Building A Budget Home Studio

Gone are the days of bulky recording equipment as the home studio is now preferred among music producer and artists on a budget.  Consider that some audio equipment like a single mixing console can cost well over $100,000 in most recording studios. For about $1,300 you could have a decent home studio capable of sound recording, mixing, mastering and more.

Let's be realistic, your own budget studio won't have all the bells and whistles of a professional recording studio, but you can make professional results with the right sounds, information and practice. As you get better and earn money from your hobby, you can move up to better equipment.

So what are we talking about? Well primarily it's a combination of hardware and software. Let's break down the making of a simple home studio setup. When designing your own home studio, you have to know what you need and buy the things that will have dividends early on. For example, if you plan to record vocals someday you will need a microphone, but do you need the best mic immediately? No. Another example: You may need to lay down drum tracks, but do you need a dedicated Drum Pad controller? No. It might be nice to have one later on but we'll focus on the following scenario that is simple and good enough for most people to start with.

Goal: A small home recording studio capable of recording a singer/rapper along with the ability to create beats/music.

Here's what we need:

• Computer including monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.
• Audio device
• MIDI keyboard
• Monitor speakers
• Headphones
• Microphone, with pop filter and stand
• DAW software
• Sound libraries

Some wise choices here will take us far in our home studio budget. I'll list some prices and sources as I go, but please be aware that as this article ages, some prices or items may be different.

Computer
Most of us already have a computer and depending on the age of the computer and the specifications, it may do the job just fine. I'll pretend that we need one for the sake of our example.

We do not need a top of the line computer so we'll look for one that is about a year behind the current top of line computers. Dell and HP have some good options and operate fairly quietly.Do not buy those fancy "Gamer" PCs as they usually have many fans and are loud, something you don't want in a recording environment.

Here's a very respectable machine priced at $467 without a monitor:

HP Pavilion Slimline s5730f PC (Black)

Add this monitor for $129:

HP 2011x 20-Inch LED Monitor - Black

Audio Device
Technically, you can probably get along just great with the built in soundcard if you are only making beats and not recording vocals or live instruments. In our scenario however, we plan to sometimes record vocals and possibly some instruments. To do that so we need something that will offset the power to an external device leaving the computer free to handle other things. This will also give us low latency which is extremely important for recording.

This device from Line 6 is a perfect starter device. It can record from a mic or plugged in instrument. It runs via USB to the computer. The cost is $135

Line 6 POD Studio UX1

MIDI Controller
There are many options to choose from. I have two that I used recently and I'll post the cheaper one here as part of the studio. Its theM-Audio Oxygen 49 and goes for about $139. There are fancier ones out there, but for a starter this will be more than enough. Even without drum pads of some of the cooler models, we can simply use the keys for that:

M-Audio Oxygen 49 49-Key USB MIDI Controller

My current (fancier) keyboard with some drum pads is this one:

M-Audio AXIOM 49 Advanced 49-Key Semi-Weighted USB MIDI Controller

Monitor Speakers
Too many people put a great deal of importance on this, we don't want anything too big or fancy yet it will not make or break you if you learn how to deal with the sounds by comparing them to reference audio. We do need something that is balanced as far as playing back the sounds without coloring them too much. Here you can make a big argument for many different types.

I chose these ones because they have great reviews and are powered. These are not for rocking a show but for listening to your music so don't think you need some super bangin monitors. For a starter home studio these would be adequate at $89 a pair:

M-Audio Studiophile AV30 Professional Reference Speakers

Headphones
You wont use these to master your tracks (usually), but you may need them during voals/instrument recording and those times when you need to be quiet because other people in the house don't want you keeping them awake all night.

These don't need to fancy but should be the kind that do no press on the ear, but rather covers it completely. This is for maximum comfort during those long sessions. This pair clocks in at $25 and will fit the bill:

Audio-Technica ATH M20 Stereo Monitor Headphones

Microphone
Again we don't need a top of the line. If you can get a nice quiet recording room, you can have respectable results. We will also look at a pop filter, a stand and a cable. The cable you need is dependent on the mic and the audio device. I'll pick something to fit the audio device I listed above.

This condenser mic would work well and it comes with a shock mount and case $69:

MXL 990 Condenser Microphone with Shock Mount

Mic Stand $22: On Stage Tripod Microphone Stand (7701B)

Pop Filter $17: Nady MPF-6 Nady 6-Inch Clamp On Microphone

Cable $9: XLR male to XLR female Microphone Cable - 15 feet

DAW Software
Well you know I'm going to reccommend FLStudio! It covers everything from sampling to composition based beats easily. it comes with free lifetime updates. I suggest you get the FLStudio Signature edition also but because of budget we'll settle for the FLStudio Producer edition.

Using this software we do all our composing, mixing, mastering etc. Signature edition cost is only $199 but if you are new to FL Studio, you can save up to 65% on FL Studioand get free VIP here at Warbeats! Read the details

You can also look at some free software noted in this excellent article: 18 Free Beat Making Programs.

Sound Libraries
This would include drum kits and instrument libraries. The good thing here is that on a budget you won't have to spend a dime with so many places offering you free kits and sounds!

Here are some resources:

Warbeats File Area - over 900 remakes in FLP format and over 200 drum kits/sound packs.

KVR - over 1700 free VST instruments and effects.

Beat Makers Software - Article on how to find free drum sounds.

So our TOTAL cost to a nearly complete budget home studio is around: $1300.

Of course if we already had some items like a computer, monitor, speakers, etc. that number could be far less. 

I hope this article will give you a general idea of what you need to get started. Remember that even without all of the items, you can still make great music and Warbeats is here to help you.

In pricing these items I used Amazon.com because it's much more convenient for me and one of my favorite places to buy online.