Your go-to guide for capturing high-quality recordings at home, whether you're laying down vocals, instruments, or full demos. Perfect for beginners and a great refresher for pros!
Pick a quiet, small-to-medium sized room with carpet, curtains, or furniture to absorb sound reflections.
Example: A bedroom with a carpet, heavy curtains, and a bed is ideal for vocal recording.
Turn off fans, AC, or appliances. Close windows and doors. Use thick blankets or foam panels to dampen echoes if needed.
Watch Out: Computers and hard drives can be noisy—place your mic and recording device away from them.
Dynamic Mics: Great for loud sources (guitar amps, drums) and live settings. Less sensitive to background noise.
Condenser Mics: Ideal for vocals and acoustic instruments. More sensitive and detailed, but require phantom power.
Budget Picks: Shure SM58 (dynamic), Audio-Technica AT2020 (condenser).
Vocals: Place the mic 6-12 inches away from your mouth, slightly off-axis (not directly in front) to reduce plosives.
Acoustic Guitar: Point the mic at the 12th fret, 6-12 inches away. Experiment with angle and distance for tone.
Electric Guitar Amp: Place the mic close to the speaker cone, slightly off-center for a balanced sound.
Pro Tip: Use the "3:1 rule" for multi-mic setups: the distance between mics should be at least 3 times the distance from each mic to its source.
Stand or sit up straight to allow full breath support. Use a pop filter to reduce plosives (hard "p" and "b" sounds).
Warm up your voice before recording. Stay hydrated and avoid dairy (it can create mucus).
Pro Tip: Record a "safety take" at a lower volume to capture subtle details without distortion.
Experiment with mic placement: near the soundhole for bass, near the 12th fret for balance, or near the bridge for brightness.
Example Setup: One mic at the 12th fret, another near the bridge (blended for a fuller sound).
Mic the amp speaker, not the grill. Start with the mic 2-6 inches away. Angle the mic for different tones.
Pro Tip: For a bigger sound, use two mics: one close (for attack) and one farther away (for room tone).
Use a DI box for bass, keyboards, or electric guitar (for reamping later).
Start with user-friendly, free software:
Use a sample rate of 44.1kHz or 48kHz and a bit depth of 24-bit for high-quality recordings.
Lower buffer sizes reduce latency (delay) but require more CPU power. Start with 128 or 256 samples and adjust as needed.
Set input levels so peaks hit around -10dB to -6dB to avoid clipping (distortion).
Watch Out: Clipping (red lights) distorts your recording and can't be fixed later!
Use headphones to monitor your recording. Avoid using speakers to prevent mic bleed.
Organize your session files in a dedicated folder. Use clear file names and back up regularly.
Pro Tip: Save a new version of your project after major changes (e.g., "SongTitle_v2").
Edit out breaths, clicks, or mistakes. Comp multiple takes to create the best performance.
Always back up your recordings to an external drive or cloud storage.
Pro Tip: Export stems (individual tracks) for mixing or collaboration.
Feedback/Howling: Move mics away from speakers, lower gain, or use headphones.
Plosives/Pops: Use a pop filter, angle the mic, or record slightly off-axis.
Phase Cancellation: If using multiple mics, check phase alignment by flipping polarity.
Hiss or hum? Try grounding your equipment, using balanced cables, or a noise gate plugin.