How to build a Basic Recording set-up

Building a simple mobile studio is a great way to record anywhere. But knowing the simple facts about audio gear is important so you save yourself time and money. If you are someone who isn’t willing to learn the recording process than the best way is to go into a professional studio.

Give Patch Werk studios a call because they are one of the best in Atlanta, guaranteed. It is a really well-known Hip-Hop studio for having clients including: T.I., Jay-Z, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Dem Franchise boys and the list goes on. Studio 995, Studio 9000, and 1019 offer music artists one of the best recording experiences, so go there if you aren’t interested in recording yourself. For everyone else I’ll be talking about the basic set-up so you can record yourself or have an engineer hook you up. If you are a beginner than these will be baby-steps for you.

These are the basics to what you would need for your recording set-up. When it comes to the brand it would be up to you on how much you want to spend. I recommend people do a good bit of research like visiting the guitar center website to check on specs and reviews on the different gear. That way you are more aware of your purchases and dollars spent.

1. Microphone (Condenser) w/Pop Filter and Shock-Mount

2. Mic. stand

3. Mic. cable

4. Digi-design M-box (Audio Interface)

5. Lap-top (MAC-Book Pro for Laptops)

6. Headphones

7. DAW program software (Logic Pro or Pro Tools)

8. Vocal booth with sound treatment (Can be a closet booth with Sound proof walls)

9. Powered Monitors (KRK, YAMAHA, JBL, MACKIE, GENELEC,)

10. Desk (Big enough to fit your gear)

Alright, so what do you do after purchasing and collecting everything?

Hook it all up and get to learning or recording. You can start with the microphone and hook that up to your mic. cable. Once that is completed hook the end of the mic. cable up to the back of your audio interface (M-box), input 1. Hook the audio interface up to your computer through a USB cable. After doing this turn on your computer and open up your DAW software within the computer (Pro Tools or Logic). Once everything is set-up with the microphone and stand, create an Audio track within the DAW and hit the (r) Record button to arm your track to record. I would hope that you have some kind of knowledge of the recording process so the process shouldn’t be too complicated. If not than read audio books or visit Youtube videos showing you what I’m explaining. Alright, now go to the audio interface and hit the input 1 button on it. The microphone will have pre-amp power now coming from the interface. You are ready to go.

Make sure to have a good booth set-up for your vocals or even for live instruments. Its good to have the natural dry sound, so later you can go back and add cool effects or reverbs. One rule is to never have distortion or clipping otherwise your vocals will come out terrible. I hope all beginner engineers, artists, producers, and anyone interested in audio engineering benefits from this information. Come back for future tips and strategies. Good luck! and get your ideas in recording.

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