How To Set Up a Home Studio in 2021

Thinking of setting up a new home studio?

If you are thinking of building a home studio from scratch, lemme tell you it is a big project. You will need a fair investment and a decent place to set that up. Don’t forget about a lot of research work and planning.

If you are thinking of setting up a home studio, you need essential equipment that should be present there.

Don’t need to panic, we will start with the basics.

Decide a budget. Before going any further, give yourself a number. You can easily find instruments at any price level (don’t think too low, it is studio equipment).

I would not recommend way too cheap equipment as it affects the quality of sound and feel.

Next thing, you will need instruments and equipment there. There can be many gadgets needed according to needs and requirements.

List of things you’d need to setup a home studio

A computer
Audio Interface
Microphone
Studio monitors
Microphone stand
Microphone cable
Headphones
Pop shield
Acoustic treatment
Monitor speaker

How to Setup Home Studio in 2021

A computer

The computer comes under the common necessity of a person nowadays.

You might even have it right and the writer went into pure basics. Many of us might not have a computer and what I am about to write may not be agreeable but hear me out.

Get a new computer solely for music production and recording audio.

Why?

A regular laptop having normal applications like a word processor, games, different software can cause disturbance or problems in your applications used for audio recording and mixing. It can also reduce the stability of your device.

So, keeping your work and music or studio things different it is advisable to allocate a separate system for music production and recording. There are different types of applications used for recording music production. To match the same energy choose a good pc or laptop with basic functionalities.

Audio Interface

After talking about the computer we land on an audio interface.

What is an audio interface?

It is a hardware device that works as a front end or face of a computer recording system. It helps in improving the sonic capabilities of your computer. It allows you to connect different types of equipment to the computer.

Summarily it works as a bridge between your computer and other recording equipment. It is easy to work with and makes your work easy and fast.

It makes your connection more prominent and safe. It is advisable to get one Audio Interface for your home studio setup.

How to choose?

I have listed some of the best and affordable Audio Interface for the home studio. It will handle things to some extent.

Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1
Steinberg UR12
Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3
Bandlab Link Digital
PreSonus Audiobox USB 96
Mackie Onyx Artist 1.2
Behringer U-Phoria UMC22
Alesis Core 1
IK Multimedia iRig HD 2

Studio Microphone

Studio Microphone works as one of the key elements in your home studio setup.

These are commonly called condenser microphones and work best for home studios. These are also found in studios. It helps in catching a wider and larger frequency range.

It provides a good response and can produce a good sound sample. These Studio Microphones have a louder output than usual ones.

These are much more sensitive to loud sounds. High-frequency sensitivity. These are also durable but there is no need to test it.

You can easily get Studio microphones in all price ranges but some affordable microphones provide great features with sound quality.

I have listed them for you. These all are quite good and worth the money you are spending.

Shure SM57
MXL 990 condenser microphone
SE Electronics sE7
Shure SM58
AKG P120
Nady CYM-2 kit
IK Multimedia iRig Mic studio
MXL R144 Ribbon Mic
IK Multimedia iRig Mic cast HD

Studio monitors

Studio monitors are as important as any other equipment here.

Let me tell you, don’t’ get confused by the name, these are loudspeakers used in studios. They are used in studios to provide various features for music production and recording. It provides a wide frequency range that can produce both high-end and low-end sounds without experiencing any distortion. It comes with built-in amps.

These are used in recording studios, television studios, radio studios, home studios, etc. There are many Studio monitors available in the market but as we are looking for an affordable range with all features, the list shrinks.

Here are some of the best Studio monitors available in the market and are under budget.

IK Multimedia iLoud Micro
KRK RP5G3-NA Rokit 5 generation 3 powered budget studio monitor
JBL one series 104 studio monitors
PreSonus Eris E3.5 studio monitors
M-audio BX5-D3 studio monitors
KRK Rokit RP5 G4 studio monitors
Mackie CR3-XBT studio monitors
Alesis Elevate 5 MKII studio monitors
Mackie CR Series CR3-3 creative reference studio monitors
Foster PM0.3 studio monitors

Microphone Stand

Have you seen someone casually holding microphones and starting to record?

You are unstable, your microphone is unstable, your voice is unstable. Makes sense. To rectify this kind of blunders you are advised to use a Microphone stand. With the help of a Microphone stand, you can easily position your microphones. You can even adjust these according to your height or preference. IT won’t stress your arms too.

And things with mic are easy to handle and place in a studio.

I could go on, but as I made the whole idea clear, there are many stands available with many surprising features and qualities.

Here are some of the best Microphone stands that are known for their performance and qualities.

On stage MS7201B microphone stand
Ultimate support PRO-ST pro mic stand
Konig & Meyer 25400 boom mic stand
Atlas sound MS-10C round base mic stand
K & M very low microphone stand
Hercules MS533B hideaway boom stand
DR Pro DR259 MS1500BK low profile
Neewer suspension boom scissor arm
DR Pro tripod mic stand telescoping boom
RODE PSA1 swivel mount studio mic arm

Microphone Cables

These cables are used for connecting the microphone and maintaining the integrity of the place.

These cables are generally XLR cables as these cables are primarily used and found on professional video, audio, and other stage equipment. It is always advisable to have XLR cables, you shouldn’t mind an extra pair too.

Anyway, here are some of the best cables that can be used as microphone cables. Do check the jack of the microphone before getting one though.

List of microphone cables:

Planet waves classic series
Hosa pro
Rapco Horizon N1M1
LyxPro LCS
Mogami silver( mid-range XLR cable)
Mogami gold studio ( high-end XLR cable)
Mogami gold stage

Remember to look for the correct jack. Do look for covering so you don’t end up getting defected good with shock therapy.

Studio Headphones

What are these?

Though it is quite obvious, these are headphones that are used in studios for the production and recording of music.

What is the difference?

See, you won’t realize the difference until you hear these out.

The main difference lies in the sound quality though, using studio headphones you will notice the natural and clear sound. These are made with flat frequency response. These are designed for accuracy and helps in accentuating frequencies and bass, you won’t see any bass boost. It keeps the sound real.

It is like getting a real review rather than fake hype or vague criticism.

How to choose studio headphones?

Many factors need to be discussed before moving further.

Design. The design of the studio headphones can depend on your choices and preferences. Specifically, there are two types of designs for ear cups present in headphones. Supra-aural ( above the ear) and circumaural (around the ear). It depends now how comfortable you feel in any of the two.
Drivers. Drivers of the headphones do make a big difference. Choose the correct driver to get the best quality sound.
Wired or wireless. See, this also depends on your preference. If you feel more free using wireless, go for it. If you like keeping things to a place, wired headphones can be the option.
Open-back and closed-back. Closed-back headphones prevent sound from coming out but it traps pressure inside it. Open-back headphones provide more accurate frequency but have less isolation.
Isolation. It is quite an important feature to consider. Headphones should come with isolation to get rid of the background noises. These noises can impact the sound quality and can make it different

These are some of the main things to focus on. Build of a studio headphone is important too, Hopefully, you get stylish looking headphones with all the qualities.

Here are some of the best headphones under an affordable range. These headphones have all the important factors with looks.

FocalListen professional studio headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
Sennheiser HD-206 studio headphones
Beyerdynamic DT1770 pro
Sony MDR-7506 studio headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x studio headphones
Pioneer HRM-7 studio headphones
Sennheiser HD-25
Mackie MP-240
Nuraphone by Nura headphones

Pop shield / filters

You might have seen this many times. It is a small circle thing present in front of a microphone that works as noise protection. It is placed in front of the microphone to eliminate any popping sound (comes when you stand too close to the mic). It helps in producing and recording natural sound without any impact of external noises.

What does it exactly do?

It acts as a barrier between plosive sounds and the microphone’s diaphragm to minimize the impact of sound causing distortion. It helps a lot in sound production and recording. It is needed in your home studio.

There are many famous Pop filters available in the market, I have handpicked some for you. These are some of the best pop filters.

Nady MPF-6
Stedman corporation Pro screen XL
On-stage stands ASFSS6GB dual screen
WindTech popgard 2000
Auphonix MPF-1
Avantone PS-1 pro-shield
Blue microphones the pop
Stedman PS-6 popper stopper
Mikrofonen Hakan P110
Pauly Ton Pauly superscreen

Acoustic panels

You might have heard of Acoustic panels, might even have seen one of these.

What are Acoustic panels anyway?

These are sound-absorbing panels that can be easily placed on the walls and ceiling and your work is done. These panels control and minimize the noise, and eliminate and echoing sounds and noises. It provides control cob filtering in a room. It is one of the most affordable ways to eliminate sound problems from your sound.

As you are making a home studio and things are not the same when you are home, these are here to rescue your career and music. I have listed some of the best Acoustic panels available in the market to help you out.

Auralex acoustics studio foam
Foamily Acoustic foam egg crate panel studio
Pro Studio acoustics wedge foam
Auralex acoustic sonoflat acoustic absorption foam
Auralex acoustic roominator acoustic absorption kit
Siless acoustic foam panels
JBER pyramid acoustic foam panels
ATS wedge foam acoustic panels
IZO acoustic Egg-crate tiles
Mybecca acoustic panels

These are easy to use and you can always get more of these. You can even make your room nearly soundproof.

These are some of the main and important equipment to have in a home studio, start building your den with basics, and it’s a long way ahead. There will be a time when new equipment won’t be enough, you will aspire for more new gadgets for your studios.

Start with these things, use it in your room and you got yourself a new studio where you can practice and produce new songs.

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Erwin Cooper

a sound and video production expert who blogs about gadgets & accessories to help you select perfect equipment. The site is supported by commissions I receive from Amazon, please purchase items via my affiliate links to support me and this blog.