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Help Key: Home Recording, Part II

crunchgear.com — I live in a neighborhood of burgeoning artists and musicians, and an endless stream of people ask me, “How do I set up a cheap, quick, and easy home recording studio?” I’ve actually got it down to a science at this point, so here it is. Keep in mind that your favorite indie rock band has probably used a less sophisticated setup.

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  • mikelieman, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22"Keep in mind that your favorite indie rock band has probably used a less sophisticated setup."

    Less sophisticated than a Behringer mixer?

    There isn't anything less sophisticated than that.

    And, it's all in the gain staging, baby.


    • Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7It's all in pumping the treble and bass. Keep the flying V going.
    • NX910a, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I am looking for the help key on my keyboard, but I can't find it
    • Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9^ It's right next to the any key.
    • aywwts4, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5If you plan on doing this for any length of time at all, Spend more than 80 dollars on your mixer, and don't get a Behringer Eurorack, odds are 1/4 - Half of your inputs will be dead in no time.

      Skip the 100 dollars in foam padding and use eggshell cartons instead for the time being, I'm sure those aren't near perfect, but in the end I think you will kick yourself more for the Eurorack than not having 100 dollar pieces of foam.
    • sunamiebob, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3@mikelieman - I totally agree dude. Im 19 now but when I was 16 i could of put together a 10x better set up for a grand then this. His "science" sucks. Should not of gotten this far in Digg. oh and not even an indie rock band can record with 1 mic. This guys an idiot
    • guinsu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Seriously, you would be better off with the cheapest Peavey or Carvin mixer (both of which are quite nice) than Behringer. I started off with a Peavey RQ 200 - http://www.zzounds.com/item--PEVRQ200 It's a 6 channel mixer with 6 XLR inputs. Ideal for recording a drum kit. Can be had for $150 or less used. Or get a recording system with its own preamps built in. I'm also a fan of the Fostex VF-16, you can do up to 16 tracks at once with some add ons.

      Also, the SM58 is ok, but if you can spring for 1 or 2 used Sennheiser MD-421s (about $250) and some decent condenser overheads you will really get a nice sound.
    • MrBlackthorne, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Yeah, this article makes some decent points, but certainly isn't the best.

      Your best bet is to invest in (at least) a four channel USB/Firewire device for recording that has the pres built-in. (One packaged with software is nice). These are pretty cheap these days, and most come with preamps that are AT LEAST as good as the Behringer, probably better. (As an aside, I own a Tascam FW-1884, which is a pro Firewire interface. The op amps on the pres are exactly the same as the Behringer. This is why if you are doing "pro" or "semi-pro" recording, it is always good to invest in a nice tube pre... NOT A BEHRINGER!)

      For mics, you need at the very least 1 SM-57 (2 is best) and a large diaphragm condenser. There are some quality condensers on the market that will do a nice job for $100 - $150. It never hurts to spend a couple hundred more and buy a Rode or similar. SM-57's are great instrument mics (guitar, drums) and the large diaphragm condenser is a must for vocals. A pair of small diaphragm condensers is also useful for drums and instruments.

      Keep in mind that it is extremely hard to mix using headphones. That being said, quality headphones are probably going to work better than your computer speakers. Quality monitors are a MUST if you're going to be a serious audio engineer. (I made this mistake for years. My mixes always sounded thin. There is no substitute for good monitoring.)

      Yes, egg crate foam will work in a pinch, but it is by no means the best option. The foam is not dense enough to absorb lower frequencies, meaning your room will sound bassy. It certainly is better than nothing, but check out foambymail.com. They have some good sound treatment options that are affordable - cheaper than Auralex and work well.

      Some day I'll write an article about all the mistakes I made as a novice. There isn't a better way to blow money than buying crappy audio equipment, because you eventually realize its limitations and spend MORE money to replace it. Do it right the first time.
    • texpundit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"...and don't get a Behringer Eurorack, odds are 1/4 - Half of your inputs will be dead in no time."

      Well, that and considering that Euroracks are notorious for being noisy as hell...
    • LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Eggshells might help in the high frequencies but it's not going to give you a good balance. Hiring an acoustic expert will probably break your budget since he'll analyse the room and give you very specific options for treatment.

      As a good rule of thumb that pretty much everyone over at www.avsforum.com seems to aggree on (for home theater applications anyway), use from ear level to floor in linacoustic (duct liner) and from ear level to ceiling in cotton batting/insulation. Easy for the DIYer, won't break the bank, and gives you that "80% there" feeling.
    • WATYF, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4How about no mixer at all? What do you need a mixer for in this set up? Mixers are for, surprisingly enough, *mixing*. And when you track into your computer, all the mixing is done in the computer, not on an outboard mixer. He's basically telling you to buy something that you don't need most of. The only part of the mixer that you'd use in this setup is the pre's.

      So forget a crappy mixer and find some decent mic pre's. Then run the pre's into a decent audio interface. Or, get an audio interface that includes mic pre's (which many of the M-Audio options do). That way, you can record more than one track at a time (i.e. stereo mic your acoustic, or whatever). There are plenty of audio-interface/pre/software combinations out there, and they all have their pros and cons, but if you intend to get into the "business" eventually and want to use Pro Tools, then you can do so for extremely cheap by getting a used MBox on eBay. You can snag one for about 200 bucks. That's two pre's, an audio-interface, and the software (Pro Tools LE) all for $200. All you need after that is a couple mics and cables.

      Speaking of mics, I'd recommend one condenser and one dynamic (at least). Probably a decent Studio Projects (for around $100) or even try the Marshall MXL990/991 combo (which gives you two condensers - large and small diaphragm) for $100 (or less, if they're on sale), and then get an SM57 for the dynamic. (All this other crap you will get rid of eventually once you graduate to bigger and better things, but you will always need a 57... they're invaluable).

      You also need monitors more than you need headphones. You can't mix properly on headphones because you can't get a true stereo image (since your ears are isolated from each other). So instead of getting a $100 set of phones (which won't help you mix), spend a bit more and get some entry level studio monitors (M-Audio has several of those as well).

      Honestly, this is a pretty poorly thought out article. I definitely wouldn't go here for advice on how to start recording.

      And keep in mind that you will not get amazing results with this stuff. (Using virtual istruments and loops will help, though, because those tracks will sound more professional). But if you want "pro" sound, then you're going to have to pay "pro" prices (or close to it). I've used every "best bang for the buck" pre and mic and blah blah blah that's come down the pike and my recordings didn't start sounding as good as I wanted them to until I finally dumped some serious cash on real mic pre's and real mics. You'll get decent results with a cheaper setup, but just don't be deceived into thinking that you can get a $2000 mic sound out of a $200 mic. When you can, save up for the big stuff... it is worth it in the long run.

      Oh yeah.... and DO buy the acoustic foam. Any AE worth his salt will tell you that your room is one of the biggest parts of the equation. You can plug a $1000 mic into a $2000 mic pre, but if you just stick it in the middle of your untreated bedroom.... it's still gonna sound like you recorded it in your untreated bedroom (trust me, I've actually done that before). Pick a corner of the room and dampen the hell out of it (or do the whole room, if you can afford it). Also consider getting a bass trap or two. You can build them yourself to save money (just Google DIY bass trap). You can always add ambiance later, in the box (reverb plug-ins are plentiful). The chances of you having a great sounding room in your apartment are slim to none, so you're betting off adding the "room" in post.

      WATYF
  • Mandeep, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2what's this indie crap. how do i make a rap studio without spending monies on hardware synths!?!>
    • geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Software synths obviously.
    • betacmag4u, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Reason will do everything.......except give you talent :)
    • nerditup, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3oh burrrn

      mandeep peed her pants
    • mediaphile, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12spend $18 on a junior college recording arts class and you can make all the beats you want. as someone who was interested in real studio recording, finding that 95% of the people taking classes with me were talentless rap "producers" was somewhat disheartening. suffice it to say that the disappointment was enough to warrant a complete switch away from fifteen years of music training to a career in cinematography. haven't looked back since.

      ***** your beats. any moron can do that *****.
  • robbiedo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2talent?
  • masterc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"Audacity (a powerful, free, open-source audio editor for Mac OS and Windows)"

    Don't forget that us Linux users have it too...
  • godamit, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2I can do everything with iPod!
  • bwilly79, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8OK, i might just post on my own blog as a follow up to this guy. Couple of things:

    He's assuming that you already have a decent computer to record and mix these files. If that's the case why bother with the Behringer mixer and just hop right to a USB mic. With that set up you'll be recording 1 track at a time anyway so kill the middle man. An example would be the Samson CO3U. Not a great mic, but will get a better/cleaner recording than the SM58 through a Behringer then through a USB input.

    "how do i make a rap studio without spending monies on hardware synths!?" -->bittorrent. There are tons of software synths out there. Grab a keyboard for $125 (usb) and grab as many software synths as you can get your hands on. Check out E-MU Xboard 25. It's a decent and fairly cheap keyboard. If you don't want to go the hardware route than you're going to have to get MUCH more creative. Try Fruity Loops as a jumping off point then graduate to Acid.

    The guy is right though that you need good headphones. I have used Sony MDR-V600 for 4 years in my pro studio and they are great. They are flat and accurate and less than $100. Hope this helps.



    • AlfaWolph, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Everyone that throws a bunch of loops together in Garage Band or ACID thinks they're a bonafide musician now.
    • beatdown, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Don't mix with headphones. Classic amateur n00b mistake.
    • SPLASTiK, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4V600's? Spend the extra $25 and get a pair of mdr-7506's. They're the most commonly used studio headphone for a reason.

      And don't mix on headphones like beatdown said. Every recording book will tell you that.
    • BassHead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Ditching the mixer and mic for a USB mic would limit your options. I agree that SM58 isn't a good choice for a studio mic though (but fine for on stage) A Rodes NT1A or similar would be a better choice.

      @beatdown + SPLASTIK:
      Sometimes people have no choice but to mix on headphones; and they get good results. You just need to know the limitations: e.g. Use open-back headphones for monitoring mixes, not closed-back like you would for monitoring the recording.

      You guys need to read some more up to date books ;)
    • bwilly79, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1of course going USB would limit your options, but the whole point would be to record as cheap as possible. Obviously only 1 input (being the mic) would drastically limit your options but it would be cheapest. You can still get a great sound by throwing a mic in front of an amp.

      Obviously using monitors is far more favorable to headphones, but again my point was to be as cheap as possible while getting fairly decent quality. Besides an even more noob mistake is to buy crappy monitors for the sake of having monitors rather than headphones. Even for decent near field monitors you'll spend $600 for passive or $800 for active...and those are near field monitors!

  • bat-21, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Cables—————–$17

    That can't be right. A single midi cable costs that much.
  • Kestral, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5bwilly79 is right about the plugin synths, however, there are FREE synth plugins that are LEGAL that I would recommend. One of my favorites, which I even prefer over softsynths that I have bought, is Crystal by Green Oak (Mac or PC):
    http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/

    For the Mac users, there's also Automat:
    http://www.alphakanal.de/

    There are many more out there that are free and legal without resorting to pirating software.
  • Swiftlouie143, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1hmm
  • steveabb1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My POD 2.0 and MBox are the main things in my really simple recording set up. I used to use Audacity until I finally got the MBox and switched to ProTools. Audacity is...lacking. But for the price, it's great. But it can be extremely tedious to do tasks that are simple in ProTools.
  • Twist05, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2You can actually just take a dual ended 3.5mm-Jack Stereo line with a 6.5mm-Jack adaptor on one end. The 6.5 end goes into your amp, the 3.5mm into the line-in on your soundcard. Then use Audacity to record it.

    Total cost= Less than £3
    • beatdown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Don't do this if you want it to sound good.
  • Nysul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Anyone have a good idea what to do for semi-professional drum programming and samples? I've been out of the electronic recording loop for quite some time (the last program I was using was cool edit pro, so yah, that long) and would like to pick back up again.

    I currently have a yamaha mg10/2 mixer, M-audio omnistudio USB, a sure ksm32 mic, some guitars, a good computer, and that's about it. I'd like to do protools but that would mean getting new hardware, which would be a bummer. So I am probably going to go with something like cubase. Any good suggestions?
    • Nysul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sorry for responding to my post, but I should also note that I have ALESIS M1 Mk2 monitors and Sony MDR-v600 headphones, and a midi keyboard so I think I'm good on that end.
    • pirategaspard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Best drum sample library I've heard was "The Drum kit from Hell" great sounding kit.
  • dangero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm not sure what he means when he says "the components won’t add noise or latency to your audio" regarding the m-audio usb interface.

    The device does have latency. On OSX it adds around 14ms of latency and more than that on windows through wdm. In fact, on windows xp, the latency is variable and can reach over 100ms through wdm.
    • lozzd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Why digg dangero down? He's right. I wouldn't use this guide for anything that you want to sound remotely good. That mixer is a pile of crap and usb interface? Get yourself a proper mixer and at least a sound card that supports ASIO to improve the latency.
      Try and get a something with 4 proper inputs, and a firewire or PCI interface.
    • axonal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Why even bother with a mixer? It just added more degradation to the signal. What you should really be investing in is a multiple I/O interface, like a MOTU Traveler, or their new 8pre. Both of which are firewire interfaces capable of high sample rates.

      I chuckled throughout the whole article, and sure, it may be good to make a demo, but I wouldn't bet on using this as a method of making an album.
  • Meowbiusfox, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2
    On the high-fi end of things though,no matter
    what kind of music you are doing,nothing beats
    an actual sound engineer when you are laying
    it down multitrack into digital if it's live performance material.
    A good engineer understands what mic preamps are best
    for each particular instrument or voice,(among millions of
    other things that noticably enhance the music.
    For the house rig,a simple array of microphones,
    One large Diaphragm,One dynamic,a matched pair of condensers
    are the ticket.Get a good set of preamps straight in,Good cans also.
    Lastly,don't abuse your meters in digital.Program peaks that are at -7 to -10 db pre mastering
    are around optimal before the mastering engineer gets a hold of it.
    Good luck!

    • spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11An ode to meowbiusfox, by Spudnic.

      Why do you
      Format your posts
      in such a way?

      It makes them look
      like really strange poems.

      Also, you need
      spaces after
      Punctuation.
    • sunamiebob, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@meowbiusfox

      your an idiot.
  • gemadouble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I actually use a usb interface for now and its pretty good. Can't really notice the latency, pretty good.

    Maybe I'll be getting a firewire interface. Firepod or Tascam FW-1802.

    • adstretch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0go with the firepod, tascam hasn't updated their line in like 5 years
  • Theoxenmooving, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Once again, and I have to say this everytime that USB recording comes up....

    USB2.0 = 480 Mb/s
    Firewire 400 = 400 Mb/s

    USB 2.0 is perfectly fine for audio. The trick is finding one that is 2.0 compliant. :)
    • mediaphile, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Though that needs to be qualified--USB is 480 Mb/s burst, IEEE 1394 is 400 Mb/s sustained.
    • warragul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6As mediaphile says, Firewire is a real 400Mb/s. You'd be lucky to get 60Mb/s through USB 2.0 (USB Full Speed) and then only in bursts.
      I have seen it written somewhere on the Web that Firewire 800 under Windows is limited to something like 100Mb/s.
      http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=17794 (No, I don't know how to format URLs).
    • Ahnteis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1>>I have seen it written somewhere on the Web that Firewire 800 under Windows is limited to something like 100Mb/s.
      http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=17794 (No, I don't know how to format URLs).

      "By INQUIRER staff: Wednesday 11 August 2004"

      Think they might have patched that by now....
  • skim1420, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3$100 for foam padding? With an SM58 through a Behringer the hiss will take care of that for you. "High quality preamps".. haha..
  • magnusdopus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2M-Audio Transit was a disaster for me. The standard microphone jack sounded better.
  • serpicolugnut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Get a iMac, Macbook, or used PowerMac. Buy a Firewire breakout box (either from Presonus, M-Audio or another vendor). GarageBand will give you a great start, but as you quickly outgrow it, plunk down the $149 for Logic Express. It's much more robust and feature laden than Pro Tools LE, plus as a student, you get a substantial discount on it.
  • nealpolitan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0People who misuse "your" (did you mean "you're"?) when calling others idiots are morons.
  • kbull, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ axonal

    You're right - a multiple I/O firewire interface is absolutely the way to go. I purchased a PreSonus Firepod that my band uses for quick and dirty demos of songs we're working on. I can make relatively good sounding mixes very quickly...no external mixer necessary. Just set the input levels and then mix in software.

    Still, nothing beats going to an actual studio and working with a professional.
  • BenDrincoln, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dugg just because I never see stuff like this on digg. Forget the foam, for a beginner it's a waste of money. It's useless until you understand room resonances and flutter echos. Your own setup depends on the type of recording you want to do. Preamps, mixers and microphones are where you should spend your money. A 58, a 57 and a couple of decent condensers are a good start. Computer hardware and software changes very quickly, but good audio hardware is always a constant. I think I remember hearing Springsteen recorded 'Nebraska' with just a Portastudio or something similar.

    The I/O section of your hardware is important too. Balanced inputs allow a hotter signal, but if some of your gear is unbalanced you run into problems. There's a million things to learn about recording, I've been a musician for 25 years and have been recording for a good 10 of those and I'm still learning daily.

    If it sounds good it doesn't matter what gear you used, good is good...
  • dotspace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I engineer and review pro audio gear for a living. [ see http://www.studioforums.com ]I think the article is fine for a “getting started” piece. It’s for a general audience who may not know anything about how to set up a simple studio.

    But I do think the overall set up in the article is reasonable enough to allow people who’ve never recorded to at least get their feet wet. And it’s a good entry into discussion and exploration.

    There are a few inaccuracies in the article:

    - Calling Behringer preamps “high quality” is not quite right. They’re “cheap” preamps, and they sound like it.

    - Referring to the Auralex panels that would “dampen the sound in your recording room so the bass doesn’t turn to mud.” The panels will have some effect on early reflections in the mid range and high end, but will have no effect at all on the low end and bass frequenices.

    - “people who want a high-quality low-budget setup”. The set up listed is not going to give anyone “high quality” results. It’s a “low quality” set and the results are going to be “lo-fi”.

    - With that set up you do not need the mixer. The only reason to get the mixer is for the mic preamps and DI. A better option would be to just get an inexpensive but decent external mic preamp/DI. A few good options would be the $120 Studio Projects VTB-1 if one channel is enough. Or the $150 M-Audio DMP3 for a two-channel preamp/DI.

    - As far as gain, you’re better to run peaks from -12dB to -6dB. Up to the red is not necessary, and can even make you run out of headroom. Also better to peak lower and run preamps lower. - 6dB is a generally accepted good top peak level in digital recording.

    Something that’s not covered in the article where people are going to run into problems is need for some kind of pop filter in front of the microphone to keep sounds like “P’s” from clipping the meters and just generally sounding nasty. For starters, even pantyhose stretched over a coat hanger will work. Or just Google “pop filter” or “DIY pop filter” for more info.
  • BenDrincoln, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0A book I've gotten a lot of mileage out of is 'The Musicians Guide to Home Recording'. It's a little dated, but the theory and techniques still apply.

    The Yamaha Sound Reinforcment Book is good too, though a little 'heady'

    Sorry for the plug...
  • TheFederalist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1THANK YOU for posting this. It's sad that there's not a ligitimate category for Audio/Video.

    Let's all email the digg folks and request an Audio/Video category!!!!


    ps. following the tips in this article will get you started, but it will be very low quality, and some stuff is just plain inaccurate or unneccesary. "dotspace" had a good comment above.
  • TheFederalist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3
    AUDIO & VIDEO PEOPLE... Email digg and request an official Audio/Video category:

    feedback@digg.com
  • lolcollege, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Recording anything but vocals with an SM58 will sound terrible. An SM57 (about $70) is a good cheap choice for recording most instruments.
  • BenDrincoln, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Google DIY bass traps also...
  • Meowbiusfox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@sunamiebob

    I'll bet my recordings kick the balls of yours son..
  • wyrmwood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Swap the sm58 for an SM57, behringer's pres are TERRIBLE, don't EVER mixdown with headphones - you can't hear the real mix with phones, and I have mixed feelings about Auralex. Yeah. pun intended...
    • BenDrincoln, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yup, unless you compensate the bass is always the wrong level when mixing through phones...
  • xjudson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0here's what can be done with garageband and the built mic on a powerbook

    http://ackackack.com/index2.html
  • xjudson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0ps.

    the best music mix resource on the net

    http://www.mixtmusic.com/
  • nyls, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Don't forget that GarageBand 4.0 is about to be released in iLife '07. Consecutive versions of GarageBand have incorporated more and more features from higher end products (notation in 2.0, time/pitch stretching and video in 3.0) and this trend is likely to continue. GB may be the only recording studio you need.

    See http://www.thegaragedoor.com - All Things GarageBand
  • nibus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you're going to be recording a whole drum set / band and want a lot of separate inputs, I would recommend the Mackie Onyx series. Depending on the model you can get anywhere from 8 - 24 separate channels that interface beautifully with programs like Cakewalk Sonar. I've recorded my bands whole album with this mixer, and the sound quality is excellent. You'll need the fire wire interface, which brings the mid-range 1620 in at about $1200 but you can find them cheaper on eBay. Of course you'll also need a bunch of mics, but the mixer is a great place to start.
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