So you've been practicing and practicing, and finally, you're ready to record your first demo. But where to begin? Should you go to a professional studio, or just try to do it yourself at home? What kind of equipment and software will you need? Although everyone talks like they could write and record an entire album in a weekend, recording is a surprisingly tricky and detailed job. Remember that professionals go to school to learn how to record musicians.

This page is a guide for musicians that already have their own songs and are ready to record them at home. It will cover the basics of the recording process and outlines an ideal home recording setup

 

What Gets Recorded When

Drums: Generally speaking, it's a good idea to record the drums and percussion first. This will help keep everything on the beat.

Bass: Should be recorded second, as it's the middle ground between the basic beat of the drums and the chords of the rhythm guitar.  A simple bass part can be recorded to get everything going and then enhanced later.

Rhythm Guitar: Gets recorded third, as it's the foundation for the lead guitar.

Vocals are sometimes recorded as a "guide track" to help the other musicians "feel" their way and then at the final stage is replaced with a more focused performance.

Lead Guitar: Follows the rhythm guitar, and will give direction to some of the vocalist's melodies.

Vocals: Very last, as the vocalist will be able to wrap melodies around the bass and rhythm guitar's chords, and the lead guitarist's soloing melodies. This will be the most difficult part of the recording.

Mixing:

When it comes to mixing volume levels and other audio dynamics, one needs to take several things into consideration. First, which instruments should be heard the most? In a guitar-focused rock band, one may want to give the lead or rhythm guitar more prominence. In funk or dance music, the bass may want to be given more space. However, certain instruments may also need more focus at different times in the song. If there is a banjo playing in the background in a rock song, but it eventually gets a solo part, one may want to increase the volume at the point of the solo.

The second thing to consider is special effects and left-right panning. Should the guitar be given a delay effect at some parts? Perhaps the bass may need a flange effect, or backing vocals should pan from left to right during the bridge?

Another important thing to keep in mind is the master volume level. At no point in your song should the listener need to abruptly turn down the volume for fear of breaking his/her speakers

 
Your Studio

Based on your budget and space available, your home recording studio layout and design will vary. What really affects your home studio is the type of instrumentation you intend to record. For a guitarist, you could use a computer, audio interface, amplifier, guitar and a dynamic mic. For more advanced music composition, you could add a hardware mixer, keyboards, drum machines, variety of different microphones, VST software and percussion instruments.

Putting together a small studio at home is relatively inexpensive compared to the price of hiring a professional studio. The power of modern computers gives you a huge variety of recording options and the computer has become the centre of home recording and pro studios. Pro studios buy extra audio processing equipment like expensive compressors and outboard effects which will always give them an advantage over home recording but with a modest investment the home studio can produce a recording quality that most people would find acceptable. All professional musicians usually prepare demo versions of their songs before they go into a costly professional studio and this should also apply to your working method.

Equipment:

• Condenser microphones are generally used for recording acoustic guitars and vocals, dynamic microphones are more suitable for putting up close to the amplifier speaker. Try not to buy cheap microphones on the basis that the technology used is simple and therefore a cheap microphone will match a quality mic.  The extra cost is reflected in the higher audio quality of your recordings.

• An audio interface is essential for instruments and microphones. Plugging a microphone directly into the computer's microphone input or a guitar into the line-in input produces poor quality results due to the fact that a computer's soundcard and microphone/line inputs are generally not intended for serious recording projects. Audio interfaces can be an external box using USB or Firewire or an internal PCI card with break-out jacks. External is highly recommended.