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anonymous 6 October 2008

Hey... Here's an article I wrote once for beginners.
This is pretty much basic stuff, but I hope it helps people who are new to this. :roll:

Home Recording Studio for Beginners

Are you contemplating setting up your own home recording studio? This is a big step, one that will require hours of work and hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. However, it may be the deciding factor in getting you and your musical career the recognition and compensation you deserve. Here are a few simple steps to setting up your home recording studio.

Choose Your Room

Ideally, it should be large and rectangular with as few corners and angles as possible. Unless you have the most tolerant (and quiet) neighbors in the world, soundproofing is an absolute must.

Choose Your Weapon

In this case, that would be your computer. Because the recording industry is drifting away from analog recording, digital formats will be a better long term investment for the home recording studio. Make sure the computer you select has the high octane memory and sound card quality you need for your projects.

Choose Your Software

At the very least, you will need a music sequencing software, which will make it easy for you to record, correct, mix, and master your music. You may also want samples, which are cuts of music or sounds that can be mixed in with your music. These are just two of the hundreds of types of programs, but they are basic enough for a beginner and versatile enough for a beginner with big dreams. Start with these and add extras as you deem necessary.

Choose Your Hardware

This means your microphone and, if you decide you need one, your mother keyboard. A mother keyboard will work with your computer to help you easily manipulate tracks. It will take a short learning period to learn how to use one, but it is a time saver in the long run. You will also want to buy high quality cables and connectors, because the cheaper ones can cause feedback and humming.

Configure

Once you have selected your programs and equipment, you only have to set up. Acoustics are the biggest challenge in a home recording studio, so you may have to try several different configurations before you find the set-up that works best for you and your recordings. The key is to experiment and keep experimenting until you are one hundred percent happy with your results.

There you have, in five easy steps, the instructions for setting up the home recording studio that will bring you the musical success and recognition you deserve. Home recording studios are the best way to get musical experience without the expense of professional recording studios, so every dollar you spend will be working overtime.

Comments

anonymous Mon, 10/06/2008 - 14:26

That is a very nice idea, and a good start. There are some parts I don't agree with, and others that are not quite correct.

1. Saying that "getting you and your musical career the recognition and compensation you deserve" can be accomplished by building your own recording studio is naive. It can take a long time whether or not you have a studio. In fact, with the number of home studios popping up it's probably not economical for your music career. It's probably cheaper to work on your songs at home, and go to a local studio to record your albums.

2. Sound treatment is also very important, arguably more so than sound proofing.

3. Don't use the internal sound card. Use an audio interface.

4. You don't need "sequencing" software unless you are sequencing. I would recommend starting with recording software.

5. Bad cables don't cause feed back.

6. The article lacks any information about how to make a selection.

7. I'm going to stop here. I need to get back to work.

Just trying to help here. :D

This reminds me in some ways of [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.recordin…"]the Joshua Recording Studios thread[/]="http://www.recordin…"]the Joshua Recording Studios thread[/].

anonymous Mon, 10/06/2008 - 17:24

Yeah... this is not a bad idea in concept, but I gotta agree with Gecko. Even with the best intentions, it is kind of suspicious when someone's initial posting in the forum is along the lines of "let me impart my wisdom to the noobs" and then "5 easy steps" follow. Especially when some of those steps are at best incomplete (no mention of a preamp anywhere?) and at worst just wrong (sequencing software?), even to a part-time hobbyist like me.

Perhaps we could take this one step at a time?

I would suggest step one is: define what you are trying to achieve. What style of music, instruments, etc do you want to work with - and *why* do you want to make recordings? At the risk of hijacking the thread, perhaps DennisGal could share with us some thoughts on that aspect?

anonymous Mon, 10/06/2008 - 18:48

DennisGal wrote: Hey... Here's an article I wrote once for beginners.

You should have wrote it a couple of more times. You would then be able to smell the rotted spam. This is not even a good beginners article. Well, it may be, but I think YOU are the beginner ;)

This doesn't even rate with JP22, not even.

But it is spam so it deserves to be canned.

hueseph Tue, 10/07/2008 - 07:39

Curiosity killed the cat? Ok I had to click the link. This isn't spam. He's saving us from looking at his site by posting his entire site here. No you don't have to click on the link because you've already read everything he has to say on his "site". Thanks Dennis. I was worried that you wouldn't get all of the essentials of recording into 5 paragraphs but you did it!

anonymous Tue, 10/07/2008 - 07:54

Whatever.

If he wants to be a "messiah" he can look forward to a good poke from some Romans then good book sales figures. Posthumous of course.

The post is vague, only slightly encouraging in the fact you should keep messing with thing till you're happy with them. But as to pushing digital... Pfft... And I like rooms with angles. A box is easy to fill with punch but a dodecahedron can really hum.

It's all opinions.

The OPs' just smell like canned spiced ham.

hueseph Tue, 10/07/2008 - 09:31

Greener wrote: My reply was not to your post Hueseph.

I haven't clicked his link. Is it just what he posted here or was that the sarcasm?

Sorry bout that. I thought you were responding to my bit of sarcasm. Yeah his site is pretty much what he posted here and that's it. No other pages or links. If only I had known that building a home studio could be summized in 5 simple points, I wouldn't have spent all that money on school. For a few thousand dollars I would already have the recognition I deserve as a musician and engineer. :lol:

moonbaby Tue, 10/07/2008 - 10:53

I got a real kick outta those couple of paragraphs from the site. It looks like a writing assignment for an 8-th grade English class. It was full of so many generalizations and non-information, my head was spinning. I think that any "novice" reading this would walk away more confused than before they read it!

anonymous Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:29

Wow, I guess I've started here on a wrong foot.
Let me try and save my soul here... No one is trying to be a "Messiah". This post wasn't meant to be a "Hey, I know everything, let me teach you all in 2 min!"- kind of post. And it sure was not meant to be spam.
I did say that this info is VERY basic, therefore I posted it in the "newbies" section. Trust me, there are a lot of people who just want to get started and getting into complicated aspects is very confusing for them. Experienced people can always find something they disagree with, which is great... But there is no need for cheap sarcasm and accusations.
You are right in one thing though, I should have explored the forums more before I posted this thread and maybe I would find that posting this here is irrelevant.
Oh, and about the site. This article is not even on it. And there is more content and links there. Maybe you've missed it or there is some sort of technical problem with it. I have just started with the site, and I'm planning to expand and improve it in the future. The reason why I posted the link in my signature is not promotional or spam. I'm just making a research to see whether this subject gets any interest and whether it is worth working on it and expanding it.

If some of you are still pissed at this, no problem... I can delete this thread to avoid any more aggression.

Take it easy people... Life is good.
(Oh, and thanks to those who DID post objective and helpful replies!)

natural Tue, 10/07/2008 - 11:42

Yeaaaah, but no.
Any help where none was asked for seems to fall under the spam heading, especially by 1st time posters.

Likewise, trying to defend or attempts to clarify the original position always seems to make matters worse, and the hole bigger.

Just leave the pile alone. It's too contaminated now to be of any use.
Help some others here with their specific questions, join in on group discussions and this topic will go the way of ice tongs, and buggy whips shortly.

Welcome

anonymous Tue, 10/07/2008 - 18:16

The reason why I posted the link in my signature is not promotional or spam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_spam
"...forum spam consists of links, with the dual goals of increasing search engine visibility... and generating more traffic for these commercial websites."

Seems to me that ya joined up, added the link to your signature, and posted here with the intent of generating more traffic at your fledgling site.

Now I don't think that having a link to one's site is against any policy here or anything, but as has been pointed out it is generally better nettiquite to build your reputation by contributing to other's questions first. Declaring yourself to be a helpful resource does not make it so. If you have value to add here, we will all find out over time.

anonymous Wed, 10/08/2008 - 01:11

Brien wrote: [quote=DennisGal]The reason why I posted the link in my signature is not promotional or spam. I'm just making a research to see whether this subject gets any interest and whether it is worth working on it and expanding it.

What have you decided?

lol, well... It's hard to say.
I guess my research is useless in a place where people already have all the answers.
You're right, point taken. I apologize for any misunderstandings and frustrations.

anonymous Wed, 10/08/2008 - 17:39

DennisGal wrote: lol, well... It's hard to say.
I guess my research is useless in a place where people already have all the answers.
You're right, point taken. I apologize for any misunderstandings and frustrations.

Your research would benefit you more had you asked questions. These folks here, for the most part, are experienced recording professionals. Not hacks and certainly not their first day on the Internet. This is why, when someone presents a laundry list of things to do to record correctly, you run the risk of being eaten alive.

I can barely record a door opening but these lists tick me off too. My satisfaction comes from the dismantling of the posters essay which are, by and large, generalized non-information as moon pointed out UT.

If you really want to make this document presentable I would suggest taking your questions one-by-one and asking them and then wait for the correct answer. You may find that the correct answer is often more like "those" correct answers. It just happens that it is not a cookie-cutter, one size fits all area of expertise.

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