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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