For anyone who would like to put together their very own small recording studio, this guide should provide some great starting points for to you start recording your own vocals. Before we get cracking though, the research in for this blog has been undertaken by Luke at Vocademy, who is a mega talented singing teacher in his own right, and, so we just wanted to say Merci!
Firstly, go grab your laptop or computer because you are going to be needing that hunk-a-junk...
a) Computer
Nearly all computers these days have the power to support music software and audio recording. If yours does not then it is without a doubt time to invest... this will obviously push the spends over the £200 mark, but, it is a sound investment for sure.
b) Software
Once you have the computer situation sorted you will need to get the right software to record your vocals with. It won't matter whether you use standard PC/Laptop or MAC as there are free, yes free, alternatives for both. On the Mac you have the pre-installed Garageband, which is a very powerful tool for singers and has loads of presets to make your voice sound great. On the PC you can download a free piece of software called Acid Xpress. It is a cut down version of their full Acid software but this free version will certainly get you started. The interface can be a little more confusing than Garageband but with some video tutorials, you'll be well on your way. You can get this here: http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/
c) Microphone
At this point, you are going to have to spend some money! I know, it was all going so well, but some things are unavoidable. There are a few different options for mics, but here are 3 microphones that connect via USB, so you won't need an external soundcard or anything complicated. These are all "Plug and Play" so you just connect it to your computer and your recording software should find it nice and easy. Then you can focus on singing and not wiring! Here are three USB microphones for singing that come highly recommend:
i) Behringer C-1u £44 (http://www.dv247.com/microphones/behringer-c-1u-usb--63964)
ii) Samson G- Track Usb £90 (http://www.gak.co.uk/en/samson-g-track-usb-condenser-mic-with-audio-interface/6123?gclid=CNGd0e75wrYCFerHtAodD0IARA)
iii) AKG Perception 120 £99 (http://www.gak.co.uk/en/akg-perception-120-usb-plug-and-play-microphone/39707)
d) Hardware
There are a few bits and bobs left that you are going to need to spend on I'm afraid... but, they will make a difference to the quality of your recordings, so here goes....
i) Pop Shield - £8 - Fantastic at stopping any unwanted 'popping' Ps when singing into a microphone. They are cheap, and a home studio must! http://www.djkit.com/djkit/anti-pop-screen-for-microphone-plastic-spring-clamp-100mm-4inch.html?gclid=COmnh-L5wrYCFdQctAodOEoAUg
ii) Mic Stand - £15 - Always use a mic stand so that you can get those lungs nice and filled with air.
http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/stagg-mis-0822bk-microphone-boom-stand.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=CPakkMX6wrYCFRMftAod1DoAUA
iii) Headphones - £19 - You will need to have a silent room when recording your voice so you will need to listen to your song/backing track through headphones when you are recording. Here is a great set of studio headphones for under £20. AKG K 44 Headphones - http://www.gak.co.uk/en/akg-k-44-headphones/19407?gclid=CIWDjYz8wrYCFU3KtAodEUwAPw
And, that's your lot! Your Guide to Building a Home Studio for recording vocals all for the price of one day worth of studio time! And you even have money to spare! With this extra cash, you could even buy yourself a singing lesson or a lesson in garageband or sound program of choice and get yourself some great tips from a professional. Or, maybe you could buy your favourite singing teacher a present? :)
Let me know if you try this and I'll do a post on you and add your results :)
Happy Singing!!
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