Setting up a small studio

It’s easier and more affordable than ever to set up a small studio, whether at home, or as an auxiliary production space in a larger facility.

The Computer

Macintosh computers have long been popular for audio work, but in January of 2006, Apple muddied the waters by announcing new machines with Intel chips sooner than anticipated. These computers will surely soon be good foundations for audio editing, but at the time of their announcement, there was very little software written to run natively on these chips. Audio software generally does NOT run in emulation modes, and so although many programs originally designed to run on the earlier Power PC G4 and G5 chips will be useable under “Rosetta,” most audio programs will not. Yet. There will surely be updates to most programs within a few months, and for basic recording and mixing, the program Garageband that ships with all new Macs as part of iLife’06 is reportedly working now.

If one needs to get working right away on a Mac on other programs, a computer with a G4 or G5 chip is the only practical option. Although new Mac software will inevitably move toward the Intel-based machines, current computers and current programs are still perfectly functional, and it’s not always necessary to have the newest latest biggest fastest model in order to do productive work. All G4 and G5-based Macs that are currently for sale are good platforms for a basic home studio. This hardware will certainly be outdated at some time, but that’s true of all computers. How long the G4 and G5 systems will remain viable is anybody’s guess, but in the context of putting together a small studio, it’s more important to have a system that works than one that is always on the cutting edge.

On the Windows side, recommending a specific machine is difficult because there are so many possible different configurations, but most currently-available systems running Windows XP should have sufficient power to run most editing programs.  Check the requirements of the particular application you would like to use to be sure. As with most computer issues, faster chips and more memory are always helpful.

If your studio will include ProTools LE, Digidesign lists recommended specs for ProTools here.

Adobe lists requirements for Audition and Cooledit here (Windows only):

These specs are good general guidelines for buying a new computer, but it’s also worth keeping in mind that a less powerful system might be sufficient.

Even if starting from scratch, one should be able to get a sufficiently powerful computer for $1,000-$1,500 at most. Building or buying a less elaborate system can save lots of money and still be adequate for many audio editing programs, if you’re confident about doing some tweaking to the systems yourself. Adding extra RAM (a total of 512 Megs is highly recommended, a gig of RAM isn’t a bad idea these days) might add a few hundred more, and a second hard drive on which to store audio projects will be another $200 or so. So one should be able to get a new audio-ready computer for $1,500-$2,000.

Most of us already have a computer for other uses, and while devoting a machine solely to audio editing is an excellent policy, it’s not always practical. So in some cases, your existing computer might be just fine to host your audio editing, requiring no additional expenditures, or only minimal ones, like adding RAM. 

The Interface

In order to get sound in and out of the computer, you’ll most likely want an audio interface, which could be a card installed in the computer, or an external device that connects via USB or Firewire. Many computers have a built-in audio input, usually for a microphone, but those inputs are rarely of sufficient quality for reliable use.

Most interfaces are bundled with some kind of audio editing software, but it may not be the one you want to use. Some software requires the use of specific interfaces, most famously ProTools LE, which must have an approved interface attached to the computer in order to run the program.

Other software will accept audio from almost any interface, provided it meets ASIO or Core Audio standards.

M-Audio makes a wide range of USB and Firewire interfaces, some of which can work with a special version of ProTools. Edirol also makes a number of good USB interfaces, which can be used with many editing programs (but not ProTools.)

M-Audio interfaces

Edirol Interfaces

Buying an M-Box or 002r from Digidesign gets you both a good interface and the ProTools LE program. The USB-based M-Box is about $450. The 002r, which is firewire, allows more simultaneous channels of input and output, if you need that.

Digidesign Pro Tools LE

Computer-based editing and mixing has become so central to the audio production experience that sometimes little else is needed. A decent computer with a CD burner, an interface, a pair of headphones, and an internet connection might be all one needs. But for greater flexibility there are a few more pieces that can be helpful.

The mixer

Although most functions formerly handled by a mixer –– adjustment of levels, stereo pan and EQ –– are most often done inside the computer these days, a mixer is still a very useful tool in a small studio. Having several sound sources permanently wired for auditioning or feeding into an interface with only a few inputs can be a big help. Having a few good-quality mic preamps can overcome a common deficiency of audio interfaces. Relatively compact mixers are fairly inexpensive and very capable.

Mackie mixers have long been favorites in small studios, for their balance of price, quality and flexibility. Ironically, these mixers that were originally revolutionary in their low cost are sometimes now considered to be on the expensive side. And indeed there are less expensive options currently available, but Mackie remains an excellent value because of their high-quality mic preamps and solid construction. The 12-channel Mackie Onyx 1220 is their smallest model, and sells for about $530. They sell larger mixers, with 14 or 16 channels or more, but for most small studios, twelve channels are sufficient. One advantage of the Mackie Onyx mixers is that one can add a firewire card to them (approx $400) that makes the mixer into a multitrack audio interface.

Sadly this will not talk to ProTools, but it's worth keeping in mind, just to have that functionality for recording into Garageband, or Logic, or Soundtrack, or Mackie Tracktion (or almost any audio editing program except ProTools) if you ever needed it.  It would be an easy way to record 4 simultaneous mics if you ever needed to record a roundtable or a meeting or something else that had many simultaneous sources. You could record into Tracktion or another supported application and then import back into ProTools for editing if you were a ProTools based studio. 

Mackie Onyx1220 mixer

As we move more and more toward using data recorders that allow fast transfer of soundfiles as data, we'll really only be recording voice tracks in real time, and then playing back, all of which can be done with a simple interface.  So carefully consider whether you really need a mixer, in many cases you can do good work without one.

If a mixer would be helpful, but the budget is tight, Yamaha makes some inexpensive models that are still very functional. And at about $100 for a 10-channel mixer it could be worth having one just in case.

Yamaha Mixers

Speakers

Although it’s tempting to save money and space, and avoid annoying the neighbors by doing audio work on headphones, good monitor speakers are a crucial part of any studio. They don’t have to be huge, or especially powerful, but getting a pair of speakers designed for the purpose is an important part of getting a good mix. Headphones are excellent for checking fine detail, but mixing is better done on speakers. Small plastic computer speakers are adequate for basic auditioning, but will not accurately present the full range of the sounds you are working with, and are really not up to the task of serious mixing.

What you specifically want in a small studio are called “Near-Field Monitors,” which are designed to be placed fairly close to the mix position, to minimize the effects of the surrounding space. That said, the acoustical environment still has some effect, but less than with speakers placed far away. There seems to be some sort of arms-race on among the manufacturers of compact, self-powered monitors right now. These speakers, which contain their own amplifiers, making set-up and wiring even easier, are excellent choices for a small studio. Simply plug the line-level output of your mixer or audio interface into the powered monitors, adjust your levels, and you’re done. M-Audio, KRK, Tapco, and many other companies have self-powered speakers (sometimes called “active monitors”) with 5” or 8” woofers at excellent prices, from $300-500 for a pair, and remember, you don’t have to buy an additional power amplifier.

KRK Rokit-rp8

KRK Rokit-rp5

M-Audio StudiophileBX8a

M-Audio StudiophileBX5a

Discussing acoustical treatments for your listening space is more complicated than we can cover now, but if your space is not overly hard and reflective, or extremely resonant at a particular frequency, the proximity of the near-field monitors should overcome most acoustic problems,  One doesn’t need a perfectly-tuned space in order to make decent mixes. Place the speakers so that the two monitors and the spot where you’ll sit will make an equal-sided triangle, and position them at about ear-level when you’re in your working position. Keep a clear path between you and the speaker, and try to soften or break-up any hard, flat surfaces between you and the speaker (like your desktop), which could create interference from sonic reflections. Don’t get the speakers too close to a wall or too far into a corner, or the bass response will be affected.

External Processing

Most large professional studios have racks of high-end preamps and processors, and if you will do a lot of voice recording in your studio and the budget allows, having at least one high-quality mic preamp might not be a bad idea. Microphones put out a very low-level signal, and the preamp that raises that signal to line-level makes a big difference in the sound quality. The preamps built into mixers or interfaces are often perfectly sufficient, but rarely as good as a dedicated external unit.

In general, rather than compressing and limiting and de-essing and EQ-ing at the point of recording, it's safer to just go in clean and find plug-ins that process the voice the way you like, saving the settings for each announcer you work with.  There's something to be said for recording through “voice channels” which put a nice preamp, a compressor, some EQ, and a de-esser all in one box, but it means you have to commit at the time of recording, and if you get your settings wrong, you have to live with it.  The voice track might be over-compressed, or have no high end or be lispy from over-de-essing, and you're stuck with it!  If you just get a nice clean voice recording, say via the very good mic preamps in the Mackie Onyx mixer, you can tweak it later with some plug-ins in your editing program.

Microphone

For a studio announce mic, the best choice depends on how your small studio will be used. If it's mostly production, with very little recording of important voice tracks, there are loads of cheap, decent condenser mics out there.  Find one you like from the Transom mic shootout! Studio Projects B-1 mics are very good utility mics for $99. Or drop $300 on a Shure SM7 or EV RE20 for a classic radio sound. Or if you want warm and silky, the Neumann TLM 103 sounds pretty amazingly close to a U87 when used as an announce mic, but for $999 instead of $3,000.

The Package

Once you have the computer and software you want, here’s what we’d recommend:

A Mackie Onyx 1220 mixer - $530
A Digidesign M-Box (comes with ProToosl LE) - $450
Waves Native Power pack software plug-ins - $375
KRK RP8 or M-Audio BX8 monitors - $380-500
Shure SM7 mic - $350

That's about $2200ish without a computer.

Still a little pricey? This would still be pretty good:

Yamaha MG-10 mixer - $100
M-Audio Audiophile USB interface - $200
KRK RP5 or M-Audio BX5 monitors  - $300
Studio Projects B-1 Microphone - $100

That’s only $700 total, without the computer.

Of course, there are many more pieces of gear that would work just fine.  We’ve concentrated on a few that we’ve had good luck with here at Transom, and that we find to be good values. You might have good luck with different specific pieces, but hopefully the rough guidelines we’ve drawn here will still be helpful.

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