Getting the best home recording studio equipment that you need to create and produce your own music is pretty simple when you know what you’re looking for. Your own home studio can easily be put together with a core set of 7 items – more than enough to get you started quickly.
So what’s in this must-have list? What items do you need and how can you get your studio up and running? Let’s take a look.
1. DAW
A digital audio workstation – another name for the computer software that will run at the heart of your home studio. It’s where all your sounds are recorded, edited, and mixed into a finished product. There are quite a few different types out there, all with their own strengths and weaknesses.
The program you choose will depend on a few different things, like:
- Your computer platform
- The style of music you want to produce
- Your spending plan
And there will naturally be a learning curve with the DAW you choose to go with, so it’s always worth doing some research before you commit to one so you know you’re making the right choice.
2. Audio Interface
Your audio interface will be one of the most important tools in your home recording studio equipment setup. Your interface is used to record your sounds into your computer’s software, and to send sound out of your computer through your monitors and headphones.
They come in many different shapes and sizes, and the model you choose depends on what you’ll be recording and producing. The biggest thing to think about is how many inputs you want – most homes studios can manage with 2, but if you think you’ll be recording real drum kits, then the best option is an 8-input interface.
3. Microphone
The more quality microphones you have, the better. But you don’t need to go crazy and bring in 5 or 6 mics straight away – you have plenty of time to build up your microphone arsenal.
The quickest way to get sorted in the mic department is to get 1 condenser and 1 dynamic. Where should you start? Here’s what I suggest:
- Audio-Technica AT2020
- Shure SM57
Those two mics will get you most of the way for the beginning stages of your home studio. Use the AT2020 for vocals, acoustic guitars, and pianos. Use the SM57 for guitar amps, bass amps, and any drums you use. Sorted.
4. Studio Monitors
If you want to produce good music, you need a pair of studio monitors to accurately hear what you’re making. Monitors are different to normal stereo speakers – speakers will have slight tweaks that raise the low-end and the high-end, so the CDs and MP3s you’re listening to sound sweeter.
But monitors don’t have these tweaks – they have what’s called a ‘flat-frequency response.’Why? So you hear a true picture of the music you’re creating in your studio. There’s nowhere to hide, your monitors don’t lie!
5. Headphones
You’ll need a good pair of headphones on your home recording studio equipment list, for two main reasons:
- Monitoring
- Mixing
It’s not recommended to do any serious mixing on headphones, so you’ll mainly use them for monitoring during recording.
6. MIDI Keyboard Controller
A keyboard controller is different to a normal keyboard. A controller doesn’t actually produce any sounds of its own (whereas a normal keyboard has its own on-board sounds).
A controller keyboard sends MIDI data into your computer, giving you control over the software synthesizer plugins inside your DAW. This is by far the best and cheapest road to take for a home studio – you can play countless different synths all from one keyboard, as all the sound generation is produced inside your studio computer.
7. Extras: Mic Stand/Pop Filter/Cables
- Mic stand: always use one when recording with a microphone.
- Pop filter: recording vocals? Use a pop filter without fail.
- Cables: you’ll need the right cables and connections for piecing your home recording studio equipment together.
Final Thoughts
When you get the help and hints that you need, it’s easy to bring together the right recording equipment to build your home studio.
If you want to dive deeper into the world of music production and home recording you can get a free home studio guide when you sign up for the weekly newsletter – there’s a form below to do just that. You’ll find a couple of extra bonuses thrown in for you too.
And I’ve also got a free PDF checklist for you in the link below.
