So you want to build a home studio? Here is some free advice:

Make sure your mix position is as neutral as possible. If you are hearing reflections, standing waves and frequency combing where you sit, you'll always be working from a deficit. Spend as much time as you can listening to all kinds of music in your mix position so you can learn how it sounds relative to the outside word.

Don’t buy junk (including cables). You really do need quality gear to make recordings that sound professional. You don’t have to buy the most expensive gear but quality gear will always sound good and maintain its value over time. Cheap gear is just a waste of money. Save a bit longer and buy the good stuff. The recommendations below are my personal opinions, based upon my own experience.

If you're going to go digital, get a Mac and a decent interface. If you’re using ProTools, you’re going to have to use their hardware. At least get a Digi002 or Digi003 I/O and pair it with an outboard preamp. Logic, DigitalPerformer, Nuendo, Ableton Live and Cubase let you use the I/O hardware of your choice. Personally, I use Logic. It’s a good balance between an engineer-oriented DAW and an artist-oriented creative suite. The stock plug-ins, instruments and loops are plentiful, useful and sound great.

Plug-Ins:

$    Metric Halo Channel Strip is an affordable, feature-rich, all-in-one EQ, compressor and gate. The EQ is outstanding - one of the best I’ve heard - and the compressor is intuitive and sweet. MH make great stuff and they support it well, too. (They even make a version for GarageBand!)

$    PSP VintageWarmer 2 is a multi-band compressor plug-in that sounds great on mixes, vocals, drums, guitars; almost anything. As a compressor, it’s easy to use and pleasing to the ear but the distortion emulation is what sets it apart. You can dial up anything from a gentle tape-y sound to full on F5 destruction. You will probably want to use it on everything.

$$$    Universal Audio UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins are hardware-based plug-ins. That means you have to install a UAD-2 DSP card in your computer to use them, which makes them a bit more expensive. On the plus side, they consume very little of your computer’s resources while delivering spectacular performance. UAD’s emulations of classic audio hardware are so good, it’s often impossible to tell the difference between the plug-in and the real thing. Seriously. UAD-2 cards come bundled with a few plug-ins. To get the most out of a UAD card, you’ll probably want to purchase additional plug-ins from their online store. The UAD-2 card is an investment that grows as you add to it over time.

Digital I/O (interface) Hardware:

$$    Apogee Duet - The Duet is an elegant 2-channel digital I/O. It's more expensive than many units with similar feature sets but it’s well worth the price. You can wait on the external mic pre if you get one of these, as the built-in mic preamps sound very good.

$$$    If you can afford it, the Metric Halo ULN-8 is easily the best interface on the market, in my opinion. It is a truly revolutionary piece of hardware with 8 excellent, built-in mic preamps.

Mic Preamps: You’re probably going to spend at least ~$200 per channel for a professional-quality mic pre.

$    StudioProjects VTB-1 - single channel mic pre/DI with tube gain circuit that you can dial in for variable warmth.

$    Sytek MPX-4A - 4 channels; quiet with lost of gain. Suitable for ribbon mics, too. You can buy a version with different op-amps on channels 3 & 4 for a slightly different tone.

$$    Seventh Circle Audio Modular Mic Preamp - This is essentially a case with a power supply. You fill it with SCA modules (sold separately). The company offers several different models, each of which is based on a classic mic pre design. They sound great and cost less per channel  because you can rack up to 8 modules in one box. You can buy the modules pre-assembled. If you’re up to it, you can save a bit of money by ordering the models in kit form and assembling them yourself. Plus, you can buy them over time as your budget allows.

$$$    Manley Dual Mono Mic Pre - This 2-channel mic pre has a wonderful silky smooth tube sound; warm and clean at the same time. One of my favorite preamps. Manley gear is never cheap but always worth the price.

A few general mic recommendations:

$    Shure SM57 - affordable, all-purpose mic that no studio should be without. Sounds good on everything. Also worth a listen: Oktava MK-012, Studio Projects C1 and C3

$    Cascade Fat Heat Ribbon mic - a very affordable ribbon mic that sounds great.

$$    AKG414 - all purpose, professional, large-diaphagm, multi-pattern condenser mic found in may studios. A good place to start a serious mic collection.

$$    Royer R121 - This ribbon is my favorite mic for guitar amps, bar none. Also great on horns, strings, acoustic guitar and drum kits.

Speakers - Self-powered monitors are a good value. Tannoy, Dynaudio, Event, Alesis and Mackie all make affordable monitors. You can get a decent pair of powered speakers for under $500. Read up, listen to different speakers at the store. Stereo speakers generally do not make for good studio monitors but they can be great as a second reference.

Headphones are a necessary evil in the studio. Spend too much and you’ll be extra bummed out when they inevitably break from carelessness or general wear and tear. Spend too little and they will be useless, perhaps even detrimental. You’re more likely to get a great performance when the mix sounds awesome in the headphones. The reverse is also true.

$$    For monitoring and mixing: Grado Labs SR-80 are open ear design which makes them comfortable and accurate, but unsuitable for most recording applications, due to bleed.

$    For recording: Extreme Isolation -25db. These aren’t the greatest sounding cans but they are affordable and provide excellent isolation, keeping click tracks and playback out of your recording mics.

Talkback & Monitor control:

$    PreSonus CS-1

A solid book about the basics of studio construction is Building A Recording Studio by Jeff Cooper. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Recording-Studio-Jeff-Cooper/dp/0916899004

Tape Op magazine is free and it's an endless resource for info and creative inspiration.

The Tape Op Message Board website is a great place to learn, share ideas and ask questions. The people are knowledgeable and helpful. http://messageboard.tapeop.com/

If you’ve read this far, please allow me to suggest that recording your band’s basic tracks (drums, bass, etc.) in a purpose-built studio like Ultrasuede is another way to make your home recordings sound better. Our collection of high-end and vintage mics and analog gear will give your tracks a solid sonic foundation as your project moves forward. Our professionally-designed control room is the perfect place to finish your mixes with the confidence that the results will sound great everywhere.

-J