How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio

  • February 9, 2008
  • 25,242 Views
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Whether you want to record a demo or simply indulge your inner rock star, a home studio has certain requirements.

You Will Need

  • Work surfaces, such as a desk, table, stackable shelves
  • A good swivel chair
  • A computer and sound card or a dedicated recording console
  • A six- or twelve- channel mixer
  • A quality microphone
  • A good set of speakers
  • A keyboard stand
  • Graphic equalizers
  • Pitch correction machine
  • A reverb unit
  • Heavy drapes
  • Carpet remnants or heavy rugs
  • Fabric or sound-dampening foam
  • A CD player
  • Musical instruments
How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: List work surfaces

Step 1: List work surfaces

List the available work surfaces in your studio, such as desks, stackable shelves or even milk crates and two-by-fours.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Set up u-shaped area

Step 2: Set up u-shaped area

Set up a U-shaped area by arranging a desk and a secondary work surface in an L-shape, with a rack or shelves making up the third leg.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Place swivel chair

Step 3: Place swivel chair

Place a swivel chair in the middle of your workspace. Test your ability to easily access all of the workspaces from the chair.

Invest in a quality chair that doesn’t cause your back or legs to tire easily. And make sure it doesn’t squeak.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Position equipment

Step 4: Position equipment

Position your recording equipment on your work surfaces. Put frequently adjusted things within arm’s reach.

Electrical cords can cause audio equipment to hum or buzz, so position components so that wires are as far apart as possible. If they must cross, place them perpendicularly to reduce noise.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Hang drapes

Step 5: Hang drapes

If your studio faces a noisy street, hang the thickest drapes you can find.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Cover hard floors

Step 6: Cover hard floors

Cover wood, tile, or cement floors with carpet remnants or heavy rugs to reduce echoes and reverberations.

Stand in the middle of your studio and clap your hands hard. If you hear echoes, cover walls with fabric or sound-dampening foam.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Mount speakers

Step 7: Mount speakers

Mount speakers at ear-level, spaced so that you can sit centered in the sound stream during playback. This may involve building a platform for the speakers on your desk, or hanging them on a wall or from the ceiling.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Get "bumper" music

Step 8: Get "bumper" music

If you are creating a podcast, you may want to have “bumper” music at the start and end of each broadcast, so you’d need to have a CD player handy.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Position instruments

Step 9: Position instruments

Position any instruments you may have at the open end of the workspace, where you can access them easily. Ideally, you want to be able to begin recording and playing without much time or effort devoted to moving from one task to the other.

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio: Start recording

Step 10: Start recording

Begin recording your future hit!

Boston’s self-titled debut album was recorded mostly in band member Tom Scholz’s basement studio.

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Video is in What I Need To Do (32 videos)