What Do I Need To Record At Home?

You will need the right combination of recording gear, an acoustically treated room, accurate monitoring system, and very importantly – knowledge to record high-quality records at home.

Recording Gear

• Computer: Either a Mac or PC is fine, but an up to date computer with plenty of processing power is a must.
• Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): There are many DAWs to choose from including: Pro Tools, Logic, Nuendo, Cubase, Reaper, Record and more. Do a little research on what will work best for you. Some are more suited to production, while others may focus on composition or mastering.
• Plug-ins: Your DAW may come with many included plug-ins, but you may want to invest in other plug-ins for superior and alternate processing capabilities. These often include virtual instruments, compressors, equalizers, reverbs, delays, special effects and more.
• Micrphones: Capturing the sound at the source is always the best approach to recording, rather than fixing the issue in post. A good microphone makes a world of difference. Having an assortment of condenser and dynamic microphones and stereo matched pairs are a good start. Mics with multiple polar patterns can be ideal as an overall workhorse microphone.
• Audio Interface: The interface allows you to connect microphones and instrument inputs to your computer and converts the analog signal to digital and vice versa. Your choice of interface will depend on the number of simultaneous inputs needed, quality of conversion, and quality of microphone preamps.
• MIDI Keyboard (optional): If you will be recording any virtual instruments, a MIDI keyboard is ideal as it will connect to your DAW and allow you to play these instruments. Some come with additional controls such as volume faders and knobs.

Monitoring:

• Speakers: Your playback system is extremely important to the end result of your recordings. If you are not accurately hearing your music played back, how can you make crucial processing decisions? Studio monitors come in all price ranges and some may be more suitable for certain rooms. Look for a flat frequency response and natural playback.
• Acoustic Treatment: The acoustics of your room are vital to your recordings and monitoring as sound waves within a room can boost or cancel certain frequencies and cause major problems. Invest in bass traps and first reflection points for a start to make your room more accurate.
• Headphones: While not ideal for mixing, headphones will be needed for playback as well for musicians during recording sessions.

Knowledge:

All of the best equipment in the world won’t help you much if you don’t know how to use it. While you are building up your gear list, it is necessary to build up your knowledge and experience.

You may attend an audio course at a school, enroll in an online program, watch instructional videos online, subscribe to industry magazines, and read countless books on the subjects of recording, mixing, and mastering.

Experience is your friend. Expect to make mistakes and learn from them. Each recording presents new opportunities to learn and with time you will have initiate knowledge of your processors and tools to make recordings that rival your favorites.

With time, equipment, and commitment to the craft, your home studio can produce excellent results.