How to Build Your Own Home Recording Studio by Smith Davidsons

Let's say you love to sing and want to record your own stuff. The easiest way is to go to a professional recording studio, pay for studio time and just record your music. But that's really expensive, and there are people who just don't have that amount of money. That's why most amateur musicians own a recording studio. Putting together a home recording studio is pretty difficult. Before setting up your budget, you need to know what you need to buy for a simple home recording studio. The single most important item is the condenser microphone. If you have a poor quality microphone you'll never be able to record high quality vocals. That's a fact. So, my advice is to buy a good microphone. There are few interesting mics around $100. AT2020 is one of those good mics, but you can always buy a better one (Rode Nt). Remember, a microphone requires a pop filter, a mic stand and a mic preamp. You can mix the mic preamp and the soundcard together. Just buy an audio interface that features Phantom Power. I recommend M-Audio products, but EMU soundcards are pretty good as well. Next, you need to buy monitors and headphones. Studio monitors are important when mixing your song. Headphones are not that important, so any headphones will do. Next, you need to buy/download the recording software. You can choose from Audacity (free) or Cubase (not free) software. If you're really new at this, Audacity is good for starters. Remember to export your songs at high quality. In order to get some exposure, you can upload your songs on YouTube or Facebook account. Writing a budget out on a piece of paper is one of the simplest things you can do to help you get an idea of how much you can afford to spend on recording equipment. Try to think of everything you could possibly need to get your home recording studio up and running; computers, microphones, CD making kits, headphones, monitors (speakers), cables, the list goes on and on. Spend a good amount of time getting your list organized and look online to get a feel for what the prices and options are in terms of your equipment. Take note of the equipment that is absolutely necessary to run your home recording studio equipment. You're going to need a computer, microphones, audio cables and an audio interface. Many of these things cost a pretty penny to get your hands on so it'd best to budget for the more expensive items first so you can cut costs on less necessary equipment if you're tight on money. Prepare to spend a nice portion of your budget on quality equipment. Don't try to cut costs on important items like microphones or audio interfaces or you could end up with a bunch of low-end gear that can't produce a high quality recording. About the Author Smith Davidsons is a professional writer.