#budget studio

[thegikitiki]

Artist's Studio, 1985

[legen-wfi-dary]

Welcome back to my blog!

This is my second post, but I have taken some time and done some thinking on what direction I want to take this blog. I am going to start doing some reviews over some of the audio equipment and other tech pieces that I have.

I have always loved technology, so this idea was not too far-fetched for me. Growing up I made it a point to understand every new piece of gear and tech that came out. I especially kept up with Apple and Samsung. The rivalry was amazing, and I loved to see what they would do to one up each other every year.

Eventually this love of tech and audio collided, because I was always a huge music fan as well. In my mind I kept the two worlds separate for the longest time. It really was not until recently that I even considered melding the two. I started realizing how much technology was used behind the scene in the production side and fell in love with it. I even started writing my own music just to track it with this new world of tech and get experience with it. This put me on the path of Audio Engineering, which I talked about in the last post.

Back to the main point, since I now have a decent amount of equipment for a home studio as well as some experience with them, I wanted to share those experiences. I would say good and bad, but really, mostly good. I think as long as you have the passion almost any piece of gear will get you where you need to go. Audio is a lot of fun, and the best part about it is growing into new gear and developing an understanding of everything it can do. So, if you are just starting and do not have the top end equipment, do not write off the fact that the potential for great stuff is still there. One of the best tips is simply to make sure you are in a quiet room if you are tracking anything. Sometimes the differences between a $10,000 microphone and a $200 microphone can be fairly small for the end consumer.

Overall, my point is do not let anything hold you back. So, to help whoever may be reading this, I am going to post some reviews over some good, budget friendly gear. I will also review some of the gear that I have recently gotten. It’s a bit more mid-range, but very quality stuff.

[buttonpushersunited]

SAMPLING 101 | How To Make Great Tracks For Less Money!

[flashnewsheadlines-blog]

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[musicthingss]

Build A Recording Studio / Home Studio On A Budget

Build A Recording Studio / Home Studio On A Budget

Build A Recording Studio / Home Studio On A Budget.

With today’s ddevelopment in music software and music technology, you don’t need to have a full out expensive recording studio to make high quality sounding music.

Back then, you needed a lot of bulky equipment for a recording studio. Now, many aspiring producers and artists are looking to build a home studio. The home studio can either be expensive to recreate an actual recording studio or be a budget home studio. For the expensive ones, they usually cost around $100,000 for a full out studio but in our case, we’re looking for a budget studio. For around $1000 – $2000, you can build a decent home studio that you can record songs, produce songs and mix and master your songs.

However, don’t expect it to be as good as an actual recording studio because it won’t. You still can make professional sounding tracks with a budget studio though but it all comes from practice and learning new skills.

Here is what you need to build your home studio / recording studio:

Computer

Most computers will do the job. You don’t need a fancy or a really powerful computer such as gaming PCs for your home studio. You too can use a regular laptop too if you wish. Just make sure your computer isn’t too outdated or it will suffer when you work with multiple VSTs, tracks, etc..

As a rule of thumb, you want your computer or laptop to have a CPU speed of atleast 2.0 GHz, 4 GBs of ram and atleast a 320GB hard drive. You can get better computers with better specs but it all depends on your budget and how much you’re willing to spend for your recording studio.

Here’s a few examples of different computers HP ENVY 6-1010us Sleekbook 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Gateway NE56R34u 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

ASUS CM1735-US005S Desktop (Black)

Acer Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz/4GB DDR3/500GB

Audio Interface

You technically can get away with your built in soundcard if you’re justproducing music and not recording. However, if you want to record liveinstruments, you will need an audio interface. Another benefit of havingan audio interface is that you can achieve no latency when you producemusic with a MIDI controller. It is definitely an asset though for a budget home studio or recording studio.

Here are a few examples of audio interfaces TASCAM US-600 6-in/4-out USB 2.0 Audio Interface

Behringer 302USB Premium 5-Input Mixer with XENYX Mic Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2 In/2 Out USB Recording Audio Akai EIE 16-bit Electromusic Interface Expander

MIDI Keyboard/Controller:

There are so many to choose from. But as a starter keyboard, the M-AudioOxygen 49 or M-Audio Axiom 49 are highly recommended. They are basically the same but the Axiom includes drum pads and aftertouch. But it does costmore than the Oxygen.

Here are links to both of them. M-Audio OXYGEN49MK3 Oxygen 49 MIDI Controller

M-Audio Axiom 49 49-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with Semi-Weighted Keys and Assignable Control Surface

Studio Monitors

These are different from computer speakers. They’re even completelydifferent from high quality speakers such as Bose. All the frequencies areleveled out (there are no frequencies boosted or cut) therefore they’reused to refence how the actual audio sounds. This helps with balancing out different sounds and mixing them into the song and allows you to make better EQ changes to the song. The overall result is that you get a more accurate mix of your song which will then result in a professional sounding song (depending on your mixing and mastering skills).

Take note that they aren’t built for casual listening. I mean you still can use them for casual listening, but it won’t sound as processed or clean as high end speakers. This is because high end speakers are tuned sothat certain frequencies are boosted and cut.

The most common studio monitors used are the KRK RP5′s. They’re a great bang for buck for your home studio. They cost $150 each but if you want cheaper ones, you can get the M-Audio AV30′s ($90/pair) or the M-audio AV40′s ($130/pair)

M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Active Studio Monitor M-Audio Studiophile AV30 MkII Powered Monitor Speakers

KRK RP5G2 Rokit G2 5In Powered Studio Monitor (Single Speaker)

Studio Headphones:

They aren’t really necessary for your recording studio if you’re just producing music. They also aren’t recommended as a primary tool to mix and master your track. But however if you need them to keep your neighbors happy at night, or for your vocalist to listen to the track in the studio while recording, the best 2 choices would be the Audio Technica ATH-M50′s or the Beyer Dynamics DT-770′s. Studio headphones are like studio monitors but headphones.

Also, NEVER get Dr. Dre Beats. They’re total crap especially when it comes to recording music or music production.

Here are the 2 headphones Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, 250 ohms

Microphone

If you can get quiet enough room with decent acoustics for your home studio, then you really don’t need a high quality mic. You will need a stand and a filter for your mic and of course a cable. The cable will depend on your mic’s and audiointerface’s connection. Having this setup is crucial for your recording studio if you’re wanting to record vocals. (obviously)

Here’s the list MXL 990 Condenser Microphone with Shockmount

Nady MPF-6 6-Inch Clamp On Microphone Pop Filter

Stage Rocker Powered by Hamilton SR630220 Tripod Boom Mic Stand – Composite Hub

DAW

You will need some sort of software for your computer to actually make andrecord music. This is called a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). I would personally recommend FL Stuio and Ableton Live because they’re both easy to use and highly versatile. You can read more on DAW’s here: http://musician-makers.com/main/which-daw-should-i-make-a-song-with/

Here’s links to FL Studio and Ableton Live. Image Line FL Studio 10 Producer

Image Line FL Studio 10 Signature Bundle

Ableton Live 9 Suite Ableton Live 9 Suite Multi-Track

Audio Recording with Sound Library

Ableton Live 9 Standard Ableton Live 9 Standard Multi-

Track Audio Recording with Sound Library

Sound Libraries

These are sample packs (drum kits, percussion, sound effects etc…) and VSTs (virtual instruments). There are a ton of these and it’s hard to recommend which ones to getbecause they are so diverse and it also highly depends on what genre ofmusic you make. Here’s a couple of links that can help you out with what you might need. VSTs: http://www.kvraudio.com/q.php Samples: http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-download-loops-hits-and-multis-217833/65

Adding all of these up, you should be able to make a recording studio /home studio on a budget within $1000 – $2000. It all depends on whatequipment you get too.

Have fun building your budget home studio!

Also be sure to share this post.

http://musician-makers.com/main/build-a-recording-studio-home-studio-on-a-budget/

[baughtaaf-blog]

Adorama Budget Studio Monolight Flash, 100 Watt Seconds.

The unit mounts onto any standard lightstand with a 5/8" or smaller mounting stud. It has a circular flash tube that is daylight balanced at 5600 deg. K, Adorama Budget Studio Monolight Flash, 100 Watt Seconds. a guide number of 90 at ISO 100 and a recycling time of 5-7 seconds. It also comes with a 60 watt removable modeling lamp. The Budget Studio monolight Flash can be triggered through the camera with its included 12' sync cord, by another flash being fired and activating the built-in Photo-Slave, or through its open-flash test button. It's a compact 7.0" long with a diameter of 3-3/4" and weighs only 15 ounces