Starting a studio from scratch...

T

Tydarius

New member
Ok, I saw this question posted by another newbie – just the way the question was written lacked a lot of information to help with an answer from anyone. So I’ll post my version of the same question, since I’m looking for a similar answer.

I’m setting up my own studio, and I need information pertaining to what would be needed to complete this studio. Now, from posts that I have read asking questions like this, the very first reply is always a question of missing information, so I’ll provide as much detail as possible. I’ll apologize for the lengthy e-mail in advanced…


My Goals:

I would like to have a studio where I will be able to record my music through a PC, as well as mastering copies to CD for demo / playback. I want to be able to record my instruments (guitars and bass) by direct connection or by mic’ing off of various enclosures. I also want to be able to record vocals and instruments like a saxophone, violin and bagpipes. I will be connecting a keyboard to this entire setup, as well as a drum machine, but would like the option to be able to record a drum set (don’t know it this will make a difference when it comes to mic’ing a drum set, but the drummer in question has a double-base setup, and at least 3 cymbals). I want to be able to listen to the playback of all my recordings from studio monitors, as well as having the ability to allow at least 4 people to listing to recordings and live sessions thru headphones.


The Situation / Space:

All of this will need to fit in a single room that will NOT be dedicated to just recording. Room size is 18’ x 16’, and is being used as an office space for my wife and I, and as well as our “storage” shed (though it isn’t storing much more than my oversized desk, instruments, computers and a few boxes). The room is carpeted, has plenty of outlets available and is at the back of the home away from all outside noises. I WILL not be sound-proofing this room, or looking to glue sound absorbing tiles anywhere, so that will be left out of the setup.


My Current Equipment / Gear:

This is a short list of some of the equipment I currently own that will be use with this studio – I’m listing them so as to give an idea of where I’m at and what I have that I want to work with.

Toshiba Satellite Pro P-4 3.2Ghz Laptop w/ a CD-RW burner
Lexicon Omega studio - http://www.lexiconpro.com/Omega/index.asp
SONAR 3 Producer Edition software
Alesis QS6.1 keyboard
Alesis SR-16 drum machine
AKG C-1000S microphone
Sennheiser E-835 microphone
AKG K-240s Headphones x (2)
Furman PL-Plus
Korg DTR-2 (tuner)
Digitech Vocalist VR
Digitech DSP-256
ART SGX 2000 Express
Various guitars, basses and enclosures


Budget / Limitations:

I know some people will probably giggle at some of my gear, and that’s ok, we all start somewhere. But what I’d like to set as a limitation is that I don’t want to go running out to purchase something I already have just because someone else has a personal dislike of that product (unless they provide documented proof that someone died using a product I listed…).

The PC situation is very flexible. I listed the Laptop only b/c it is currently not being used for anything. I’m more than capable of building a completely new system dedicated to studio recording, so really, the PC is not the issue. What I do want to do is to start out by using the laptop – if I need to, I’ll build a new system later.

I purchased the Lexicon almost 2 years ago when space was severely limited and never got around to learning to use it. We moved since, and even though space is available, I’m planning on using it until I feel it’s time to move onto something better. I’ve provided a link to the Lexicon Omega so as those who do not know what it is can look it up before telling me I need something like this item.

Budget issues are good, though I would not say that they are unlimited. Again, I want to set limitations intentionally b/c I do not want to buy high end equipment UNTIL a have a better grasp with what I am doing and where I need to go to make the studio better. Not to mention that in a few years, we will be moving into a house where I will be able to plan / design / build a very thorough and complete recording studio for my wife and I. Until then, I would go with a budget that doesn’t require the lowest, cheapest item on the market, but something more like low-end professional. I know some will say a price range will help, so the best I can add is – I don’t want to buy cheap crap. I’m willing to pay for an item if it means I’ll get a good product.

Here’s an example – studio monitors. I would like them to be small. I’m not looking for tiny, PC-like monitors, but I don’t need huge “off the back of the truck” night stands as well. What I want would be close to the smallest size that has a good bottom-end WITHOUT using a sub-woofer. I’ve been out to numerous locations to listen to the quality of various monitors and so far, I like the Event True Reference 6 (and I’m sure I’ll get an opinion or 2 as to why they suck, lol).


What I need to know:

1) To save someone the time of writing “War & Peace”, if there’s a book out there – will refer to it as the ultimate Bible to setting up a recording studio – that will cover everything you can possibly imagine, then just give me the book’s title and author’s name. If the only thing you can say is “it’s the book by that guy what’s his name…” then don’t bother. I’m looking for answers here, not guesses.

2) I’m looking for a list of items that would make up a good, well-equipped home recording studio. I know I have stuff already, but a good list detailing everything that I would need as if I didn’t own a thing to begin with would be ideal and would probably help other people with setting up their own home studios as well.


Ok, really, that’s all I can think of writing out for now, so if anyone has any additional question, fire away, though I hope I covered enough to get some answers.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide…

- Edward
 
If I had the money this what I would get for my home studio:

Software:
Cakewalk Sonar 4- Software Daw
Sony Soundforge- Editing/Mastering Software
PropellerHeads Reason 3.0- Soft Synth Workstation

Computer Hardware:
Audio Interface- PreSonus FIREBOX
Midi Controller- M-Audio Oxygen 8
Control Interface- Jl Cooper Cs-32

Monitor:
Main- M-Audio Studiophile Bx5
Headphone- Sennheiser HD 280 PRO

Mic/Pre/Comp.:
Mics:Studio Projects C1
Shure Sm57(X2)
Pre/Comp:
Focusrite OctoPre LE
Focusrite Compounder

Studio Furniture:
Quiklok MI Z-750R- Desk
MAP MDV-R12- Rack

Accessories

The Breakdown:

For software I would use Sonar 4 PE for tracking,Soundforge for editing/mastering,Reason 3.0 for making beats. These are pretty much the best for these jobs.

For the computer hardware I would use the delta for an audio interface, Oxygen 8 to contol reason, Jl Cooper to control sonar and soundforge. I prefer to have hardware controllors, thats why I would get the controllors.
I would get the PreSonus Firepod because it is a great sound card and has 10x10 Recording Interface.

For monitoring I would use the BX5s for Mixing and the headphones for tracking. The BX5 are a nice set of monitor for the price. I would upgrade though. I would use the headphones to record so the mic doesnt pic up the speaker sound. Since I dont have an Iso Booth.

For mics/pres/compressor I would use the Studio Projects C1 and the SM57.
I would use the Focusrite OctoPre LE for a preamp and Focusrite Compounder for a compressor. The Studio Projects C1 is just a great Home Studio mic. I would get the SM57 because, I've heard ever studio should have one.

Furniture
I would use the studio furniture listed to sit everything on.

This is a $5000 setup and pretty good one. You have to purchase a ton of accersories but, you will have some good recordings.

How does this sound to you guys? Would you change anything?

(It also depends on what gerne of music you will be recording, I think this would be best for a hiphop studio.)
 
Thanks for the info, though it really isn't helpful in what I needed to know. I was looking for more basic information, NOT what someone would do if they had $5000 to burn (and do you even have this setup? seems like it's your wish-list). Not to mention that even if this setup was ideal for recording Hip-Hop music (which I would have no knowledge in knowing if it would or wouldn't), it's not the type of music I would be recording (Bagpipes and Violin in Hip-Hop? I won't rule it out, but I probably won't be the one to make this ground-breaking recording, hehe).

Either way, I was able to find a link to a site that really answered all my questions, so here's the link:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

Tweak breaks down everything you could find in a studio into what it's basic function is without commiting to the old "DUDE, JUST GET THIS AND NOTHING ELSE" threads I've read too much of. I like being able to make the choice on the gear I want, and seek info and advice on the gear I'm interested in. I already know some of the gear I have isn't the best, but I intend to use it until I intend to replace it.

So I recommend reading through Tweak's guide to any beginner, good luck!

- Edward
 
Good for you - sorry you weren't helpful to me, and not suprised to have you give a reply like that, heheh...

But in the end, I'm just looking for answers, and hoping to provide help to others who are starting out. So say what you like pal, not gonna bug me at all, and will probably just make you look bitter and sad
 
I shouldnt really get involved here, but can't help myself.

Just wanted to say that I agree with RobertN and think you were a tad rude to him. He wrote a very lenghty reply to your original email, which given your subject of 'Setting up a Home recording studio' I would say was particularly informative and very relevant and obviously took some time to write. Maybe you did'nt find it that useful, but the tone of your reply was definately a bit off.
 
Tydarius said:
Good for you - sorry you weren't helpful to me, and not suprised to have you give a reply like that, heheh...

But in the end, I'm just looking for answers, and hoping to provide help to others who are starting out. So say what you like pal, not gonna bug me at all, and will probably just make you look bitter and sad
Click to expand...
Actually no -- what it looks like from here is that RobertN was being helpful, and you were being a complete assmonkey.

Way to welcome yourself onto a new forum there, sparky...... :rolleyes:
 
Tydarius said:
I also want to be able to record . . . instruments like a saxophone, violin and bagpipes . . . [ I ] would like the option to be able to record a drum set (don’t know it this will make a difference when it comes to mic’ing a drum set, but the drummer in question has a double-base setup, and at least 3 cymbals).
Click to expand...

That is not compatible with this:

I WILL not be sound-proofing this room, or looking to glue sound absorbing tiles anywhere, so that will be left out of the setup.
Click to expand...

Simply put, you can do guitars, bass, keyboards, drum machines, and even vocals in an untreated room. Basically anything you can close-mic. But as soon as you start talking about big sounding instruments like drums (with a double bass!), bagpipes, violins, etc., in an untreated room, your recordings will sound bad. Sorry.

The other problem you have is you want to mix and master in this untreated room, with the smallest monitors you can get away with (8" woofers by the way, and the cabinets aren't that big). You will have no idea what is going on in the bass frequencies because your room will distort them.

Head over to Studio Building and learn about making wall hangings out of fabric-covered rigid fiberglass, and pay special attention to the need for reflection-free zones around your mix position, and bass traps. It requires relatively little money, and no permanent modifications need be made to the room.
 
Well, my man, there isn't a bible because there are way too many opinions, and way too many ways to skin the cat. All that I can offer is general observations.
First, $5,000 is a *very* conservative figure. You say you don't want to buy cheap stuff that sucks. To do what you want to do, with mid-priced gear, not top of the line by any means, $12,000-$15,000 would be a more reasonable figure.
Secondly, your space is going to be a major issue early on. The lack of a dedicated space which can be modified will require decisions to be made that severely impact the quality of the recordings. Tracking that double bass kit is likely to be quite daunting. BTW, it would behoove you to thank the nice people who try to help you, even when they fail, or don't get it. There are only so many ways to say that you have unrealistic goals combined with inadequate resources.
My best advice is- be patient. I spent almost a year researching gear before I bought anything, and I still made some mistakes. I'm now into the $40,000 range, and planning the next upgrade. It's taken 3 years to get to this point.
So- given that you appear to be comitted to computer recording, your room has some issues, and you're not prepared to take the giant plunge just yet, the most important thing you can do, aside from learning about studio recording and pro audio gear in general, is to build a basic setup where you can record *something*, and concentrate on acquiring relatively inexpensive gear that is proven to work in pro studios, so you can add to it later, rather than replacing it.
In the long run, you'll find that a desktop will accept the soundcards and interfaces you need *much* better than any laptop. A laptop, even a state of the art one, is suboptimal for recording . Most fundamentally, you will need a soundcard specialized for computer recording, a mixer and/or outboard preamps, some mics, and some monitors.
Regarding mics, given that you have room issues, you may find that less sensitive mics like high quality dynamics may showcase your room a little less than condensers. Good ribbon mics are ideal, but are wicked expensive. As to the preamp(s), you would do well to buy a good basic mixer, such as Soundcraft, or Allen and Heath, and a 2 channel preamp, the best you can afford. Don't cut corners there, or you'll just be selling those things in a couple of years to buy good ones.
You can choose from numerous software packages, and perfectly good ones have already been suggested. You need to figure out what your needs are, channel by channel, and choose the mics and preamps to match. Note that CPU's are noisy suckers with fans, and you will need to either place the CPU in another room, or invest in silent fans and cases to isolate it, or you will be screwed to start with. I apologize in advance if none of this is useful to you, but I am trying to help you. My main points are that the budget to do what you want to do well is a lot more than you think, pretending that you can ignore the acoustic space in which you are recording is delusional, and the more research you do before buying anything, the better off you will be, in the end. Good Luck-Richie
 
First thing I would do is ditch the laptop and the Lexicon Omega.

Their first AD/DA product was a complete and utter disaster.

Like Richie said, you need a fast desktop, and if you wanna do 8 tracks or more at once you'll need a PCI interface. USB just won't be able to keep up. I'd stay away from AMD, too. Unless you are an overclocker or serious geek, it seems like the Intel stuff plays better in many cases than AMD.

Yes, I know. Everybody's mileage will vary on that comment. :rolleyes:

Depending on how many MIDI devices you have, I'd look into MAudio MIDIsport interfaces. USB connectivity.

For audio, I just got a Lynx2A and I couldn't be happier. Fastest PCI-based interface available today. Rock-solid ASIO drivers. Works great with Sonar4 so far.

I'd take a Layla over any MAudio audio interface any day of the week, FWIW.

Next, it looks like you need a mixer of some kind. Choose your poison. Outboard pres are nice too. The better board you buy now means you maybe get further down the road before you want to invest in serious outboard preamps. If you buy a mixer with 6-8 decent preamps that solves your drum-micing question, and gives you some signal routing options for monitoring as well.

And a headphone amp. Carvin has a pretty nice one for $150.

About room treatments.............. well, if that's an absolute not-gonna-happen, I'd find another way to spend my time because you'll be wasting it recording in that room.
 
Re: Starting a studio from scratch

To Tydarius:
I've been recording for around 7 or 8 years now and have accumulated just about all the equipment I need for my own studio. I used to use a Yamaha MD8 to record with, but recently bought a Fostex VF160 16 track hard drive recorder. I record drums with a real drum set, (not that a drum machine wouldn't sound bad either,) but I've played drums for years and just prefer recording with them. I use two condenser mics for the overheads, and a Shure mic in the bass drum and mix them with a six channel Peavey p.a. I record my bass direct into the Fostex and record guitar through the Peavey PA. I recently bought an Audio Technica AT3035 large diaphram condenser mic for lead vocals and have on order a DBX 266XL dual compressor gate. My computer is not in my studio room, so I have to mix down my songs to a Sony mini disc recorder, which I then take over to the computer room where I have another mini disc recorder where I then play the mixed down song onto my computer using Gold Wave audio software. From there, I can burn CDs of my songs if I need to. I of course have a complete stereo system in my studio to help mix down my songs from the Fostex recorder.
Sounds like you've got all the info you need though to start your studio though. Good luck.

Tunes68.
 
Tydarius said:
don’t know it this will make a difference when it comes to mic’ing a drum set, but the drummer in question has a double-base setup, and at least 3 cymbals.
- Edward
Click to expand...

You will need 4 mics minimun to do it right. One on the kick drum, one on the snare and two overheads for a stereo picture of your toms and cymbals.

Don't try to mic a double bass drum. It will be more trouble than it's worth. Most will tell you to use a double bass live, use two kick pedals on one drum for recording.

Everyone here has give you great advice, it's up to you if you want to take it or not. But I think everyone on here would appreciate you a bit more if you just thanked them for their time instead of getting rude and telling them the time they took to respond to you meant nothing.



Think about how you would feel if the shoe were on the other foot.
 
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