How To Set Up A Small Recording Studio At Home

Home guitar studios were something that was but a pipe dream for most guitarists 15 or twenty years agone, but nowadays, a abode studio tin be achieved without spending a fortune and by doing everything yourself. For many musicians, the idea of a studio within their own dwelling house is ane of the nearly exciting prospects there is, and the power is there to be able to brand a quick recording of an idea, or crouch down for weeks and make an album.

In this guide, we're looking at how to build a home guitar studio.

Building a Home Guitar Studio

The basics of building a abode guitar studio don't accept to be overly circuitous. The idea is basically to create a infinite in your home which is specifically for recording guitar. This volition normally be its own room, simply the room tin be used for other things, too. This can be a spare chamber or even an outbuilding. Inside this room, you need to treat the space acoustically with diffusers and audio-visual treatments to ensure it is a suitable space for making recordings that don't sound like they were made in an aircraft hangar. Once you've done this, a few bones pieces of equipment such every bit a desk-bound or audio interface, some microphones, and speakers/headphones can be the basis of your studio. In this article, we go into more particular virtually how to cull and care for the space as well as what equipment you will need.

Benefits of a Home Guitar Studio

If you've idea about edifice a home studio for playing and recording guitar before, the chances are you've had a long recall near the benefits! In case you lot've not thought of whatever (or just because they're fun to think most) here are some of the benefits to building your own home studio for guitar.

Larn more about the fashion music is recorded and produced, and fifty-fifty get a more than astute producer.

Be able to quickly record and share ideas with people, no matter where they are in the world! You can mix down an idea and send it to someone the other side of the globe in minutes.

Cut the costs of using studios and engineers. If you are recording yourself to a good standard, you won't take to pay to use commercial studios.

Be able to record on your own schedule. If you get dorsum from a night out and it is 1am, you tin still record if you are suddenly struck by inspiration. No waiting around for studio bookings or relying on others to tape you.

You can share your skills and record friends and bandmates in your home studio. If y'all hang out with a lot of musicians, yous might suddenly find yourself very popular.

There are so many benefits to having a studio within your habitation. If you've decided you desire to become ahead and create one, then it is time to piece of work out how it is possible!

The Cost of a Dwelling house Studio

Without wanting to cop out and give the 'how long is a slice of cord?' respond to this particular question, there really is no specific answer to how much a habitation studio for guitar costs. In the mod age, at that place is a lot of affordable equipment out in that location. If y'all want to do it on the inexpensive then you lot tin can withal create something with the ability to brand good recordings. In our article Best Guitar Recording Equipment For Beginners (Affordable Options), nosotros've reviewed budget equipment which is good for beginners but can practise a job in your studio, especially if yous are building from scratch.

The truth is that music tech can be pricey, especially if you are fussy about brands and only want the very best. If you want a studio to rival the very best in the earth then you can end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment. However, creating professional recordings doesn't always require this.

A Budget Studio

A cheap end studio could be created with under $500 in upkeep if you already accept a figurer or device to record onto. This will non be a studio capable of recording a lot of instruments at once, so if yous but want to tape guitar and so this price range may be achievable.

Mid-Range Home Studios

A budget of $2500 can exist a adept starting point for a studio. This can include a computer to deed as the focal betoken and middle of your recording. This is enough for a pocket-size mixer, multiple microphones, sound interface and audio-visual treatment to make sure that your studio isn't merely a very bones space to tape, merely that information technology tin really produce results worthy of release. Within this, nosotros haven't included the guitar (or amplifier). If you need these, the costs may rack up more.

Loftier-End Home Studios

This is where things can go fun! If yous have the coin to spend on this and are looking for a truly professional person, state-of-the-art dwelling house setup then you can speedily spend $twenty,000 or even more than. I want to stress once again that this is not essential! A top quality microphone can cost $1,000, a Mac Pro could toll you $5,000, and of form guitars and accessories aren't cheap. Plus, let's not forget about mixing desks, which tin price a huge amount, especially if you opt for a classic desk-bound with a lot of inputs!

Earlier you lot decide how much to spend on your studio, recollect about what you need from the infinite. If you have the money and want to record a striking album, go ahead and kit out your domicile studio. If y'all are more restrained past budget, this doesn't mean you can't make some professional recordings without spending a fortune.

Choosing and Building the Perfect Space

This is likely to be restricted by your home, and the space you have bachelor. In an platonic world, you will have a whole room to dedicate to making your home guitar studio, but it is understandable that not everyone is in a position to practice so. Yous tin definitely create a studio space in a room you use for other things, such as a room that doubles as a cinema room or even has a bed in and functions as a spare sleeping accommodation, but ideally, you should be able to prioritize the acoustics of the space.

Ideally, a spare room will be an excellent space for you to treat every bit a blank sheet. Alternatively, an office or report. If you're really stuck for infinite then a garage or even a summer house could be the place for y'all to set upward your dwelling house studio for guitar.

The Acoustics of Your Home Guitar Studio

Treating the acoustics should exist top priority, especially if you are planning to brand your recordings on a microphone rather than use a guitar interface. The acoustics volition make your guitar audio make clean and clear and allow yous to hear whatever effects you put on without the room tainting the sound.

When information technology comes to recording, the program audio engineers usually have is to go the recording as dry equally possible, with no reverb or imprint of the room. Imagine a recording which takes place in a cathedral or even an echoey bathroom. In one case this extra echo has been recorded on a guitar take it is impossible to get off. If you tape dry out, with no tainting of the room, even if yous desire to add this in later, you tin use reverb furnishings. The clarity of the audio should be the top priority. For this, nosotros want to make the room acoustically 'dead' or 'flat'.

Acoustic Panels

To do this, in an platonic world, audio-visual panels should be installed. These don't have to exist expensive and often are fabricated out of foam. They piece of work by 'soaking upward' the audio rather than reflecting it dorsum to the states.

Acoustic panels and treatments can do two different things:

Deflect the sound so that it is going in unlike directions, rather than echoing straight back into the mic. Oft, acoustic panels will exist diffusers, sometimes fabricated out of wood. They are designed to scatter the audio reflections in a load of different directions so they are non focussed and don't just come directly back into the microphone or our ears.

They can soak upwardly the audio vibrations to stop them deflecting back. This works in a similar manner to h2o, and this can be a helpful analogy. Pretty much annihilation that would theoretically soak up water tin potentially contribute to an acoustically flat room.

As well every bit specific items which tin can treat the acoustics, such equally panels, filling the room with materials tin can be a skilful mode to try and keep racket reflection to a minimum. Sofas, chairs and lots of cushions tin can help. Have you ever been in a room which is being decorated and all the article of furniture has been taken out? You probably observe the fact that there is suddenly an repeat.

Equipment Required

The equipment you lot need to build a home studio can vary depending on exactly how you wish to brand your recordings. Call up about the point path and how you wish to record your instrument. You lot should too consider whether yous are using an audio-visual or electrical guitar, or a combination of both.

Naturally, you will demand your guitar as well as any course of amplification. From hither, y'all can choose a few unlike means to record.

You tin record using an audio interface, which tin plug in either a ¼ inch jack directly from your guitar, or can connect to a microphone in order to record the sound.
Y'all can run a microphone or multiple mics into a mixing desk or large sound interface (this is great if yous want to record multiple musicians at the aforementioned time).
You tin use a guitar interface, which will take bespeak straight from a ¼ inch jack cable and process and dilate to a level which y'all tin and so tape on a computer.

These different techniques will crave slightly dissimilar equipment setups, besides. In that location are some options which tin can let you to record onto devices such equally phones and tablets and we talked well-nigh those in our commoditysouth How To Tape Electric Guitar and How To Tape Acoustic Guitar.

For a home studio withal, nosotros recommend recording onto a computer every bit they tend to have a much college hard drive space and just give a lot more options for exactly what you can practise with the sound.

The equipment needed to build your dwelling house studio is listed below.

Computer

You'd probably like to think that y'all're the brains of your studio, but it's probably your computer! Either a laptop or desktop is fine, but brand sure information technology has plenty of difficult bulldoze infinite for storing your recordings, and can run the software with ease. There'south no demand to install every piece of software going, just ane reliable DAW.

DAW

The digital audio workstation or "DAW" is the software you lot will exist using to record. You will need this installed on your computer. Your DAW should communicate with whatever audio interface, mixer or other hardware you have. An pick like Pro Tools or Logic is great for a professional person feel, simply there are more affordable options out there. We find that Reaper is a good mix of value and features and is currently available here for $sixty if you intend to use information technology without commercial use

Guitars and Accessories

Well, to record a guitar…you need a guitar! Make sure you have a guitar which is well-suited to recording and have thought well-nigh how you plan to record. If you have a fully acoustic guitar, for instance, y'all will demand a microphone to pick upward the sound. Electric will demand an amplifier or can even be recorded via an interface.

If you are wanting to know what some of the best acoustic guitars are for recording then cheque out our article here 5 All-time Acoustic Guitars For Recording.

Microphone

Even if you do plan to do a lot of your recording with a guitar interface, we recommend having a microphone too. This will mean you lot can also record vocals and other incidental sound tracks to go with your guitar recording.

The Shure SM57 in a higher place is a bully selection for both electrical and acoustic guitar but there are others which nosotros talk nigh in other manufactures.

To find the all-time microphone for you when recording acoustic guitar read our article here 10 Best Microphones For Recording Acoustic Guitar – Every Budget .

For the best microphones for recording electric guitar read our commodity 10 Best Microphones For Recording Electric Guitar – All Budgets

Interface/Mixer

You will need to run your sound source, either the output of your guitar or a microphone, into an audio interface or a mixer. This volition boost the betoken and turn it into something that your DAW can sympathize and tape. A mixer volition have multiple inputs, which means you lot tin can record more than one audio source, like with the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.

This might hateful 2 mics on a guitar, or a mic on vocals equally well equally guitar. At that place are many ways to do it, but a mixer or audio interface with a lot of inputs will requite you lot the most options.

You tin can buy specific guitar interfaces which tin bypass the need for whatsoever sort of microphone. While these are skilful for sketching out ideas and recording on the get, we don't recommend them for a full abode studio as the audio quality doesn't tend to exist quite as good, and some of these interfaces aren't as reliable. Plus, the lack of an option to utilise a mic alongside it can exist very limiting.

Monitor and Headphones

This is an area which so many people don't contribute enough of their budget to. You should have a decent set of studio monitors (speakers) in whatsoever habitation studio. This is the only mode y'all can get a true reflection of the audio y'all have recorded. The Edifier R1280T are splendid studio monitor speakers and are affordable coming in around $100.

If you take poor monitors y'all might miss the fact that some of the guitar has not been recorded well or has groundwork noise, for instance. The just mode to create a clear recording is to ensure you lot tin can hear what you are doing without poor quality monitors tainting the sound.

Y'all can use headphones, like the first-class and affordable AKGK240 Studio headphones above during the mixing and recording process. Even if you lot plan to mix your audio via your speakers, headphones will be useful during overdubs and for monitoring during alive recording, and tin avoid you lot getting feedback issues or even 'bleed' when you tape what is coming out of the speakers onto the guitar track. If you're playing to a bankroll track this may become a prevalent issue.

Cables and Accessories

Some people skimp on the details such as cables. Remember that they are carrying the audio signal, and if they can't practise a good job of it they can cause distortion or interference to be recorded. Other accessories y'all demand will include stands for your intrument and microphone, a expert quality tuner and spare strings.

Using Your Studio and Recording Tips

The following tips will help you no end when information technology comes to using your recording studio one time information technology has been prepare.

Wire it Up!

Once yous've purchased everything, it is important to go everything continued and check that it is all working, and that you have the right leads to connect the microphone to the interface, the interface to the figurer and besides the signal out of the interface (or mixer) to monitors and headphones. To practise this, you volition demand to understand what is happening to the audio throughout. Bringing u.s.a. to the next bespeak…

Understand Signal Flow

This is the route your sound signal goes on in one case the vibrations of your instrument accept been created. In that location are some excellent diagrams on this discipline hither. This will assistance you to understand how all of the studio is connected, and where the sound goes throughout the process.

Eliminate Noise

This may audio incredibly bones, but it is amazing how many home studios take a lot of background noise going on. Make sure that you don't have an air conditioner on during any takes, and pay attention to what is happening in the other rooms of your home. Information technology can be easy to presume that low-level racket won't be picked upwardly, only information technology tin actually be i of the most annoying enemies of the dwelling producer.

Some less-obvious things can contribute to racket, besides. A radiator or other heater may produce some noise, or fifty-fifty a chair! If you lot have a squeaky swivel chair, it can decide to creak at the incorrect indicate. There'south non much more frustrating than playing a solo perfectly and when you lot listen dorsum the creak of a chair tin can be heard ruining it.

Have Intendance of Guitars

You lot may take heard the saying "fix it in the mix". This seems to exist the motto of some audio engineers, but not the all-time ones! The best know that you can't set certain things, and you lot should ever start with the highest quality of audio you possibly tin. This includes the guitar. Always make sure your strings are relatively fresh, the guitar is tuned and issues such as fret buzz have been eliminated.

Record to a Metronome

You tin set i of these up through a DAW, so there isn't a necessary extra expense when you lot're getting fix upward set up for recording. Metronomes volition keep you in fourth dimension, like a drummer would. The benefit of this is that if you determine to layer things up in the futurity or create some overdubs, it volition be far easier to stay in time. As well, if you lot plan to go a session drummer or other musician to add together more parts, they will be able to do and then with ease. Fifty-fifty using loops or other production techniques can be made easier by ensuring everything is neatly in fourth dimension.

Record Dry

Effects can be added at a later date. Unless you have a specific guitar tone that yous are 100% sure you won't want to change, information technology makes sense to record the guitar dry and add effects at a after engagement. Software such equally Guitar Rig can model dozens of amps, cabs and fifty-fifty more effects. This means you lot take the sound of an incredible amount of legendary gear at your fingertips. A dry recording tin be molded and shaped into whatever y'all want it to be using plugins and other software inside your DAW.

Record Once again and Again and Over again

Why not? You have your own home studio at present! Once you've gear up upward the guitar studio, you tin can record as many times as needed to perfect your skills and to perfect the take.

Conclusion

Setting up your home recording studio can involve a lot of decisions based on your own preference, the type of guitar you play and, of class, your budget. Luckily, at that place truly are options for everyone. Not many studios use identical equipment due to the fact there is so much out there. You tin truly get out your ain unique mark.

How deeply you desire to go into this is upwards to you (and possibly your significant other!) It may be that you set up an area of the spare room, or you might dedicate your whole garage or other outbuilding to creating a home guitar studio. Either way, the potential to create quality recordings and acquire exactly how to brand these recordings is out realistic, it is easier than it ever has been to learn how to make professional guitar recordings.