Home Recording Studio How to Start ?
Author: Wayne Johnson
Regarding an inexpensive but effective Home Recording Studio, the first
thing to do is to carefully go over your budget, because once you get going
it will be the little bits and pieces that can nickel and dime you to death.
Know how much you can safely spend without putting yourself into financial
jeopardy. So many people talk about getting Financial Backers but that isn't
always the best answer since they will often want the lion's share of any
rewards plus interest until the debt is paid back in full. Backers are also
very impatient about repayment and don't want to hear excuses as to why you
had to pay your Rent before you pay them! When it comes to Bank loans, the
Banks usually look at the Music Business as if it were smoke, something that
you can see but cannot touch or hold in your hands.
They are very practical and cautious when it comes to giving out money for
the Music Industry despite the incredible amount of money that is generated
every year from it. Unless you have a lot of collateral to back such a loan,
wait until you can show regular income from your initial endeavors first.
Thinking big is fine, but starting out small and wisely is the best policy
in putting together your own studio. The terms "Starving Artists" and
"Starving Producers" come from the usual way of supplying your musical
interests by means of a Day Job until you can wisely transition from one to
the other. Almost everyone does it and there is no shame in admitting it.
Only the most obnoxious of Industry Professional will criticize you for it.
The next subject to ponder is what you will use your home studio for. Is it
for your own solo material, a Band, or are you planning to take on clients?
Each situation can vary greatly depending upon the quality and workload you
are seeking from your studio. As an example, I have worked, Managed,
Recorded and Produced in 7 Recording Studios ranging from simple but
effective equipment in a basement, all the way up to a current multi-million
dollar Recording Facility here in Connecticut. Please note that as you move
up in the degree of Studio you work in, your abilities, ears, and skills
also need to improve dramatically! But the good thing is that if you start
out small and determined to succeed, and keep an open mind to learning from
others, you can eventually develop into whatever level you wish to as long
as you can handle it. Recording Schools are invaluable for learning the
Recording Industry, but they are not inexpensive, so you may wish to invest
in books and videos about recording first. They can be purchased from many
local Musical Instrument stores and national chains, including mail order.
Another option is to try to develop a relationship with someone experienced
that can act as a Mentor, it can be invaluable to you and that person can
help to further advance your career with their knowledge and influential
assistance. The rule of thumb is that everyone in the business knows
somebody else in the business at higher levels of power and success. But as
with any Professional in any field of business, be respectful, honest,
humble, tactful, and become an "invited guest" as opposed to a character
that they will regret knowing! So after figuring out what level of
experience you are at now and what you wish to use your studio for, it is
time to start making a shopping list. If you are a beginner or even an
experienced veteran, the best choices would be either a good home computer
with lots of memory since there are many great programs that you can
purchase along with the proper interface equipment, or purchase an
all-in-one Recorder/Mixer/CD Burner unit. My suggestion is that when it
comes to efficiency and cost effectiveness, the all-in-one units are
outstanding and can create some wonderful results if you take your time to
study and learn the functions, and then practice with them. The better ones
are advisable and can range from approximately $800 to around $4000 to
purchase. These units usually include extremely useful options and functions
such as built in effects and editing programs, processors, mixers, and CD
burners that can be very expensive if purchased separately. Since technology
has improved so much over the years, these types of units can sound as if
you recorded in a full blown recording studio. While they won't replace a
Professional Recording Studio with all of the bells and whistles, not to
mention seriously sound-proofed recording rooms, you can purchase and own
the all-in-one units for much less than the cost of recording a full CD of
songs in a major studio.
To give you an example of this, while I often work in a big studio, I have
my own Roland all-in-one unit and record my own clients I Manage, Song
write, and Produce music for on it. This way, I don't have to worry about
paying for recording time costs or high utility bills that go hand in hand
with a big studio. I can take as much time as I wish or that my clients need
without watching the clock and can still get the results I want without the
added pressures. Since I do know what I am doing and have a lot of
experience recording and Producing, I recorded my Country Artist "Miss
Marie" Wuhrer's first CD "Bad Reputation" on it and it received airplay in
approximately 75% of the US and many Record Label inquiries to boot!!! So
the all-in-one units can be quite cost effective while returning
professional quality results, and they are also very portable if need be.
Portability can be a major plus! The next issue on the list is to get some
very good recording microphones and perhaps a few stage microphones for good
measure. Consider a minimum of a vocal and an instrument microphone. The
recording ones are Condenser microphones and they require phantom power to
operate them, which is simply a low voltage power source from 9 to 18 volts.
This can come from putting batteries in the microphone or is usually
included in the all-in-one units as standard equipment power supplies. The
stage microphones are called Dynamic microphones and just require connection
to a preamp or mixer channel input. Never run phantom power on dynamic
microphones or you could easily and quickly damage them or the power source
itself. Remember, if you plug the microphone into the unit and it doesn't
work in any of the channels as is, then you probably have a condenser
microphone and must press the "phantom power" button to turn on the phantom
power unit so the microphone will operate. Most decent condenser microphones
have a Led light that comes on to show when it is in operation.
Condenser microphones are extremely sensitive and can pick up stray noises
in the room so be careful when they are on during recording as to not have a
very noisy environment you are working in. While it is crucial to "clean"
your recorded tracks one-by-one of any stray sounds such as breathing noises
BEFORE you mix them into the final result, there are times when you can't
remove excessive noise and must accept it or do the track over. Keep it
quiet around you and you will save yourself a lot of time and trouble. All
microphones have sensitivity specs, and to avoid a lengthy explanation here
and distortion when you are recording, look for a microphone that has a 40
decibel or higher rating for sensitivity. This way, if you have a loud
singer you won't overdrive the microphone easily and get distortion in the
vocal tracks. Next, you have to determine where you are going to record,
especially if it is in your home. Most studios are in the basement areas and
require deadening of the room to make it quiet for recording. When using an
all-in-one unit, you can do most of your recording directly into the
mixer/recorder without worrying about the noise you or others are making, it
is all very quiet. This is especially true when using a drum machine instead
of an actual Drummer and live drums! Except for vocals and live drums, you
can record a full song in a bedroom while your family members or roommates
are in other rooms and they won't even hear you doing it! If you do
designate a specific area, your recording room should not get too hot or too
cold, and dampness is not good for any electronic equipment so be careful.
When going for the cheap but effective recording studio, you can put up
heavy rugs on the walls or use other deadening material to quiet down the
room accordingly. Whether you are making a formal recording studio or a
simple one, always remember to use Non-flammable materials to deaden the
room to avoid a potential disaster.
To continue with our list, I recommend getting good headphones for yourself
and some spares for others to use, as well as a headphone amplifier that
will run multiple sets of headphones. For the best results, you should use
the same brand and model closed back headphones which are essential for
recording with live microphones. Semi-open or open-backed headphones allow
the sounds coming through to be picked up and fed back into the microphone
and recorder. The more isolation the headphones offer the better. Last in
the chain would be a pair of powered studio monitors for playback and
mixing. The best ones have the Bass ports in the front so they can be used
in any location if necessary. The ones with Bass ports in the rear require a
reflex action off of a wall for sound quality and this may not be practical
for a home studio. As with all of the equipment I mentioned, there are many
good brands and models out there and the costs vary greatly. Be ringer,
Samson, and Event make some great units for home studios, and the bigger the
Bass speaker i.e.: 6 or 8 inches, the better the quality of the sound you'll
get in final mixing and playback. I don't recommend getting subwoofers until
you really know what you are doing and can get a great mix on regular
speakers. If you cannot mix on regular speakers, then adding subwoofers
won't help the final product and usually makes it sound horrible. And if
while you are mixing your final product the dogs in your neighborhood are
howling and running for cover, then Turn down the volume and back off on the
Bass and high treble frequencies. If you blow out your hearing, it is gone
forever. For optional equipment in your arsenal, a fairly inexpensive boom
box is a great tool to have after making a mix. When I finish a mix of a
song, I usually make both a CD and a cassette copy of it and play it on a
good stereo, a cheap boom box, and a car radio just to see if it sounds good
and fairly consistent for quality. If it sounds good on all of them, then I
know that I have a good mix for the final product. I also have a separate
stand alone CD burner that I can use to make copies while I am using the
all-in-one unit for other songs and projects, rather than tying up the
unit's built in CD Burner for making multiple copies other than a Master
copy. They cost from $200 to $500 or more, but I find it invaluable for my
needs.
Other than some patch cords, spare microphone cables, telescoping microphone
stands, music stands, a good comfortable rolling chair, decorating your
recording room to taste, and some blank CDs to put product on, you should be
able to get some very good results with your projects at a reasonable cost
with these recommendations. As your skills improve, you can always upgrade
your equipment and studio to fit your needs and dreams. Think toward the
future career you are seeking and not just for showing off! I've seen some
very basic equipment outdo some much more expensive setups. The main goal is
to concentrate on getting good results.
Besides, as you begin to make your fortune, you can hire professional studio
designers and builders to create your dream Palace. And please don't forget
to cover yourself legally if you are a Studio for hire. Write down ALL
recording dates and notes about what transpired during them rather than
relying on memory or hear-say, keep track of expenses compared to profits,
and write down on the receipt you give the client that the final product is
what he or she asked for and accepted as complete and both you and the
client need to initial it. This is extremely important for every situation,
but especially when a client wants to keep bad musicianship or singing on a
project that you would never have kept yourself even if you were tone deaf!
Once that client takes the product from you and lets friends and family
criticize it accordingly, You will be blamed for letting it get out of your
door like that and not the client for wanting it that way and refusing your
subtle hints to change it during the recording session such as
uncontrollable laughter or vomiting. If that client later chooses to sue you
to get his or her money back and it goes before a Judge or Jury with NO
Music Industry experience or taste, your note on the signed, dated and
initialed may be all that saves you from getting ripped off and having to
pay back what you legitimately earned. Good luck to all of you and God
Bless. Wayne I. Johnson-Wildcard Music Productions and Artist/Model
Management-Waterbury, Connecticut
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/home-recording-studio-how-to-start--124920.html
About the Author:
Wayne Johnson
Producer on Tune97.com---Producer/Singer Matching and Online
Singing Contest site.
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