Comments on: My First 6 Weeks Setting Up a Home Studio

By: Adrian

Adrian — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:46:50 +0000

Thanks Mihai. I’ve been playing with Mu.Lab 4 – I’ll give version 3 a go.

By: Mihai Sorohan

Mihai Sorohan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:50:49 +0000

@Adrian
I use Mu.Lab lately for recording, all of my guitars are recorded with that. Also, being quite on a short budget, I use the free version and also for guitar I use free stuff but I think I managed to find a solution to have good sound.

My guitar rack in Mu.Lab goes like this:
-Green Gate (free- http://www.greenmachine.pwuq.net/html/download.html)
-California sun (amp simulator free- http://www.auraplug.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=19)
- Antress Modern Equalizer (free- http://antress.er-webs.com/) I use version 3, version 4 looks weird to me… I think you still can find the version 3 for download.
On send channels I put some reverb and delay and that’s my setup.
Guitar goes into a preamp and from there directly to soundcard.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:31:58 +0000

Thanks for your comments. I think I’ll probably end up using a track most of the time. Like eggs in a cake, it will help hold everything together.

@Scott I love exploring new software. When writing my thesis years ago, I used every word processor I could get my hands on for a day or two, and then settled down with the one that worked best for me. I’m looking forward to doing the same with DAWs.

I’ve always found it hard to classify the genres I use, and I play quite differently depending on who I’m playing with. I love acoustic rock on my guitar, piano like Billy Joel, and layering synth sounds like Vangelis. I used to be in a rock band, play in a contemporary church band, and hopefully will stretch myself further with this new gear.

@Mihai Thanks for recommending Mu.lab. I can remember hearing about it before, and it looks really interesting. I’m looking forward to hearing that piano. Do you use it as your main DAW? I’ve added it to my list.

By: Mihai Sorohan

Mihai Sorohan — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:19:00 +0000

1- Experimenting with Software
Try Mu.Lab, it’s free and works under Windows, Mac and Linux. Also have quite a decent piano in the default sampler

2- To Click or Not to Click
I always use a click, but I calculate the tempo changes, so I automate the metronome as I know I’ll go with the track
(Mu.Lab can do that too, also FL, Reason and probably other sequencers too).

3- A good room can be more important than the audio interface or the microphone used.

By: Tom Howe

Tom Howe — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:58:46 +0000

I wish there were a way to record without a click track, then tell it where the beat lies – that way you have free playing during recording, but the quantise grid can be set up around it.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:36:18 +0000

This is a really interesting and valuable insight into establishing a home studio from scratch, Adrian, I really enjoyed the article and I’m excited to hear how the studio grows and develops! I particularly like the way you are open to trying new software and you’re going to experiment with each DAW before finally settling on your selected weapon of choice. Not many people have the time or inclination to do that, so it will be interesting to follow how you go about selecting a DAW.

Regarding the click track, I predominantly use it because I mostly compose electronic music which is generally quantized. But that said, there’s nothing more elegant and satisfying than switching off the click track and simply “feeling” the music as you record an improvised piano composition. So to answer your question, it probably depends on the type of music and the effect you’re trying to recreate. I’ve discovered that I can produce more natural sounding results when the click track is turned off and it’s very rewarding when something unintentional is recorded that turns out to be pleasing to the ear. For the most part however, particularly where electronic music is concerned, the click track is very helpful.

What genre of music do you think you will mostly be recording, Adrian? I’m looking forward to hearing your AudioJungle submissions by the way, good luck!