The mystique of the recording studio and album-making still remains a highlight to those in and out of the music industry.
However, Indie musicians and hobbyists recording themselves in their homes are quickly closing the gap and removing the mystique of the recording studio with DIY Recording setups, utilizing the secrets that made classic recordings classic.
The basic premise of digital recording is that the most important, expensive and sizable facets of s traditional recording studio, such as a recording/mixing console, or mixing board, tape machine acoustic, or "live" room have bee marginalized by their digital successors, the DAW, or digital audio workstation (faster personal computers running software like Logic, Protools, or Nuendo).
People are so adept at digital recording that even the remaining analogue studios have all but integrated digital recording into their traditional tape and console-based recording systems.
Now computers use hard drives to store recordings instead of magnetic tape and retain them in a computer system where they are almost infinitely manipulatable.
Many people will argue, aside from the sonic advantages of tape recording that digital recording has removed the need for well rehearsed, "live" sounding recordings and there is now a lower threshold for the quality that people will allow to be recorded than only a decade or 2 earlier.
However, if you are an artist or a band, you know how important your recordings are to your music, image and reputation.
Let it suffice to say, all analogue/digital arguments aside, you can still self-produce high quality, market ready recordings in a home studio IF you understand the fundamentals of recording.
If you have access to a home/project studio, or want to build your own.
Here's what will be your most important purchases to look for: 1.
A/D,D/A Converter: Most of the problems with digital sound quality arise the instant the sound becomes digital.
A quality Analogue-Digital converter will minimize the harsh, sterile and latency problems (the difference in what is uttered/played and what is heard/monitored) of your recordings.
This will be among the most expensive purchases if quality is in mind.
However, paired against buying a good tape machine (expertise and cost of maintenance aside), you'll save thousands in the long run.
2.
The Computer itself: Mac vs.
PC doesn't matter so much as having a "fast" computer with lots of CPU capability and RAM (memory), which directly affects your system's ability to track and playback audio.
A computer with good processing and memory needs only a discrete drive (hard memory) for recorded audio and it will run very well for you.
Nearly everything else that follows in your recording quest can remain as close to budget, or professional analogue recording as you like.
Needless to say, there are many things that contribute to the sound of your recordings and the hierarchy often goes as follows: 1.
Musician/performance: Nothing is more important to a quality recording than a quality performance.
A musician, no matter what instrument needs to have a strong understanding of the song, good timing and pitch reference and the ability to get through a large part, if not all of the "take" without making mistakes.
2.
Instrument: No matter how much gear you accumulate or how well you can mix, industry standard sounds start at the source.
Whether you're using a microphone or not, the instrument or voice should sound the way you want it to before you attempt to capture it.
Poor sounding instruments rarely take the place of more than a brief novelty in pro recording e.
g.
even the average DIY Recordings will be made with at least one nice guitar and amp.
3.
Microphone/Technique: "Micing" is an art in itself and remains the greatest talent a recording engineer can have.
Microphones are expensive and a large collection is great, but having at least one good dynamic and one good condenser (especially for vocals) microphone will put you on the right path quickly and still allow you to surprise the pro's.
4.
Microphone Preamp: Taken from the 1st section of the mixing console, it is a huge influence on the sound that a microphone receives, by being the first stage of amplification giving detail and life to sound.
They can be bought as stand-alone units, pairs (recommended for starters) or in larger modules of 5-8 separate preamps.
You'll boast your palette of pres as much as your microphone collection in time as you'll need one for each mic you plan to use at once.
5.
Room/Ambient sound: With a properly treated room that doesn't cost much, you can control unwanted echoes and bass traps and give yourself a clean place to make acoustic recordings (that will involve micing moving sound).