BFR Equipment List:
This section is intended to be something of a tutorial on home recording.
There are many ways to go about building a home studio, each of which has
its own advantages and disadvantages. My home studio was constructed with
some specific goals in mind:
- The studio needed to be inexspensive
- An ability to record at least eight tracks simultaneously
- I wasn't wild on using digital editing software like Pro-Tools
- My space was small, so I didn't want a lot of "stuff"
With these goals in mind, it actually doesn't leave you with that many options.
However, some of you are probably wondering why these "goals" for a home studio?
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This is probably obvious. Most people don't have tons of money to spend
on an over-the-top recording studio, so being thrifty is important. This
means finding equipment that gives you the best bang for the buck. That
does not mean that you want to buy the cheapest thing you can find on ebay.
It is hard enough to get a good sound out of a home studio waging war with
crappy equipment that either A.) doesn't work, or B.) makes everthing sound worse
except under one very specific situation.
So, to avoid ending up with crappy equipment:
Do some research before you buy it! Many retail websites have sections with user reviews
that generally have good information. Also, many publications have large gear review
sections, most of which can be accessed on-line. If all else fails, Google is your
best friend.
Also, to spend as little as possible:
Search around! Most of the time the big-box style retailers will
have the best prices. However, it is worth looking around on-line
to try to find the best prices. Look for the free shipping offers,
even if it means you pay more explicitly for the gear.
A lot of times local used music stores will have, by far, the best deals.
They don't require shipping and used gear, if taken care of, is basically
new gear expect at half the price. Pawn shops are also worth checking out.
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This is not actually a problem most people will have. If you are a
guitarist who is just interested in tracking yourself, you can get
away with only one channel, four would be more than enough. If this is the case,
then something like Digisign's Pro-Tools and an M-box interface is probably for you.
This will allow you to record your guitar riffs onto your computer, and then edit them
into a song. You can then use software like Toontracks Metal Foundry to create the percussion for
your guitar riffs. Of course, you could always go old-school and create them by hand with a
synthesizer or drum machine.
But what if you want to record acoustic drums or a live band?
Well then, you are going to need more than four channels. In fact, you will
probably want at least eight channels of simultaneous recording. This leaves
you with fewer options, all of which will cost you considerably more.
If you want to go the Pro-Tools/Sonar kinda route, you are going to need something
like Digidesign 003 Factory. Then you have to buy a computer that is beefy enough
to handle large amounts of intensive audio processing. Then you have to get everything
interfaced and then finally you can start recording music. You can imagine this is going to
be exspensive. However, even though this will cost more money and cause you more gray hairs
to begin with, in the end, it will almost certainly be the better way to go.
However, for those of us who want something that just works right out of the box, we
have the DAW:
DAW - Digital Audio Workstation
The DAW is an all-in-one recording device. It makes your life easy by integrating the recording interface,
editing, mixing, and production into one unit. Korg, Tascam, Boss, Fostex and a number of other companies
all make DAW units that usually are capable of recording at least eight tracks simultaneously and can
do basically everthing else you need, including burning the final tracks to a compact disc or exporting them
to another editing program like Pro-Tools or Sonar.
Popular DAW's:
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This should be some-what evident by now. Using Pro-Tools or Sonor like software requires
a computer and a way of getting the music onto the computer so it can be edited and mixed.
You will also need to either purchase effects software or purchase the actual hardware if
you want delays, compresses, and other effects. Just getting eight tracks to record simultaneously
will be a serious investment, but if you want to do more than eight, you will have to spend very
large amounts of money not only for the equipment to interface that many channels at one time, but
a powerful enough computer to handle all of that audio processing. To me, the DAW is just a much
more simple and cost effective option for what I want to do.
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Space is a problem that is especially evident when you want to record a full-sized
acoustic drum set. This means not buying tons of stuff that takes up space in a small
studio. It also means using sound dampening materials effectivly. Many bands try to
put every last piece of equipment they own into the recording studios. To some people
it is not evident that more is not always better. Stuffing massive speaker monitors and
guitar amplifiers into a tiny room is not going to help things, no matter how cool and awesome
you think your gear is. A couple of small monitors and guitar cabinets is plenty of sound
to get the job done. Keeping the sound down helps a small room sound better. Putting
blankets, foam pads, or professional sound control materials on the walls can make all the
difference.
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