The Recording Studio System
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

Part 1 - Acquisition

I’ve seen and read many “how to” articles over the years about how to put together a home recording studio but let’s face it, this is not something you can really cram into one article. So I won’t try and cram such a broad subject into one blog. This blog instead is about my personal philosophy in terms of picking the right gear for your studio. I will focus on the major studio components and how you can get the most bang for your buck. It won’t be a “money is no object” blog because let’s face it, money is an object and you’ve got to spend it wisely. There’s a definite philosophy in terms of the recording studio as a collection of devices that, once grouped together, make up a recording studio. It’s a good idea to keep this in mind when you’re making your purchases.

I started assembling my recording studio around 1985. This first studio was a 4 track cassette recorder, a small mixer and a few guitar effects. It’s amazing to think about how many songs I wrote and how many hours I logged on that setup producing recordings. I must say as primitive as it was I sure had a blast doing it and the lessons I learned on that little rig helped me to this day with the fundamentals of the recording environment. If you get anything out of this blog, I hope it’s the understanding that a recording studio is not just bought and put into place over night. If you really are interested then you need to grow and cultivate your gear collection so that when the time comes; you’ll own and have mastered, all of the tools that you need. It’s not a good idea to rush out and make a major purchase on one piece of equipment that some sales man is telling you is “all you need” or that “you’ll never need anything else”, truth is, a real recording studio is a system of tools that work together and no one tool is any more important in the chain than the other. It is an overall system and the system is only as strong as its weakest link. There is simply no magic recording device that does everything you need to produce good sounding recordings, although, many marketing specialists are currently trying to convince you otherwise.

So where do you start now that you know this? Well everyone’s situation is going to be different and everyone is going to be at different stages of growing their recording studio, so all I can do is really advise you on the decision making process and hope it helps you to make the decision that is best for you. It truly depends on what you already have, in terms of tools and in terms of the skills needed to use the tools.

PC
For my money, by today’s standards, you need to start with a decent computer. Notice I don’t say you need a top of the line quad core Apple monster workstation. If you went that route, right there you’ve blown way too much money on one item for your studio system. The computer is pretty all encompassing but you do still need other items. A modest PC will do the trick and I would advise that you don’t spend more than $1000 on one if you’re just adding one into your studio. If you already have one and it’s in the 2 to 5 year old range, you should have a great start, you just need to learn how to streamline the system so that it can function in a recording environment. A critical rule for the computer in the studio, do not use it to check your email, surf the web or any other recreational activity other than recording. You shouldn’t even have Microsoft Office installed on this system! Right there you’ve eliminated the need for antivirus software and made your system run at least 25% faster! If you have a computer in your studio and it’s running slow, ask yourself what else you’ve been using the system for other than recording. I bet you could think of ways to clean it up and improve its performance just by streamlining its use. Take the money you saved by not buying an expensive system and get a second computer for your office needs.

Interface & Software
Next in the chain is an audio interface for the computer. Again while top of the line A/D converts have a great quality about them, you have many more items your studio that you need to purchase to complete your system, so spend wisely. $1000 and you’ve got a pretty great interface with some decent preamps. There are so many interfaces today it really depends on how many inputs you foresee using at one time. If you plan on recording a drummer then I would recommend a system with at least 16 inputs. While you probably won’t use them all you may very well need more than eight which is what most interfaces seem to have. If it’s more affordable, get one interface that has eight inputs and also has a digital interface that will allow you to chain another unit which will give you the option to expand when you need to. Make sure you go with an interface that already has software bundled with it. More than likely you will be starting out with a light version of the application but you should still be able to crank out quality work even with its limitations. Save the expense of a major software purchase for later.

Ears
Third is to make sure have some decent studio monitors. This is probably one of the most important investments you can make in your studio. Essentially you are buying your ears and you should expect to spend at least $1500 on a great pair of powered monitors. Head into your favorite music store and you’ll have many options. Just don’t think you can get away with using a pair of speakers from your home stereo. Home stereo equipment is not professional recording equipment. In fact home stereo equipment is usually “enhanced” to make it “sound better” to the audiophile. What you really need as an engineer is equipment that does not color the sound at all. You must know what is really being recorded and if you are using speakers that color or alter the sound in an effort to “enhance” it; you will never know what you are recording in your studio. It’s almost the equivalent of being blind. You’ll take your mix out of your studio and play it on another system and it will not sound anything like what it did in your studio. If you’re having this problem with your mixes traveling to other systems and still sounding like it did in your room; check your speakers.

Microphones
Now you’ve got the computer, the interface and the monitors, the next critical device in the chain is the microphone. There are so many applications for using microphones again it depends on what you intend to record. You should probably start with a good large diaphragm vocal condenser microphone ($500) unless you intend to work with all instrumental material. If so then second in line would be a good pair of small diaphragm condenser microphones for recording instruments in stereo ($700) such as acoustic guitars, pianos, and drum overhead. For the guitar amp a ($100) shure sm57 dynamic always does the trick here, even in multimillion dollar facilities it is usually what ends up in front of an amp first. A well rounded mic collection for the various types of instruments you plan to record is a vital element in the recording studio system. Start growing the collection as you can. The vocal condenser you purchase first should serve many purposes until you can acquire more microphones in your arsenal.

FX
Once you have these basic elements in place it’s time to think about effects for your computer system. I highly recommend going the route of hardware based DSP systems. This is actually what allows you to continue using that aging computer system and still have great results. PCI cards such as the UAD series are an outstanding value and take the load off of your computer to process virtual instruments and the like. A pair of UAD cards ($1500) and you will have an arsenal of effects at your disposal that can be expanded by purchasing and authorizing more effects as you can afford them. Yep, you may have to grow your effects as well. There are many hardware options these days, just pick the one that seems most appropriate to your needs.

On a final note, what is truly vital in any recording chain is a quality musical instrument. In my experience, every instrument has its own unique sound and you really get what you pay for here. There are certainly times when a less expensive instrument will work fine and gets the sound that you are looking for, again it depends on your tastes and what styles of music you are recording.

Every studio should have some good Virtual instruments as well. Again this depends solely on your taste and the types of instruments you’d like to have in an emulated environment. Synths, Electric and Grand Pianos, there are many outstanding sounding applications out there that you can add and install as you can.

All in all, putting together a recording studio system is an adventure that takes time, money and patience. Every new piece of equipment must be mastered before you can appreciate it’s place in the chain. It truly should be a passion that you are willing to sacrifice some things for. In total I’ve recommended about $7000 worth of gear here and that’s not counting the musical instruments but if you pace your purchases, spend the money on the essentials, in time it will start to come together. It took years for my studio to become what it is today. Actually it took decades but I kept refining it and kept learning. The technology will keep progressing so to continue learning is critical. Now days it only takes a few years for things to change and you’ll quickly find yourself behind the curve if you stop absorbing. Staying on top of things also helps when you start thinking about the upgrade process and that’s probably a whole other blog in itself.

May your gear proliferate and may you manage to stay out of the pawn shops! Unless you are buying the gear of course! - John