What is the right gear to buy when building your home studio. This question can be met with so many answers, that it can be overwhelming for a beginner who is starting out building his/her first home studio. There are multiple components to consider, and then many manufactures, types, features and price points for each of component.
I’ve talked about this before in my video, the 5 key home studio components. If you’re starting a home studio you need a computer, a DAW, an audio interface, different types of microphones and studio monitors. It helps to figure out your specific needs. Are you recording drums, or are you going to be programming drum sounds in software like Addictive Drums? If you’re programing with soft synths or drum sequencer’s then chances are you only need an interface with 2 inputs.
Watch my video above and and consider what it is that will best suit your needs in your studio. What will work for someone else may not be the best thing for you. It is important to get advice and opinions from one another inside the audio community, but you must also remember that just because it works for me, does not mean it is right for you.
Tomorrow, tune into the Produce Like a Pro Youtube channel and we will be doing a live Q&A to answer your questions about what you need to outfit your home studio.
Some examples of the questions we will be talking about are:
- How do I know that this computer is powerful enough?
- Does this interface have enough inputs?
- What sample rate should I record at?
- Are $300 studio monitors good enough to mix a pro sounding song?
- Can I record a good sounding vocal with this $99 microphone?
- Which DAW should I use?
The Q&A starts at 10am Pacific time, I look forward to seeing you there!
Many Thanks,
Warren
well .. the NS-10 you have back to your shoulders … are Hi-Fi speakers 😀 they contradict the principle you told :D.
And in Abbey Road they use B&W .. which are Hi-Fi 😀
However, the best way to listen to nuances, from pitch precision to even the presence of instruments and what they are doing, is never ever listen to or mixing at high volume. Rule of the thumb: keep the loudness down.
1st – you don’t damage your speakers even if you use the Hi-Fi ones
2nd – you stay away from the compression zone that a loudspeaker gives
3rd – you listen to all the not perfect pitched note of any instrument or vocal
4th – you really can perceive in a magic better way, what any instrument does … 😉
Compression zone ?
I lived through the compression zone. I lived through the compression zone. I lived thruuuuuuuu the compression zoooooooone. – T. Cruz, Jetman
Don’t forget the Genelics in the background. Warren uses powered monitor speakers and he has mentioned them in several of his videos. There is a purpose to those NS-10’s and a reason they are used in large studios. This video is for those just starting out, and cheap hi-fi speakers, as he referenced, are going to ruin your mixes. I know from when I started over 10 years ago how much of a difference it made going from hi-fi to powered monitors. It was night and day! There’s no mistake that what he’s saying rings true. Using quality hi-fi speakers for reference is common practice, however, they cannot be your only mixing source or your mixes will only sound good on the same or similar speakers with like frequency responses.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-ns10-story
Hi @tormy_van_cool:disqus let’s not confuse beginners. NS10’s and B&W have extremely high RMS Peak values, are relatively expensive and are not indicative of typical inexpensive HiFi speakers. It is very important that we provide common sense advice to up and coming Producers and Engineers. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
I use MacBook Pro.Processor is 2.53 intel core 2 Duo.And sometimes just one plugin more makes Logic x stuck.Like my tape machine pluin.8 gigs of memory.RME Babyface interface.Whe i put SSl Channel on every track as a first plugin to make all to sound vintage this is almoust never possible to do it.So my question is what i need to change.I am thinking about IMac.But it is 1100 £.So what is better?Is the any tower stuff which is able to handle and is not so expencive?
I’ve worked with everything from cheapo Core 2 Duo’s with 2GB of RAM up to Intel 4770Ks with 16GB’s. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s learn to work with what you have and get optimized plug-ins. What I mean by that is that a low-end computer that can’t handle many plug-ins may need to monitor less tracks at a time while editing and for full mixes, you will need to bounce clips down much more often and commit to changes. I once ran a studio with a low-powered computer where I had to do this for certain projects. It can be a pain, but it’s a compromise for less power.
Now, if I read your comment right, it looks like you have a Core 2 Duo 8GB of memory. Really, you should be able to do a decent amount with that including several tracks using 2-3 plug-ins each. Your biggest restriction is going to be your 2-core cpu as modern DAW’s are generally optimized for 4- to 8-cores. Where your issue may lie is either plug-ins that are not optimized or you may be using intentionally high resource plug-ins. If you are using a plug-in on every track for the same sound, try this: Create a new stereo bus. We will use this bus as a ‘Send’. From there, take your tracks that you want to have that “Vintage” sound and add a send to the bus you just created with the effect in it. If the effect has Dry/Wet options, make sure the ‘Dry’ is all the way down. This will allow you to use Parallel Processing, which is MUCH less intensive on resources. Sometimes part of the process in mixing is learning to properly handle and get the most out of the hardware and software that you have.
tl:dr
Don’t replace that Mac just yet until you’ve exhausted all of your options for optimization. Hope that helps!
Good to watch, thank you. I’m just wondering what the difference is between using a good quality mixing desk as opposed to and audio interface. I would be interested to know, cheers Phil
I’m assuming you’re talking about a console when you say “mixing desk”. There are many benefits to using a console including physical controls, built-in EQ, motorized faders for automation, many inputs (24 to 48 and much greater), and in some instances coloring (SSL is very famous for this). As far as practicality and cost efficiency, your interface will likely do anything you’re wanting to do for much less money. For a beginner, and particularly a home studio, a 24-bit 96khz capable interface will work wonders. As Warren mentions, for your first interface, you’ll likely only need a 2-input interface. Focusrite makes some great pre-amps even in their cheaper hardware and the Scarlett Solos are a great option. As well, the Saffire 6 is a good place to start and even Presonus’ Firestudio Mobile (Which also includes S/PDIF and MIDI in/out). There are tons of options out there, but I definitely suggest looking into an audio interface vs a “mixing desk”.
‘Speaker came forward, never came back…’ LOL
Haha yes it was fun on the Q&A hearing so many stories of people blowing up their parents Stereo/HiFi Speakers @roarhoogdorp:disqus!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Have you ever wrote a book or video on creativity? Describe your creative mind without say talking about only gear. What is the parameters for creativity? What is your thought process when you are building a song as a writer player producer engineer, without crossing over into the gray area of copying someone else’s tune? We pull a lot from the past and previous work. I know this is the question of the ages. We all use certain tools or tonal qualities that we go to automatically at first after we capture an instrument. I think of course we try to capture what we hear transparently without adding anything in any setting etc. and then add ideas or the taste or things the recorded writer musicians and producer desires or perceives. This question would be for more as a writer creator. How do you make a well educated informed experienced musician engineer creative, without copying other peoples music? With all the work you’ve done, you have no doubt pulled out your hair a few times. Not saying you have bad hair of course. Describe GOD.
Wow @rockozipzone:disqus that is so wonderful of you! I have indeed been blessed with so many talented people! My friends Jack Douglas and Shelly Yakus have so much to tell people, let’s hear from them first! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
I shall revisit those videos and hope you develop more in that line of thinking I dribbled out there. Thanks.
How do you get all the tracks from your DAW into the big mix console you have?
Hi @disqus_IwuKJfgfQ2:disqus, when I mix in hybrid through my SSL I come out of my interfaces into it. I hope that is simple and makes sense? Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Thanks Warren
Long note here, Warren thank you so so so so very much. I am a SBL bassist and I am looking at a property here in Northern New Mexico that used to be a bar, very small bar, with a home attached which is calling my name to purchase and start a small studio It is called Blue Spruce. I am a 50+ year bassist with some studio experience, Blue Seas – Steve Boone (Lovin’ Spoonful)(whom I am hoping will endorse my effort)(Indiana University studio recording program)(and several small studios about the country making demos)You and Scott have lit the fire in me to hit the “music business” again. Your encouragement about the proper recording tools is reaching a tipping point. I am 20 years out of Indiana University but with 2 years and a lifetime at SBL bringing the bass skills back and with a unique location and a little luck in the production end I hope you will be coming to Georgia O’Keefe country to check out our venture. Sincerely, Pete Z
P.S. does it still hold true that TWO sets of studio monitors can be a good idea….one for the how it will sound on the CD and one for how it will sound in the auto?