More and more home studios are popping up all over the place. The reason why, it's obvious, technology is getting better and better, the equipment keeps getting smaller and smaller and much more affordable. With the convenience of DAW's (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Pro Tools, Cubase, Fruity Loops etc... and small interfaces like M-Audio's Fast Track Pro make it super affordable and space efficient for solo artist or real small bands that don't need a lot of space or (mic/inst) inputs to record at home.

Years ago struggling artist had to shell out more cash then they had to get a professional sounding recording done. Before web sites like utube and social networking sites like myspace and facebook, some times the music recorded might not even get heard, lot of money wasted. If you could put together an affordable home studio that is capable of recording great music you can make as many tracks as you want with the only repercussion being your time. If you don't like a track scratch it, move on it's not like your paying by the hour, and when your not paying by the hour you don't have to stop recording when those hours that your paying for are up. There's nothing like leaving the studio knowing that you have to schedule and pay for more time because you just could not finish those last couple of tracks. With a home recording studio you have all the time you can make for your recordings.

First before you go out and spend more money then you need to, step back and ask yourself what it is you really need and what it is you are really going to use. A lot of times you might get caught up in the moment and think just because you have all the newest coolest gear that it's going to make the best music possible, not true. Getting caught up in the moment can cause you to have a lot of equipment that you paid for but never end up using. Just because it's the newest technology out there and it received great reviews doesn't mean that it's right for you or your project. I've been there before and bought equipment that I never ended up using. This is very frustrating because you know the minute you buy it you are not getting the same amount back that you paid for the product, used or not.

The next thing you need to ask yourself is do you need to buy brand new. For instance, say your looking for a mixer(audio workstation), here's an area where you could save a lot of money. Find a used mixer maybe about five years old with the amount of outputs and inputs that you need. If it's in good shape you may be able to buy it for a great price. As long as it's compatible with your computer and your DAW software you might end up with a great 16 track or so mixer. Do not worry if the mixer lacks some of the function and goodies that the brand new ones have because if you have up to date DAW software all the goodies you will need will be in your computer software plug-ins, like compression, EQ, delay, automation etc......

The same with microphones, headphones and studio monitors, if taking care of properly these tools can work just as good as the day they were bought brand new and still deliver the quality that you need for a great sounding recording. I also suggest getting a plane jane MIDI keyboard unless you have 4000.00 dollars for a Trenton or a Roland Phantom. You can get a good regular MIDI keyboard for about 100-150 dollars with no sounds, you can then use your software to assign sounds like the grand piano, strings, drums, percussion and more. Another thing I suggest to do to save money, make your own baffles, sound absorbers, acoustic walls or whatever you want to call them. Obviously you can't record a band all in one room at the same time without baffles because of the way the sounds will bounce off the walls. This will cause major leakage from other instruments in other microphones not designated for that source. But sound absorbers get expensive and for what their purpose is and what there made of you can get creative and make your own almost for free. Do you have empty egg cartons, Styrofoam, used carpet, if it's something that will absorb sound get out the drawing board and spend some time and fabricate your own. Hint: making mobile baffles are the key because in the long run you might want to change the position of your instruments and where you play them. And it's possible you might end up with a band you want to let use your studio that has a lot of instruments or a band that is just the opposite, being able to move your baffles around will leave you with many different options.

Another drawback to buying brand new is if you want to get hooked up quick and start playing, recording and having fun this might not happen so easily. The is fact that almost all recording equipment is used with computers now and a lot of times when new gear comes out there could be a lot of problems that were not quite ironed out yet. I learned this when windows vista came out and I bought a computer with the system as soon as it came out. As a result I spent a better part of two weeks trying to get Pro Tools working properly, even worse the problem was so new there was not a lot of help from the tech support or the Internet, not fun.

I won't get into microphones too much, but there are three very important points I'd like to make. First, know the three different types of microphones, here are the three:

Ribbon: great sound and response but very delicate, this type of mic would be perfect for hi-hats but would not with stand a kick drum or a bass guitar or any other heavy hitting source of sound.This microphone can also break very easily from a fall that is higher then 3 to 4 feet.

Condenser: A good all around mic, great for vocals, great for using for a room mic and just about anything else that you want.

Dynamic: A rugged mic, good for kick drums, toms and bass guitars etc.... also a mic that will last you a long time. This mic could take a ten foot fall and probably still work fine.

The second thing you need to know is what kind of pattern your microphone has, Cardioid, Hyper Cardioid, Omni, or a Bi-Directional pattern. Each pattern picks up sound on the microphone in one place but rejects it in another, remember always point the rejection of the microphone towards the sound source you do not want to pick up!

The third thing you should know is one of the biggest mistakes people make when setting up microphones, always make sure you have the best possible sound before you start recording. A lot of times people will make the mistake of saying it could be better but we will fix it during mix down, not the best way. The more you have to use your plug-ins at mix down the more you take away from the natural sound. It may take you some time adjusting microphones but in the long run you will be much happier then you would be if you have to fight with a lot of plug-ins to find that perfect sound, if it's even possible.

Just remember one thing, no rules for recording are set in stone, use your ears be creative when placing micophones and try different methods until you get the sound you want to hear.

Now you get to have the fun, make sure the level of each input signal is as close to zero as possible with out clipping/overloading and then record some tracks. Once you are done do a little bit of editing and get each song to the right length. Then separate them in different folders, then mix each song individually but before you start mixing make sure you normalize each track. Just like microphone set up there is no particular way to do this just be creative and make sure no tracks are overloading especially the stereo track. Use your automation, your panning, compression, EQ, delay and so on. A little pointer when doing this: not necessary did you record the tracks in a setting like you would be when playing on stage but you need to get a set up that can mirror this image on your DAW. You want the singer to sound up front and the drumer to sound like he is in the back. So what would be the wise thing to do, since reverb tends to make a certain sound seem a little further away, try to group all of your drum tracks together and use some reverb to make them sound slightly behind everything else. I suggest a reverb plate program. When you are finished and you like what you here take the tracks and mix them down to a left and right stereo track. Whatever program you are using will have a section in the manual on how to do this particular step. Now your project is ready to be mastered.

A lot of people get scared when they hear the word mastering, well, to tell you the truth you should. This maybe a spot where you would like to go to a professional and have it done properly. But if you feel bold enough to take on the grueling task I will help you out with as much advice it as I can give you.

First and for most, rather you go to a professional or you do it yourself make sure your mix is exactly the way you want it. The process of mastering only deals with the left/right channel (stereo track). So if your guitar is over powering the vocals or other problems that should have been fixed during mix down there is not much that can be done to fix this in mastering.

Unfortunately you will have to spend some money on a mastering program to do this step properly. There are many different types but in my opinion the best program for the price and most user friendly would be IZTOP. You can get this program just about anywhere where music software is sold and you can use it as a plug-in for most all DAW software programs making it even more convenient. Also programs like Wavelab and Sound Forge are some great programs you might want to look in to purchasing for the analyzing of your wave forms.

Next you need to do some research on the three most common methods of mastering:

1. Multi-Band Compression

2. Parallel Compression

3. General Compression and Brick Wall.

Before you get into EQ and compression think of the order you wish to do this process in. You can definitely EQ first but just remember when you compress you could be compressing the very parameters that you just equalized, just make sure that you plan to make one final EQ after compression.

Now it's time to start getting used to your mastering program. I strongly suggest getting familiar with the Spectrum Analyzer and also as always get familiar with all the functions of the program. The Spectrum Analyzer will help you get a better since of what ranges might still need a little EQ. Maybe your lows are pounding a little too heavy and your mid-range is running a little too soft. This problem may not be able to be heard right away but the Spectrum will help you out a lot by showing the problem on the graph. Also try to get your average RMS level around - 10 if it peaks a little over -10 you should be alright as long as the average is where it should be. Remember mastering consists of very little changes and the better you do on the mixing process of the project the easier the mastering process will be.

Remember this is just a starting point and your first go at it won't be perfect. You will always learn new things, techniques, and processes that work better for you. But think about what you can accomplish with a home studio. Studio time when ever you want it at your convenience in the privacy of your own home without paying a studio.Depending on how much time you need and how many tracks you need to record a professional studio can become very costly. Then the next time you are ready to record another set of tracks you have to go back to the studio and pay the cost again and the process just circles around and around. With your own home studio you can record as much as you want, save what you want and come back to it later. Also if you have some buddies that are in a band you could rent them out your studio on the side for a little extra cash. If word catches on you might even end up with a clientele that you can rent out your studio too. An any event if you plan on cutting more than one CD or making this a hobby that you are going to stick with for a long time or maybe even try to turn it into a career, a home studio is something you should start thinking about.

I hope this article helped.