Time Out!
Q) What
are the absolute critical pieces for attaining professional sound? |
A) The most critical piece is always your own creativity. No piece of gear can supplant that. But the items that give that "professional sound" are:
|
Systems for Making Music
Assembling 6 different types of Home Studios
Tweak IN
Ok now it's time to put it all together and make some decisions. So I am going to take you out there so you can see the "big picture". You will have an easier time of things if you can make at least some tentative choices about what you want your studio to be. So, what do you want the studio to become? Just a home electronica studio? Or a place where you can record your guitar and bring in the bass player and drummer sometimes? Or are you more upscale, and want a modern, clean, super powerful computer DAW running the show and you want it to do everything? Or maybe you have a garage or big room you can convert and are entertaining the idea of recording bands.
Below I came up with the typical options and listed the gear that it is important to get initially and that which you can get later. As you go down the chart we get into the frills and specialty gear.
The 1st level has what you need to get the project off the ground. The 2nd level we are adding the items to get the studio up to a state of completeness and on the 3rd level you will have everything necessary. The final stage adds the touch of excellence. You don't have to take things all the way. If, for example, you just want to make music as a hobby, you can just stop after level one.
You can always start out mixerless, if you have a fast computer, and add a mixer later if you think you need one. If you don't have a fast computer you can start with a small mixer and the simple soundcard your computer came with. These are not hard and fast rules. For example, there is a lot of ground between the 'basic/mixer/soundcard' approach and the 'Large Mixer based DAW studio". Of course you can use a 4 bus mixer and an 8x8 audio interface and end up with what we could call an "intermediate Mixer-based DAW studio".
After all, it's about the music. I provide this chart just so you have a sense of how studios evolve. Knowing this helps you avoid major blunders like investing in a DAW, MPC 2500 and a multi-track, then finding out later that you have three expensive pieces that all do the same thing. Of course you don't have to rigorously stick to these definitions. No one is going to bust down the door and say "Aha! What ARE you thinking! You can't have that effects processor in a DAW based studio, dude!" Your music might dictate a unique approach. For example, if you are doing hip hop, then you really don't need lots of soft synths, and turntables may be bumped up the list.
Which Sounds the Best? Go to the top of the page and read the 6 critical points. If you have great preamps, monitors, good mics and excellent converters you are going to sound stellar on any of the 24 bit systems, give that you learn how to use this stuff effectively. Even with the lowly M-audio 2496 you can add a Great River preamp and an Lucid AD9624 and some DynAudio BM5a monitors and sound like a million bucks, but those three items will cost more than the rest of your studio. Does greatness in sound quality happen with budget preamps and monitors? No. But goodness does. Add great talent and the result is still great.
And it is about money. For every item listed you have to make a decision on how much to spend, whether you will get new or used gear and at what quality (perhaps the most agonizing of the decisions). As you go through Tweak's Guide, you will find dedicated pages on the items listed above.
Questions and Answers
Q) Tweekie Dizzle! Wana d Hip Hop and the Rap, no wha Im sayin cuz Im da big popper. Uh, what is best? How does the MPC fit in?
A) Yo don't smack me with dat Best tish. They all can do hip hop. If your computer is strong and not some crap windows laptop go mixerless to start. You can go multi track but your timing has to be very tight to get those beats down. Or you could go with an MPC 1000 or 2500 (which is like a multi track sampler with its own sequencer) and follow the basic multi track scheme for the rest of the gear.
Q) I want to add music to my home videos. Nothing elaborate I'm not a composer. Just want it to sound great.
A) Either of the Basic systems will do. Get Sonar, or Acid, which allows you to lock together some audio loops and record stuff along with your video, do voiceovers, play guitar, etc.
Q) Tweak I want to write dance, techno, industrial all that stuff. Which is for me?
A) Start mixerless and upgrade with a lot of software instruments. Might want to get a synth that makes analog noises. Note you can crossover from the Basic mixerless rig to a Large mixerless rig by just getting a larger audio interface.
Q) We have a band of 5 old hippies--acoustic and vocals, piano, standup bass.
A) Basic Multi track systems. Get something with about 12 tracks or more. Groovy man. Strawberry Fields. Number Nine!
Q) Tweek You RAWK DUDE! Me boys do Zepplin like Led man and I'm the drummer and I want at least 9 mics on my kit.
A) The last 3 systems will work, but note you have to buy additional preamps if you don't go the large analog mixer approach. A Lot of drummers like the Onyx Firewire solution cause it can send a ton of channels to the computer at once. See you when the Levy breaks...(argh what has gotten into me tonight?)
Q) How come you don't list Control Surfaces under Multi tracks as an option?
A) Cause they generally don't work with them. They manage the mixer inside your computer software.
Q) I STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH STUDIO IS RIGHT FOR ME. HEEELLLP!! I LIKE TO BE SPOONFED. WHAT CAN I DO NOW?
A) So you are the guy always posting in ALL CAPS. Aha, a Spoonie too! Ok, read the Guide...oh rats you ARE reading the guide. OK, go over to the forums and PM all the top contributors!
No, don't really do that
Studio-central has tens of thousands of posts like the above where this subject is approached from every conceivable angle. Search and ye shall find!
Tweak Out.
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Freakin' out? Need to talk about these decisions? Ask Tweak and the Studio-Central Community in the "Ask your questions" forum. But be nice to him, he's answered these many, many many times. :)
Cool Quote:
Music, when soft voices
die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within
the sense they quicken.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), British poet.