| Home Studio Recording Setup - Taking The 6 Simple | | | | mix. This simple, often ignored fact, leads directly to |
| Steps to Professional Quality Sound | | | | another truth that is so oft resisted by the home |
| 1. The computer | | | | recording chattering class: |
| Your computer is the engine that powers digital home | | | | A great sound cannot be "made" from studio toys and |
| recording. Almost all the tools (effects, compression, | | | | tools. The sounds all around us are already great. |
| EQ, etc) for our simple home recording setup reside in | | | | Therefore your only job when recording is to |
| the computer. In other words, in this setup we are | | | | understand how to "capture" all its elements. There lies |
| going to use almost no extra external home studio | | | | the real answer to how our simple home studio is |
| recording equipment. | | | | possible, because capturing sound effectively is |
| 2. The recording software | | | | ultimately achieved by removing as many obstacles |
| Whether you own a PC or a Mac, our setup requires | | | | from the path sound takes from the outside to the |
| only free (Mac Garageband) or really cheap (PC | | | | inside of your computer. |
| Mixcraft or Audacity) recording software | | | | In other words, the more stuff that sound has to travel |
| 3. Sound card/digital input and output | | | | through as it is recorded, the more risk there is of injury |
| We do not want to use the built in consumer sound | | | | to the sound. |
| card on our home computer. Instead, we will use a | | | | The temptation to overstock your home studio |
| simple, affordable and much better quality external | | | | recording setup is strong and the advice to do so is |
| piece of hardware known as an audio interface, digital | | | | everywhere. If you can resist the urge to hide behind a |
| converter or i/o (in-out) box. | | | | mountain of audio equipment and can meet sound on |
| 4. 3 cables | | | | its own terms, the home recording process becomes |
| Our system only requires three types of cable: | | | | organic and intuitive. Only then does the possibility of |
| Quarter inch (for instrument input), RCA (output from i | | | | creating magic become a possibility. |
| o box to speakers) and XLR (for microphone.) | | | | Home Studio Recording Setup - Examples of Big |
| 5. Two Microphones | | | | Stars Using Small Systems |
| We'll be able to record effectively using just two mics: | | | | This debate about setting up an effective home studio |
| A condenser Mic (for vocals and acoustic instruments | | | | is really about quality of sound vs quantity of |
| and a dynamic mic (to provide an alternative sound | | | | equipment. To help you put a final nail in the coffin of |
| option for certain types of vocal recording and | | | | the argument that says a home studio must cost |
| instrument recording.) | | | | thousands, you may find the following examples |
| 6. Powered monitors (speakers) | | | | showing large scale success achieved with very small |
| Excellent sounding home studio monitors are available | | | | recording setups. |
| that are very affordable are available but they will still | | | | 1. Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" - |
| be the most pricey element of our home studio | | | | recorded on an 8-track tape recorder in a living room |
| recording setup. For achieving professional quality | | | | 2. Bruce Springsteen - "Nebraska" album. tracks |
| home recordings we need to take our choice of | | | | recorded on a 4 track Tascam PortaStudio. |
| monitor very seriously because accurate playback is | | | | 3. Oasis - Guitar tracks recorded on Garageband |
| essential for successful mixing. | | | | recording software for recent album while traveling in |
| (Do not use consumer stereo speakers, because they | | | | their tour bus. |
| are made to deliberately "color' the sound to suit the | | | | 4. Cowboy Junkies platinum debut record - recorded |
| tastes of the general population. This means that bass | | | | live to 2-track in a church. |
| frequencies are accentuated and certain mid range | | | | This all begs the question, if performers big and small |
| frequencies are ignored.) | | | | are out there making professional sounding recordings |
| This completes our simple home recording studio. How | | | | using a very simple and affordable home studio |
| is it possible to get professional sound using so little? | | | | recording setup, what is stopping you? The answer is |
| The Easy Home Studio Recording Setup - Good | | | | nothing should be stopping you from turning your next |
| Sound In Equals Good Sound Out | | | | great song into a great sounding recording that the |
| It is the quality of the sound going in to the recording | | | | word can enjoy. |
| software that will determine the quality of the finished | | | | |
