Making a Home Studio

DevonMoore

Hey everyone!

I want to hear your home studio set up!

I just bought some of the essentials like a Mic (Zingyou Bm-800) as well a a Novation Launchkey 49 midi controller plus a Focusrite scarlett 2i2 audio interface.

The DAW i'm testing is Studio one 4, will see how much I like it.

This cost me around $480ish.

What kind of studio you guys have atm? Also any good sources to learn the production side of singing?

doc_ramadani

Hi @DevonMoore:

Hardware:
MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2015), 2,5 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM
Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) interface
Rode NT-1A
M-Audio 49 Midi-Controller
several Guitars (Fender Tele, Cort Superstrat, Blade Superstrat)

Software:
Logic Pro X
some 3rd Party PlugIns (Softube, Waves, ...)

Doc

[Deleted User]

Hey Devon.

This is what I'm currently working with:

ZOOM R8 (Sampler/interface/multi-track recorder)
Behringer 22 ch mixing board
Yamaha 6 ch mixing board
JBL Studio monitors
Sony headphones (closed back)
3-SM57's
2-SM58's
Alesis midi controller (61 keys)
Boss DR-5 Sequencer

Software: Pro Tools, Cubebase, Abbleton, Sonar, Traktion, Wave 8

3 electric guitars
4 Acoustic guitars
2 bass guitars
Acoustic drum set
Electronic drum set
2- Digital pianos

Peace, Tony

DevonMoore

@doc_ramadani oh good if you also have the Focusrite scarlett too then I must of Picked a Good one lol

DevonMoore

@videoace Dang with a 61 key controller what kind of desk do you have to fit that?

Also whats your experience with Pro Tools and Ableton? The Focus scarlett I have comes with Pro Tools (but looks very overwhelming for a beginner) and my Novation launchpad integrates automatically with Ableton supposedly.

Again I just started using Studio one 4 since it looks and feels the most beginner friendly

[Deleted User]

Actually Pro tools for me seems simpler to navigate Than Ableton, but I don't use computer editing anymore so it's been a while since I've used any of them, but my favorite has been Cubebase. It's the most user friendly of the bunch.

For my keyboards I have stands. A single tier, and a double tier for two keyboards.

Peace, Tony

DevonMoore

@videoace ah, I havnt seen anything on Cubebase so ill have to check it out.

Also that makes sense lol

doc_ramadani

Hi @DevonMoore,

the Scarlett solo is quite enough for me. And it works for all my audio applications.

Doc

Klaus_T

Hi @DevonMoore, I can recommend Warren Huart's youtube channel for some great tips on how to record, mix and produce music.

I have Ableton and Protools, but I always found Ableton to be very tricky when it comes to latency, it can really mess up your recordings, and I lost hours trying to make it work (it wants to auto-align latency issues, which has messed up some of my sessions in really weird ways). I am an audio engineer so you'd think I would be able to figure it out, but I never could. So definitely, PT is the better one in this case. I never used Studio 1 but heard people say they liked it, also, a lot of people I know like to use Cubase (they like it for the MIDI stuff afaik, not sure if it has any benefits over the other programs when it comes to recording audio). Having said that, I prefer working without a computer in my spare time, I just got a Tascam Model 24 and I really like it. No fiddling with settings and staring at a screen, no restarts, no latency, you name it... Of course, DAWs are more flexible with editing, but you can always import the stems into the PC and edit them there. It also forces you to be more precise with your playing, instead of patchworking the tracks from a bunch of semi-okayish takes. But this is just my opinion, and it is based on the fact that I do very similar things in my working hours.

If you need help setting up your protools, let me know, it is actually quite easy once you get the basics down. You can also save templates so you can have all your settings stored and then not worry about them every time you start the program.

Best wishes, Klaus

[Deleted User]

I'm with you Klaus. I prefer units that are plug and play systems.

I write all of my stuff on an 8 track machine. I also have the computer option with it, but it takes more time with a computer than just recording what I play.

Mine is simple. I plug my guitar in, set my parameters, activate the channel, and I'm off, and running. No crashes, jitters, latency, just playing, and recording.

Peace

DevonMoore

@Klaus_T I see, thats some good tips thank you.

Also I went with Studio one as I downloaded all of them and fiddle around for about 20-30 on each and studio was the easiest for me to wrap my head around.

@videoace I dont have any of that kind of recording stuff and currently learning piano to just help the singing and musical side a little better so I dont have instruments that I can play so I can make use of plug and play.

doc_ramadani

@Klaus_T Warren's channel is great. I like Joe Gilder, too. Also Graham. And for classic american rock guitar Brett Papa and Tony ( @videoace ).

Furious_Phil

@DevonMoore

This is what I'm currently working with:
HP i7 Elitebook with very fast SSD hardrives / 16 GB RAM / Dual 24" monitors
ZOOM R8 (Used as an Interface)
KRK 6 Studio monitors
Audio-Technica headphones (closed back)
2-SM57's
1-Sennheiser e835
1-Sennheiser e945
(Hunting for a great quality studio condenser mic)


Software: Cubebase 8, Izotope Ozone and Neutron, EZ-Drummer, Power Director

6 electric guitars (ESP, Kramer, Fender, Gibson)
1 Acoustic guitar (Larrivee)
1 bass guitar (ESP Lynch Bones)

Ampeg SCR-DI To simulate the Ampeg growl, but directly
Jet City HDM with Soldano SLO mod + 2x12 with Eminence Lynch Super-V speakers

Various pedals through the front of the amp
TC Electronic G-Major through the loop of the amp
TC Helicon VoiceLive Play for vocal processing and pre-amp.
A bunch of sound treatment foam placed strategically.

Klaus_T

@Furious_Phil, nice setup, have you tried Aston Microphone's Origin or Spirit as a studio condenser? I never had the chance to test one so far, and not looking to buy as I got one that I am happy with (AKG P220), but I heard good things about them.

Klaus_T

@doc_ramadani @videoace how can I find Tony's yt channel?

[Deleted User]

here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA_xP0eZfj8uVuTUMPiRz6w

I only have one original song there right now, and there are no vocals. Sorry

Peace, Tony

[Deleted User]

@Furious_Phil Did you get that stereo pan issue settled?

Peace

Furious_Phil

@Klaus_T - I am going to look into the Aston mic's as they compare quite favourably to the Neumann tlm102! (spec-wise) and being half the price doesn't hurt either

@videoace - Yeah, I had to switch my input buss to mono. Live and learn

[Deleted User]

Aaaahhhhh that is something that I didn't remember lol. I might get back into using mine on the computer again. The initial set up is so tedious though.

Peace

Furious_Phil

It actually wasn't that bad once I loaded the R8 drivers in.
There are some great Youtube video guides for setting it up as well.
Still haven't figured out how to fully integrate EZ-Drummer into Cubase yet though... that will be a HUGE help when I get that going, so I can visually know where I am in a song, as opposed to guessing and hoping for the best

[Deleted User]

There are a few different views when watching the timeline. You have the main timeline (shows all the tracks). You have the piano roll (which shows midi instruments) and if I'm not mistaken there is a drum view also to monitor midi, and drum machines. You can also get notation printed out from the program if using midi instruments like a drum machine, piano, etc....

Peace