Introduction

I love music. I am a musician. I had done some beginner level home recording and wanted to take it to the next level by building a studio setup with professional equipment. I started searching the Internet and quickly figured out that there are hundreds of options to build a home recording studio.

I noticed that the choices you have can relate to the kind of music you want to produce. Much of today's popular music is mostly computer generated. I on the other side prefer to play instruments and sing myself or together with friends. So my goal was to put a setup together that supports that environment.

In any case, in order to seriously go ahead with a home recording project you should be able to confirm the following key requirements.

My partner is ok with it

I don't want to bother you with relationship stuff. Feel free to skip this section if that is the case. In short: If your partner hates it, you will suck at it.

I feel it is important to have the support of your partner for such a project for several reasons.

Firstly, you will spend space, money and time with home recording. Most probably that will reduce the space, money and time you have currently allocated to your relationship. If your partner is not ok with it, you will not succeed with either the home recording or your relationship.

Secondly, sharing is one of the most important things in relationships. It doubles the joys and halves the pains. If you can share your joy of home recording with you partner, it doubles it.

Thirdly, your partner is (should be) your closest friend and most accepted critic. It is always good to have a valued opinion about your work. Your partner's should mean a lot and it involves her/him in your work.

Lastly, your partner is (should be) the only one that you will record these awesome love songs for 🙂 .

I have the room for it

Do not underestimate the room you need for a half-way professional home recording setup. You cannot put it into a section of your living room or office. You should have a separate room for it, maybe in the basement or maybe you retire your guest room that just sits there and is barely used anyway.

Recording also requires some accoustic separation if you plan to record live instruments or voices. So a separate room that you can close the door of is the best bet here. That also allows you to store your instruments and leave them in a state where you can use them quickly when you have that famous inspiration for a new song.

I have the money for it

You can't build a home recording studio for free. Bummer! 500 bucks won't do it either. I guess you expected that anyway. What I am describing here is a home recording studio project with a cost of about 5000 Euros (not counting any instruments). You can spend less (or much more for that matter) but considering four figures for your budget is unavoidable in my opinion.

I have the time for it

As I said before, I am a newcomer to this subject and I am addressing this documentation to newcomers as well. So, being new to home recording means you do not only need the time to record in the end, most of the time in the beginning you will need to learn. You need to get familiar with recording hardware and software first. You need to learn how to record your voice and instruments, how to add sounds and sound loops with your recording software and find your personal preferences and processes. That all takes time. Not a little, a lot. Make sure you have it when you go serious about home recording.