Determine the main use of your studio

Your studio is better than a commercial studio!

As a home/project studio owner you actually have an ADVANTAGE over professional commercial studios.
A commercial studio has to equip itself with a huge range of equipment, staff and expertise to accommodate the huge range of customers that are likely to be coming through the doors, in contrast a home/project studio only has to worry about having the right equipment for the owner!.

It is important when equipping a new studio to think about what you are likely to use your studio for, this sounds obvious but it is the main problem that people have with their studios.

For example: If you are only going to record acoustic guitar and vocals, using a PC based sequencer, it really is not worth you buying a large mixing desk. Much better sound quality can be achieved by buying two preamps, eq's and compressors for a lot less money.

Think about what instruments you are likely to record, how many musicians you are likely to be recording at once, how loud the instruments are, how much space they require etc.

PC or Mac

One of the oldest debates in the world of audio production/recording is whether to buy a PC or a mac.
Every PC user will tell you that a PC will do anything a mac can do, and any mac user will tell you that a mac will do more than any PC could ever do.

What is the truth?
Well, over the past few years the gap between the two platforms has become a lot smaller, and each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the main fact is that either platform is more than capable of being the basis of a wonderful home studio.

PC's are a LOT cheaper than mac's, but mac's have a more prestigious reputation, which can be very valuable when you are planning to hire your studio to other musicians/artists.

What equipment to buy

Once you have determined the main use(s) of your studio it is now time to invest in the best equipment you can afford to get these instruments recorded.

There are three core pieces of equipment that all studios should start out with they are:

With a good microphone, good speakers and a good recording system it is almost impossible to create bad recordings as long as they are operated in a suitable manner.

Where possible make your setup as simple as possible, do not overcomplicate things by being tempted to fill your rack with cheap inferior units just for the sake of it.
Remember, one high quality preamp/compressor is much more useful than a 28 channel cheap mixing console, if you only want to record vocals.

Do not buy excessive amounts of auxiliary equipment that you can only imagine using once in a while, instead, invest your money in the bits that you will use the most.

What speakers to buy

Deciding which speakers/monitors to buy for your studio probably THE most important decision you can make.
Remember, whatever equipment you are using, whether it is a £20 compressor or a £2000 EQ module, it is all monitored via your studio speakers.

Audition, Audition, Audition!

It is vital that when purchasing new speakers for your studio that you audition as many models as possible.
Go to your local equipment supplier and take a selection of music that closely resembles the style of music that you intend to use your studio for and listen very closely to the differences between different speakers.

Listen to the frequency response, the overall tone, available volume. Check the physical size of the units, can you actually fit them into the area you are proposing?
Listen out for which make/model best suits the style of music you are planning to produce. Listen to the speakers at all volumes, from a barely audible background volume, to as loud as they can safely handle.

Some of he best monitoring systems in the world are not completely versatile for all styles of music, so you really do have choose the model that portrays the most advantages, and the least disadvantages.

Where to buy from

Below are some links to some reputable dealers that we have personal experience with buying from

homerecordingtips.co.uk do not recommend any of these stores above any other traders, these are simply the ones that we have experience trading with