How to make a
home recording studio
for under $200
If you already have:
a computer,
speakers,
and headphones
R. McCabe, Sep 2006
I've gotten a lot of input and advice on how to do this, but I was amazed at how little end-to-end advice there is on the web in one place, so I'm just going to cover what I ended up doing to put all this together. I wasn't really looking for a way to add lots of effects and sounds to my tracks, just a way to get a clean instrument and voice sound captured. There are three main parts to this:
1) Capture sound from instruments and vocals
2) Balance those signals
3) Record them and produce decent mp3s
My accoustic guitar already had a pickup built into it, so it was easy enough to just buy a cable. Monster makes great cables, but there are others. You should be able to get one for around $15.
Microphones also come in a bunch of varieties, but the advice I got from my brother makes a lot of sense. Buy a new one. The microphone is the first step to recording and if someone's selling a used one, there's a good chance there's a crinkle in it. I ended up getting the Shure SM58, a classic vocal mic. The Shure SM57 is also a great option, especially if you'll be using a mic to pickup your guitar or other instruments. Pick a cable that fits what you're plugging into. XLR to XLR is what I got and plugs right into the premixer. XLR to 1/4 in could do the same thing and also plug directly into an amp if you wanted to do that, but I've been told the XLR connection is more solid.
The next step was the part I knew the least about but was assured to me that it was the most important. You need a way to balance the sounds going from the mics/pickups into the recorder. There are lots of premixers that can do this. I settled on the Eurorack UB802. The 802 series was a little more than I needed, but it was only about $10 more than a smaller one. For about $40, this is everything I'll need and will even accommodate mixing in several mics and instruments when the necessary jam session breaks out.
Getting the sound out of my premixer into my computer was the most confusing part, but it ended up being super cheap and easy to do. The goal is to stream sound into the microphone jack on my computer. I know this seems crude and most of the higher end mixers now use USB or Firewire connections, but this way keeps the sound really clean and maintains stereo. Enter RadioShack.
I forget what these things are called, but they're the same connectors you would plug into your TV for video games, but the other end has a headphone jack on it. The two little 1/4 inch adaptors come together and plug directly into the premixer main outputs. I think those things together cost about $12. Here's how the premixer and my foot look when setup like this:
Anyone who has a newish Mac can just use their version of Garageband to record everything. I would recommend this, not because Garageband is necessarily the best, but it does ease sharing of music files. I found a freeware multi-track recording software called Audacity. You can just Google it and it will come up. Installation and use were easy, I had it up and running in a few minutes.
A hidden expense in all this was shipping. With all the little components, the shipping can add up quickly if you're buying each doohicky from a separate place. Most sites offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount, so packaging orders together helps knock down cost.
Another thing I didn't buy that I probably should have is a mic stand. Setting up a mic to sing into, especially if you're playing guitar at the same time is not as easy as you would think. I got around it by using a harmonica stand I had.
So that's about it. Figuring out the right balances and using the premixer takes some time. My only advice there is start off all the signals you're using towards the middle and adjust them accordingly, you don't want one setting maxed out over the others.
It's cozy, but it works. Happy recording and remember, talk don't make rice.
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.