Optimizing Your Studio
1) Quality of the Material
Regarding the quality of your work, question your own effort before questioning the quality of your material.
Before adding new elements to your studio, try to get the most out of what you already have. It’s much more formative and less costly!
Whatever resources you consecrate to your home studio, homogeneity is a basic rule.
Be sure to include the following in your budget :
- Microphones,
- Cables,
- Speakers,
- Preamps,
- Converters,
- Recording software,
- Effects (plugins or hardware),
- Computer,
- Soundproofing,
- Accessories (stands, pop filter, furniture).
Many “home studios” do not know the quality of their preamp, which is usually associated with the converter. The preamp is not considered a separate element of the audio system.
It is, however, an essential part, which permits you to record all the elements of the sounds that you capture.
2) Plugins or hardware ?
A well-adjusted plugin is much better than a high-end hardware adjusted randomly.
Your ears are the principal tool of your home studio. Train your ears by analyzing your favorite disks and getting inspired!
A good balance between production cost and sound quality consists in mixing in software, and mastering in hardware.
