Investments for your home studio

Hey there, home recording artist. Today I’m gonna talk about some home recording gear you absolutely need. It’s not going to be a big list and I’m not going to get super specific about which gear to get, but I will explain my reasons for everything. 

Ok, here we go.

1. Get some gobos. Gobos are short-hand for go-betweens and they are simply acoustic panels on wheels. If you’re handy then you can build them for fairly cheap; just get some cheap 4-6 inch wide lumber, Roxul Safe n Sound or Owens Corning 703 insulation, cheap fabric, and some casters. Make as many 2 foot x 4 foot frames as you can with the lumber and fill them full of insulation. Wrap them in the fabric and install the casters. 

edit: the highlighted text is not good information by me. Sorry. Please see the screenshot taken from Threads for a better way to make gobos.

Empty rectangular rooms are the worst thing to record in. Build the gobos already.

You can check Craigslist or your local Facebook Marketplace for anyone selling them too.

These exist to the help reshape your space and absorb sound reflections bouncing around your room. Place these around you and your microphone when you record and it will help significantly, I promise. 

I very strongly believe gobos are the most important investment you can make for your home studio. 

Put them up against the wall when you’re finished or hide them in a closet/garage to get them out of the way.

2. Get a slightly oversized interface. You record vocals. You record guitar. You record keys and horns and whatever else. 90% of the time you’ll need 1 or 2 inputs. Sometimes though, you could use more and your 2 channel interface simply won’t cut it. 

I recommend that you get an interface with at least 4 analog inputs. And get the best you can afford at that.

With this setup you can have 4 mics or a couple mics and a stereo synth plugged up and ready to go at all times. It’s a very simple thing that will save you time and keep your creativity flowing.

For simplicity sake I really like the MOTU M6 and the UA Volt 476P, but some of the other interfaces have more expandability and software features that could be beneficial to you. I think simple is the way to go though.

3. A large diaphragm condenser microphone. The options here are seemingly limitless. There’s a good chance this will be your main mic for almost everything, so figure out how much you’re willing to spend and narrow down your options.

   
   

   

   You just need one.

I would avoid tube mics because that’s just more cost and stuff to worry about for a moderate sonic benefit. A lot of the cheaper Chinese made mics have a design that boosts the high end a lot. It may sound cool in solo, but when it comes time to mix they wind up being harsh and sibilant.

Here are a few that I would recommend: Lewitt 440 Pure, Roswell k87, Roswell k47x, Roswell k67x, Warm Audio 87, UT Twin87, Austrian Audio OC18, Mojave MA-201fet, Lauten Audio Clarion or Atlantis, and pretty much anything from JZ microphones.

The bigger names in the microphone game have great products too, but you’ll be paying a premium for the brand name and to me it’s more financially sound to go with a different company. If you’re starting a recording business, then sure, get a Neumann. Some people like to see that.

4. A stereo pair of small diaphragm condenser mics. These are great for hand percussion, acoustic guitar in a sparse arrangement, acoustic piano, strings, small choirs, drum overheads, etc. I wouldn’t get the most expensive, but don’t cheap out either.

My recs: Lauten LA-120, sE sE7 or sE8, Lewitt LCT 140, Warm WA-84, Austrian Audio CC8.

5. A Shure sm57. It will live on your electric guitar cab. It can be your vocal mic for heavy screaming vocals. Make your own snare samples with it. Record horns.

I have 5. This one is my VO mic for live streams

It is a workhorse of a microphone that does everything reasonably well and takes abuse with a smile. I doubt it’s anyone’s first choice mic for most things, but it’s a never fail mic when it’s used. 

6. Closed back headphones. Make sure they seal well around your ears, are comfy, and aren’t too hyped sounding. You don’t want click tracks bleeding into the mic now, do you?

So that’s it. This is my list of investments for artists recording at home. You really don’t need much to get great sounds into your DAW, and using the gobos when recording and headphones for playback will take the inadequacies of your room out of the equation to a large degree.

Until I decide to write something again, stay creative and keep recording simple.

-Alex