From deciding on the purpose of your studio to what a typical budget would be and what equipment you will need this post should be able to help you with all the considerations, hesitations and thoughts when venturing into home recording.

As a newbie to the world of home recording; I have looked through countless articles, videos and advice on home studio equipment and I am slowly building up my collection of gear in order to successfully have my own functioning workstation (rent, bills and uni are a big factor in what and when I can purchase things).

It’s purpose?

That I am still unsure of, I have so many ideas and avenues I want to visit and explore but I am starting to come to grips with what I need to buy, acquire and use in order to create audio products.

Whether it is creating podcasts, recording voiceover artists, or working on your own songs this guide should help you pick and choose the equipment that is right for you!

Where to begin?

The first thing to think about is what do you already have and what do you need? There are loads of articles online which list the basic necessities for recording audio in the bedroom or at home.

Dawsons states the basic fundamentals of audio recording at home but presumes you have the microphones and cables to record instruments.

Similarly ehomerecordingstudio builds on Dawsons post with what they call the:

4 Stages of Growth

The 4 stages take us through our very basic bedroom set up right the way to the more advanced professional studio. Like any hobby there is always the chance that they can grow into something more and this article covers those bases for people starting out to those taking the leap to full blown business and working professional studio.

Regardless of where you look it is a general consensus that the following things are integral to recording in your own bedroom:

Computer

DAW

Monitors

Headphones

Microphone(s)

Cable(s)

Mic Stand

Cost?

How much of a factor is money when considering all these things? Word of advice, start small and work your way up!

Many different articles are all over the web discussing what the cost will be and where to being.

Recording Revolution has a series of detailed videos which goes through setting up a studio for $350 (£266.77-thanks Google) but also goes into considerations of how you can tackle those tricky multiple mic set ups and recording full bands.

Although the video is in American currency it comes up with similar products that previous articles have mentioned:

Focusrite Scarlett Solo- Lowest price £79.00 (Amazon, PMT)

Ableton Lite/Pro Tools First- £0 (a beginners version of the software) (Ableton Lite, Pro Tools First)

Samson CO1-Condensor microphone- £60(Gear4Music)

KRK KNS6400 Headphones- £69.00 (PMT)

XLR Cable- Variable lengths-£9.99-£19.99 (PMT)

Mic Stand-£19.99- (PMT)

Pop Filter (if recording vocals)-£14.00 (PMT)

The total cost for a basic set up as advised by The Recording Revolution

£251.98

If you are looking to spend a little more (and you already have the 3 aforementioned items) and your budget can stretch to £300 then this article from Dawsons includes studio monitors and ignores the headphones and also includes the classic Shure SM57 Dynamic cardioid microphone.

Whatever the budget, purpose or reasons for wanting to have your own set up; this post should hopefully help you on the way to recording your own projects.