One does not necessarily need a professional studio to make great recordings. In fact, with today’s technology, it’s possible to get excellent results without spending a lot of money. This brief guide will show you how to set up your home recording studio on a budget.
Steps to building a home recording studio – What You’ll Need
Assuming you’re building from scratch, here’s a list of equipment you’ll need to set up your home recording studio:
1. A well functioning PC – A studio computer is the heart of your studio. You’ll need a decent computer with fast processor and plenty of RAM to run your audio software smoothly without lagging.
2. Digital audio interface – Audio interfaces are a piece of computer hardware that connects your microphones and instruments to your host computer and allows the input and output of audio signals. Look for one with at least two inputs and 24-bit/96kHz recording quality.
3. Digital audio workstation – If you are looking to create your own home recording studio for voice over and dubbing jobs, one of the most important tools you’ll need is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). A DAW is a computer software that allows to do everything like mixing and mastering the audio. Beginners with no experience in audio production can go for free version DAWs like Audacity and Cakewalk. If you have a higher budget, you can go for paid DAWs like FL Studio, Pro Tools, etc.
4. Microphones – You’ll need at least one good quality microphone for recording audio/recording vocals during a voice over/dubbing session/music recording. If you’re on a budget, a condenser mic will suffice and will efficiently capture delicate sounds and higher frequencies inside a home recording studio.
5. Studio headphones – A good pair of studio headphones is essential for monitoring your recordings. Look for ones with comfortable ear cups and noise-cancelling features.
6. Cables – You’ll need XLR cables to connect your microphones to your audio interface and instrument cables if you’re recording electric guitars or basses.
7. Software – You’ll need recording software to capture your audio. Many great options are available, both free and paid, and you need to shop around a bit for it.
Apart from the above, you also need these for your home studio setup
Studio Space
The first step in setting up a cost-effective home recording studio setup is finding a suitable space. It doesn’t have to be big, but it does need to be free from distractions and have good acoustics.
If you don’t have an extra room in your house, you can set up a recording space in a spare garage or even large basements. Just make sure to soundproof the area as much as possible to minimize outside noise interference.
Soundproofing
Soundproofing is essential to getting professional-sounding results if you’re planning to work from your home recording studio. You can buy unique acoustic foam panels designed to trap and absorb sound, which can be glued or taped to walls or even hung from the ceiling if you’re serious about improving the sound quality of your home recording studio.
Acoustic Treatment
One doesn’t need to spend much money to achieve excellent acoustics in your home recording studio. The main goal that it should fulfill is that it should make the environment of your home studio more neutral and sonically pleasing. Here are some tips on how to set up your DIY home recording studio:
1. Use inexpensive materials to create sound-absorbing panels. You can use egg cartons, old blankets, or furniture to create DIY acoustic panels.
2. Place these panels around the room to help reduce reflections and echo.
3. Use rugs or carpets to help deaden sound. You can also hang tapestries or blankets on the walls to help absorb sound.
4. Make sure your furniture is not touching the walls as this can create unwanted vibrations.
5. Keep your home studio clean and clutter-free, which will also help reduce unwanted noise.
Studio Monitors
A critical element of any home recording studio is the monitors. Studio monitors are the speakers that you use to listen to your recordings, and they are available in all shapes and sizes, but for a home studio on a budget, you’ll want to focus on finding affordable options that still sound good.
Cables and Hardware
There are a lot of miscellaneous recording equipment considerations when setting up your home recording studio as a newbie. Among the essentials, we highly recommend a good pop filter for your condenser microphones and microphone stands.
Final Thoughts
The above section gives you a glimpse into building a home recording studio within budget. If you’re a self-producing songwriter, an electronic music artist, or need a recording space to only record vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, and other individual instruments with only one or two people performing at a time, a regular-sized spare room/garage will suffice. If your home setup were going to be used purely for mixing purposes, your focus would need to be on your speaker setup, acoustic treatment and good quality microphones. With some creativity and some elbow grease, you can create a DIY space perfect for recording your voice over projects or music.
Through a mix of our own and extensive partner network of 200 recording studios and with our pool of more than 3,200 native dubbing/voice-over artists we offer high-quality dubbing and voice-over services at competitive costs in more than 70 languages. We are DUBnSUB – a post-production company based in Gurgaon, India with branch offices in Germany, France, the USA, and Myanmar.
Contact us today, to get started!