If you have a bigger budget and want a vocal mic the pros use, check out the Shure SM7B. It works well on both vocals and acoustic guitar. If you want a more sensitive mic that picks up more detail, I use and recommend the Audio-Technica AT2035. It’s a dynamic mic, meaning it can handle loud sound sources and does well in untreated spaces. One of the most versatile mics that’s in pretty much every professional recording studio is the Shure SM58. Unless you’re purely a beat-making producer, you’ll need a microphone, whether it’s for vocals, acoustic guitar, or any other live instrument (not MIDI).Īlong with that, you’ll need an XLR cable (the mic cord) and a mic stand. Here are tutorials for each of the top DAWs on the market: But you have to find the one you like best. I personally love Reaper and have gotten to know it pretty well.
They all basically do the same stuff, so the most important thing is to know how to use your chosen DAW.
the software the pros use) and learn it inside and out. The key is to pick your favorite DAW from the best options (i.e. There’s a lot of debate about what DAW is the best, but you can ignore those conversations. 40 GB system drive hard disk space and 80 GB separate physical audio driveĪ digital audio workstation (DAW) is your recording software.1 GB RAM for Windows XP and 2 GB RAM for Vista.Multi-core processor (preferably Dual-Core Pentium, Intel Core series, or AMD Athlon 64).Pretty much every Apple computer has what you need to start recording at home (GarageBand even comes built-in).įor a Windows computer, here are the recommended specs: It needs to have enough memory, RAM, and processing power to efficiently run recording studio software. So you’ll need a laptop or desktop computer. Laptop or Desktop ComputerĪgain, it’s not ideal to produce music on a smartphone. This is the central part of your home recording studio setup, meaning it’s the first thing to take care of. So the chair has to have good back support and the desk needs to set your computer at eye height. You’ll potentially be sitting in this chair at this desk for hours. You might think it’s silly to talk about needing a desk and chair, but you have to make sure you’re comfortable while recording.