What do you need for a studio?
Tips and necessities for a (home) studio
- Do you want to know more about mixing panels? Click here for mixing panel explanation
Do you also dream of having your own sound studio? Then it is good to know that this dream is quite easy to realize. Nowadays, building your own studio in your own room or house is affordable for most of us. After all, you can already do a lot with just a computer and the right software. What you exactly need in terms of equipment, software, and other things to create professional music productions can be read in this submitted article. Enjoy reading and make the most of it!
is a device that allows you to record vocals or sound from musical instruments.It is recommended to immediately purchase a professional studio microphone because of their high-quality reproduction of tone color, nuances, and sensitivity compared to handheld or vocal microphones. The richness of the music you record is also better, regardless of whether the sound comes from a singer or an (acoustic) instrument.
There are different types of studio microphones, the categorization of which depends on the direction from which they capture sounds.
- With a standard (condenser) microphone, you can record rap, vocals, and speech. Voice-over recordings can also be achieved with these microphones. The standard directionality of a condenser microphone is usually ”cardioid” or ”unidirectional”. This means that they capture all sounds in front of their diaphragm.
If you want to make more spacious recordings, you can purchase a multipattern microphone. The directionality of this type of microphone is adjustable. With this type of device, you can vary the acoustics of your recording.
A condenser microphone requires power to operate, which they receive either from your audio interface or from batteries. - With a microphone of the pencil or small diaphragm type, you can easily capture tones from your acoustic guitar, while with a ribbon microphone, you can capture speech and vocals in a natural way.
- There are also dynamic microphones used in the studio. For example, the Shure SM7B is a highly successful microphone for vocals, rap, and speech.
The microphone needed for a studio that focuses on recording music largely depends on the direction from which you want to capture the sounds.
Most professional microphones are available with an XLR connection. To connect such a microphone, you need an audio interface with XLR input(s) and preferably phantom power if you want to connect a condenser microphone. A newer development is USB microphones, which you can connect directly to a USB port on your computer. This means you don’t need an audio interface, but the disadvantage is that if you want to connect more equipment, you still need to purchase an audio interface, and you probably can’t use the USB microphone simultaneously.
Using a stand increases the usability of your microphone, while a pop filter prevents popping sounds in your recordings.
A studio headphone helps you, among other things, to assess the quality of your recording at this stage.
Finally, you connect your microphone(s) to the audio interface in your control room using microphone cable(s). Therefore, in the following paragraphs, I will answer the question: what do you need to produce music in the control room of your home production studio.
EQUIPMENT TO PRODUCE MUSIC: THE CONTROL ROOM
In your control room, you monitor whether your recordings are going as planned. This is also the space you use to mix and master your recordings into the “top song” from your imagination. So, your control room is the place where the magic happens. But what do you need for a studio that makes this possible? The answer to that question is explained below.
GET A DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATION (DAW)
DAWs are audio editing programs that allow you to record music productions and then mix and master them. All imaginable audio manipulations (such as creating music, podcasts, jingles, and sound effects for radio plays) can be realized with a DAW. For this reason, a DAW is essential for your production studio.
You can install a DAW on your current Windows or Mac PC, so you don’t necessarily have to invest in a new PC or laptop. However, the disadvantage is that your PC or laptop also contains other software programs that may or may not run in the background and unnecessarily burden your RAM and processor.
Therefore, it is best to purchase a powerful computer that you only use for music production and recording. Choose at least an Intel Core i5 and as much RAM memory as possible (at least 8 GB). An SSD hard drive is also recommended.
DAW (DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATION): THE SOFTWARE
There are different DAW software programs to choose from. What is necessary for a studio mainly depends on your operating system and the type of sound or music you want to produce. Below, I will discuss five of the most well-known DAW programs at the moment.
- FL (Fruity Loops) Studio: is based on combining patterns. It is a DAW for which you already need some knowledge of music production. It only works on a Windows PC. Although it includes many standard VST plugins, they are of lower quality compared to other DAW software that allows you to produce music.
- Steinberg Cubase: is less suitable for beginner producers, even though it has a user-friendly interface. It works on both Windows and Mac OS and has extensive VST plugin capabilities.
- Ableton Live: if you aim to make live music or if you want to compose and arrange your own songs, Ableton Live is the DAW software you need for a studio. It is flexible enough to give shape to all your musical ideas once you understand its setup. This DAW program works on both Windows and Mac OS.
- Reason: is user-friendly but only allows its own VST plugins. Use it to produce creative music pieces.
- Magix Music Maker: is the most suitable DAW for beginners. With the help of about 5000 beats and six VST instruments, it is simply the answer for beginners to the question: “what do you need to produce music?” You can also sing with this DAW, with the ability to correct your pitch. This DAW works on both computer systems and allows you to mix your music.
CONTROLLER FOR THE DAW
To further enhance your production studio, investing in a DAW Controller is a great choice. With the presence of physical buttons and sliders, you will have a better feel while producing and mixing your music! By purchasing a controller for your DAW, you increase the control possibilities of your DAW. It also relieves your hands during recording and editing your music. In essence, with such a controller, you replace many functions of your mouse and keyboard.
You connect this controller via the MIDI port of your MIDI interface.
NECESSARY FOR A STUDIO: VST PLUGINS FOR EFFECTS AND COMPRESSION, LIMITING, ETC.
Every DAW has a number of (standard) first-party VST plugins integrated. Therefore, immediately after installing your DAW, you can create and modify sounds to produce music. In addition to these standard plugins from the producers of your DAW, they also provide plugins from other companies rnrnthe assignment to develop such plug-ins. These second-party VST plug-ins can be installed without any problems in most DAWs. If a VST plug-in is not integrated into your DAW software and is not made by a company commissioned by the producer of your DAW, it is a third-party VST plug-in. It completely depends on your own insights which plug-ins you choose to create or use old sound when mixing and mastering your music piece.
VIRTUAL STUDIO TECHNOLOGY VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS (VSTI)
In addition to VST plugins, it is possible to expand your workstation with virtual instruments. These instruments help you to produce sound after you have given them an assignment via the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). For example, if you need a C note with a certain rhythm and pitch of a guitar for your music piece, you send this signal via MIDI to the corresponding guitar folder of your workstation to extract and edit that tone (sample base) or to a synthesizer with which you can create this tone yourself.
These four VST plugins are currently widely used:
- Native Instruments Komplete is an amazing, complete package full of synthesizers and samples. When you purchase this package, you have enough sounds to last for the coming years!
- Nexus 2: for beginner and advanced music developers. Easy to master its use. Contains many features;
- Sylenth 1: A bit too complicated for beginners. It is a sample-based plug-in and also has a synthesizer option, allowing you to develop your own sounds;
- Serum: is an advanced VST plug-in that works with a synthesizer. You create your own music 100% with this, although you must already have enough experience with it.
AUDIO – INTERFACE
To produce music, you also need a (USB) audio interface. You connect the instruments from your recording studio to this device. An audio interface has inputs for connecting the instruments and microphones you wish to use to create music, and outputs for connecting your studio monitors and headphones, for example.
The number of microphones or instruments you want to connect at the same time determines how many inputs you will need on your interface. Having a few extra inputs when purchasing can save you a lot of frustration later on.
By the way, most audio interfaces have phantom power, which is necessary for condenser microphones. Pay close attention to this when purchasing one!
HEADPHONES, STUDIO MONITORS, AND USB MIDI KEYBOARD
For this part of your production studio, you also need a good headphone to be able to evaluate the sound you are creating. You use it together with a set of studio monitors.
A studio monitor allows you to listen to your music through a neutral source. These speakers are sold in many variations. There are studio monitors that have a built-in amplifier and monitors that do not.
You connect your studio monitors to your audio interface with cables.
If you want to play keyboard parts using MIDI, you also need a MIDI keyboard to perform certain actions. With this keyboard, you convert your music pieces into MIDI data that you can then further edit with your DAW and other software.
ENJOY YOUR OWN SOUND STUDIO!
In this article, I answered the question: what do you need for a studio or what do you need to produce music. It is important to know that you can make your home studio as extensive and large as you want. You may not really need a separate recording studio, or investing in a separate DAW computer may be a bit too much. You may not have extensive capabilities, but you will still be able to develop your creative musical ideas. In any case, I wish you a lot of fun with your music productions!
rnrn
