Home recording
Encyclopedia
Home recording is the practice of recording
in a private home, rather than in a professional recording studio
. A studio set up for home recording is called a "project studio" or "home studio". Home recording is practiced by indie bands, singer-songwriters, hobbyists, podcasters, documentarians, and even top-name acts. The cost of professional audio
equipment has been dropping steadily in recent years, and information about recording techniques has become increasingly available due to the internet. These trends have resulted in an dramatic increase in the popularity of home recording, and a shift in the recording industry toward recording in the home studio.
and/or headphones
), input devices (e.g., microphones) and musical instruments.
Until the late 1970s, music could be recorded either on low-quality tape recorders or on large, expensive reel-to-reel tape machines. Due to their high price and specialized nature, reel-to-reel machines were only practical for professional studios and wealthy artists. In 1979, Tascam
invented the Portastudio
, a small four-track machine aimed at the consumer market. With this new product, small multitrack tape recorders
became widely available, and grew in popularity throughout the 1980s. In the 1990s, analog tape machines were supplanted by digital recorders
and computer-based digital audio workstations (DAWs). These new devices were designed to convert audio tracks into digital files, and record the files onto magnetic tape
(such as ADAT
), hard disk
, compact disc
, or flash ROM.
A modern DAW consists of a personal computer with a quality sound card, a hardware audio interface (which handles analog-digital conversion) and digital-editing software. Editing software is now widely available at various price points: examples include Pro Tools
, Ableton Live
, Cubase, Sonar and Reason. Many software synthesizers, effects and tools are also available, often in the form of plugins.
As an alternative or supplement to a DAW-based system, some home recordists use studio hardware (known as "outboard gear"), which is increasingly available to the home consumer market. This class of hardware costs less than professional studio hardware, but operates at a lower nominal line level
than professional studio gear. Outboard gear is frequently used for analog processing or for tasks requiring dedicated processing power. Types of outboard gear include: audio mixers
, microphone preamplifiers (preamps), instrument preamplifiers (known as "direct boxes"), effects units, compressors and equalizers
.
Home recording has tended to focus on commonly available instruments, such as acoustic
, electric
and bass guitars, drum sets, pianos
and vocals. With the advent of MIDI, many new devices, such as synthesizers, samplers
, sequencers and drum machines, became available to the home recording market. These days, MIDI equipment, including keyboard/keypad controllers
as well as synthesizers, are often connected to the computer, which is used to sequence instruments, manipulate MIDI songs and store the songs as files.
Vocal Booths can be used also to record guitars, bass, percussion, or when some overdubs are needed. They are often used to make voice-overs.
. It eliminates the ear high levels needed to capture the natural sounding distortion
and overdrive
, produced by the speaker of a loud guitar amp.It can also reduce the interference
and the possibility of an unexpected background noise, affecting the recording of guitar tracks or other instruments.
A guitar amp enclosure can also be used for musician's practice at nighttime and
provides a quiet rehearsal solution for any amplified band
. Amp enclosures are available in different sizes.
and low-frequency resonance
. Other challenges include isolating the room from outside noise, and preventing excessive sound from leaking from the room. The surge in home recording has led to an increased availability of devices for acoustic treatment targeted to the home recordist. These include sound insulation devices, portable recording rooms (vocal booths), baffles, bass traps
and acoustic panels.
. Dynamic microphones are known for their use with recording distorted guitar, snares, and other loud instruments. The condenser microphones, are mostly used for vocal and acoustic guitar recording providing a more open, warm sound.
, to allow the user to capture and playback high quality audio. A good example of a sound card would be one of the following: Presonus
AudioBox, Avid
Mbox, M-Audio Fastrack pro. These products offer microphone pre-amps and also AD
& D/A
converters. They can connect to the computer via usb or Firewire connection and record 1-8 or more audio channels, simultaneously. That means that many different sound sources can be captured, at the same time. For example, this is needed when making a basic recording of a song where we need 2 different microphone signals for the voice and the guitar, or when we want to combine many different microphone sounds, of the same source.
Examples of studio monitor companies are Yamaha
, Genelec
, Tannoy
, Focal
.
music. Untreated rooms have an uneven frequency response, which means that any mixing decisions you make are being based on a sound that is ‘coloured’, because we can’t accurately hear what’s being played. Acoustic panels and bass traps, can improve the sound in the room and also offer a nice looking wall
.
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
in a private home, rather than in a professional recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. A studio set up for home recording is called a "project studio" or "home studio". Home recording is practiced by indie bands, singer-songwriters, hobbyists, podcasters, documentarians, and even top-name acts. The cost of professional audio
Professional audio
Professional audio, also 'pro audio', refers to both an activity and a type of audio equipment. Typically it encompasses the production or reproduction of sound for an audience, by individuals who do such work as an occupation like live event support, using sound reinforcement systems designed for...
equipment has been dropping steadily in recent years, and information about recording techniques has become increasingly available due to the internet. These trends have resulted in an dramatic increase in the popularity of home recording, and a shift in the recording industry toward recording in the home studio.
Studio equipment
At minimum, a home studio consists of a recording device, monitoring equipment (speakersLoudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
and/or headphones
Headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
), input devices (e.g., microphones) and musical instruments.
Until the late 1970s, music could be recorded either on low-quality tape recorders or on large, expensive reel-to-reel tape machines. Due to their high price and specialized nature, reel-to-reel machines were only practical for professional studios and wealthy artists. In 1979, Tascam
TASCAM
TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Montebello, California. Tascam is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. Tascam also introduced the first low-cost mass produced multitrack recorders...
invented the Portastudio
Portastudio
The TASCAM Portastudio was the world's first four track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape.When the original Portastudio 144 made its debut in 1979 it was a revolutionary creative tool...
, a small four-track machine aimed at the consumer market. With this new product, small multitrack tape recorders
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
became widely available, and grew in popularity throughout the 1980s. In the 1990s, analog tape machines were supplanted by digital recorders
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
and computer-based digital audio workstations (DAWs). These new devices were designed to convert audio tracks into digital files, and record the files onto magnetic tape
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
(such as ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
), hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
, compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, or flash ROM.
A modern DAW consists of a personal computer with a quality sound card, a hardware audio interface (which handles analog-digital conversion) and digital-editing software. Editing software is now widely available at various price points: examples include Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
, Ableton Live
Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 8, was released in April 2009. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for...
, Cubase, Sonar and Reason. Many software synthesizers, effects and tools are also available, often in the form of plugins.
As an alternative or supplement to a DAW-based system, some home recordists use studio hardware (known as "outboard gear"), which is increasingly available to the home consumer market. This class of hardware costs less than professional studio hardware, but operates at a lower nominal line level
Nominal level
Nominal level is the operating level at which an electronic signal processing device is designed to operate. The electronic circuits that make up such equipment are limited in the maximum signal they can output and the low-level internally-generated electronic noise they add to the signal...
than professional studio gear. Outboard gear is frequently used for analog processing or for tasks requiring dedicated processing power. Types of outboard gear include: audio mixers
Mixing console
In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
, microphone preamplifiers (preamps), instrument preamplifiers (known as "direct boxes"), effects units, compressors and equalizers
Equalization (audio)
Equalization is the process commonly used in sound recording and reproduction to alter the frequency response of an audio system using linear filters. Most hi-fi equipment uses relatively simple filters to make bass and treble adjustments. Graphic and parametric equalizers have much more...
.
Home recording has tended to focus on commonly available instruments, such as acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and bass guitars, drum sets, pianos
Pianos
Pianos is a two-story bar/restaurant/live music venue in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan at 158 Ludlow Street.Its stage attracts local and national alternative rock groups as well as DJs, though a more typical performance consists of smaller name local and touring acts...
and vocals. With the advent of MIDI, many new devices, such as synthesizers, samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, sequencers and drum machines, became available to the home recording market. These days, MIDI equipment, including keyboard/keypad controllers
MIDI keyboard
A MIDI keyboard is typically a piano-style user interface keyboard device used for sending signals or commands over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices connected and operating on the same MIDI protocol interface...
as well as synthesizers, are often connected to the computer, which is used to sequence instruments, manipulate MIDI songs and store the songs as files.
Portable Recording Rooms (Vocal Booths)
The surge in home recording has led consumers to the discovery of portable recording rooms, or vocal booth companies. One of the major drawbacks to producing quality recordings, is controlling the noise pollution and the room reverb at the microphone. In that way, the reflections from the walls can be reduced. Companies such as Whisper Room, Seulx Acoustics and VocalBooth.com, are among the suppliers of portable rooms geared specifically towards professional home recording. Also a DIY solution can be cheaper and more suitable for the home studio. There are many websites where anyone can learn how to make a vocal booth.Vocal Booths can be used also to record guitars, bass, percussion, or when some overdubs are needed. They are often used to make voice-overs.
Amp enclosures
The guitar amp enclosures can cover the need to record amplified instruments, at the home studio, with poor insulationSoundproofing
Soundproofing is any means of reducing the sound pressure with respect to a specified sound source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using...
. It eliminates the ear high levels needed to capture the natural sounding distortion
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
and overdrive
Overdrive
- Music :* Overdrive , a Serbian band* Overdrive, a Swedish band featuring Janne Stark* Overdrive , an album by Fastlane* Overdrive, an album by Aphrodite* "Overdrive" * "Overdrive"...
, produced by the speaker of a loud guitar amp.It can also reduce the interference
Interference
In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lower amplitude. Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have...
and the possibility of an unexpected background noise, affecting the recording of guitar tracks or other instruments.
A guitar amp enclosure can also be used for musician's practice at nighttime and
provides a quiet rehearsal solution for any amplified band
. Amp enclosures are available in different sizes.
Recording rooms
Home recording is often done in garages, basements, bedrooms and living rooms. Such rooms are typically much smaller than performance spaces used for professional recording. Because of this, home studios have particular issues with acoustics, including comb filteringComb filter
In signal processing, a comb filter adds a delayed version of a signal to itself, causing constructive and destructive interference. The frequency response of a comb filter consists of a series of regularly spaced spikes, giving the appearance of a comb....
and low-frequency resonance
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
. Other challenges include isolating the room from outside noise, and preventing excessive sound from leaking from the room. The surge in home recording has led to an increased availability of devices for acoustic treatment targeted to the home recordist. These include sound insulation devices, portable recording rooms (vocal booths), baffles, bass traps
Bass trap
Bass Traps are acoustic energy absorbers which are designed to damp low frequency sound energy with the goal of attaining a flatter low frequency room response by reducing LF resonances in rooms. They are commonly used in recording studios, mastering rooms, home theatres and other rooms built to...
and acoustic panels.
Microphones
Furthermore, an arsenal of microphones is needed. There are three main types: Condenser, dynamic and ribbonRibbon microphone
A ribbon microphone is a type of dynamic microphone that uses a thin aluminum, duraluminum or nanofilm ribbon placed between the poles of a magnet to generate voltages by electromagnetic induction...
. Dynamic microphones are known for their use with recording distorted guitar, snares, and other loud instruments. The condenser microphones, are mostly used for vocal and acoustic guitar recording providing a more open, warm sound.
Computer, audio device, studio monitors
A personal computer with a external or internal sound card, external hard drives and studio monitorsStudio monitor
Studio monitors, also called reference monitors, are loudspeakers specifically designed for audio production applications such as recording studios, filmmaking, television studios and radio studios where accurate audio reproduction is crucial....
, to allow the user to capture and playback high quality audio. A good example of a sound card would be one of the following: Presonus
PreSonus
PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. is an American manufacturer of recording and live sound equipment, founded in January 1995 by engineers Jim Odom and Brian Smith, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana...
AudioBox, Avid
AVID
AVID stands for:* Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges in the U.S....
Mbox, M-Audio Fastrack pro. These products offer microphone pre-amps and also AD
Analog-to-digital converter
An analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a continuous quantity to a discrete time digital representation. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement...
& D/A
Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
converters. They can connect to the computer via usb or Firewire connection and record 1-8 or more audio channels, simultaneously. That means that many different sound sources can be captured, at the same time. For example, this is needed when making a basic recording of a song where we need 2 different microphone signals for the voice and the guitar, or when we want to combine many different microphone sounds, of the same source.
Examples of studio monitor companies are Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
, Genelec
Genelec
Genelec, founded in 1978 by Ilpo Martikainen and based in Iisalmi, Finland, is a manufacturer of active loudspeaker systems especially for professional studio recording, mixing and mastering applications as well as in broadcast and movie production...
, Tannoy
Tannoy
Tannoy Ltd is a Scottish-based manufacturer of loudspeakers and public-address systems. The company was founded in London, England as Tulsemere Manufacturing Company in 1926, but has been based in Coatbridge, Scotland, since the 1970s...
, Focal
Focal
Focal may refer to:*Focal , an Irish lexicographical website*FOCAL **FOCAL-69**Focal *Focal Radio, a radio station based in Stoke-on-Trent, England-See also:*Focus...
.
Room acoustics & design
Another important aspect, when building a home studio is acoustic treatment. The way our room sounds or reverberates, can change dramatically the way we mix, write and recordRecording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
music. Untreated rooms have an uneven frequency response, which means that any mixing decisions you make are being based on a sound that is ‘coloured’, because we can’t accurately hear what’s being played. Acoustic panels and bass traps, can improve the sound in the room and also offer a nice looking wall
.
External links
- Bedroom-Recording.com - Helping beginners learn how to do home recording Collection of articles to help beginning home recording engineers
- Homerecording Connection Comprehensive website about recording tips, studio equipment reviews and discussion forums - English speaking
- Homerecording German website about homerecording and music production
- Making music on computer basics Web based guide on making music on the computer.
- http://www.recordproducer.com From home recording studio to pro recording studio
- http://www.presonus.com recording audio products
- http://www.avid.com/US/
- http://www.acoustimac.com acoustic treatment solutions
- http://usa.yamaha.com/search/?query=studio+monitors Yamaha studio monitors
- http://www.focalprofessional.com/ Focal professional studio monitors
- http://www.tannoy.com/ tannoy studio monitors
- http://www.genelec.com speaker systems