Steps involved in setting up a computer based home studio :
1. Choose your Computer – As said in the title, this particular post is mainly dealing with building a home studio for computer based recording. With that said, plan on what type of computer do you want to buy. Meaning, a laptop or a desktop. You should definitely have a minimum of 1gig RAM(more the better), more than 300gigs of hard disk space, a good sound card and atleast a 19 inch monitor. Write a detailed plan on what type of configuration/models would you like to invest on. Please take enough time in this step because your studio is virtually going to be built on your computer. You need to be savvy enough to power up your computer and make it so very available to produce and enjoy music. Remember, you can always add power to your computer down the line but try to make it a very good beginning, so you don’t have to worry about glitches while making music. The ultimate goal is to make music like the pro’s who do it in a real studio. So max out on budget with respect to getting a high quality computer.

2. Decide on what Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you want to work with – There are so many DAW’s in the market now and each of them boast of spectacular capabilities. It is totally up to you to know and get used to a program. Some of the most popular DAW’s are Pro Tools, Cakewalk, Fruity Loops, Cubase, Reason etc., Make your selection. Probably if you’ve not been exposed to any of these DAW’s, you can always download some trial versions and get your hands on it. It is going to be the most critical software for all your recording, mixing and editing needs. You just cannot be casual here.

3. Get the Gears – After you’ve crossed the computer and the DAW selection hurdle, the next one is to get some gears to get to work. You would obviously need the following to get you started.

a. Mic – You need to decide on choosing between a condensor mic or a dynamic mic. There are so many models available in the market and you should have an understanding of all the advantages and disadvantages of each model. Personally, I’ve been recording all my vocals on RODE NT1A, which costed $225 when I bought and I’ve to say it is an amazing mic(condensor). I’ve had great recordings done with RODE NT1A.

b. Audio Interface – Audio Interface is the core of any good home recording studio. Well, as usual, there are so many audio interfaces available from so many companies and it again needs some special research to figure out the Audio Interfaces you want. Since I’m more of a pro tools user, I’m using MBOX2 PRO and it is firewire based. So, it all depends upon with Digital Audio Station(DAW) you want to work on. Also before choosing your audio interface, answer these basis questtions like
i. Whether you need Pro Tools compatibility?
Digidesign’s Pro Tools is the industry-wide standard platform for recording and producing music. So most of the Digidesign’s audio interfaces for Pro Tools are usually much costlier than its competitors. If you don’t need Pro Tools and plan on using another DAW software program, you don’t need Pro Tools hardware. But you have to remember that you can’t use Pro Tools without a compatible interface.
Pro Tools oriented setup is always pretty restricted to Digidesign’s products and it doesn’t seemlessly go with other products, which is one of the biggest drawbacks that most of the users crib about. Bottom line is if you are going with Pro Tools as your recording platform, then you should also be able to spend a few more bucks but I’m sure you will be happy when you get to do it. My best advice is to go with Firewire based audio interface to avoild latency problems, when you are recording.

ii. How Many Inputs would You Need?
You should be knowing what you are going to record on a regular schedule. That would determine the need for the inputs on the audio interface. Its always great to have many inputs, so you could always expand your musical landscape when needed but if your stuck with fewer inputs, it might always be a problem to seamlessly create the music you want. Well, you can definitely get things done with fewer inputs but it might take a lot of time for bigger musical arrangements. With that said, there are interfaces that are cheaper but offer less inputs. I would always prefer aleast two microphone preamp inputs, which would allow you to do vocals and guitar(for example) at once. So give it some time knowing all the products inputs and outputs available and their respective benefits.

iii. Do you want Firewire or USB based interfaces?
Firewire interfaces obviously are more expensive than USB but I would always vouch for getting a Firewire based interface. Well, If you’re only going to need two channels at a time, USB should be fine but I’m always hesitant suggesting a USB Audio Interface. I just cannot compromise Firewire Audio Intefaces for a USB under any circumstances. Please understand that audio interface is a key gear to your home studio and you don’t want to mess it up with cheaper products.

4. Recording Instruments – After all, you can’t perform music without a basic instrument on hand. The most common instruments would be a keyboard (synthesizer) or a guitar. So get your music instrument, if you don’t have one. Make sure that your keyboard has a MIDI interface, which is the key to making computer based music. Almost all the keyboard these days have the midi ports on them but just in case you are using an old keyboard, try to get a MIDI keyboard.

5. Cables for connecting it all together – Well, cables are going to be costing you a few 100 dollars as you would need it for connecting your audio interfaces, your microphones, your music instruments etc.,

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