Article: Affordable Home Recording

Affordable Home Recording

This guide will help you design a simple, affordable setup. I also recommend Graham Cochrane's courses on recordingrevolution.com. I learned a lot from his paid courses.

 1.      Rhythm Instrument

A rhythm instrument can be a great starting point for developing chord progressions and melodies. If you have not decided on a main songwriting instrument, there are some questions you can ask yourself, to make an informed decision.

·         What rhythm instruments do you admire, in music you like?

·         What fits with your chosen genre, or songs you like to write?

·         What sound / tone / timbre resonates with you?

·         What will sound good under your voice (assuming your voice will carry the melody)?

·         What would you commit to learning, at the intermediate level?

·         What can you imagine yourself playing, on stage?

  2.      Budget

Count the cost. Your budget will determine how much you can spend on equipment. You can make great music with basic equipment, and an inexpensive Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

Planning your purchases, without going into debt, can help you stay focused and moving forward. Buying used gear through Reverb or eBay is a great option to keep costs down.

There may be some experimentation required to find your sound. However, the more gear you swap, the more money you will lose over time. If you buy something new, you will probably only be able to recoup two-thirds of the price, when you sell it used.

  3.      Recording Equipment

You will need an audio interface to record your voice or an instrument. An audio interface acts as the connection point for your instrument and the computer. You can plug a Direct Injection (DI) instrument or microphone into the interface.

I personally use the Scarlett 2i2 interface. I found it beneficial to to record two mics at the same time, or plug in two DI cables for stereo panning. Having two tracks with different tones can create a fuller sound.

 If using a mic to record your voice or an instrument, I recommend the following:

·         A condenser mic for your voice or acoustic guitar. It is much more volume-sensitive than the next recommendation.

·         A dynamic mic for hard vocals like screaming, or loud instruments like guitar amps. Dynamic mics tolerate loud volumes better.

·         If using a mic, face the front of the mic away from the worst-sounding part of the room, like windows. Also, buy a pop filter to place in front of the mic, and a mic shield to absorb sound from the back of the mic.

Noise can be frustrating, especially when working with mics and amps. Unwanted hum, feedback, and room sounds distract listeners, and sound unprofessional. Fixing the sound in your DAW with a noise removal plugin will greatly diminish the tonal quality of your recording. DI instruments, like a digital piano or electric guitar, can help avoid noise issues if plugged into an audio interface, and set to an appropriate volume level. Your recordings should be as clean and noise-free as possible, to eliminate frustration at later stages.

 

 4.      Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

Your DAW is the software used to record, edit, add plugins, and arrange your recorded tracks. You do not need an expensive DAW to get quality recordings. Audacity is free software that you can use to record.

I personally use Reaper as my DAW. It is affordable, is a one-time purchase, and includes all future updates at no cost. It also has a very active community with a library of tutorials available on YouTube.

I recommend the following settings when recording:

·         Set your DAW to record at 44.1 kHz, 24-bit, in WAV format.

·         Set the volume fader in the DAW to zero dB. Adjust the volume on the interface, to record at a level that goes between the half and three-fourths marks on the DAW volume meter.

·         Record two to three good takes for each part. This will give more options in the mixing stage. Also, double-tracked parts tend to sound better.

 

5.      Exporting Your Files

When it comes time to export single tracks for mixing, I recommend the following to eliminate issues when mixing:

·         Make each track start at the beginning of the song, and end at the ending of the song. Do this even if a part is only played for one section. When the mixer imports the files, this will ensure all the instruments are lined up as you intended.

·         Export each file in mono.

·         Export each file panned to the center.

·         Export each file as a 24-bit WAV file. This is a good standard of quality to work with while mixing.

To save the files in an accessible place, you will need to upload the files to a cloud service like Google Drive or DropBox, and give the mixer access to the folder. The files will be too large to send or download in an email.

 

Writing and recording your own material is completely feasible. With persistence, you can make music at a competitive level and distribute it to platforms like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music.