We live in a world where almost everything is getting smaller and more compact. The term, "The Bigger The Better" definitely does not apply in a world where technology enables everything to be increasingly miniaturized and made more portable. A modern day smartphone carries more computing power than a state-of-the-art computer of the 1970's, that would literally fill up a whole room.

Since those early days, the desktop computer gave birth to the laptop, which in turn led to the development of the tablet and smartphone. This kept evolving to a point that some people don't even own a laptop today. This is especially true for the younger generation. The power packed into a smartphone or tablet is all they require for their personal use.

There are still many instances where the computing power and design of a tablet or smartphone still cannot even begin to compete with a "real traditional" computer. In some cases even a laptop are not able to replace the capabilities of a desktop computer.          

Especially when choosing the right computer for your recording studio, the advantages of a bigger desktop computer completely outweigh those of a laptop. This may seem a bit confusing to a new user and goes against the grain of technological development over the past two decades.

For this reason we will be taking a detailed look at all the attributes that make a desktop computer the most suitable solution for home recording. We will be breaking this down into eight categories to better understand the significance of each attribute.

1. Size

This is one instance where the saying, "the bigger the better" still holds true. In the environment of the home recording studio, ease of use and practicality are very important, as it increase productivity and speed. Here size plays a big role.

To best understand this, we will look at the different components of a desktop and how size and upgradability increase both productivity and speed in all cases.

a) The Monitor

Whenever you get the chance, have a look at some footage of recording studios. Do you see any small screens? Exactly. There is a reason why recording studios use large computer displays. With most of your mixing and post-production work done digitally in DAW software, everything done is viewed on computer displays.

Whether you are working in the digital mixing console or audio adjustment screen, the sheer amount of information displayed on screen is completely overwhelming at first. You need a big display to just see all the different options available, nevermind easily accessing and working with them. 

Simply take a look at the size of an traditional mixing console with all its sliders and adjustable knobs, and you will get a pretty good idea of the screen size necessary to display even a portion of these functions.

Here it is not a question of how big you monitor screen should be, but how big a one you can afford.

b) The Keyboard

The keyboard is your primary interface with the computer and onscreen functions. (Yes, touchscreen technology is available on high-end systems, but this is still out of reach for the majority of home users).

Apart from easily striking the correct key while working, your DAW software assign certain keys on your keyboard to specific functions in the software. The convenience of a full-size and even extended keyboard is obvious. This keyboard allows you to work more accurately with a much greater speed.

I will leave it to your imagine to try and perform these action with the virtual onscreen keyboard of a tablet or smartphone. Even the condensed keyboard of a laptop is sometimes unpractical for the productive use of a digital audio workstation.   

2. Power

The power inside a smartphone maybe light years away from the desktop computer of the early 1980's. It still cannot begin to compete against the fast processors required by modern day DAW software.  

To give you and idea without getting too technical, traditionally a CPU (Central Processing Unit), the brain of computer used to have one core, meaning it could handle one stream of data at a time. Today's affordable Intel Core i5 and i7 CPU's are quad-core CPU's, meaning they can handle four streams of data simultaneously (Each one has hyper-threading capabilities meaning these tasks can be divided further). Your top-end Intel Core i9 processors have anything from 10 to 18 cores!

All these functions also takes place at a very high speed. (New smartphone chips are also capable of multitasking, but not nearly at the level or speed of a desktop computer CPU)

If you wonder why this is so important, just take into consideration the amount of audio data your DAW software must process, sometimes in real-time. Now add the fact that it has to cope with multiple tracks of data at once.

This simply means a desktop CPU will be able to process and output the same amount of audio data in seconds or minutes, which will take the small CPU of a tablet/smartphone hours or days to perform the same task. And this is no exaggeration.

You might wonder why manufacturers can not just install a processor as powerful as a desktop computer into a tablet or smartphone. This is a valid question but the answer is simple: Size, capacity and heat.

The size of a full-blown CPU installed in a desktop computer will take up more than half the size of any smartphone, even in, today's 6 inch "phablets" This leaves almost no room for the rest of the components needed to make cell phone work.

The power consumption a of such a CPU also means that you will need a battery the size of a small brick to operate the smartphone for any realistic period of time.

Lastly, the the heat produced by modern CPU's this powerful, is immense. In desktop computers, it does not only need to be surrounded by enough space to absorb the heat. A specifically designed heat sink and CPU fan is placed on top of the processor in order to keep it cool enough not to sustain any damage. 

3. Memory

If you look at the memory requirements of the big players in the DAW software industry, most recommend a minimum of 4 Gigabytes of system memory to be able to operate. In truth, most of these requirements are the bare minimum. This means in reality you need  8Gb to make your working experience with the software productive, without unnecessary system hold-ups due to the computer running out of memory.

For this to make sense, let me just quickly describe how a computer and memory interacts. Whenever a software is loaded from the hard drive the first time you open it, it is stored in the system memory (the 4 or 8 Gigabyte memory modules). This makes accessing the software and its functions fast as the CPU (computer's brain) can immediately talk to the software loaded in the memory.

The problem arises when these memory modules gets filled up. Not only does it store the computers operating system and  Digital Audio Workstation software. It also stores the audio data that the software works with and process. This is a huge amount of data that can fill up in even 8Gb of data very quickly.

When these memory modules are full, your computer has no choice but to start using "virtual memory", a place on your hard drive that is allocated to act as temporary storage when your system memory is full. You can understand how disruptive the constant interaction with a hard drive to access data and temporary store it can be. It slows your computer down to a crawl where you can actually see the light of the hard drive frantically flickering while you frustratingly wait for one command to be processed.

Luckily most modern day desktop motherboards come with at least 4 memory module slots (from which the first two are normally filled in your new system). By adding additional memory or completely replacing all 4 slots with more memory, many new systems allow you to easily allow from 64Gb to 128Gb to be added to your system.

This may sound like overkill, but from personal experience, you can cut your processing time working with large files by up to 4 times or more by simply adding more memory.

(I personally experienced this when upgrading 2 of my desktop systems from 8Gb to 16Gb, without changing a single other component in the system).

It is also important to note that it has already proven time and again, that adding sufficient system memory to a computer has a much greater effect on performance, than upgrading to a system with a much more expensive and powerful CPU (Central Processing unit).

Just keep this at the back of your head, and whenever you start experiencing computer slow-down when working with increasingly bigger files, knowing you can significantly reduce this slow-down by using the expandable memory slots of your desktop computer to expand your system's total memory capacity.       

4. Separate Components

I don't need to dwell on this subject for too long and waste your time.

It is clear that by having a separate desktop, separate keyboard and computer display (to mention just a few), you are able to upgrade any of these components at any time without having to replace you entire system.

This way you not only protect against occurring unnecessary additional costs, you are also able the to substantially prolong the lifespan of your computer system. 

5. Multiple Monitor Support

Remember the footage of a recording studio I asked you to look at when discussing monitor size? If you recall or take a look at again, chances are pretty good in most professional recording studios, the sound engineer sitting at his console, is surrounded by 3 or more big computer screens. There is a very simple and practical explanation for this.

It is just impossible for all the monitoring and adjustment functions available to you, to be viewed on a single monitor, no matter how big the screen.

Software technology, especially on high-end systems, have multiple-monitor support. This means it allows you to organize your digital work-space. For example, it allows you to have all your tools and adjustment controls on one screen, while freeing up space for your time-line and all changes that are made on it to be displayed on a separate screen, uncluttered from toolboxes and other online objects.

You may not have the funds or need for multiple monitors when starting you home recording studio. However, as your needs and budget grow, you now have an upgradable computer in which you can install a graphics card that support multiple monitors at any stage. 

6. Upgradability

At this point its hardly necessary to bring up the subject of upgradability. Almost all the functions and attributes that make a desktop computer so powerful and versatile is mainly due to its upgradability.

From desktop memory, to adding an additional hard drive in your desktop, almost every part of your system can be upgraded and improved to some extend.

I will not bore you with the list of components and devices that can be upgraded in your system. You already have a very clear picture of why this is so important.

I think it's safe to state that the upgradability of a desktop computer is its single biggest strength, able to turn your humble entry level computer into a powerhouse workstation able to process and output multi-track recordings in record breaking time.

Conclusion

If you are not convinced by now as to why a desktop computer is far superior than any other type of computer for handling the needs of your digital audio workstation, I am afraid there is not much more I can do to convince you.  

At some point, as your basic needs and software requirements outgrow your system, you will find it out for yourself, hopefully not at too great a cost.

I tried not to get too technical while explanation all the features that exist and function in a desktop computer. In order to properly explain everything properly, I had to lean a bit on some technical terminology.

If anything is unclear or confusing, feel free to leave me a question or comment, and I will be happy to address it. 

Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

We have almost all the knowledge in the world at our fingertips. We can easily find articles and posts dedicated to helping us set up our home recording studio, from room preparation to the smallest piece of equipment. One thing we often fail to do is focus on what NOT to do.

And that is exactly what we will be doing in this article. 13 Common mistakes were randomly chosen. We will look at what is wrong with these practices and how to correct them. Although they may not be "deadly sins" in the recording industry, you are almost guaranteed that your audio recording as a whole will suffer, as will your home studio setup in the long run.

Lets take a closer look.

1. Work In An Open Uncontrolled Space

This is a very common beginner mistake. You have a large open living area, so it is very easy to make space somewhere against a wall or in corner to set up a desk to place all your recording equipment on. 

The biggest problem here, is the very thing you are setting up to record in the first place. And that is sound. You have no idea with how much sound you are surrounded with at all times. That is until you actually start recording and use quality recording equipment.

Suddenly everything is audible and picked up by the microphone, from dogs barking in a distance, footsteps in the next room, the road traffic outside, the mouse being moved next to your keyboard to the humming of the fridge in kitchen area. Unfortunately you sometimes only realize this mistake after you already set up your recording space.

The need for an isolated controlled space can only be truly appreciated after experiencing the futile attempt to try and control sound in a big open space with many sound sources and other human activity. As a result this can be an time consuming and sometimes expensive learning experience.

As already mentioned in so many other posts, the only real way to be able to control the sound being recorded, is to work in an isolated and fairly insulated space, preferably a completely separate room. Even then, you still won't escape unwanted external and internal sounds, and will have to apply acoustic treatment to the room, as well as place equipment and furniture in their appropriate places for optimal sound quality. 

Don't be too distressed if you fell into this trap. There is always a solution, no matter what your circumstances. This a topic for a completely different post though, and is addressed more thoroughly in this article.

2. Place You Speakers/Studio Monitors Right Up Against A Wall

I get it, honestly. Especially if you have a very small room or limited space to put all your equipment in. Naturally it just seems practical to place all equipment and components out of the way against a wall to free up as much space as possible.

Ironically, the problem with this is sound again. The whole reason for setting up your home recording studio in a room is to get the optimal sound quality from your recordings. Placing your speaker/studio monitors right up against the wall though, is one of the worst places to choose for putting them. To best understand this we need to look at how speakers act as a sound source:

From the looks of it, it seems pretty clear as to the direction the sound will be traveling in. After all, your woofers and tweeters are placed on one side of the speakers. They are also both facing in the same direction. It's just logical to assume that this is the direction the sound will be traveling in. 

Unfortunately, sound travels in its own unique way. To make things even more tricky, sound waves also react differently to different sound frequencies. Sound from high frequencies like the tweeters normally travel in the direction the speakers face. Bass sounds from the woofers however, travels in all directions.

With speakers placed right up against the wall, the bass bounce off the back wall immediately, causing a reverberation (echo) and amplification of the bass. The result is a distorted sound (a combination of direct, reflected and amplified sound) that reaches the listener/microphone.

To avoid this situation, you need to place the speakers around 2 feet away from the back wall, as well as the adding some insulation material to cancel out most of the remaining reflected sound. (You can read all about speakers/studio monitors placement in this article.)

3. Wait Until You Can Afford "The Right Equipment" Before Getting Started

This is one if for all the perfectionists among us. Yes, we do need good quality equipment and components to record and produce good quality recordings. But he big mistake many users make, is the believe that they need to have all the right components in place before getting started with your recording studio.

Armed with just a computer, an inexpensive microphone and a pair of PC speakers (sometimes bundled with a new computer) you can already start your "recording studio". You can even download some free DAW software to start out with.

Obviously, as soon as you are ready or can afford to, it is recommended that you start expanding and acquire better equipment, software and prepare the best possible recording environment you are able to.

In the meantime, you can start building the most valuable asset you will ever posses in your recording studio; Experience. No amount of money, equipment or recording space can ever replace experience. The sooner you begin, the sooner your experience will start growing. 

And to be perfectly honest, you will never be completely ready or have the perfect combination of equipment. There will always be something bigger and better to buy. You will constantly be learning new ways to record or improve your recording space. 

4. Place Your Condenser Microphone Directly On A Flat Hard Surface

I already emphasized the importance of the microphone in your recording setup. And in the controlled environment of a studio, I will recommend the use of an condenser microphone over a dynamic mic for vocal and most instrument use.

The condenser microphone's added sensitivity and ability to pick up almost every possible sound, comes with some conditions that has to be adhered to.

In order to make their condenser microphones as user friendly as possible, many manufacturers ships their mics with a small tripod or stand that you can place directly on your desk. Unfortunately, this is recipe for disaster.  

Your microphone is sensitive enough to pick up the slightest knock and movement on the desk, even the sound of the keys on your keyboard. Placing a stand without any shock absorption on the desk means any sound from the desk gets transferred straight through the microphone stand and still gets picked up by the microphone. To make things worse, sound from your voice also get reflected off the hard surface from the desk, and this reflected sound also gets picked up by the microphone.

You need to create some space or shock absorption between the desk and the microphone, as well as avoid directing your voice at the desk. The best solution is using an adjustable boom with a shockmount attached to it that you can place in the right position and distance in from your mouth.

(At the very least, use a microphone stand high enough to direct you voice away from the desk, and attach a shockmount that will absorb any vibrations caused by direct interaction with the desk.)  

5. Keep Your Recording Studio As Empty As Possible

The ideal scenario is to start your recording studio with and empty room. You then start filling it with placing all the recording equipment and components in their appropriate place. This includes recording desks, chairs and other relevant furniture. You also add acoustic materials where it is needed.

What you do not want to do is to keep your room empty. For some reason this misconception exists among many users. The only objects you should really try and avoid placing in your studio, is hard flat surfaces that will cause reverberation. (The recommendation to keep your room clear of the latter, may have been misinterpreted to create this misconception that a recording studio should be kept as empty empty.)

On the contrary, adding objects that is not reflective and are made of sound absorbing materials actually helps to limit sound reflection and distortion.

6. Always Go For The "Value Added Bundled Option" When Buying Equipment

This is not always a bad practice, but in order to make a product more appealing to a potential buyers, many manufacturers sometimes bundle their products with another product to "add value" to their offer.

This can be an irresistible offer, especially for users on a tight budget. Buying an audio interface while getting a microphone for free or buying a microphone with a free XLR cable and included "Limited Edition" DAW software, seem like a very good deal.

This may result with you ending up with an inferior component that you just use because it came free with the component of your choice. Since you never did proper research into the free component you end up with the impression that your recording setup is now "complete". (Especially if you are on tight budget, you will not be inclined to be too critical on the component you got for free, as you don't want to spend additional money and energy on a component you already have.)

In the worst case scenario you end up with a very poor quality "free" component that can end up ruining your whole recording production.

I just need to add that a bundled deal is not always a bad one. Sometimes you end with two or more very high quality products and safe a lot of money.

Just refrain from always waiting for a bundled deal and when you do consider one, do your research on both the product you were looking for as well as the "freebie" included.    

7. Neglect The "Insignificant Accessories" In Your Recording Setup

This something not just limited to the recording industry, but to many things we purchase or invest in. You spend a small fortune on a luxury German sport scar. You now own what you always dreamed of. Yet, as soon as the novelty wears off and it comes time to change those expensive Pirelli tyres or recommended battery, many people are inclined to go for the cheaper pair of tyres or battery, as these seem less important than the car itself. (Not realizing that the grip and tread of the tyres, and the consistent voltage that the battery supplies to the important electronic sensors, all play vital role in the performance of the vehicle.) Not the most perfect analogy, but you get the idea.

Exactly the same happens with recording equipment. You got the best microphone, audio interface, headphones and pair of studio monitors. You feel all set, and as long as everything is connected and working, you are happy.

In the meantime the quality of your XLR and other audio cables play a very important role in the quality of your audio. Not just the quality of the connections, but even the length of the cable can have a huge effect on sound quality. I would go as far as to state that a proper pair of cables and connectors can make a bigger difference to your recording quality than spending hundreds of dollars on better components.

The same applies to accessories like microphone booms, shockmounts, speaker/ studio monitor stands and even your recording desks. The importance of getting the right accessory that has all the attributes needed for the best performance, should not be taken lightly or overlooked.

Try and take as much time and effort when it comes to choosing an accessory as you do when when choosing an expensive piece of equipment. You will be grateful and the long run and your recording setup will reward you.

8. Continue To Get The Best And Most Expensive Component Available 

Once you get a taste of proper recording equipment and how well your audio can sound, it is easy to fall in the trap of looking for the next best component for your setup. This can be a never-ending and very expensive exercise.

Although you will most probably always be able to find better sounding component, as a home user you are going to reach a point where your setup is more than good enough for its recording environment.

Within the confined spaces of your converted room or home recording studio, you are limited as to how far you can go with equipment. At some point your equipment simply won't be able to overcome the limitations of your recording environment. It is just a simple fact we all have to accept, and it is not a bad thing.

Rather spend your time and effort on getting the best from your current system, including components, software and recording environment. You will be surprised how much hidden potential lies beneath the surface of your existing components and software you still need to uncover.

9. Thinking Acoustic Treatment Is Only Meant For Big Commercial Recording Studios

This is one misconception that must be debunked as quickly as possible. Actually the direct opposite of this way of thinking is true.

You are already handicapped by a small recording space in a rectangular room with directly opposing parallel walls, causing the effects of reverberation (echo), amplification and the distortion of sound to be that much more severe. This makes the use of acoustic materials that much more important.

I am not going to go into detail about acoustic treatment. (You can read all about it in this article.)

Just never neglect acoustic treatment in your home studio. It is not that difficult if understood correctly, quite inexpensive, and will make the world of difference to your sound quality.

10. The Tendency To Always "Eat The Microphone"

This picture is all too familiar. When you see a photo of an artist performing on stage, in many cases its with the lips pressed right up against the microphone, and in some extreme cases with the mouth wide open and the microphone "shoved" halfway into the mouth.

And there is some method in this madness. Artists performing at a live event, especially in a noisy environment like a rock concert, don't have much of a choice. They are competing against some very loud instruments, fellow vocalists and a very noisy crowd of thousands.

That is why they are often told by their sound engineers to actually "eat the mic". The only way for the sound engineer to capture and isolate the sound in such a noisy environment, is to have the performers mouth and sound directed at the mic in the closest possible distance. They cannot just turn up the gain (volume) to capture more of the sound, as this raises the noise level and possibly capture other unwanted sounds as well.

Now that we understand where and why this habit exist, you can throw it out of window, as what applies on stage differs completely from what happens in the controlled environment of a recording studio.

Dynamic microphones most often used during live events, are robust and use a relatively simple mechanism that makes it less sensitive to sound. This enables them to cope with very loud sounds for sustained periods. All these characteristics allow them to be handled the way you see pictured and still produce an acceptable quality.

In your home studio, the chances are pretty good you are using a condenser microphone. Combined with the controlled quiet environment of a studio, your approach should be almost the exact opposite. Condenser microphones are active (powered) and its much more sensitive diaphragm makes it very sensitive to the smallest noise.

As result, you need to create some distance between your mouth and the microphone to produce a recording that is clear and not distorted. (Up to a foot in distance, depending on the microphone and studio.) Not only will this allow the sound to develop and sound natural over distance, it will also help to protect the microphone. Condenser microphones are very sensitive, and are prone to be damaged or completely destroyed by an overwhelmingly loud sound. (To find out more about the difference between microphones, you can find it here.)

In summary, always take your microphone and environment into consideration and adjust your technique accordingly.

11. You Know You Have "Everything Figured Out"

Your recording finally sounds just perfect. You set up all your hardware and adjusted and fine-tuned it over the course of months. You spend hundreds if not thousands of hours learning all the features of your DAW software. Now you can just sit back enjoy the fruits of your labor.

You deserve to sit back, enjoy the moment and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Just don't stay there too long.

Complacency can be a very dangerous thing. There will always be something you can improve, learn more about and adjust to make your recordings better. Even the most experienced sound engineer will tell you that they still don't have it all figured out.

It doesn't mean that you should force yourself ruthlessly ahead and keep looking for something to change. Simply be open to new ideas, gain more knowledge and be willing to make changes when it is appropriate.

12. You Keep Relying On Just One Source To Monitor Your Sound

We often see sound engineers sitting behind a mixing console with a pair of headphones on. Similarly in music videos, artists are "staged" performing in recording studios with their cool looking trendy headphones. This sometimes creates the misconception that a good pair of headphones is all you need to produce a good recording.

Look carefully at any professional recording studio, and you will see 2 or more studio monitors prominently occupying their rightful place in the recording setup. You simply can't rely on just one source to monitor and judge the overall performance of your recording.

Your headphones may be able to pick up the smallest detail that some other sources are unable to. However, you still need to get a more realistic indication of what your recording will sound like in a room with sound coming out of a pair of speakers/studio monitors and fill the studio. 

Only by using both sources to evaluate your recorded audio will you be able to get the best possible result.

13. Always Trusting Post-Production Software To Correct Poor Recordings

DAW software are very powerful and getting more powerful by the day. It can mimic almost any real instrument, recreate almost any kind of real world reverberation, and provide a host of special effects too numerous to even start mentioning. It also posses an impressive set of tools to correct and adjust recorded audio.

The downside of this, is that all these tools can create bad recording habits. If a recording sounds bad during the actual recording phase, it is sometimes not addressed at all during this time. It is sometimes assumed that a flaw in the recording can and will be corrected during post-production in the DAW software.

You probably heard the saying, "Garbage In Garbage Out". This simply means if the original source "recording" is of poor quality, the final product will be sub-par as well. Your DAW software can be powerful and versatile, but it can only correct or improve a poorly recorded piece of audio so much. And why waste so much time in the first place when the problem could have been avoided in the first place during the recording phase?

By simply moving microphones and instruments around for the best recording quality, as well as adjust the gain and other input functions on the audio interface, many of these issues can be addressed and even completely resolved during the recording phase.

Always pay attention to setting up everything in the studio to sound at their best during the recording stage, and use your DAW software to only fine-tune and put the final touches on a recorded sound.

Conclusion

These 13 mistakes that are commonly made by many users in a variety of recording setup are just a few of many. But by addressing and eliminating these issues you will already take a huge step towards making your recording studio and final audio production much more successful.

Don't worry, you don't have to get everything right. Even the best professional setup is not perfect by a long shot. Just keep moving in the right direction and enjoy the process.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

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Choosing a pair of quality stands to put your speakers/studio monitors on is not only practical but also necessary. Many people still make the mistake of placing their speakers on desks or other flat hard surfaces, especially in the sound critical recording studio environment.

First, we first need to understand why speaker stands are the best choice when it comes to the placement of your studio monitors. 

We then take a closer look at the qualities that make a high quality speaker stand while using the On-Stage SMS6000 studio monitor stands as the perfect example.

Why Choose Speaker Stands

In a previous article, we already discussed sound wave behavior and speaker placement in detail, and how crucial the placement is for optimal sound quality. Lets summarize quickly.

As we don't have the luxury of choosing the shape of the room we will be using as a home studio, we are pretty much stuck with a rectangular room with directly opposing walls parallel to each other, the worst case scenario. There is a lot you can do to minimize the unwanted negative effects of such an setup though. Read more about it in this article.

Lets focus for now on why speaker/monitor stands are the best choice for speaker placement in a home studio.  

Using the dimensions of your room, placing your speakers against the short wall to travel the full length of the room and bounce off the back wall, will allow it to travel the maximum distance to allow the signal to weaken as much as possible before its reflected sound reach the microphone.

With speaker/studio monitor stands its easy to place and move the speakers around until exactly the right spot is found. It can also be accurately placed the right distance from the back wall to minimize the bass reflected from the back of the speakers.

A desk placed against a wall may sound like an easy solution, especially if you just happen to already have your desk and setup placed in this fashion. If you are in any way serious about the quality of your sound and recording, you may want to reconsider this decision very quickly.

(If things sound a bit confusing at this point, you can go through this article again, and things will become clear.)

Ok, back to the desk. If you don't have a desk or table in the correct position to start with, it would be inconvenient and impractical to move such a large object, apart from the fact that its other attributes makes it unsuitable to place speaker on.

The problem with desks and all other flat hard surfaces, is the sound reflection (reverberation) it cause. Sound from your speakers do not travel in a straight line to you. They also reach the surface of the desk they are standing on, which is then reflected and amplified. The result is that the sound reaching the listener/microphone is slightly distorted. (The original sound combined with the reflected sound.)

For this very reason, placing speakers on the floor or close to the ceiling will have the same negative effect. The right speaker height is actually at the listener/microphone's ear level. This also happens to be at the correct height not to cause any reverberation. (Less than halfway between the floor and the ceiling.)

To sum up, there are 4 main reasons why speaker stands are preferable to other surfaces or objects to place your speakers on for optimal performance.

1. The ability to elevate speakers to the correct height for optimal sound quality.
2. Avoiding reflective horizontal surfaces in the process which will cause reverberation and a resulting distorted sound.
3. The small footprint of a stand saves valuable floor space, as well as freeing up desk space that would have been occupied by the speakers/studio monitor.
4. The compact size also provides freedom of movement to allow the speakers to be placed in the optimal position and pointed in the correct direction.

In the relatively confined space of a home recording studio these are valuable attributes that will help make the setting up process a lot easier. Even after you already set up your studio, adding a pair of stands may help with quite a few existing problems, from setup to audio quality.

Armed with hopefully enough information to convince you of the importance of using speaker/studio monitor stands, its time to look at what makes a good quality pair of stands, and use the OnStage SMS6000 studio monitor stands as the perfect example.

What Makes Good Studio Monitor Stands

As with most products available to us today, not all audio hardware are created equal. This applies to speaker/studio monitor stands as well. To best understand what to look for in a quality stand, we look at the different attributes that make a good stand and use the On-Stage SMS6000 studio monitors as a reference. 

Build Quality

The materials used and how well they are put together in a stand, play the biggest part in determining the build quality. Build quality is crucial, as the stands are carrying a pair of speakers worth hundreds of dollars or more, and also need to last for many years.

The SMS6000 Stands already looks like solid piece of equipment, before even touching it. It is solid piece of kit, made from steel, and able to hold speakers with a weight up to 90 pounds. The Black Powder Coat finish adds to the perceived quality, while the solid feel of the stands confirms this impression. These stands are made to last. 

Small attentions to detail like adding adding a few cable guides/hooks to keep your cables need and tidy, also help with the impression of a quality component.

Sturdiness

Sturdiness is a must for any speaker stand, as vibrations and small knocks needs to be absorbed without interfering with the sound.

The SMS6000 stands have an all steel construction that gives an impression of sturdiness. This perceived sturdiness is reinforced by its actual feel and moving the stands around. Even without speakers on top, the stands feel grounded and steady without loose parts or any hint of wobbliness. 

The addition of self leveling carpet spikes to be screwed into the bottom of the stands, allows the speaker to sit solidly and balanced on any surface, even when placed on carpeted surfaces.

Weight

Weight is important as it adds to the balance and sturdiness of a stand. A very light stand may not only feel unsteady, but will be unbalanced when carrying a heavy speaker/studio monitor. The top-heavy result is prone to be easily knocked over, even from the slightest touch.

With a substantial weight of 24.2 pounds per stand, combined with a sturdy build quality, the SMS6000 are rock solid and feels like it is able to carry more than the stated 90 pounds.

Adjustability

The ability to adjust the height of a speaker/studio monitor stand is a crucial, but often overlooked by many beginners not familiar with the importance of height when setting up your speakers in a recording studio.

(Interestingly, many users go for aesthetics when it comes to choosing their stands. Unfortunately many of your most aesthetically pleasing speaker stands are fixed height units without the much needed adjustability and sometimes build quality. I guess this is one case of "looks aren't everything")

Luckily the On-Stage SMS6000 stands come fully height-adjustable. Height is adjustable from 36.5 - 54 inches, using a security pin to keep it in place as well as clutch to fasten it and ensure a secure and tight hold. This height range allows you yo find the ideal speaker height no matter what your seated position.

With the addition of self leveling carpet spikes, the stands can be further adjusted to enable it to stand sturdily on any surface, whether carpeted or hard floor. 

All these adjustable features available on a pair of SMS6000 stands, makes them one of the most versatile speakers available.

Balance

Earlier in this post I touched on balance when I pointed towards the imbalance of a top-heavy speaker/stand combination. Here the substantial weight of the On-Stage stands contributes to a very good overall balance, regardless of the weight of the speaker.

But it's not just the weight of the stand that have an influence on balance. The actual base of the stand plays a vital role, and is not as easy to get right easy to get as one might think. Too big and heavy, and you end up with a sturdy, but rather clumsy and aesthetically displeasing look. Too light, and you end with the now familiar top-heavy scenario.

The On-Stage stands manage to strike a good balance between the two. With a triangular base of  18 inches, it provides the right size and shape for optimal balance without going over the top.

One factor that very seldom gets mentioned or considered, is the sturdiness with which the speakers are  held on top of the stands. As is the case with the normal smooth surface on top of many stands, speakers can be knocked off position very easily from the slightest bump. In the worst case scenario this can result in the speakers tipping over with potentially devastating consequences.

Again, the SMS6000 stands avoid this from happening by adhering a non-slip pad to the top of the stand, preventing speakers placed on top of it from moving around.

Get more information and pricing on the On-Stage SMS6000.

Conclusion

This has been quite an in-depth look at something seemingly so insignificant. To be honest, the first time I was looking for a pair of stands for my speakers, I only wanted something to place them on. It was only after I started looking online and stumbled across a few guidelines, that I realized things may not be as simple I thought.

Only after a making an informed purchase and then experimenting with placement and a few other small adjustments, can one appreciate what a big difference the features described in this article can make to your overall experience and sound quality.

The On-Stage SMS6000 speaker/studio monitors are by no means perfect or the most attractive stands available. They just do exactly what they need to do and do it well.

The biggest take-away from this article is two-fold. The first being that the smallest thing can make a big difference in your recording studio setup. Secondly, there is always something you can do to improve on your recording setup, no matter how small.

I hope all this information has been helpful and encourage you to also pay attention to the smaller details and realize what a big difference it can make.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

​

You just spent hundreds of dollars on your new professional studio monitors or high definition desktop speakers. It doesn't matter how good they are, if you get this one thing wrong, they will never be able provide you with the best possible audio quality you need. This one thing is the positioning of your speakers.

This is the one thing you need to get right, preferably while setting up your up your recording studio. Not only the positioning of the speakers, but the position where you will be situated in the room in relation to your speakers are critical.

By taking the following steps you will ensure both you and your studio monitors' position are set up to provide the best possible sound quality. 

1. Use Your Room's Dimensions.

There is a reason most professional recording studios steer clear from rectangular or square rooms. The parallel and opposing walls directly reflect sound. The reverberation (echo) caused by the sound waves bouncing off the walls are extremely disruptive to any recording.

Unfortunately most of us creating a home recording studio, are limited to a rectangular room with directly opposing walls. Fortunately most rooms in a home are more rectangular in size than square. This means you can use the long and short walls to your advantage.

Always place your speakers against the short wall. You want the sound waves to travel as far as possible before being reflected. Using the length of the wall will ensure they travel the maximum distance and the reverberation is minimized as much as possible. 

2.  Leave Enough Space Between Speakers And The Wall

Even though speakers may be facing away from the wall they are placed against, some of the sound, especially the bass, travels in all directions. This is reflected off the back wall and clash with the sound travelling in the direction the speakers face.

You cannot completely eliminate this effect, but by placing the speakers at least 2 feet away from the wall, you can keep it to minimum.

You can further lesson the effect by applying acoustic materials to the back walls. Bass traps are ideal to be use for this purpose. (More on acoustic materials later on in this article.)  

3. Always Direct The Speakers At The User

The direction the speakers are facing is almost as important as their position in the room. 

Make sure the speakers are always directed at the user/artist, wherever they are placed in the room. (See above placed diagram.) 

As sound is mostly directional in the case of speakers, especially mid to high frequencies, pointing them to the recording source will ensure the strongest signal is received.

It is important to take note of the importance of symmetry here as well. As illustrated in the diagram, for a consistent and equal signal strength, make sure the speakers are placed the same distance from the recording space. (Just as important is to keep an equal spacing behind the speakers, as well as an equal distance from the side walls to the speakers.)

4. Use An "Equilateral Triangle" Position

The ideal position between you, the speakers and the distance between the two speakers, can be determined by using the dimensions of an equilateral triangle. An equilateral triangle has equal lengths and identical internal angles (60 degrees). 

Use it as illustrated in the diagram at the top of the article, displayed in the dashed line. This is always a quick and easy way to determine a good position.

Just remember, it is not always the best position, especially the distance between the user and the speakers. Sometimes the "sweet spot" is closer or further away from the speakers, depending on factors like the length of the room and the power output of the speakers themselves. Only by experimenting and and moving your position around, will you be able to find the perfect position. 

5. Avoiding The Center Of The Room

The center of the room has what can be called a "dead spot", and again this is the fault of the reflection of the sound waves off the walls, causing reverberation.

Specifically with bass sounds, as the sound waves bounce off the opposing walls and meet up at the center of the room, they cause what is called "bass null". Basically this means they cancel each other out as they collide at the center of the room, causing the frequency of the bass to drop to almost zero. Obviously you want to avoid this position completely.

Moving your position away from the center and closer to the speakers, as illustrated in the diagram, will prevent you from encountering this "dead spot". (With the added benefit that you create more distance behind you, which allows the sound waves to travel farther before bouncing off the back walls, reducing the reverberation effect, as already mentioned earlier in this article.)

6. The Correct Speaker Height

This is a very controversial and highly debated subject. There are many theories doing the rounds causing a lot of confusion among users. I will just briefly touch on one strong argument, before recommending which position seems to work best, and can be recommended for the best overall results.

One very prominent argument is to combat the distortion and reverberation caused by waves trapped in a room, by placing your speakers below or above the halfway point between the ceiling and the floor. In this way you are disrupting the wave pattern and minimizing the distortion caused. 

There is plenty of logic in this argument and it makes sense if you go into more detail as to how sound waves work. Luckily, by following the best practice and recommendation below you will automatically ensure this argument is adhered to as well.

One of the most popular recommendations, is still the best overall position to use. And that is to place the speakers at ear level. If you are seated, use a stand that allows the speakers to be placed at a position parallel to your years.

This way you get a balanced sound from both the bass and high frequencies produced by the woofers and tweeters respectively.

(In this position, the speakers will definitely be below the halfway point between the ceiling and the floor, ensuring the position the first argument in the section advocated, is also adhered to.)

Another advantage of this position is that by not placing the speakers close to the floor or ceiling, you avoid reflected sounds that would have been created by both surfaces.

7. Avoid Desktop Placement If Possible.

Many users still make the mistake of placing their speakers on their desks. This is a fairly common mistake. The problem with desks is their flat hard surfaces. Sound from the speakers get reflected off these surfaces and amplified, causing a distorted sound to reach the user and microphone.

Rather place your speakers on a pair of stands behind and to the sides of your desk, at ear level and facing you and the microphones. This way you largely cut out any interference your desk may cause.

(Remember, desktop  or bookshelf speakers are named this way simply because they are compact enough to be placed on a desk or shelf, not because they were meant to be placed there. Traditionally most hi-fi speakers the size of a proper desktop speakers have always been placed on stands, as it is the most appropriate place from which the best possible sound quality is produced.)

If you have to place your speakers on the desk, place it at the front of the desk where no surface can reflect or distort the sound. This may cause some new challenges, but it is a compromise to begin with.  

8. Use Acoustic Materials 

Now its time to add some acoustic materials to put the final touches to your speaker setup. Its important to only start adding these acoustic materials after you have done all the other setups and placements of equipment and furniture.

I am only going to focus on the acoustic treatment relevant to your speaker setup. You can read more about room preparation and acoustic treatment in this article.

I already mentioned the bass traps to be added directly behind the speakers against the wall, to absorb the bass from speakers that may reflect off them.

Now lets have a look at look at the direction the sound from the speakers are traveling. If correctly set up, sound waves will travel the length of the room, before bouncing off the back wall and the reflected sound travels back to the user and recording device.

Although already weakened due to the length its traveled before being reflected, the sound waves are still strong enough to interfere with the recorded sound. The space directly opposite the speakers against the back wall will be the ideal place to one or more acoustic panel.

You can start with 2 panels vertically placed opposite each speaker. Normally this should be sufficient to take care of any reverberation, but judge for yourself.

The last bit of acoustic treatment is relevant your own position. You have 4 reflection points directly parallel to your position. Two are directly above you, and one parallel to you on the left and one parallel to you on the right wall.

Adding a single acoustic panel at each of these points should take care of acoustic treatment. (All acoustic treatments are indicated in grey on the diagram to make it easy for you to identify the correct placement.)

Just a word of caution. Work sparingly with your acoustic treatment, and add it in the order described. After each application, do a sound test first to see if enough treatment has already been applied. Depending on the size of the room, you may not need the full acoustic treatment.

Conclusion

You now have a rough plan to follow to make sure your speakers/studio monitors are placed in the correct position, angled in the right direction, and the acoustic treatment is applied in all the right areas to produce the best possible sound quality.

These guidelines are not set in stone, so feel free to experiment and find the positioning that works for you. If you run into difficulties, you can always revert back to these guidelines.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

​

I know, the title is confusing. It will soon make sense though. Desktop speakers and studio monitors look the same but sound very different for a reason. They serve 2 very different purposes.

In this article we will first take a look at the similarities and differences  between the two types of speakers. We will then have a look at 2 examples I consider to be the best solution for your specific needs.

Similarities

Design: It is basically impossible to tell tell the difference between a pair of desktop speakers and studio monitors. The box-like design looks identical and variations in design can be applied to both type of speakers.

Sound Creation: Both speakers use a woofer and tweeter to create sound at low and high frequencies respectively. The composition, placement and housing, as well as the distribution of power to these two main components, play a crucial role in the quality of sound they produce.

Power: Both desktop speakers and studio monitors can be either active (powered with a build-in amplifier) or passive (unpowered). Passive speakers require an external power source like an amplifier/stereo receiver in order to function at all. (Some low-powered inexpensive computer speakers use the power supplied by the USB cable to operate. The quality and sound is just completely unacceptable to even consider them for any serious use.)    

Differences

Sound Quality: Now we reached the most important feature that divides desktop speakers and studio monitors, which will also clarify the heading of this post.

Desktop/Hi-Fi speakers' main aim is to flatter your audio. In other words it makes it sound as good as possible by adding its own "color and warmth", and enough bass to fill a room. This way it hides flaws and possible weaknesses in the recorded audio and provides you with a pleasant overall listening experience.

Studio monitors' aim is the opposite. Its aim is to provide you with a brutally honest and unflattering reflection of your recorded sound. It provides a flat and neutral sound, with plenty of detail of all aspects of your recording. It does not always provide a pleasant listening experience. But once you're satisfied with the way your recording sounds on a good pair of studio monitors, you are almost certainly guaranteed it will sound great on any other type of speaker.

Room Preparation: Desktop speakers are designed to sound great in any room. By simply moving it around in the room, you should be able to find a suitable spot where they sound just right.

Studio monitors are are much more particular and finicky about the room they are placed in. They may sound horrible and produce a completely inaccurate sound in an unprepared room. However, placed in an acoustically prepared room with the right positioning and  proper reverberation reducing materials in place, they perform optimally giving you the a clear and accurate sound you require.

Distance: The final big difference between desktop speakers and studio monitors. You will find that desktop speakers sound great when listening from quite a few feet or more away, revealing more detail as the volume are increased.

Studio monitors on the other hand, sometimes called "nearfield" monitors, are build to provide a clear and accurate sound from a very close distance. The sound is also not meant to travel very far and fill a large room. As a result a sound engineer can sit right next to a pair of nearfield studio monitors and get a very accurate impression of the sound produced without turning up the volume.

(Form more information on the difference between desktop speakers and studio monitors, I address them in more detail in this article.)

Now that the differences are clarified and the title less of a mystery, you will most probably wonder which of the two you should choose.

For this very reason I propose 2 options. The first is a compromise between accurate sound quality and a pleasant listening experience in the form of the Audioengine A5+ desktop speakers. The second is a much more focused and detailed sound for the serious recording artist, in the form of the KRK Rokit 5 studio monitors.

Please not that both the Audioengine and KRK are active speakers. (Meaning they are powered by their own build-in amplifiers and do not require an external powers source.) Lets have a closer look at both.

Audioengine A5+

If you are looking for a speaker that will provide you with great overall sound, yet preserve enough detail and balance to be used in the recording studio, the Audioengine A5+ is the answer. It may be on the pricey side for a desktop PC speaker but as you will soon see, you get more than your money's worth.

Design

The A5+ has fairly simple but elegant and attractive design. To fit in with your setup, it come with a choice of black, white and maple wood color.

Made of MDF wood, these speakers have a very good build quality and sturdy feel to it. As a result, these speakers tend to be on the heavy side. (Respectively weighting 15.4 pounds for the left and 9.6 pounds for the right speaker.) Some critics points to a lack of portability due to the substantial weight.

Most people who are purchasing these speakers though, almost surely have no intention of moving them around. On the contrary, the added weight and sturdiness help reinforce the impression of perceived build quality, as well as reducing susceptibility to vibrations and other outside interference. 

With dimensions of approximately 11 (height) x 7 (width) x 9 (depth) inches, these medium sized speakers are small enough to be placed on a desk, but also big enough to not look out of place when put on separate stands. 

Features

The dimensions of the cabinets allow the housing of kevlar made 5 inch woofers, with 0.75 inch silk dome tweeters situated above them.

The build-in amplifier enables the speakers to produce 50 watts per channel, with peak power rated at 150 watts for the set. This is more than enough to fill a studio or large room (This power output is mostly stated for academic purposes, as the quality of sound plays a much more important role than volume.)  

The speaker receives its input signals through ⅛" stereo mini-jack and RCA ports. (The presence of RCA ports leave little doubt that these speakers are build to be used for more than just casual listening, as RCA input ports are normally associated with professional studio monitors.)

Output ports include RCA ports, passive speakers output and a USB port.

One thing it lacks though,is more extensive controls for adjusting the sound, such as an equalizer and balance control. Instead, it is limited to single volume control at the front and power switch at the rear. 

I don't see this as a drawback however, as its important to leave the sound in its original form to preserve the recorded tone and balance. You can produce optimal sound quality by rather moving the speakers around in the room/studio to obtain the best position for the best performance.

Performance

This section is by far the most important feature of any speaker, and it is here that the Audioengine A5+ really shines. 

The speakers are able to produce a natural and crisp sound that can be attributed to both the performance of its high quality tweeters and woofers, as well as the integrated amplifier.

The silk dome tweeters are able to produce very crisp and bright trebles, providing a lot of detail and variation on the high end.

The 5 inch woofers do not fall into the trap of many other computer/desktop speakers by producing a generic base heavy sound. Instead, the base is responsive and also provide a lot of variation and just the right amount of saturation.

Mid-tones may come across as a bit generic and neutral, but this do not distract at all from the overall sound quality.

As a result the speakers provide a natural and pleasant sound, while still able to preserve almost every recorded detail by steering away from adding too much base and adding unnatural color to "spice" up the sound experience.

Summary

It is not hard to see why Audioengine A5+ speakers are so highly rated. Although not the cheapest speakers available in category, it provides certainly provides the best value for money.

The mid-sized speakers produce audio quality that is comparable to components a lot more expensive. The natural and pleasant, yet detailed sound it produces, makes it very versatile as well. It can be enjoyed as a desktop speaker, but will be just as suitable to be used in a home recording studio to provide accurate feedback during the production process.

All in all a great quality speaker that does everything that is asked from it very well and exceeds most expectations. It comes highly recommended.

Get more information and pricing on the Audioengine A5+.

KRK Rokit 5 G3

Anyone who has had some experience in professional recording studios or has seen videos and pictures of recording studios, will be very familiar with KRK studio monitors. With its distinctive yellow  woofers, KRK studio monitors are well known for providing professional yet affordable components to the recording industry.

The Rokit 5 series of monitors are even more budget friendly without compromising on quality. 

Design

The cabinets are made of good quality MDF, while the baffle is made of high quality composite materials. By moving away from the more traditional boxy design, the monitors have an aesthetically pleasing look. (Some purists are critical of the design, but it probably comes down to a matter of personal taste.)

The size are considered to be above average for a studio monitor in this category. Still, with dimensions of 11.10 (height) x 9.06 (depth) x 7.28 (width) inches, they are compact enough to be placed on a desktop.

With a substantial weight, coming in at 14.1 pounds per unit, the monitors stand firmly on any surface, and the added stability helps to making it less prone to vibrations and surface movements. 

Features

The speaker houses a  5 inch glass-Aramid composite woofer and 1 inch soft dome tweeter. These quality components housed in a sturdy housing creates the perfect environment for delivering optimal performance.

Signals can be received via RCA,  ¼ inch TRS or XLR input ports, enabling basically any professional audio device to be connected to it.

You will also find acoustic controls on the back of the unit. They include controls for HF trim, LF trim and volume control. 

The build-in amplifier in each speaker are able to deliver 50 watts per channel, which is more than adequate for any home studio.

Performance

The sound quality is exactly what you would demand and expect and from a good pair of studio monitors. It produces a flat, crisp and detailed sound throughout the frequency range. Trebles are tight and bass have enough range at the lower end. 

Don't expect a warm sound sound with a booming bass that fills the room, masking any flaws in audio and provide a pleasant listening experience all round. What you get a is a very honest and realistic reflection of your recorded sound, exposing any recording errors or flaws that desktop or hi-fi speakers sill hide.

And that is exactly what you want from a good pair of studio monitors.   

Summary

If you are a serious home recording studio user that requires an accurate and honest reflection of your recorded audio, you cannot go wrong with the KRK  Rokit 5.

Not only does it provide a very accurate and crisp sound quality, it is also surprisingly affordable for a serious studio monitor.

A top and highly recommended piece of hardware for the serious home recording studio.

Get more information and pricing on the KRK Rokit 5 G3.

Conclusion

We have never been so spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing audio hardware than we are today. Desktop speakers and studio monitors are no exception.

As with many other audio components, these two speakers are by no means the only quality options available. But depending on your needs, you will definitely not be disappointed by any of these 2 options.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) Software or simply called sequencers are at the heart of most modern day professional recording studios. The term is unfamiliar to many music enthusiasts not involved in the recording industry. To others, this is some foreign sounding term they vaguely remember sound engineers and music producers throwing around.

In this article, we shine some light on this sometimes little known, but very important and integral part of any professional and home audio setup. You will find it hard today to encounter a single home or commercial studio not using DAW software as part of their setup.

As with so many other creations, Digital Audio Workstations were developed over the years as a result of the birth of the personal computer. Basically, a DAW is a digital interface that replaced the functions of a host of analogues equipment to record, process and output any piece of audio production. This may vary from a single vocal performance, to a full orchestra of 70 musicians and a full choir.

Before DAW software became powerful enough and are now standard in any recording setup, traditional studios were filled with big clumsy pieces of analogue equipment. Hardware based sequencers communicated with other pieces of hardware like synthesizers and drum machines through MIDI interfaces. Analogue equalizers, compressors, mixers were all thrown into the mix and everything were recorded on multi-track tape recorders. (I don't need to go into detail, but you get the idea of how complex and cluttered the traditional studio was.)

The Digital Audio Workstation replaced almost all of these functions, and even added host of functions and features previously unavailable. Some functions still requires additional hardware though. (We will briefly touch on that later on.)

In order for you to best understand DAW software is to have a look at how exactly it works. We do it by following the process, from recording to final output.

Recording

The first stage of any audio production. Voice and instruments recorded through a microphone are the obvious (but not only) sources that springs to mind when thinking of recording. This is just one of many tasks of any DAW. And here it needs some hardware help.

Instruments and voices are captured by microphone and needs to be interpreted and converted into a signal that the DAW software can work with, called digital audio tracks. The normal computer setup don't have the hardware able to perform this task.

This a the job of an audio interface. (The one piece of hardware still needed by all recording studios.) It captures the analogue signals, amplify it if necessary and converts it to digital audio tracks that gets send to the computer through a high speed interface, normally a USB 2 interface in most smaller systems. 

Multiple tracks can be recorded and received by the DAW, depending on the amount of input ports the audio interface have. These analogue sources however, are not the only digital tracks that gets created during the recording process.  

Digital sequencers in your software are able to create "virtual instruments", able to mimic basically every possible instrument you can thing of. These tracks that gets created are called MIDI tracks. They can be created by you mouse or an external keyboard and can be completely edited or altered in the software, (Quite a step up from the old analogue sequencers that communicated with a few external devices like synthesizers or drum machines to create "virtual instruments".). 

With virtual instruments, you are basically able to produce a whole sequence of music without having access to any "real" instruments. (This feature is often frowned upon by purists, but are gaining popularity and acceptance, and can be a real lifesaver for artists who need additional instruments to complement their own music, but don't have access or the budget to hire additional musicians.)

You are even able to import sound samples. They are prerecorded sound sequences of various instruments, drums and even vocals in digital format that can be added to your other tracks. This a quick way to add a sequence of sound you are unable or don't have the time to create yourself.

Arrangement

Each digital track is represented by a horizontal timeline on the computer screen. This represents the beginning on left, to the ending on the right of the entire music production. You can have as many of these horizontal timelines as there are tracks.

The sound from each track is represented by the vertical "waves" wherever it appears on this horizontal timeline.

This is where arrangement comes in. You can move, rearrange and even delete any track on the timeline to change the beginning, mid-section and ending, and move tracks together or further apart to create the desired sound or effect you require. This whole exercise is called arrangement.

(This is obviously a lot more complex than I just explained, but there is so much to DAW software and the sheer amount of features and extensive functions they possess, that its best to keep it simple at first to understand the basic process.)

Mixing

The following step in the process is to take all these recorded tracks or digitally created MIDI tracks, and change the way they sound. In short, mixing is the process of editing and manipulating the audio of a track by balancing, boosting volume, equalizing and adding filters and effects to alter or correct the final sound on the track.

During this process you can correct errors and make enhancements to all recorded tracks. It is just important to note that the purpose of any mixer, whether digital or analogue, is to add to an already good quality recording. Mixing should not be used to correct a poorly recorded sound or mask negligent errors made during the recording process. Always make sure you have the best quality recording available before starting the mixing process.

The digital mixing console onscreen sometimes closely mimics the look and feel of traditional analogue mixers, as the layout is very logical and practically set up. It is also familiar to traditional sound engineers, making the transition from analogues to digital a lot easier.  

Many elements are not controllable during the recording process though, which the DAW's mixer can address. The sheer amount of features adjustments can be the subject of whole separate article, but we will briefly look at the most important ones.  

Equalizing is on of the most used functions of the mixer. You are able adjust the sound by adding or reducing bass or treble if the frequency of the sound is either too high or low. (Remember the goal is to create a rich and clear sounding track. It is very easy to overdo it, especially adding too much bass, which will result in a dramatic effect but negatively impact the overall balance of the sound.)

Adjusting the volume (gain) of a track is another important feature that can be adjusted during this process. Especially when played back in conjunction with other tracks, the sound of a track my be be too soft or completely overwhelming. This can easily adjusted by the equalizer by lowering or increasing the gain to create a much more balanced overall sound. Sound is normally measured and adjusted in decibels (dB).

You also have complete control over the stereo effect of your track (the balance between the left and right channels). You can control where you want to position your track in the "audio space". It can can be placed anywhere between the far left, center or far right position. Just remember that you want to create a balance when positioning your tracks, so be careful and maybe a bit conservative when you start placing sounds away from the center.   

Adding effects to your tracks is a very powerful feature of any mixer that forms an indispensable part of your DAW. Reverb (reverberation or echo) is one the first and most important effects to be added to a track. (Ironically this is the one thing you tried to reduce as much as possible or even completely eliminate during the recording process.) Yet, without adding some kind of natural sounding reverb, your track sounds dead and lifeless. Modern digital mixers are able to mimic the reverberation of practically any space: from a cellar, concert hall to sports stadium. 

Effects are not limited to reverb though. Special effects like making a digital instrument sound like an analogue one, or making an acoustic guitar sound more electric are just a few of countless sound effects. Basically every possible thing you can think of doing to a sound, can be done by some special effect. 

Mastering

This is the final step in your audio production before outputting the final product. This the step where you add some final touches to you composition, to give it that little boost and smooth out the rough edges to give it that polished professional look.

Its very important that mastering is only done after you are completely happy with your mixing before you even think of moving on to the this final step. Each track's equalization, balancing, volume adjustment and effects adding should be completely finished before moving on to mastering.

At this point you can still do adjustments like do some equalization and compression, and some noise reduction. Just remember, every adjustment you make at this point is across all tracks and the whole composition. That simply means that at this stage changes you make should be kept to minimum and only done to round off and polish a basically an already finished product.

Important Hardware Considerations

As good as a your DAW is, it will not be able to reproduce the results you want if not accompanied by suitable high a quality hardware. I already mentioned the audio interface earlier in this article and its necessity for recording.  Although not necessary for your software to function, the following two components are critical to the quality of your final audio composition.

Your Microphone: As I mentioned earlier in the article, your DAW is there to enhance and compliment an already good recording. And it all starts with your microphone. If you read some of the other articles in on this site, you will know that I make now secret of the fact that I consider this the most important part of your audio setup. You can read more about it in this article. All you need to know is, get the best possible microphone you can, even if it means saving a little longer.

Headphones/Speakers: Being able to have a clear indication of what your end product will sound like, you need to be able to listen to your audio throughout the whole process with a pair of high quality headphones (to catch the finest details) as well as good pair of desktop speakers / studio monitors. You can read more about the difference between high quality desktop speakers and studio monitors in this article.

You may have noticed that I said headphones as well as speakers. I firmly believe that you need to monitor your audio through both sources, as sound through your headphones sounds different to sound produced by a pair of speakers filling the room with sound.

Popular DAW Software

There many types of DAW software available on the market, ranging from completely free to hundreds of dollars. Some hardware devices already ships with "limited" editions of high end DAW software. 

The six most popular and widely used DAW software available are:

• Cubase
• Reason
• Pro Tools
• Ableton Live
• Logic Studio
• FL Studio

As the aim of this article is to give you a general introduction to the DAW and how it works, we are no going to focus on each individual software tool. In a future article I go into more detail as to how each software tool function and perform, and help you choose which is best for you.

Conclusion

This was quite a bit of information to absorb, but I tried to keep it as simple as possible to make each process understandable. I hope everything makes better sense know and the purpose of DAW/sequencer and how it works, is much clearer.  

Obviously we have just touched the tip of the iceberg here. The sheer size of these Digital Audio Workstations, the power of their capabilities and the amount and complexity of features they incorporate, can fill an encyclopedia. There is just too much to cover, even in a separate full online manual.

Don't be intimidated, it is a steep learning curve to learn the basics, but keep at it and you will have it mastered in no time at all. The good news is that you will be using your DAW software and still be discovering new features two years plus down the line. A good quality DAW grows with you and your needs. As you grow and develop your skills, functions you never even thought existed will become available waiting for you to fully express yourself.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

Starting your own home recording studio can be a daunting prospect. The mere though of it can be overwhelming. "Where to start, what to consider, what do I need, how much to spend..." The list goes on.

There are many good resources to help you get started, and you can find more specific help in other articles I will mention in this post. There are a few things though, you should always keep in mind while building up your system, not only to start off the right way but to keep you moving in the right direction.

For this reason these 11 tips were compiled to help you navigate the process and keep you motivated. Something you can always come back to if you get overwhelmed or feel like you're loosing direction.

1. Plan And Do Your Research 

Set some time aside to plan what you want to do. You know the saying, "Failing to plan is planning to fail". It applies just as much to building a home studio than it does to any other endeavor you undertake in life.

Many helpful hints and references to other useful articles are given throughout this article to help you lay out your plan and approach, but you do need to plan.

Set aside a week, two weeks or even a month. This will all depend on your own needs and the urgency. Then make sure you learn as much as you can during this period and use a notepad, your phone, computer... anything to make notes of important things you find and want to include in your plan.  

Now, set yourself a deadline. This is very important. Whether it is 2 weeks or 2 months you set aside for your planning, stick to this deadline. (One or two extra days to tie up some loose ends won't kill you, but limit it as much as possible.) There is very important reason for this deadline.

Countless people get stuck in this vicious circle of forever researching, stumbling over new ideas, or endlessly watching the latest expert opinion or new product reviews on Youtube. The big problem with this is, the majority of people never get started. 

Let me very honest. You will never be fully prepared or have everything perfectly planned out. No one has ever been fully prepared whenever they started something new, no matter how successful they may be now. Most of the time you only really find out what exactly you need after you started. You also learn the most after you started.

So, set yourself a time and deadline, learn as much as you can, draw up the best plan you are able to, and just get started.  

2. Determine  Your Budget And Break It Down

This will be one of the first important considerations of your planning. You are the only one who will really know how much you can and are willing to spend on your recording setup.

Not only does this depend on your financial position, but more importantly what your goals are and how urgently you need to achieve them. Whichever the case, you do need to budget!

You may be a full time recording artist who seriously needs the convenience of a home recording studio and are going to use in it the long term and probably expand it as your career grows and budget expands. On the flip-side of the coin, you may have a full time career completely unrelated to home recording, and this is just a hobby you want to pursue more seriously in your spare time.

You may be in any of the above situations, but most probably find yourself somewhere in between. Take all of these factors in consideration when deciding on your budget.

Once you decided on your budget, you need to break it down for yourself before you just start spending. Factors to take into consideration, are equipment, acoustic treatment and maybe a little on space (depending on what you have available or make available).

Equipment will definitely take the biggest bite out of your budget, so make sure you set enough funds aside for each piece of equipment you will need. To help you decide which type of setup you will use and what components you will need, I give an overview of the full topic with all the important options to consider in this article. 

3. Consider Your Recording Space

Apart from your budget this is probably the most important factor to consider after you decided to set up your home recording studio. It is actually surprising how many people jump straight into buying equipment and only after a small mountain of boxes are delivered and piled up next to their front door, do many start thinking about where all this equipment will actually be set up.  

The space, preferably a separate isolated room, is essential not only to provide enough room for setting up your equipment. The space in which you are setting up your home studio is as important, if not more so, than the equipment you will use for the the proper sound quality to be produced.

I do not need to go into much more detail (You can read everything you need to know about room space in this article).  But, no matter whether you are using a separate room or creating space in a much bigger room, make sure you address this issue before doing anything else.   

4. Plan Ahead (Look At Your Future Goals)

By doing your planning and taking stock of your goals, you not only make sure you have a solid framework in place to help you through every step of setting up your studio. You can also ensure you save money in the long run and stop yourself from incurring unnecessary expenses later on when expanding or making changes to your setup.

With condenser microphones available from less than $100 to well over $5000, and audio interfaces available from less than $50 to over $1000, you can see how big the impact on your choice of equipment can be.

Knowing that you are busy building up a system that you will expand fairly rapidly as you are a professional and are going to end up needing a very high end system, may prompt you to save a little extra for a higher quality microphone that will be able to grow with your system. (Saving you the expense of having to upgrade fairly quickly to a much more expensive microphone to perform with a higher end system.)

A "weekend podcaster" just wanting to have decent sound for his audience, may be satisfied with an affordable USB condenser microphone and happily use it for the lifetime of the microphone.  

As you can see, it works both ways. You can overspend on a device whose full potential you will never need, or waste money on equipment that you will outgrow within months, when you could have waited a bit longer for a higher quality component that would have lasted you much longer, and potentially saved you a small fortune.

The key is having a good idea what your goals are and plan accordingly to make the best and most cost effective decision.  

5. Better And More Expensive Equipment May Not Always The Best Choice

It is always tempting when your budget allows it, to look at the the more expensive and prestigious piece of equipment. This may not always be necessary and can sometimes cause more difficulties than advantages.

As an example, you can produce audio quality on a good $300 audio interface that is basically on par with an interface more than double the price. The untrained ear, and even some seasoned professionals will never be able to tell the difference. Especially if the slight difference in sound quality is only really audible on an expensive hi-fi system that very few people can afford anyway.

Many of these high-end audio interfaces also come with extra features and more complicated DAW software that provides a very steep learning curve, which will make things unnecessary complicated for you, as these are features you will never use.

It really is best that you choose audio components that fits in best with your actual needs.

6. Don't Be Stingy When Purchasing Your Microphone

Your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software has revolutionized the way audio can be edited and manipulated.  It completely replaced mixers, equalizers and many more devices in some cases. It even adds a host of features previously unavailable. 

The reason I am bringing this up is that many novice users believe anything can be corrected and cleaned up by DAW software, no matter how bad the quality of the source. You cannot be more wrong if you believe this.

This is especially true when it comes to the microphone. The quality of sound captured by the microphone will largely determine the overall quality of the recording. Bad source audio quality can never be completely cleaned up, no matter how good your DAW software.

Therefore, always be willing to spend that little bit extra on the best quality microphone you can afford. You may have to wait a little longer, but you will be very grateful you did.

As a bonus, you will spend less time in post-production, and have a microphone that will serve you much longer than you originally intended.

7. Never Neglect You Cables

We all make this mistake. We all focus so much on the equipment we use, we pay little or no thought to the cables connecting them. As long as everything is connected, you are satisfied.

There are a few features in cables that can have quite and effect on the audio quality of your home setup. Pay attention to them and you will be able to produce the best sound your system are able to.

First, learn how to tell the difference between each cable and what each one is used for. Some cables even look the same, but perform different functions. You can learn all about cables in this article.

Secondly, make sure you have a good connection between your cables and equipment. Some high-end cables use gold-plated connectors, as it provides better connectivity and are able to transfer the signal without loss in quality. Not everyone will want to spend a small fortune on cables though. 

What you can do however, is make sure you have a solid tight fit between the connectors of you equipment and cables. There is nothing worse than very loose fitting connections, contributing greatly to a loss in sound quality.

Thirdly, keep your cables short. Especially analogue cables loose signal strength and quality over the length of a long cables. Especially in home studios, it is not uncommon to find a 15 foot cable rolled up underneath two pieces of equipment just inches apart. Rather use a 3 foot cable, get a much better quality sound and save yourself some money in the process. (And you save yourself from heaps of cable piling up on the floor.)

8. Get Your Microphone & Instrument Positioning Right.

This will save you hours of extra work and big headaches. Sometimes you just can't get the right sound from your voice or instrument. No matter how much you change equalizer settings in your software or change the gain on your microphone, the sound keeps getting distorted, constantly peaking or sounding too soft, and popping and hissing occur despite your pop filter and windscreen in place.  

All the while, your microphone was simply in the wrong position. By simply placing it a few inches further away or just closer, a little up or down, you would have gotten a crisp clear sound without making a single adjustment.

This is a rookie mistake that is made by more experienced users as well. Whenever something is not sounding right, play around with the placement of the microphone in front of the sound source. You will be surprised how often that is the root of your problem.

9. Do Not Overthink Things

This ties in closely with the last two points, but feel its necessary to address them separately.

Overthinking often takes place when decisions has to be made about choosing between equipment when starting or upgrading your home studio. This also happens when deciding on the best space to place your equipment in your studio for optimal sound quality.

You end up procrastinating, as you keep on reading review after review and endlessly comparing features, sometimes wasting weeks or even months. 

Avoid this by setting a deadline for yourself, as I mentioned in an earlier in this article. Rest assured that you made the best choice with the available knowledge you obtained. (There will always be a better choice around the corner, so you will never get it 100% right.)

The same applies to placement of your equipment in a room. Find the best possible spot for each piece of equipment within a set time and move on. You can always move the equipment at a later stage as you gain experience and find out what works best in which space.

10. Don't Wait Until Everything Is Complete & In Place

You may have seen a Youtube video or finished a comprehensive article explaining in detail how to set up your home studio and everything you need to create the perfect sounding setup and environment.

Many users make the mistake of believing that you need all the equipment, all the acoustic treatment and materials, the right DAW sotware, exactly the right room before they can get started.

Apart from the fact that most of us don't have the budget to instantly have access to all these elements, its also not necessary. If you have the basics ready to start recording, start right away. Even if you still need better equipment, lack acoustic materials or don't have the perfect room, that's fine. You add it as you go along and get the necessary funds or the right space becomes available.

The important thing is that you get started and gain knowledge and experience as quickly as possible. This is more valuable in the long run and something money cannot buy.

The truth is, you will never be finished. There will always be equipment that can be replaced with better ones, newer versions of software becoming available and changes in acoustics to be made. This is a never ending process, so don't wait for something that will never happen.

11. You Don't Need To Know Everything

I am pretty sure when Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking reached the end of their lives, they were left with more questions than answers. If these brilliant men were unable to get many of the answers they were looking for throughout their lives, what chance do we have?

The answer is simple, we will never know everything or enough. The sooner you make peace with this the better. Even in the very unlikely event of you learning everything that is possible to be learned, within days (if not hours) new information will become available at the speed of light. It is livelong exercise, so embrace it and don't let it hold you back.

Therefore I need to repeat what I said in the beginning of the article. Learn as much as you can within a set period of time and then get started. If you get something wrong, don't be hard on yourself and beat yourself up about it. We all get things wrong. It's the only way we learn and grow.

But only by starting and making mistakes, do we learn and grow. So, no more excuses. Get you plan ready and start building your home recording studio. And enjoy the process, that's part of the fun!

Conclusion

The specifics about how and what when it comes to building and expanding your home recording studio can be found via links in this article, and a wealth of other resources on the web. Just Google it.

The aim of this article is to help you start off the right way, and more importantly, to get you started. It also emphasized a few points to help you avoid some of the pitfalls during the process. Most importantly, the aim is to keep you motivated.

Building , expanding and maintaining a home recording system can be a long and exhausting endeavor. Keep at it and enjoy the journey!

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

Next to your microphone,  the audio interface is probably the second most important part of a recording studio. It provides the critical link between your voice/instruments and your recording device. We take a look at 6 of the best audio interfaces you can find below $200.

Professionals studios spend thousands of dollars on preamps, mixers and audio interfaces. Even at the home professional recording level, it's not surprising at all to find audio interfaces with price tags well over a $1000.

The good news for the home user is, that with advances in technology over the past ten years, combined with more models to choose from in an increasingly competitive market, quality audio interfaces have become a lot more affordable.

Today, you are able to get your hands on a very capable high quality audio interface below $200. And this is exactly what we are doing in this article. We are looking in more detail at 6 of the best interfaces to be found for $200 or less. 

Steinberg UR242

Steinberg originally made a name for itself with its audio software, but since being bought over by Yamaha in 2004, the company started to become a strong player in the audio hardware market as well. The UR242 is a great example of the solid products that Steinberg is able to build, especially for users on a smaller budget. The benefits from a parent company like Yamaha are also very obvious.

This audio interface has an attractive, yet pretty ordinary looking design. It may not look as stylish and have all the bells & whistles of flashing multi-colored LED lights and backlit displays compared to some of its counterparts, but don't let this fool you. This is one serious piece of audio equipment. The unit comes in an all-metal casing and has a solid and sturdy feel to it.

A standout feature is the sound quality thanks to its preamps. It comes equipped with Yamaha's highly acclaimed  D-Pre preamps which are normally found in its higher end products.

Combined with quality components from the rest of the unit, the UR242 unsurprisingly produces high quality sound, especially for a unit in this price bracket.

Steinburg's history in audio software also ensures compatibility with basically all DAW software. It even comes standard with its own Cubase AI software.

The UR242 really makes a strong case for itself with a solid build and great sound quality, placing it among the best audio interfaces available in this line-up.

Specifications:   

• 24-bit resolution recording at sampling rates of up to 192 kHz
• Analogue Inputs: 2 x XLR / 1/4" TRS  Mic/Line Combo, 2 x 1/4" TRS Line
• Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4" Headphone
• Midi I/O: Yes
• Phantom Power: Yes
• Interface Output: USB2

Get more information and pricing on the Steinberg UR242 here.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen

Even if you are just vaguely familiar with audio recording equipment, the Focusrite's range of of hardware, especially it's range of audio interfaces should be very familiar to you. Its appropriately named Scarlet 2i2 is literally red hot at the moment and probably the best selling audio interface in this price range. This model looks and acts the part.

From the moment you unpack this bright red interface, you can immediately feel the quality of the 2i2. It comes in an all-metal casing and carry some substantial weight, adding to the perceived quality. The buttons and knobs all have a sturdy feel to them and cables fit tight and neatly into the ports.

Aesthetically the Scarlett 2i2 is very pleasing on the eye. The bright red and brushed aluminium surface in a stylish casing with clever use of backlit knobs all attributes to a very attractive package. Luckily it has the substance to back its looks up.

The sound quality is above average for home use, and are even good enough for some professional use. With very good overall performance over all frequency ranges, the 2i2 even addressed some issues that plagued the first generation Scarlett 2i2. (The first model had some issues picking up hot guitar pickups.)

The reason for the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2's popularity is clear. If you are looking for a aesthetically pleasing audio interface with very good all-round sound quality, this is the one for you.

Specifications:

• 24-bit resolution recording at sampling rates of up to 192 kHz
• Analogue Inputs: 2 x XLR / 1/4" TRS  Mic/Line Combo
• Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4" Headphone
• Midi I/O: No
• Phantom Power: Yes
• Interface Output: USB2

Get more information and pricing on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen here.

Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6

The Komplete Audio 6 has a slightly different approach. From the moment you lay eyes on this audio interface, you look at something familiar, yet different. The design is very similar to other interfaces in this category as far as its input and output ports go. What makes it different though, is that some of its main controls and indicators are situated on top of the device, contributing to a very aesthetically pleasing design.

The Komplete Audio 6 is one of the best looking interfaces around partly due to this feature with the added benefit that the user can see what exactly is happening in the device by just glancing at its top, since most of its indicators are situated on the top of the interface.

The one drawback however, is that you cannot slide it into a rack with no access to the top for this very reason, and you always need to place it on top of a desk or other space that makes it accessible from the top.

Despite these extra features placed on top of the device, the Komplete Audio 6 still has a good build quality and feels sturdy.

Sound quality is very good all round with no specific areas of weakness in any of the frequency ranges.

Its biggest draw card though, is the bundled software that comes standard with the audio interface. It comes standard with Cubase DAW software, Traktor LE (DJ/mixing) software and a host of plugins.

Its price may be on the high end of this category, but you get an aesthetically pleasing device with a solid build and good overall sound quality. It is rounded off by a wealth of software that will be more than enough to get you started.

Specifications:

• 24-bit resolution recording at sampling rates of up to 96 kHz
• Analogue Inputs: 2 x XLR / 1/4" TRS  Mic/Line Combo, 2 x 1/4" TRS Line
• Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4" Headphone
• Midi I/O: Yes
• Phantom Power: Yes
• Interface Output: USB2

Get more information and pricing on the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 here.

Tascam US-2x2

This Tascam audio interface screams toughness and durability. The build quality alone makes a bold statement by simply looking at it. With a sturdy feeling black aluminium body, the device is flanked on both sides by industrial looking die cast pieces of metal. It almost looks like an indestructible piece of equipment.  

As far as functionality goes, the US-2x2 provides all the features that other audio interfaces in this category provides, not lacking any important functions worth noting.

The same goes for sound quality. It provides a high quality and consistent sound, able to handle vocal and instruments equally well.

The Tascam US-2x2 is a true workhorse in every sense of the word. It is tough and can handle everything you throw at it day in and day out. And it does all of this without lacking in sound quality and features in any way. 

Functions:

• 24-bit resolution recording at sampling rates of up to 96 kHz
• Analogue Inputs: 2 x XLR / 1/4" TRS  Mic/Line Combo
• Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4" Headphone
• Midi I/O: Yes
• Phantom Power: Yes
• Interface Output: USB2

Get more information and pricing on the Tascam US-2x2 here.

M-Audio M-Track 2X2M

The M-Track 2x2M takes a completely different route when it comes to design. It takes a fairly similar approach to the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 as far as using the top of the device for adding features goes. However, it goes a step further by putting all the controls on top of the interface

This design gives the M-Track 2x2M a distinct retro look, which will appeal to many traditional audiophiles. The side panels are mostly reserved for the output and input ports. The same criticism leveled against the Komplete Audio 6, applies to this interface as well.

Sound quality is exceptionally good, with some users claiming the Crystal preamps used in the M-Track 2x2M are the best in class.  The sound is exceptionally crisp and clear, putting some validity behind these claims.

As with the Komplete Audio 6, this interface also comes with a small arsenal of software, including Cubase LE DAW software and a host of plugins.

If you want a unique looking audio interface with a touch of retro design, and sound quality that might arguably be the best in this line-up, you can't go wrong with the M-Audio M-Track 2X2M.

Specifications:

• 24-bit resolution recording at sampling rates of up to a superb 192 kHz
• Analogue Inputs: 2 x XLR / 1/4" TRS  Mic/Line Combo
• Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4", 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4" Headphone
• Midi I/O: Yes
• Phantom Power: Yes
• Interface Output: USB2

Get more information and pricing on the M-Audio M-Track 2X2M here.

Presonus AudioBox 22VSL

On the surface, the AudioBox 22VSL looks pretty ordinary, some might say even dull. (I know looks has very little to do with the audio quality of an audio interface, which should be the main focus of any potential buyer, but the first impression of a device's appearance always leads to some type of conclusion as to the the supposed quality it will deliver, which is often a false indicator, but yet we are all guilty of this.)

It also has all the standard functions that most of the other audio interfaces in this class have, all build into an "ordinary" yet solid and sturdy steel casing. It is also very light, making it a good choice to take on the road.

Sound quality is also on par with most other devices in this category. So far it does everything well and not really that much to complain about, but nothing that really stands out. But the Audiobox 22VSL has one very important trick up its sleeve that may be a game changer for some users.

Combined with its own Studio Artist One software, the Audiobox provides almost zero latency when playing back sound that is being recorded. (As almost any professional recording artist will tell you, having a delay between performing and hearing your performance can be very disruptive, as most artists rely on instant feedback to adjust their performance and recording in real time.)

The latency problem has been an issue with most audio interfaces, even on units more than double the price. Yes, we are talking about milliseconds, but even the slightest delay can cause a disruption. Just a word of caution. The near zero latency performance is achieved when the Audiobox 22VSL is used in conjunction with the Studio Artist One software. 

If you need a sturdy device you can take with you on the road, provides good sounds quality and have the added benefit of instant feedback due to its near zero latency, the Presonus AudioBox 22VSL will be the ideal partner for you.

Specifications:

• 24-bit resolution recording at sampling rates of up to 96 kHz
• Analogue Inputs: 2 x XLR / 1/4" TRS  Mic/Line Combo
• Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4" TRS Line, 1/4", 1/4" Headphone
• Midi I/O: Yes
• Phantom Power: Yes
• Interface Output: USB2

Get more information and pricing on the Presonus AudioBox 22VSL here.

Conclusion

One thing that became clear while evaluating and experiencing each of these 6 audio interfaces, is that you really get some very high quality audio devices for less than $200. These 6 devices were chosen from a much bigger pool of devices, most of which are great audio interfaces which easily could have made the list as well.

Therefore, it is needless to say that it really is hard to fault any of these 6 units. They are all solidly build interfaces producing high quality and above average sound, especially in this price range.

Depending on your needs, you should be able to find at least one of these 6 interfaces to be the perfect companion for your studio setup. I highlighted each device's unique advantages and potential drawbacks, hopefully helping you to make the best decision on which audio interface is most suited for you.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

"As big as possible ."  This is normally the answer you get from professionals when asked what the ideal room size for your recording studio should be. Then they may continue with, "Preferably at least 16 X 20 feet for the studio."  And for good measure some might add, "and then for the recording booth..." By now you're not even listening anymore. Your throat already started closing up as you are still trying to digest the first dimensions mentioned. Relax, you don't need such a large space.

Yes, a big room is optimal for the best acoustics, and having a a separate "live room" and "recording booth" is also ideal. But remember you are building a home recording studio, not a professional commercial recording studio. In order to better understand the reasoning behind promoting bigger rooms and separate control rooms, we need to look at how sound behaves, especially in the confined spaces of a room. 

Sound And How It Behaves In Confined Spaces

The first important thing to remember, is that sound travels. From the moment sound is produced by your vocal cords or any instrument, it travels outwards in the form of sound waves. If unobstructed these waves will continue to travel over space, contentiously getting weaker until the strength of the wave is so weak, it is not audible anymore.

Sound waves travel far though, and except if you're recording outdoors in a an open field, its bound to hit an obstacle, in most recording scenarios, a solid wall. Whenever sound hits a solid hard object, it gets reflected back, causing reverberation (an echo) that easily gets picked up by a microphone.

Especially in a square room, sound bounces of walls and not only reaches all the way back to the microphone but clash with other sound waves bouncing off opposite walls and the ceiling as well. To complicate things even further, in a small room the sound waves didn't travel far enough to loose enough of its strength to not produce a strong reverberation.

You can now imagine the amount of "dirty" unintended noise the microphone will pick up apart from the intended sound directed at the microphone. 

This is the exact reason why recording studios are made as large as practically possible with higher ceilings and not in a rectangular shape. The bigger space allows the sound waves to travel further and loose some of its strength before its gets reflected. Not having directly opposing walls stops the sounds waves from bouncing off the walls and colliding directly with each other.     

Obviously recording studios have more than just space and specially shaped walls to help it produce the best possible sound. Acoustic treatment is extensively used throughout a recording studio, and we will address this very important subject shortly.

What It Means For The Home Studio

Hopefully sound, the way it travels and interact with objects will make more sense now, as will the reason why big rooms with non-angular walls are preferred for professional studios.

Unfortunately, as a home recording artist, you are pretty much stuck with the house or apartment you live in. (Except if you have an unlimited budget from The Lottery you recently won.) You may not even have a separate spare room available to convert into a recording studio.

Luckily, you are part of the majority of home recording enthusiasts and artists worldwide. And the good news is that there is solution for you, no matter what your limitations.

The Best Solution For Your Needs

As a beginner on a tight budget you are most probably faced with one of two scenarios:

• No additional space in a large open space
• Access to a separate room in house or apartment.

Making Space In An Open Plan Setup  

As mentioned earlier in this and in other articles, having a completely separate room to control your environment would be ideal. Not all people have that luxury however, and many are limited to one larger open area like a studio apartment.

There is a solution however, if you are willing to make some space for your recording setup. It is actually not hard to set up, as long as you are able to make room for it.

What you are going to need is:

1. a minimum amount of open floor space, preferably no less than 9 X 9 feet.
2. Uncarpeted piece of floor (preferably wooden, tiles or concrete).
3. Pair of "sound blankets" to cordon your space off and prevent reverberation.

Now let me start off by stating the obvious. This is a very limited space, and is suited primarily for vocal work or the addition of maybe one instrument like an acoustic guitar. 

The first thing you need to do, is find a space in the room big enough to accommodate your recording space. A corner of the room, flanked by solid walls will be ideal. The walls will not only help isolate you from the rest of the room, but provide more consistent sound. (A window will not only react differently to sound, but also potentially allow background noise to filter through to the recording space.)

Make sure the space is completely cleared of all objects, furniture etc. This way you make sure you have complete control of how you set up your space for optimal acoustic sound reproduction. (Obviously this also leaves the necessary space to set up your desk and audio recording equipment.)

Lastly, you need to use the sound blankets to completely close off the remaining open space of your recording setup, providing you with a private cubicle. Sound blankets are made of special material to absorb and not reflect sound. It will also help to stop external sounds from the rest of the room to penetrate the recording studio. (Make sure the blankets reach all the way from the ceiling to the floor.)

I mentioned additional acoustic treatment to studios earlier on in the article. Due to the small size of your makeshift studio within a large room, with the addition of sound blankets on two of the four corners, the need for additional acoustic treatment is basically eliminated. The limited space in such a small setup also make it difficult and impractical to add. In the next section however, the use of  acoustic material definitely comes into play.

Using A Separate Room As A Recording Studio

This is the ideal scenario for any home recording studio. The one additional advantage advantage would be if you had access to a fairly large room. Most of us will be lucky to have a spare room available to completely convert into a studio though. And chances are pretty good that the room will be one of the smallest in the house/apartment.

The advantages of using a separate room is obvious. Not only does the separate room provide the best insulation possible from external noises, it also allows you the freedom to optimally set up your studio and add acoustic treatment.

As far as room space go, beggars can't be choosers. If possible though, try and see if you can get access to a room at least 16 X 14 feet. The reason for this dimensions is to allow the recording booth (control room) to be separate from the rest of the studio. This can be done by a permanent divider, but even a "sound blanket setup" can be used. This size room will also allow one or more artist and instruments to be added if needed (on a limited scale).

I am not going to go into too much detail about this setup, as most home users don't have access to such a large room and don't have the need for such a comprehensive setup. (If the need ever arise, I will gladly address this setup in more detail in a future article.)

For the smaller "all-in-one" studio, we will use the more compact dimensions of 12 X 12 feet.

For this type of room you will need the following:

• The room needs to be cleared of all objects, including furniture. 
• Uncarpeded floor (preferably wooden, tiles or concrete). 
• Properly positioned recording equipment.
• Acoustic treatment for key recording positions.

Obviously you need a cleared room to start with a "clean slate" from where you can place your recording desk, equipment and accessories. This allows you to place and move objects around to find the optimal position for each one, and the add acoustic treatment.

Carpets tend to absorb a lot of sound and can have a negative effect on the quality of the acoustics in the room. Taking it out of the equation allows you to add the necessary amount of acoustic treatment at the necessary places for producing the best quality sound.

Depending on if you're just going to use one recording position behind your desk and microphone to do voice-over work or podcasting, or have an additional position for you to perform with an instrument, you may have to test for the best possible acoustics for each recording position.

(Normally if you have more than one recording position, you will have your desk and recording equipment out of the way against a wall. Even from there, you need to make sure that the position has good acoustics as well, since you will most probably do voice-overs and other vocal work from this position behind your desk.)

Now we need to turn our attention to acoustic treatment. This is a whole subject on its own, which we will be addressing in the following section.

Acoustic Treatment

Since you are working in small space, reverberation will definitely be problem, which makes acoustic treatment essential. The reverberation effect of a small room can easily be explained as follows: If you to hit 2 solid hard objects (or even your hands) together in an empty room, it creates a sharp unpleasant sound.

(The sound travels away from the source very quickly, immediately hitting the wall, bounce back and reach your ears almost instantly, while clashing with sounds bouncing off the opposite wall at the same time.)

If you perform the same exercise outdoors away from nearby buildings, you don't hear that sharp unpleasant noise, but just a softer clapping sound that's more muted and pleasant on the ear.

(The sound travels away from the source, don't hit any object to reflect it back, weakens as it keeps on traveling through space, and even if it hit and got bounced back by objects far away, the sound wave will be too weak by now to have any effect or even be audible.)

It is for combating and eliminating this reverberation in rooms, that acoustic treatment is extensively used.

Acoustic treatment can be divided into two sections for dealing with reverberation and other unwanted sounds:

1. Sound Absorption
2. Sound Diffusion

Sound Absorption

Absorptive objects are used to completely absorb a sound, not allowing any of it to be reverberated. These materials are placed in key areas where reverberation have the most effect.

Corners in the room should be targeted first as they are the biggest culprits.

The ninety degree angles between the wall & floor, as well as the wall & ceiling have the second biggest effect and should be next on the list.

Next up are the opposing walls, parallel to each other, and acoustic treatment should be applied sparingly, depending on the amount of remaining reverberation.

A word of caution. Too much absorption and sound deadening can make a room sound too "dead" and muffled. As a result, start with the key areas and apply materials until you reach the level of absorption that suits your taste.

Another way to avoid a "dead sounding" room, is to diffuse the sound, rather than absorb it. This bring us to the second form of acoustic treatment     

Sound Diffusion

Instead of absorbing the sound, sound diffusers are used to scatter the sound around the room, creating a much more natural and pleasant reverb. The diffused sound reaching the microphone will be softer and more neutral, something some sound engineers actually prefer. 

Sound diffusers can take up some space though and are not very practical for a small studio. They also tend to be quite expensive, putting them out of reach for most home users.

Preparing Your Smaller Room

You now understand why a big room is preferred for a studio setup, and why reverberation is the biggest reason for this choice. (Apart from providing the additional space to accommodate more performers and instruments.) You've also see how the proper use of acoustic materials can help smaller rooms overcome this handicap.

Now lets have a closer look at how acoustic materials can be applied to specific areas of your 12 X 12 feet room to provide the room and your recordings with best possible acoustics.

As I mentioned before, you get 2 types of acoustic treatment: Sound Absorption and Sound Diffusion. Also, I already pointed out that sound diffusers can take up space and be impractical for smaller studios where every inch is valuable. The expensive price tag also makes it less ideal for the home user.

As a result, we will only make use of sound absorbing materials, which will be more than adequate for a smaller room. Sound absorbing materials cab be divided into:

1. Bass Traps
2. Acoustic Panels

Bass Traps: This is the most important piece of sound absorption. As the name suggests, these interestingly shaped foam blocks are used to absorb low (bass) frequency sounds. As bonus, they are also able to capture mid-tone and high frequencies.

This is what makes bass traps so import. Therefore they should be the first item on your shopping list.  Where to place them? Obviously in the place which produces the most reverberation, your studio's corners. You will be surprised by how just covering the corners of your room will eliminate reverberation.

In a small room this may be all the sound absorption you need, so do a sound test first to see if you are not satisfied enough with the results after adding the bass traps. If too much reverberation still remains, you can start adding acoustic panels.

Acoustic Panels: They are ideal to be placed against the flat surface of opposing walls to cut down on the sound waves bouncing between each other. You can start with a single acoustic panel in the center of each wall, as this will already have an impact in a fairly small room.

From what I've seen and experienced, this should take care of remaining reverberation issues. If you are still having problems, you can add acoustic panels in a chequered pattern outwards from the center panel until you are satisfied, although I doubt this will be necessary.

A final step, is to move around in your newly prepared studio and do a sound test (clapping objects or your hands) in every position you will be recording from, just ensure the acoustics sound good in all the important areas.

Conclusion

Hopefully you can now rest assured that your small studio will be up to the task to perform almost just as well as one four times its size. Yes, it will never replace a big professionally prepared commercial studio, but your home setup will be more than sufficient for your own needs.

(In case you didn't know, an amount of natural reverberation is necessary in recordings to make the audio sound not "dead" and muted. But almost all modern day DAW software comes equipped with build-in functions to mimic almost any kind of environment and its accompanying reverberation.)

You now have a clean sound to start with and manipulate to your heart's content. 

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

After weighing up the pros and cons between dynamic and condenser microphones, you finally decided on purchasing a condenser microphone. (If you are a bit in the dark, you can read all about dynamic and condenser microphones in this article.) Choosing the best condenser microphone from hundreds of available options can be a daunting task though.

As an amateur or professional, starting you own home recording studio can also be a very expensive exercise, depending on your budget. For this very reason this articles is broken up into 3 sections, each to suit your wallet. We look at microphones under $50, $100 and $200 respectively. In each of these section we look at the 3 best condenser microphones we could found for you.

Condenser Microphones under $50

Don't make the mistake many home users make when assembling your "professional" home recording system. Most people don't bother to even look at microphones below $50. Surely its impossible to find anything remotely decent at such a low price? Admittedly they are far and few between, but you do find a quite few if you really look. Especially if you are on a tight budget, they can be lifesaver.

Marantz MPM-1000

Arguably the best microphone in this price range, that really punch way above its weight class. This light and fairly compact microphone may lack some of the sturdiness and weight of higher priced units, but has a good quality feel to it.

It also comes standard with a shock mount, small tripod stand and an XLR cable, so you are all set to to go. It even includes a windscreen to protect the microphone and cut down on unwanted hissing sounds.

This is a large diaphragm microphone that produces great sound for vocal & instrument recording. It's cardioid pattern allows the microphone to focus on the intended source for the best quality while eliminating unwanted background noise at the same time.

Due to its compact size, it does not provide the full, rich sound that many of its much more expensive counterparts offer. This might be exactly what you need though. It provides a slightly toned down, but high quality and realistic representation of the vocal or instrumental sound it records.

Some rumors have been doing the rounds that the Marantz starts having some durability issues after an extended period of use. I have not found one single specific case to substantiate these claims though, so I will really take this criticism with a grain of salt.     

All in all a great microphone that does everything well and very little wrong. Although considered a beginner microphone, don't be surprised if you will be happily using this little gem for years to come.

The Good

• Exceptional value for money
• Great all-round sound quality and performance
• Comes standard with all required accessories

The Bad

• Not much (possibly some small durability issues, but unfounded claims so far)

Get more information and pricing on the Marantz MPM-1000 here.

Neewer NW-700

This is truly a budget microphone in every sense of the word. It is probably the cheapest worthwhile condenser microphone on the market. Despite the price, it's still a full cardioid  condenser microphone. This microphones also come with new on-board electronic circuitry, unusual for a budget microphone.

 It really turns out to be a real good all-round performer, capturing all the details from your vocals and instruments. The perceived build quality seems to be pretty good as well, although its obviously impossible to tell how durable it will be in the long term.

Most versions of this microphone also comes bundled with accessories like a shock mount, windshield and microphone adapter cable for use with a computer.

The Good

• Best value for money
• Good all-round performance

The Bad

• Really hard to fault. (Maybe not providing the full rich detailed sound of more expensive microphones, but that's not what its meant for!)

 Get more information and pricing on the Neewer NW-700 here.

Nady CM-88

This unidirectional microphone is ideal for beginners on a budget. It has a slim aluminium design and is extremely compact, making it ideal to be used for travelling. It uses a electret condenser instead of a better quality real large diaphragm condenser, but for the price performs exceptionally well. It's tight cardioid pattern means it's ideal for recording instruments, especially drum sets.  

It is not the ideal microphone for recording vocals though. Due to its design and lacking a large diaphragm limits its frequency range and especially lacks picking up some low frequencies. Despite that, it can still be used for general vocal work where it performs admirably well for its size and price. Just don't expect professional studio quality.

The Good

• Very affordable
• Slim compact design
• Good performance for the price

The Bad

• No suitable for professional vocal work.
• Limited frequency range, especially low-end frequencies

Get more information and pricing on the Nady CM-88 here.

Condenser Microphones under $100

Within this price range you start finding microphones that can really be considered a solid starter microphone for any home studio. You also get a much bigger variety of microphones to choose from. Depending on your long-term goals, you are able to find a microphone at this level that will keep you happy for years. 

Audio‑Technica AT2020

As a well respected name in the recording industry, the Audio‑Technica AT2020 does not disappoint. It is solidly build with an all-metal body and carry a substantial weight, adding to the solid feel.

Even though it is seen by many as an entry level microphone by Audio-Technica, it really delivers a solid performance all-round. It contains a back-electret capsule which is smaller than typical large diaphragm microphones.

The sound it produces though, is on par and even surpasses the quality of many large diaphragm condenser microphones. The quality of sound it is not just of a high quality, but the microphone is able to produce a rich and well balanced sound over a wide range of sources, from vocals to a variety of instruments.

This really is a no-frills microphones that doesn't have many of the extra features its bigger brothers have, but with a solid build and great sound sound quality over a broad spectrum of sources, I would honestly rate this the best microphone under $100.

The Good

• Great sound over a broad spectrum
• Solid build quality and durability  
• Backed up by a reputable name for extra security

The Bad

• Producing not quite as strong a output signal strength as some its bigger siblings.

Get more information and pricing on the Audio‑Technica AT2020 here.

Behringer B-1

Behringer has a reputation of producing high quality components at very affordable prices. The B-1 is no exception. This large diaphragm condenser microphone is one of the most popular microphones in this price range.

It comes in an all metal body with a substantial weight to it. It also comes with its own shock mount, windscreen and carry case. 

Extra functions include a high-pass filter, flat mode and -10dB pad for reducing the input of large sound sources. 

So far it basically matches the Audio-Technica AT 2020, adding a few extra features. When it comes to sound quality, it performs very well too to for voice and instrumental recording.

One small criticism that can be leveled against this microphone, is that it places a lot of emphasis on high frequencies, which leaves the mid and low frequencies a bit flat. This is a small criticism though, but the reason I would rate the Audio-Technica a bit higher.

The Good

• Good overall sound quality
• Solid build quality and durability  
• Good value for money

The Bad

• Too much emphasis on high frequencies, causing lower frequencies to sound a little flat (I may be a bit too critical over a generally great sounding microphone.) 

Get more information and pricing on the Behringer B-1 here.

MXL 990

Another large diaphragm condenser microphone from MXL. This is another good all-rounder. With an all-metal construction, this microphone feels solid. It has a very short body however, making it feel a bit stubby.

Standard accessories includes a shock mount and carry case. (In some offers.)

Sound quality is good throughout all ranges and definitely a step up from microphones below $50. There is nothing in the sound quality that I would consider as a standout though.

In summary, a good sounding general purpose microphone, providing good value for the price.

The Good

• Good sound quality in general
• Solid build quality

The Bad

• No standout features
• Short body can make handling a bit awkward

Get more information and pricing on the MXL 990 here.

Condenser Microphones under $200

We are now moving into more serious territory. You are able to get a very good microphone at this level, which an untrained ear (and some professionals) will be unable to distinguish from expensive models more than double the price. Many home professionals will find a microphone at this price point that will provide all the quality and versatility that they will ever need.

Shure SM86

The name "Shure" is synonymous with high quality microphones and needs no introduction. The SM86 is another great product from the well-known company.

Solid and sturdily build, this microphone looks very much like a dynamic microphone and the original legendary Shure stage mic, although it is a true condenser microphone.

It is very durable and unique in the way it handles wind and other external noises, by incorporating a windshield within the microphone. The reason for the design and unique features, is that this microphone is meant to be used on stage, and not limited to studio use like most other condenser microphones.

Needless to say the sound quality is great throughout all frequencies, and records vocal and instrumental sound equally well. This is probably one the best and most versatile microphones under $100.

The Good

• Solid build quality and durability
• Great all-around sound
• Very versatile
• Backed up by a reputable name for extra security

The Bad

• Not anything worth mentioning.

Get more information and pricing on the Shure SM86 here.

Audio-Technica AT2035

Bigger brother to the AT2020, this large diaphragm condenser microphone from the established company, takes sound quality a step up.

Also very solid and durable, made from an all-metal casing, this microphone provide some features not available on the AT2020. It's got a low cut switch for removing very low frequencies, as well as a -10dB pad for reducing the input of large sound sources. 

Sound quality is exceptionally good all around, and compared to the AT2020, produces a slightly warmer sound, as well as a stronger output signal.

This is my first choice for the best condenser microphone under $200.

(Since the main focus is on studio use, The Shure SM86 was not considered, where for live and outdoor use, the Shure will be the best choice for versatility and all-round quality.)

The Good

• Solid and durable build quality
• Great all-round sound
• Strong output signal

The Bad

• Not much (Maybe not as versatile compared to the Shure SM86 for live performances.)

Get more information and pricing on the Audio-Technica AT2035 here.

AKG P420

The AKG P420 is a large multi-polar pattern diaphragm condenser microphone. This enables the microphone to record in 3 different directions: Cardioid, omnidirectional  and figure-8. This sets the AKG apart from other condenser microphones in this post and provides more versatility in the studio.

Solidly build and durable, this microphone is a real workhorse that can be used extensively over long periods of time.

The sound quality is also hard to fault, providing good recording quality over a broad range of frequencies, and performs equally well on vocals and instruments.

The AKG P420 can probably considered the most versatile condenser microphones under $200.

The Good

• Solid build quality and durability
• Very versatile
• Good overall sound quality

The Bad

• May be prone to picking up some background noise in certain modes.

Get more information and pricing on the AKG P420 here.

Conclusion

As you can see, there really is microphone out there for you, not matter what your budget. Depending on your need, you may start with a microphone with a small budget and take the next step as soon as your requirements outgrow your microphone. You may be so happy and satisfied with the microphone you chose, that you will be using it for years to come without ever running into any reason to replace it.

Extensive research and testing was done to help choose the best microphone for each budget. This does by no means imply that the microphones listed here are the best or most suited for you. They are all good solid choices though, and I am pretty confident that you will be more than satisfied with whichever one you choose to use.

Feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions you may have. Remember to join my  Mailing List  to be informed whenever a new article is released, and share new developments and helpful hints & tips.

Catch you in the next article and happy recording!

Wessel

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