Youtube, SoundCloud, and other social media platforms provide endless opportunities for artists to showcase their craft to the world. Musicians, in particular, find and form a following through these sites that help them improve their craft. One way of providing better quality content is through building their home studio.
Home studios are home-based recording studios that provide the services that were once exclusive to professional recording studios. With the popularity of home studios, more people are venturing out to create their own.
If you are also interested in starting one, you need these essentials to maximize the capacity of your home studio.
Table of Contents
Home Studio Essentials
Computer
First off, you need a laptop or a desktop computer that has the capacity to process your audio recordings. It must have enough power to store all the files and your chosen software suites to process them.
When you are into music and video production or podcasting, you need to invest in high-end units. An Apple Mac unit is a popular choice. A 5K monitor from Apple has a quad-core processor that supports most digital audio workstations (DAW). It also has an SD card slot for transferring files from external sources. On top of that, Apple is an established brand with excellent customer service. Check out the best mackbooks to consider for your home studio.
If you are partial against Apple products, you can build your unit using AMD processing units, such as their Ryzen octa-core processors. Both the 8th and 7th generation releases are excellent choices. Make sure to pair it up with an SSD unit that is at least 500GB to 1TB maximum storage. The SSD will support the DAW, its plugins, and all the other audio files.
Digital Audio Workstation
Not all home studio essentials are hardware units; one of the most essential tools is the digital audio workstation. It is a software where you record, edit, process, and produce the audio file.
If you are an Apple MAC user, it has a basic DAW software called Garageband. The software can be upgraded to its premium version, Logic Pro X, for $199. This software is one of the most complete DAWs in the industry, relative to industry-grade DAWs. As a matter of fact, Logic Pro X is widely used by established music producers.
If you want to jump directly to an industry-level DAW, you can look into Pro Tools. Pro Tools is the industry standard when it comes to commercial recording and broadcasting work. On the other hand, Reaper is the brand that works well with Windows. It is also highly customizable to fit your music production needs. It provides whether you need it for commercial work or indie production.
Audio Interface/Audio Converter
The audio converter serves as the hardware unit of the digital audio workstation. There are online audio converters that get the job done. The tool converts the soundwaves of the instruments and microphones to files that are recognizable by the DAW.
For home studios, it is ideal to own audio converter units that have USB slots. The USB slots allow you to connect it to more equipment aside from your work computer. You can also connect it with your laptop when doing remote work.
Focusrite 2i2 is a popular two-way audio converter unit among solo artists. It comes with a pair of audio monitors and a headphone output. This hardware comes in handy when you are still looking for your perfect vocal tone. When it comes to project studios and band recordings, you might want to consider the Steinberg UR44. This unit is on the pricier side, but its output makes it worth it. It has multiple outputs for external preamplifiers to produce crisper sounds from the instruments and microphones. It also has an output for MIDI controllers.
On top of that, it has two available headphone jacks that make it ideal for recording someone else. It also allows another person to listen to the output when you are doing solo recording sessions.
Headphones
Your home studio won’t be complete without a pair of quality headphones.
Headphones provide you the headstart that is necessary to monitor music production projects. It lets you monitor and clean up the unnecessary nuances of the audio. The closed-back headphones are the most popular option because of the added comfort for long hours of work.
Sony is a popular brand among producers for its extensive line of music production headphones. One of their most popular units is the Sony MDR series. The Micro Dynamic Receiver (MDR) series is a favorite among music producers because it provides quality output at an affordable rate. It also gives off flat-sounding output that doesn’t interfere with the mixing and overall production.
Audio Technica is another popular brand that music producers favor. For its price point, it is ideal for beginners in the music production industry. On top of that, it has a detachable cable, making it a better option than its competition.
Microphones
Make sure to determine what you want and what you need when it comes to choosing microphones.
For music studios, it is essential to have a condenser microphone. It is best suited for recording songs and, basically, for music production. This type of mic is known for its accuracy and sensitivity. It can even pick up subtle noise that shouldn’t be part of the recording. To avoid these unnecessary noises, make sure to pair the mic with a pop filter.
If you want to invest in the best condenser mic in the market today, choose a unit from Neumann, the current industry leader in producing studio microphones. They have multi-pattern studio microphones that provide several benefits at once.
The TLM 170 R multi-pattern large-diaphragm studio condenser microphone, in particular, delivers low noise and a wide dynamic range. As a result, it can support a wide range of vocal tones. For more than eighty years of production, Neumann has continually produced quality products. You’re sure to get the best long-term mic for your home studio from them.
Final Takeaways
A home studio is an area where you hone your skills and practice your craft. You create and do the thing you love. It’s just right to invest in proper units of equipment for it. From the hardware units down to your workspace software, it is essential to handpick the items that best cater to your needs.
When piecing together your studio, make sure to prioritize the essentials in the list above.
