Home Recording Studio Setup For Beginners [Every Budget]

Every musician needs a small or big home studio setup. So in this blog post, we will discuss what do you need to create a home studio. Please keep one thing in mind at all times that you will not and should not spend all this money from the get-go i.e. invest as and when you need them. We will include devices that fall within every type of budget.

Before investing in a home studio you need to make sure you know what you are doing else you’ll just be wasting a lot of money. We’ll be listing out some basics that you will need. The basic is an audio interface, a digital workstation, studio monitors and headphones, a dynamic instrument mic and a vocal condenser mic, a midi keyboard, whatever instruments you’d require synthesizers, and plugins.

1. Computer

Anything with i5 or more paired with at least 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD will work just fine. In India, we are talking about somewhere around 60K. If you don’t have any budget for a new computer. Start with whatever you have. It is just needed to run a music production software.

2. Audio Interface/Card

An audio interface sometimes called an audio card will help you to connect your devices. It takes the input from your instruments and feeds it to the computer where you can do further processing on it.

Let’s talk about the audio interface the audio interface that I’m using is, m-audio fast track MkII. It comes with 2 inputs, 1 xlr, and 1 jack. xlr input comes with phantom power. So you can connect your condenser mic to it. m-audio has stopped manufacturing this audio interface. This product has been discontinued. There’s a good alternative to this, from Focusrite. I can’t remember the name exactly. But I’ll post the link to that too.

We have created a list of 8 budget audio interfaces for a home recording studio that will help you to choose the best one for you.

3. Headphones

Headphones are one of the most important if not the most important piece of hardware for your home recording studio setup. A good piece of headphones will always be helpful while producing music.

We have created a list of 7 Budget Headphones for Home Recording Studios.

4. Microphones

There are two types of microphones for a recording studio setup, viz Condenser microphones, and Dynamic microphones.

Condenser mics are very sensitive and can capture even low noise so if you are living in a place where there’s a lot of surrounding noise I won’t recommend a condenser mic in such a scenario. If you want to buy a good condenser mic, you should check Our top 4 picks for budget condenser mics.

Dynamic microphones, on the other hand, are best known for their use in live environments. They are best known for recording sounds that are louder. Usually, Condenser microphones like the ones featured in our previous article are ideal for a studio environment whereas Dynamic Microphones are more inclined towards live applications. Check our best 4 picks for dynamic microphones.

The mic that I use is, Rode nt1a is a condenser microphone.

5. Music Production Software or Digital Audio Workstation(DAW)

If you are short on budget. Start with something like Audacity which is free software. So it will be perfect for any budget. But if you have a budget go with premium offerings coz they will be saving you a lot of time.

I’ve been using this for many years, I haven’t upgraded yet when I started, I was using fl studio after that I used Nuendo after Nuendo, I used Cubase 5, and haven’t changed ever since although this is a very big debate, some people say logic is the best some say pro tools is the best, I feel it doesn’t make any difference ultimately what matters is the creativity, your thoughts, your ideas so I wouldn’t like to get into this debate of which is the best DAW, I use Cubase 5.

6. Studio Monitors

Studio monitors are required if you needed to work for long hours.

I use Krk Rokit 5. You must have seen these studio monitors on multiple youtube channels and videos regarding the home studios. This is certainly one of the best pairs of studio monitors that you can buy. If you want to build a home studio, then I feel your room dimension wouldn’t be as big as compared bigger music studios.

Then you don’t need bigger studio monitors than these, this is more than enough. one special feature of Rokit 5 is that it has the bass port on the front, which is important for home studio owners. When we build a studio at home, we struggle to find enough space. In most cases, we have to place the monitors close to the wall. In such cases, because of low frequency, can cause a lot of difficulties while mixing. but because the bass port is at the front, not facing the wall, it’ll give some relief.

7. MIDI Keyboard

I used Akai mpk mini before this I had m-audio oxygen 25, that too was a 25 key compact midi controller like this. In Akai mpk mini you get 8 programmable pads and 8 programmable knobs. You can assign different controls to them from your music production software. The Pitch bend and modulation wheel have been replaced by a joystick, which I think is a cool feature.

If like me, you also aren’t a keyboard player, I don’t think you need a bigger midi controller than this. For complete beginners watching this video, let me tell you, the midi keyboard doesn’t have its sound. It only controls midi instruments in your music production software you can play drums, strings, bass, guitar, whatnot…but it doesn’t have its sound. You can’t play them without connecting to an output device.

We have created a list of 5 budget MIDI keyboards that you will love.

8. Cables, Stands, and Hardware

These are auxiliary devices but are a must for convenience. This will help you to create a professional-looking studio that will also function properly.

9. Room Treatment or Acoustic panels

These panels will help you reduce echo from the walls of your studio. Check out our acoustic designing guide and frequently asked questions

Those are called acoustic panels, which are made out of foam. I had ordered an entire set from MMT Acoustix. It’s important to know about acoustic panels that these have not been used for soundproofing by installing them it’s not that what you record inside won’t be audible outside or it will block outside noise from entering inside, No. this is just to treat the room reflections, which helps you while mixing and I also use them while recording vocals headphones that I use are, a JBL T250SI before this I’ve used Sennheiser HD201 & 180 when I was using Sennheiser, I didn’t have studio monitors, I used to mix on headphones but if you want to mix professionally, I won’t recommend any of those headphones if you only want to use it for tracking while recording vocals, you can go with any one of Sennheiser HD201 or HD180

Frequently Asked Questions