost of recording music. In exchange for using tech tools, studio rooms and professional-grade equipment, musicians are forced to shell out money by the hour and continue paying until their recordings are spotless. The hourly cost creates a time strain that can push budget-minded artists to rush their work, ultimately hurting the final project.

A local recording studio is a fine destination for musicians who occasionally need a few hours of recording time. But for anyone who plans on spending extensive recording time in a studio, it might be more cost-effective to put those funds toward creating an in-home recording studio. While it’s possible to build a high-end, professional recording studio at an exorbitant cost, you can cut costs and end up with a very usable space. Whether you’re recreating the local recording studio or getting by with basic recording equipment, here’s a quick guide to the features you’ll need.

Assembling the basics

Basic equipment is the key to building a successful music studio. For starters, you’ll need at least two high-end microphones to maximize sound quality. A recording computer, equipped with recording software and quality studio monitors, is essential. An interface connects these various parts together, but keep in mind e more complex your recordings, the more inputs you’ll need on the interface.

Insulating to isolate

Extra noise can ruin a recording, making noise control a challenging but surmountable issue when building a home recording studio. The reverb coming off the walls must be as minimal as possible. If you’re working with a large budget, decouple a room, which is essentially building a room within a room, and try out various diffusers to control sound quality. Within the room itself, the best approach to preserving sound quality is to install acoustic foam and wall blankets that will essentially absorb sound and serve as an insulating layer.

Separating the control room from the live room

The best quality in your recordings will come from a recording space separate from your control room, where producers will monitor and manage the recorded track. This kind of setup may require remodeling to install the window and a door separating the two rooms, but it can considerably improve the sound quality.

Your specific in-home studio needs could depend on a number of factors, even the type of instruments used in the recording space. Even if you can’t install every desired element right away, make the changes you can now and start saving for improvements. Remember, these expenses are investments that will help you save money in the long run and will result in the kind of quality recordings you’re after.

Reader Comments (1)

A useful post Maree. For those who may need a hand with their basic music equipment, it's worth checking out www.myrockbook.com to buy and sell gear (there's more to it too). Maree - would you be interested helping spread the word in some other way? Why can't I find you on Twitter? @MyRockBook

February 3 | Registered CommenterJimmy Fingers

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>