-
Creative Commons
If you want to know about IP law - this is the place. CC is defining the cutting edge of music licensing. -
David Byrne Journal
Stop making sense David Byrne. Seriously, you make too much sense to us - it's scary. When are you coming by to hang out? -
Create Digital Music
Fairly relevant to Indaba :) -
Hypebot
If you want to know what's happening in the new music world... -
Wired Epicenter
Wired + Music + Eliot = amazing -
Underrated Magazine
Our favorite NYC music-scene blog from our favorite CMJer. -
StereoGum.com
Super-hip music blog. A must for anyone serious about the NYC scene. -
The Daily Swarm
ll the news that fit to print ... about music, that is. -
Idolator
Gawker Media's music blog. Perfect if you like a little snark with your music news. -
Lefsetz Letter
In his own words - "First in music analysis"
Saturday June 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM |
Guest writer Brian Casel is a freelance web designer, blogger, and musician. He runs the songwriting blog, Serve The Song. On his personal blog, Brian writes about web design, freelance business, and other topics. Follow Brian on Twitter @CasJam.
10 things My Home Recording Studio Can't Live Without
These days the home recording studio has become the creative hub for aspiring songwriters and professional musicians alike. With the plummeting cost of computer-based recording gear, these project studio setups are more accessible than ever.
In a recent post at Serve The Song, I asked readers what they pack in their gig bag when they take their show on the road. The responses ranged from earplugs to hand-held video games! Anything to pass the time between sets I guess.
In this post, I will list my personal checklist for my home recording studio and then turn it over to you. These are items I have accumulated over the years and they're things my creative song lab can't live without.
My Must-Have Recording Gear:
- My Mac - This is obvious. If you're running a home studio, chances are it's a computer-based recording setup.
- Shure SM57 Microphone - It's my go-to mic for many things. Great for laying down a quick vocal take, and the perfect choice for micing a guitar amp.
- Headphones - I use Bose headphones. Any decent pair should do the job. These are important since most of the time you don't have isolation booths. You're often recording and mixing the same room.
- Boom Mic Stands - Much better than strait mic stands. Boom stands are perfect for capturing the perfect microphone location, or working around a crowded room.
- Acoustic Foam - For mounting on the walls. This is important for controlling the weird sound reflections in your room. Home recording studios often reside in bedrooms, basements, or even closets! Acoustic foam is what you need.
- MBox / Pro Tools - Yup, I'm a Pro Tools guy. The MBox meets all of my needs for my home recording set up.
- A Comfortable Chair - Super important to use an ergonomically friendly chair when working long hours recording and mixing tracks.
- MIDI Keyboard - Utilizing the power of MIDI instruments introduces a world of options when producing killer tracks.
- Stack of Blank CDs - Sure, most music is transmitted online these days. But it's always a good idea to burn mixes of your songs to CD to listen back on various stereo systems, pass around at shows, pop in your car stereo, etc.
- Good Coffee - It wakes me up for a full day of music work, and keeps me going all hours through the night!
- How About You?
Share your must-have gear list for your home recording studio using the comments section below.
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del.icio.usSaturday June 13, 2009 at 10:34 AM
My alternate top ten:
1) Love and appreciation
2) Good Friends
3) Pack of smokes (or herbal equivalent... ;)
4) Guitar
5) Adult Swim
6) Winamp
7) Peanut M&Ms
8) Pens and Paper...lots of paper
9) iPhone (just ask Jordan Rudess)
10) Repressed issues :P
11) An amp that goes to 11
Sunday June 14, 2009 at 11:24 PM
linux
my cme keyboard
nexus vst
mxl 990 mic
firefox web browser
as long as i have some sort of midi meyboard and an internet connection i am happy. but things like the firepod and other instruments really help me out too
Monday June 15, 2009 at 09:33 AM
1. A reliable computer/interface. In my case, a Mac G5 tower and a Digi 003 rack.
2. Reliable hard drives (both external/internal). Though SeaGate isn't the most well repped brand, my internals have never failed. As for external, my OWC drives are great: cheaper than Glyph and better performing than LaCie.
3. Solid, versatile mic pre-amps. I like my API 512C's best, they work on just about everything.
4. Versatile microphones... from classic dynamics like the SM57 and Senn-MD421 to condensers like AKG 414s.
5. Trustworthy monitors (and room acoustics). Good monitors are important, but if your room has crazy acoustics, you'll need to do a lot of getting used to your surroundings before you can take a mix out of that room! I love my Dynaudio BM5As and I have a few RPG SkyLine acoustic diffusors which help tame my bedroom's reflections.
6. Control surface: There's only so much clicking one man(or woman) can do. My Euphonix MC-Mix allows for more efficient, and productive mixing.
7. The accessories: Mic stands, reliable cables, pop filters, headphone extension cords... everything that makes sure you can do what you need to do without any time-wasting or heartache.
8. Quiet! an AC you can turn off... etc etc/good space for recording. If you don't have a quiet enough, or large enough/appropriate space to record in, you just have an edit suite/mixing room for yourself... which isn't a bad thing, but it'd be nice to have both "live room" and "control room."
I know there are more things... which have probably been mentioned, so I'm going to stop so I can go grab some breakfast. Perhaps "talented clients" is also very important! Maybe more important is "clients that are willing to pay," ;-)
o
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