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Home Based Recording
January 29, 2010
Whether your space for a budget recording studio is essentially in your house or in your garage or in a little commercial space, this article is primarily for fashioning a music studio that uses athe least equipment.
The most budget-friendly way to record has become the employment of a computer and software programs. I suggest Apple’s Logic 9 which comes together with a program dedicated to the creation of music. ( The program only runs on an Apple platform. ) Not only can it record live performances but it comes with a few software instruments : piano, organ and one or two great sounding synths. Logic 9 also has two other rather unique items – an absolutely working sampler which easily can turn recorded sounds into a playable instrument of your own making. Logic nine also comes piled high with loops ; everything from drum beats in every style imaginable to orchestral fragments to sound fx and masses more. These loops will automatically adjust to your selected speed as well . For more info – go to the Apple link and check out all the features. The fact is you do not need an array of synthesizers and samplers rigged with midi wires which is mostly a headache in the end.
The second thing to think about is the digital to analog converter that transfers the analog sound waves in to a digital format that your personal computer can understand – and back out of the PC so you can hear what you’ve recorded. Most computers have a converter but they are not as good as a couple of “outboard” and reasonable converters on the market. The best ones in my view are manufactured by Apogee. They’re also entirely integrated with the Logic program. If you’re counting on doing just overdubs one track at a time then the “Duet” is the best bang for the buck. The subsequent which is also made by Apogee is the “Ensemble” that has eight channels versus just two on the “Duet”. If you’re planning on recording a band you would manifestly need more than 2 channels for individual micing of instruments.
Naturally you’ll need microphones and stands.(Check out great deals on microphones!) The best ones for vocals in the recording studio are the cardioid condenser mics. You should purchase reasonably good ones for less than $200, although the range goes up to $8000. ( For condenser mics you’ll need phantom power which is basically included with most converters with input boxes. ) For instrument micing you may use dynamic mics which are not as delicate as the condenser mics. The rule for mic placement and as well as all things audio is – experiment until you like the way it sounds.
You may also need studio monitors that hook up to your converters and at least two pairs of headphones for doing any overdubs. I recommend powered monitors as they are quiet and you do not need the trouble of having a separate power amplifier. The Yamaha powered NS10s are good – but let your ears be the judge. Essentially you would like a flat reply to get an unhyped picture of the music when mixing and dynamic enough to not deform when played back at high volumes.
finally it will be mandatory mostly to treat the walls of the recording and mixing space to minimize the room tone ( i.e, any live echos or reverberation, irrespective of how short the reverb time seems to be ). This important detail will affect the picture of your recording. The surfaces of your walls will probably require something to moisten those artifacts. Froth panels are one solution, covering roughly 30% of the surfaces. Another extremely cost effective solution is the utilization of egg cartons to make the surfaces irregular and also absorbent of the sound waves.
I want to conclude with a note about computers. The stronger the processor the better. You will need the most RAM that you can afford. This will insure that you’ll have enough power to run the various synthesizers and effects without balking. It’ll also permit more tracks to be recorded concurrently.
http://www.micsandmoreonline.com
