Home Recording

[Vito Porkleone]

Anyone want to share tips for setting up a home studio? I started playing again about 4months ago, and did so with the intent of getting back "in shape" so I could begin to write & record my own stuff at home.

I've checked out a couple of good blogs on the subject, but was interested to hear what my fellow knuckleheads had to offer on the subject. I really wan't to win a copy of Pro Tools Bootcamp from TheRecordingRevolution.com; and I also love Joe Gilder's blog at homestudiocorner.com.

Any tips out there for avoiding any heartache?

 

[Peter_Grant]

I'm not sure what you're looking for in terms of tips, but I have a tendency to get carried away with dynamics and sometimes hit some notes that, as far as gain, you could easily consider "over the top." Back in the day, when that happened on an analog machine, it wasn't that big a deal. In the digital realm, however, it will give you some totally unwanted noise.

Of course, using a compressor, if set correctly, will handle that all by itself, but that may color your sound in a way that you don't want. My solution, however simple, is to record a second track at a slightly lower gain. On pedal steel, where I use a volume pedal, I will often do a track that bypasses the pedal, going out of the tuner output on my Telonics pedal.

 

[JayDawg]

A few friends of mine have their own home recording studios and use Pro Tools. I am not some super knowledgeable recording engineer but I have played around on their on occasion and I liked what the Pro Tools system was able to do.

 

[Peter_Grant]

Pro Tools

I've been using Pro Tools for years. I'm totally grateful that I bought it from Sweetwater. Digidesign's support for Pro Tools is ridiculously inadequate (to be polite), but because I bought it from Sweetwater I was able to use Sweetwater tech support. One time, I called Sweetwater just before closing time on a Friday. They asked if they could call me back and I said OK, thinking that I was most likely SOL. Fifteen minutes later, they called me back and helped me solve my problem.

Pro Tools might not (and probably isn't) the best, but it does seem to be the industry standard.

 

[beej]

All depends on your budget ... there are so many ways to go.

I try and use good mics, an ok mic pre, and I'm using Reaper (very inexpensive/free DAW) for the recording. It's extremely light weight and does just about everything. That's what I'd recommend starting with.

 

[fly]

digital recording is a beast to corral.......i too use pro tools,and the best advice i have gotten,leave yourself enough headroom.it has helped in so many ways.....

good luck and enjoy your recordings.