Home Studio: Turn it into a Pro Studio
Updated: Oct 25, 2021
There’s no excuse to not make great music anymore.
We’re living in an era where you can start a million dollar business from your bedroom!
Money is always the issue (or excuse.)
I often hear the excuse of not having the right equipment to record quality tracks.
Yes, you do need some gear to record your music.
Computer or laptop
Audio interface
Studio microphone
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
Headphones
Studio monitors
Assuming most people already have a computer or laptop, you can get the rest for under $700. See this as an investment, not an expense.
It becomes an issue when artists blame the quality of their music on their equipment.
And they start to believe that the quality of their music can only be improved by going to a fancy studio.
This is not true.
Studio’s don’t make hits, artists do
You tend to believe that you need expensive equipment or a fancy studio. And I get that. We see artists recording in these studio’s, so that must be how they produce their masterpieces.
Sorry, but that isn’t the case.
Studio’s don’t create hits. Producers, writers, recording artists and engineers do. Not on their own. Together!
If you don’t have—for example—a mixing engineer yet, then that means you need to wear that hat yourself first. This is an opportunity because you will experience first hand what goes into mixing a song.
This is crucial for later when you expand your team as it will be easier to communicate.
If you’re a writer/artist, you need to focus on becoming the best writer/artist you could be.
Your equipment will only magnify the talent and potential that is already there.
Creating professional music in an amateur studio
Recording at home has its downsides. I won’t disagree because I too have experienced the struggles when you’re recording at home.
For example, your mixes sound like crap or not even close to what you hear in on the radio. You have no clue if what you do is right. You do what you think sounds best.
To avoid you from taking a road that leads to a dead-end, I’m going to give you some tips on how to do things the right way.
1. Recording Techniques
First, you need to understand what it takes to mix vocals. Only then you will find out why recording quality vocals is so important.
If you don’t know the proper techniques to record vocals, you’ll end up messing around with your mixing project for hours.
Without seeing any results.
Crucial for recording:
Microphone placement
Microphone distance
Performance behind the mic
Movement behind the mic
2. Vocal Production
Producing vocals is like making beats. But instead of adding new instruments, you’re adding vocal layers.
You stack layers on specific lyrics to emphasize them more.
Building up the vocal production for a chorus. E.g. adding backing vocals, harmonies or ad-libs.
It’s important to learn in which situations you should use vocals layers and in which you shouldn’t.
It’s no surprise that there are vocal producers in the industry that have made it their expertise. The vocal production is a determining factor for the potential of your song.
3. Reference tracks
The use of reference tracks is very common in music production. But it’s not about copying someone’s style. It’s about cross-referencing your song with another to measure the quality of your music.
When it comes to learning vocal production, it can help to study and analyze the acapella version of a song.
Cross-reference your vocal production to other songs and check if it sounds similar.
Reference tracks are used for mixing purposes as well.
4. Learn basic EQ, Compression and Effects
Whether you decide to mix your own music or let someone else mix it for you. It’s important that you know the basics.
If you’re not sure if mixing is something you see yourself doing, at least learn the basics of mixing vocals.
There are people making a full-time living off mixing music from their bedroom studio. Which proofs that it’s not impossible to mix your music from your home studio.
Take the time to watch some YouTube tutorials or join My masterclass. Among several other things, we also cover the subject of mixing.