Recording studio what do you need

Disclosure: I gave a paid lecture at a Native Instruments workshop in early Likewise, Siete Catorce stresses the importance of learning the ins and outs of synthesis, no matter how easy-to-use the instrument might appear. Korg has also been doing a brisk business in reviving various workhorses of yore.

Sequential formerly known as Dave Smith Instruments , the brainchild of Prophet-5 designer Dave Smith, is another American company doing amazing things, albeit with a hefty pricetag. A few musicians suggest going with rack-mount gear that is, synthesizer modules with no built-in keyboard. Nick Sylvester agrees. Which is to say, I don't buy a lot of new stuff. I like hardware that functions as idea starters—something that takes away my own agency as a composer and forces me to listen and happen upon an idea.

Gear fetish and dogma just get in the way—focus on the sound. You can make interesting art out of garbage. Skip to content Search query All Results. Pitchfork is the most trusted voice in music.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Open share drawer. Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site. Audio Interface The audio interface sometimes called a sound card is a funny piece of gear. How much you should shell out for the best converters is up for debate, though.

Monitors Of all the choices you make while setting up a home recording studio, this one might be the trickiest. Digital Audio Workstation In terms of creative work, your choice of a digital audio workstation DAW might be the most important choice you make.

Studio monitors are speakers designed specifically for audio production. In general, audio engineers tend to prefer open-back headphones for their airy feel and open soundstage. The most important thing to consider with large speakers is size. These five devices make up the core recording station, but you also need a few basic accessories, such as cables for your microphone, to get things working.

From there, you can add upgrades like a pop filter, mic boom arm or stand , and a portable acoustic shield , which serves as a mini vocal booth. Its functionality should match your production style—whether you like to use a keyboard, faders, jog wheels, or pads.

Other add-ons: a power conditioner , a tuner , backup storage either physical or cloud , and a great chair. Gear Acquisition Syndrome, that unrelenting urge to upgrade and expand your setup, is real. Your gear is here to serve you, not the other way around. Here are cheap, simple ways to tune up your home studio and keep the peace with the neighbors.

Sign up to receive Popular Science's emails and get the highlights. These are the 5 pieces of gear you need to build a home recording studio Home recording studio technology is more affordable than ever. You don't need a ton of space or cash to build a respectable home recording studio. You see…by placing your studio monitors directly on the desk, sound vibrations transfer through the surface of the desk….

Which decreases the accuracy of the monitors themselves, and can even create new and unpredictable resonances from any other objects receiving those vibrations.

Monitor isolations pads solve this problem by creating a buffer of acoustic isolation between your monitors and desk, preventing any vibration from transferring.

Plus, some models even provide added options for positioning your monitors, by allowing you to tilt them at various angles. To take monitor positioning one step further…. A better option might be to use studio monitor stands instead.

With stands… distance , height , and angle are fully adjustable, so you can move them wherever you like. And if you only plan on working by yourself in your studio, this may be all you ever need. The biggest problem with the studio we just set up…. Is that it only offers a limited number of input channels.

What this means is…it will be very difficult to record more than one person at a time…. Which is harder to do without certain tools. Is the inevitable addition of your first rack-mounted setup. Of course, the first step in building any rack to buy the case itself.

So check out this article to see which ones I recommend:. The one item common to virtually every rack is a power conditioner. Because rather than having a half-dozen power cables sticking out the back of your rack from each unit…. Now that the rack and the power is taken care of…. Which you will get by adding a multi-channel microphone preamp to your setup. Another common variety of this device is the high-end single-channel mic preamp, which studios often use on vocals or any other particularly important track in a mix.

To see which models I recommend for both single and multi-channel preamps, check out this article:. NOTE : Whenever buying a multi-channel preamp, you must also make sure that you audio interface has enough line inputs to accommodate the extra channels. Once you have plenty of input channels to work with…. Typical headphone amps offer stereo outs for anywhere from sets of headphones.

Advanced headphone amps…can send multiple tracks of audio to personal mixers for each musician, allowing them to individually control exactly what they want to hear, without affecting what is heard by everyone else.

And in studios that can afford one, this added functionality can make the entire recording process much easier for everyone involved. Sometimes in advanced studios, engineers need to compare how their mixes sound over a variety of playback devices. To accomplish this task, a tool known as a monitor management system is used….

Which allows engineers to switch back and forth between different speakers with the push of a button. If and when you ever need this in your studio, check out this article to see which ones I recommend:.

Which for many of us, is simply not possible. Home recording is expensive enough without having to buy a dozens of instruments as well. The solution to this common problem is of course… virtual instruments. The biggest problem with virtual instruments is…. Not only is it no-fun …. While virtual instrument drums might be good enough for some…. Today, they can sound almost as good, and in some cases even better than a real acoustic kit.

The stereotypical fantasy which initially sucks us into the world of recording is…. Crafting your latest masterpiece on the massive analog mixing board of your million dollar studio. Because in this reality, mixing is usually done on a computer keyboard and mouse. Which to be honest…kinda sucks. More importantly, it slows down your workflow, and makes it much harder to perform some of the more advanced mixing techniques, such as automation.

The solution to this problem is of course, a control surface , which is essentially a MIDI controller designed to mimic the look and feel of the analog boards from decades-past. To see which ones I recommend, check out this post:. However, the fact is that top engineers will spend thousands of dollars on premium plugins…. Which are somehow better than the free ones. If you do have some skills, they can make a BIG difference. Newswire Powered by. Close the menu. Rolling Stone.

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