The Fundamentals of Recording Studio Equipment

If you’re making your own recording studio there are some pieces of recording studio equipment you’ll need. It’s surprising how little you really do need in order to have a good, functioning recording studio. It always makes sense with recording studio equipment to buy the very best you can afford. This way you won’t need to replace it so often, and the better equipment will do more.

Recorder

There are many types of recorders these days. All too often the main recorder is software on the computer these days, although you can buy stand alone hard disk recorders. These are the main forms of recorder these days, although it’s quite possible to pick up 4-track cassette recorders for lo-fi demo work.

However, with so much on computer, even demo work is done on that. It’s more a question of what software you buy. There are many options, some available free as downloads, others very expensive. Much depends on your budget, but even the free software has many effects you can apply to the recording.

Microphones

One of the most vital pieces of recording studio equipment is a microphone, or microphones. Different microphones are good for different things-some for vocals, some for instruments. It’s important to research microphones first and test them before buying to have the right microphones for your needs. With microphones in particular you get what you pay for. Some are extremely expensive, but the results are definitely worthwhile.

Mixer

You need a good mixer as part of your recording studio equipment. This will let you feed in different instruments and voices so they could all be playing together. You can set the levels for each channel.

You do need a mixer that offers phantom power as things like voices or unamplified guitars need a pre-amp, a function the phantom power fills. Unless you want a larger studio, an 8-channel mixer should be adequate for most needs. Make sure that the mix has both standard jack and microphone jack connections as well as a built in equalizer.

Vocal Booth

Ideally you should have a vocal booth as part of your recording studio equipment. It isolates the singer and gives a dead sound that you can build on with effects. However, that’s not going to be possible in all situations, especially with bedroom or garage studios. You can work around it by putting the singer in a tiled bathroom. This gives some natural reverb that fills out the vocal sound. The downside is that the singer can’t see anyone else when performing.

Outboard Gear

Most recording software comes with effects such as delay and chorus that can be added. However, you still need some outboard gear as part of your recording studio equipment.

For this, a pedal that gives the sound of different guitar amplifiers is a vital addition. This gives you variety in sound. You should also have amplifiers and speakers in the studio for musicians.  By having all these in your studio you’ll be ready to record most things.