Practicing your music and being able to record it and share it with others is as good a hobby as any. While a top-notch equipment is quite the expensive undertaking, a lower, yet decent quality recording gear is far more affordable (a few hundred bucks- an average of $600 for all the items) and will get the job done just fine. If it is your first entry to the realm of home music recording, you should go down that road.
The basic equipment you’re going to need is a microphone, a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, an audio interface, a digital keyboard, studio monitors, headphones, and some cables.
Obviously, you need to have a computer as well. It doesn’t need to be a powerful monster, one equipped with a Core-i or a Core 2-series processor will perfectly do. Let’s now go over each equipment in detail:
1. Microphone:
Probably the most important equipment since it is the recorder, you can find interesting, respectable -quality microphones for about a hundred dollars. If you want a minimalistic setup and go only for the mic, you can just take a USB microphone such as the Blue Snowball that costs around $70; but keep in mind that it is more intended for podcasting so you will have really limited options when it comes to music recording.
In any case, with a slightly heavier budget, you should consider a condenser microphone that features a cardioid pickup pattern which is perfect for recording vocals but can also take in other uses. Affordable entry-level microphones would be the Studio Projects B1, the AKG C2000B, or the MXL 990. You can also look for microphones in the 100-200 dollars price range that are manufactured by the well-known brands as you can expect an honest result.
2. Audio Interface:
The audio interface acts as a connector between your microphones and instruments to the computer as well as the studio monitors. A bad interface affects the quality of the sound, so here you should avoid the very low-priced products. The best solution you have purchased a good interface, such as the Apogee Duet, but in the used market, as brand new ones are very costly. A cheaper, yet decent alternative would be the Focusrite Saffire 6 that costs about $200. As we said, look out for the poor quality products, you should take the precaution to read reviews first as it will spoil the results of all your other good quality equipment.
3. Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software
You will have to use naturally a software to handle all these equipment together. Luckily, if you took care of the audio interface, there is good chance there is software included. Indeed, the interfaces regularly include software like the Cubase LE, Pro Tools LE, or a free software version of some well-reputed software. With software, you can play digital instruments, add effects to your music, or even create a mix. If you’re looking for other alternatives, there are paid options like the Garageband that works on a Mac for $15, that if it may seem limited at first glance, does provide enough options when you get to use it. Garageband is also perfect for beginners as the software helps you out a lot during the mixing process. Other choices involve the cross-platform Sequel ($80), the Reaper ($60) exclusive to Windows, and the free software Ardour for Mac and Linux and LMMS for both Windows and Linux.
4. Digital Keyboard:
If you want only to record live music, you can do without a digital keyboard as it serves to play synthesized or sampled instruments. If you want to add software-generated sounds to your recordings eventually, then you will have to go for one. While they may look like a replica of a piano, digital keyboards are not very good at it so that you can leave out the rather big ones. In fact, unless you want to replicate a piano, in which case you’ll have to get the pricey keyboards such as the Yamaha P95B that renders a realistic sound, a 49-key keyboard will fill the role you assign to it no problem. Such keyboards like the Keystation 49 cost around a hundred dollars. If you still want more, there are 61 and 88 key versions available. If you can get around only with the most basic inputs, you can opt for the mini version with only 32 keys.
When getting an affordable keyboard, it’s best to purchase a new one, as low-end keyboards are not significantly more expensive than the used ones. But if you go for a higher end product, used digital keyboards provide good options, especially since a new one would cost more than $500, you can get it at a bargain; not to mention such good quality keyboards enables you to assess the shape of the keyboard when trying it out.
5. Studio Monitors:
Simply put, studio monitors are speakers, but they are a little more than that. Without getting into complex details, know that regular computer speakers do not render sounds as they should be. Called coloured sounds, the audio signal is in fact emphasised which results in a heavy bass and sharp high-end that lack a mid-range. This is fine when you’re only using the speakers to watch movies or listen casually to music, but you wouldn’t want to get in your way when mixing your music.
Studio monitors address that issue. While they do not guarantee a perfect uncoloured sound, and in a way, each monitor give a unique sound, but it will be as close to the real sound as it is possible. That entails there’s no choice but to ignore used monitors, as damage may not be perceived. There are still, however, new studio monitors that come at a bargain, such as the Samson Resolv A6 that give a clear sound provided you invest $300. You can look for similar end products at the $300 range, and they shall normally do the job.
6. Headphones:
Nice quality headphones start at the $300 price range; but you could do with less, especially if you dispose of good studio monitors and only need headphones for referencing, that is using the headphones to check what your mix sounds like for other people using standard equipment. Mixing with studio monitors is indeed better than with headphones given that the latter doesn’t represent realistically the stereo mix. Sennheiser is reputed for producing great money to value headphones such as the Sennheiser HD555s (the whole HD series is pretty interesting) that only cost about a hundred dollars. They can do a good referencing for you, and it isn’t very bad mixing with it (but try to avoid that nonetheless). The HD25-1 IIs is a little bit better (and a little bit more expensive naturally) but the previous remarks still stand.
7. Cables:
The need for cables depends on the equipment you have bought. If you dispose of a USB mic, you probably won’t require any. There’s a slight possibility you might need a USB cable, but then again microphone manufacturers/retailers typically provide one.
However, if you use an audio interface, you’re gonna require XLR cables to connect multiple microphones if need be, and also 1/4" TS cables for the studio monitor and also some instruments such as the guitar. They only cost a few dollars so have no worries on that end. Consider having extras to be prepared in case a cable eventually fails you.
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