Placing the acoustic foam in the recording studio

Getting all the equipment needed for a home recording studio is not enough. If you really plan to record your vocals and mix your songs, you should insulate the walls in your recording and mixing room. Here are the basics ways to apply to foam panels in the room.

1. place two panels behind the studio monitors, in the mix area
2. place panels on the sidewall, at the level of the ear
3. place bass trappers in the upper corners of the room
4. place two panels on the center of your back-wall
5. cover at least 50% of the recording booth

Check this article on how to build the recording studio.

The Best Soundcard for a Home Studio

A product like Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface is a key element in an affordable home recording studio because it contains a lot of functionality. The manufacturer really emphasized on the analog and digital side of this external soundcard, on the converters. When I look at this piece of recording equipment I know that it's made of quality components, it features low-noise amplifiers, great dynamic range. 

If we are to compare the audio quality of this interface with others from its price range, there is no competition. Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface is the best product under $200 and that's a fact. The Saffire 6 USB package features Ableton Live Lite 8, Novation's Bass Station synthesizer, and lots of samples, Focusrite FX Suite (a compressor, gate, reverb and EQ).

A cheap Home Studio Soundcard

This external soundcard is perfect for your home recording studio started on a low budget. The Fast Track Pro features all the mobile recording flexibility of the Fast Track USB. Even better, you'll get more professional features. Compared with other similar audio interfaces, it is cheaper.

Fast Track Pro features 2 front-panel mic/line inputs, phantom power for condenser microphones, balanced and unbalanced analog outputs, S/PDIF digital I/O, MIDI I/O. With this audio interface you'll get near-zero latency direct hardware monitoring and low-latency ASIO software monitoring. 

The Best Mics for a Home Studio Project

I really love the mics in this list. If you want a cheap condenser microphone, AT2020 is definitely my all time favorite. I own one in my home studio and, with proper mixing, I managed to create great records with it. But, as I said in my previous post, Rode NT1a is a safer choice. Remember to get a mic stand for it, and a pop filter. Also, the mic should be powered by an external source called Phantom Power, so make sure that you buy an Audio Interface with that feature.

via Top home studio mics

Creating a home recording studio

Putting together a nice home recording studio for you and your friends could become a tricky job if you have a tight budget, a tight space or you don't know anything about home recording studios. I hope this blog will put some light on the matter.

First, you need to learn about the basics of a home recording studio:

• a laptop
• an audio interface (the external soundcard)
• preamp
• cables, accessories, pop filter, audio foam, mic stand
• condenser microphone

The Laptop

I know you may say that a PC is more suited for a Home Recording Studio and if you have the money, go for it. I'm picking the laptop due to its portability and usability. I like it simple and a notebook is a perfect choice.

The Audio Interface

This is an important piece of your your home studio. Choosing the right audio interface could really make a difference and that's why I always say you should not go cheap with this one. There are tons of cool audio interfaces to choose from and I will recommend the ones that I like or own.

Preamp

Any condenser mic requires a preamp. But most audio interfaces today have really nice preamps so getting a preamp is not a must, but it's an advantage.

Cables, accessories, pop filter, audio foam, mic stand

There are additional things you need to buy in order to get that sound. The pop filter is a must because it protect your mic from anti-pop noises.

The Microphone

The condenser microphone is the first piece of equipment in the recording chain. I usually recommend you to read the Rode NT1-a microphone review because Rode is the world's quietest studio condenser microphone, the winner of the Electronic Musician Editor's Choice Award. The box contains additional equipment.