| For aspiring recording artists, finding a recording | | | | for the home recording studio due to their excellent |
| company to sign with can be a daunting task. If you | | | | frequency response but the cost is often prohibitive. |
| and your band are encountering problems in this area, | | | | The next step down, and it is a very small step, is the |
| it can seem that your band will never get a lucky | | | | rear electret microphone. The electret microphone |
| break. Fortunately, there is another solution to the | | | | produce nearly the same recording quality at a much |
| problem... The creation of your own home recording | | | | lower price tag. Both the electret and the condenser |
| studio. | | | | microphone require a phantom power source, which is |
| Home recording studios can range from the very | | | | delivered through the microphone hook up or via |
| simple to the very elaborate but they all must meet a | | | | battery. The dynamic microphone can also be used |
| two basic guidelines. | | | | for home recording studios on a budget but it should |
| - You have to eliminate sources of background noise. | | | | be noted that the recording quality will suffer greatly. |
| - You need recording equipment. | | | | - Amplifiers are neccessary for the function of |
| Soundproofing your home recording studio eliminates | | | | microphones. These devices convert the electrical |
| background noises that could ruin your recordings. | | | | signals produced by the microphone into the audible |
| Such ambient noises might be children playing in the | | | | sounds that we hear. For the home recording studio, |
| next room or street noise. Since ambient noise is a | | | | you may choose an external amplifier, like the one you |
| common factor in every environment, eliminating it | | | | plug your guitar into, or an amplifier that is built into your |
| from your recordings is crucial. If you have a | | | | recording system. |
| dedicated room in your home for your recording studio, | | | | - The recording system has changed a lot over the |
| then add extra insulation to the walls or foam rubber | | | | years. When the music industry was in its infancy, |
| "egg crates" like the big recording studios have. If you | | | | reel to reel tape recording systems were common |
| can't dedicate a room, soundproofing can be as simple | | | | equipment. While they still have their followers, this |
| as putting bed mattresses against the walls. This | | | | system is is becoming less popular in favor of digital |
| technique was used by pirate radio dj, Dave Rabbit, to | | | | recording methods. Fortunately, you may already |
| block out the sounds of the Vietnam War as he | | | | have a digital recording system in your home; your |
| broadcast his show, Radio First Termer, from the back | | | | home computer. If your computer has a minimum 1 |
| room of a local brothel. | | | | Gigabyte of memory, or ram, and a decent processor, |
| The second neccessity of a recording studio is the | | | | preferably Dual Core, a sound input jack and enough |
| recording equipment. You should always pick the | | | | hard drive space to accomodate your file sizes, you |
| best recording equipment your budget will allow. | | | | can record studio quality audio recordings using simple |
| Optional equipment can be added in later but to start | | | | software applications. As an added bonus to this |
| off, you will need some basic recording equipment. | | | | method, many freeware applications exist to help in |
| - A good quality microphone is a must have item so | | | | both the recording and editing process so you can |
| don't skimp on this important part of your recording | | | | produce the sound you want, even on a very low |
| studio equipment. There are three basic types of | | | | budget. With the addition of a CD burner, you can |
| microphones used for recording: Condenser, Dynamic | | | | record, edit and create your CD from the same |
| and Electret. Condenser microphones are preferred | | | | system. |