Setting up your home studio

If you plan to use your PC as the centrepiece of a home studio, you’ll need a decent soundcard.

The quality of integrated soundcards has increased a lot over the years, so even if your computer has an onboard sound chip, it’ll do a reasonable job of recording and playing back audio.

However, to record live instruments, you may find it’s more convenient to use a soundcard with a breakout box that has full-sized audio and Midi connectors.

Many options are available ranging from Creative’s Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum (£140) to the more professional M-box 2 from Digidesign (about £300).

To go with the soundcard you’ll want some speakers or, at the very least, a decent pair of headphones. Most producers use monitor speakers designed to give a neutral sound.

If you mix your tracks using these ‘neutral’ speakers, your songs should sound good on everything from transistor radios to high-end hifi systems. The classic monitor speakers were the Yamaha NS10s, but lots of other companies produce monitors, including Behringer and Edirol.

Prices start at around £80 for a pair of Edirol MA-7As. If you plan to use headphones instead, look for brands such as AKG and Sennheiser.

Most music applications allow you to enter notes on a grid using your mouse, but it’s easier to input notes using a music keyboard even if your keyboard skills are poor.

The knobs and sliders on most virtual synths can also be controlled via hardware Midi controllers, allowing you to physically tweak various settings. You can kill two birds with one stone by opting for a keyboard that includes controller knobs and sliders, such as the Oxygen 61 from M-audio (about £160).

Don’t forget that if you want to record live instruments you’re going to need microphones. What type of mic you opt for depends on what instrument you’re trying to record, and there are no hard and fast rules.

One word of caution – many professional mics can’t feed the correct signal to a standard soundcard without a pre-amp in between.

You may also need a mixer if you want to mix external sound sources, such as Midi sound modules, with the music coming from your computer. There are plenty of low-cost mixers around with prices starting at around £20 or £30 for very basic models.

This article is part of a group test of budget audio-sequencing software. Others are:
Intro and Editor's Choice
Arturia Storm 3
Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 4
Image Line FL Studio 6
Magix Music Studio 11 Deluxe
Steinberg Cubase SE 3