Incandescent Audio Home Recording Guide

Recording yourself at home can be an exciting and cost saving endeavour, but it’s also fraught with pitfalls. We’ve written this handy guide to help you learn the pro’s and con’s of home recording. 

There are many advantages to recording at home. Some are obvious, like the fact that it can save you money by reducing or eliminating recording time in the studio, or that you can do as many takes as your heart desires. Some benefits are a little less immediate, such as how learning the language and methodology of recording can help you have more productive, efficient, and creative recording sessions when you do end up in a professional studio. And there’s one consideration that recently became much more important: the need to cut down on trips outside of the house to help keep yourself and your community safe from Covid-19. 

As great as home recording is, there are many disadvantages to keep in mind too. There’s the upfront cost of recording equipment and accessories (I assure you, the quest for more gear is never ending). Recording has a steep learning curve, which can be quite frustrating when you really want to focus on the music. Noises and hums from HVAC, electrical issues, neighbors, and traffic can infect your recordings. Untreated bedrooms and garages can cause acoustical problems that can be tricky to fix in the mix. Larger, more complicated instruments like drum sets require a whole slew of microphones, stands, cables, and input channels. 

So what can you record at home, and what should you record at a pro studio? There’s no definitive line between the two. You can make that judgement call by taking the advantages and disadvantages of home recording into consideration. Ask yourself, what can I record well, and what do I need help, better equipment, and/or a better sounding room to record? The easiest things to record are instruments that plug direct in, and don’t require any microphones or an acoustically solid room to record in, such as keyboards and other electric instruments. Sound sources that require one or two microphones can be recorded at home fairly easily if you have a decent sounding room free of miscellaneous noises. If your recording environment has too many problems or the instrument you’re trying to record is too large or complicated, you may want to book a professional studio. Another point to keep in mind is that you don’t have to record exclusively at home or at a studio; you can record the parts that you’re capable of recording well at home, and bring the harder parts to the studio. 

So what equipment do you need to record yourself? First you need something to record on, which is usually a computer these days (although there are plenty of 4 track cassette recorders floating around online if you really want the analog experience). Your computer will need a recording software, which can be as simple as Audacity or Garageband, or as pro-level as Pro Tools or Logic. Recording softwares don’t inherently sound different from each other, but they do come with a variety of different options for recording and processing, so a little research before deciding on a recording software can help you a lot in the long run. 

Next, you’ll need a way to get sound into your computer. If you only want to record acoustic sound sources with one microphone, you can get a USB microphone, which plugs straight into your computer. However, your options with a USB mic are quite limited, so I recommend getting an audio interface. An audio interface gives you a variety of input and output options, giving you much more flexibility. Interfaces have inputs for microphones and electric instruments, and outputs for monitors and headphones. 

Microphones are the most obvious part of recording, but depending on what you plan on recording, you may not even need one. If you’re exclusively going to record electric instruments, you can get by with plugging those instruments directly into the interface. But if you want to record any sound sources that work by making sonic vibrations in the air, you’ll need a microphone to capture those vibrations. This includes vocals, acoustic string instruments, amplifiers, wind instruments, and percussion. You’ll also need mic stands and XLR cables for as many microphones that you have and want to use simultaneously.

Don’t forget, you’ll need a way to listen to what you’re recording. It can be tempting to want to buy the big monitor speakers you see in pro studios, but before you shell out money for those, you really need a good pair of headphones so you can hear what you’re recording, as well as a metronome and any previously recorded parts. Besides, the neighbors will thank you for choosing headphones over loudspeakers. 

Last but not least, you’ll want to think about how your recording room sounds. Bedrooms, basements, and garages can have ugly sounding resonances and reflections that you do not want getting picked up in the mic. There are some DIY methods you can try to deaden your room, such as hanging thick comforters on the wall, or propping up an old mattress in the corner (make sure it’s clean though). There are also many acoustic treatment options available for purchase. However, there’s only so much you can do, and nothing beats a well designed studio recording environment when it comes to acoustics. Sometimes you just need a big room with wood walls and high ceilings to get that huge drum sound, or a well padded iso booth for that tight vocal sound. 

Keep all these factors in mind when deciding about recording at home or at the studio. We at Incandescent Audio are happy to help with any part of your project, whether it’s recording one part or a dozen. And if you’re scratching your head over a tricky issue at your home studio, give us a call for a consultation! We’re here to help however we can.