Anyone Else Been Tinkering in their Home Studio Happy Place? I have a new collab announcement with GMC alum KRIS DRIEVER!! We are going to be doing a Metal version of BOYS OF SUMMER in the DEAD OF WINTER!!!

Got rid of the closet I mentioned in another thread, and now I have a lot more space. My dad will help me put wallpaper etc up then I'll have a nice corner for recording videos without stumbling over camera tripods and what not.

Congrats on your latest Studio Mod!!!!! Can't wait to see ow it ends up!!

Dad is helping me put up wallpaper today and then hopefully I can paint it sometime soon too and then it's time to figure out how to set up video recording stuff

Congrats on your studio expansion! keep sharing pix!
Todd

Not really, as I have been laying low with my playing (our collab excepted of course!)

But I am following this thread with interest, I still haven't gotten over how cool it is that with the help of a small room and a modern computer you can create amazing one-man-band songs 👌


Very cool, this made quite a difference!

It's given me space enough for a bassplayer to be in here too if I ever found one to play with - along with a drummer. Space enough for a 3 man band! Not bad

My first line of thought is to make it into a video recording corner though, maybe with a green screen at some point. I haven't entirely decided on that yet.

Last week I have made a mobile Version. I can record any instrument with that, except drums. All with my phone. Or carry it to a lake or in a Bar. Drink beer and record.




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My new setup - M-audio midi keyboard as a DAW Mixer and VST instruments controller - really cool stuff
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beautiful

Next step is to get some do it yourself acoustic panels on the wall, like I have in other places in the room.

Studio:

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And a shot of my 7 string Ibanez

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Congrats! I'm a big fan of Mobile Recording. I have a couple of phone audio interfaces that I've been using. It's got amazing quality and is smalll enough to fit anywhere! Here is a quick demo of my phone based rig. The audio interace is also a footswitch that changes patches on the phonee running amplitube!




Studio upgrade complete!! NICE!!!
Todd

Mine is starting next week. Progress will be slow, I'm not a handyman but a friend is and will be doing the hard stuff on his quiet days. I'll be researching sound absorption!

Can't wait to see!! Please do make some before/after picks!!

Todd

I have been thinking of re-jigging mine this year sometime. Looking to up-spec my PC with a linked Laptop, new, larger monitor screens etc. Need to see how work goes over the next month or two!!

Night time shot of my workspace
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I have a simple setup. Amps In my bedroom and I’m using amplitube4 I think it’s pretty good for a amp sim.

Nice rig! I see you have a subwoofer, good call! It's very handy for hearing things that are easy to miss using only smaller monitors. That setup is the foundation of the modern studio. A laptop, monitors, interface and bam. Ready to record. I've reduced the amount of gear in my studio over recent years as I noticed I was not using most of it. It was mostly just pretty blinking lights. I like my rack and guitar cab but I rarely use them for recording. I do use my little 5 watt hotone amp when testing new pedals and put it through my cab. But I have not used my big rack mount stuff in quite some time. Not since I got the Ampero pedal. It does everything my rack did and it's got a food controller built in. For everything else I use OVERLOUD THU. When I record without overloud I regret it as I can't change anything after the fact. I have to re record. Nice setup!!

Todd

New update

I finally had to get a home recording set up going.
Thankfully I can record my amps at home and I do have some decent mics. I was using a small pair of a studio monitors as stereo speakers so I re-purposed them back to their main purpose. I also have a good mic pre/EQ that I would take to sessions as well as a an older load box and a small modeler (Iridium).
What I really need is a more powerful computer

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This is all literally in my garage.

NICE!! The UA is a killer interface to be sure. Can run hardware assisted versions of very high end plugins with neglible impact on the cpu. Nice setup!

Finally getting my home studio rig going again. I might swap out my hd monitor to a newer one.


Todd

That was the initial attraction. That and also that it (UAd 'Arrow') comes with UAs daw and 12 free UA plugins. Their interfaces, even the bottom level model that I got, seem expensive initially but the ease of use and sound quality was what I needed to get up and running fast on my current and relatively low powered computer. With the DSP in the interface I can track with one or two fx or even an amp plugin with zero latency (1 or2 ms). Because I'm mostly recording my amps, I wanted the option of having various mic pres that I can record through and "print" with no latency via my dual core, i5 macbook.

Good call! That's what is so cool about the UA interface. It offloads processing to the interface so you can still get top notch plugins with very little drag on the CPU. Using plugins like that in NATIVE form would require a lot more headroom on the cpu to keep it from glitching/laggin.

I finally added some headphone stands that mount to the wall.

HOW MANY FOLKS OUT THERE JUST TOSS THEIR HEADPHONES WHERE EVER THEY LAND?

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These are cheap, about $5 each and can be mounted with screws or adhesive. Handy! Keeps them off the floor etc. and out of the way when not in use.

Also finally added a mini fridge and just put the printer on top of it. I almost threw the printer away, but now and then once just needs a printer.

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IT's finally coming along. I'm tracking for a new project called ARKASA with my German friends that I met in a previous collab on the song MOMENTO MORI.

[Good quote name='klasaine' date='Jun 4 2020, 10:47 AM' post='778027']
That was the initial attraction. That and also that it (UAd 'Arrow') comes with UAs daw and 12 free UA plugins. Their interfaces, even the bottom level model that I got, seem expensive initially but the ease of use and sound quality was what I needed to get up and running fast on my current and relatively low powered computer. With the DSP in the interface I can track with one or two fx or even an amp plugin with zero latency (1 or2 ms). Because I'm mostly recording my amps, I wanted the option of having various mic pres that I can record through and "print" with no latency via my dual core, i5 macbook.
[/quote]

Well, I did stick a nail into the side of a table ...

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Also, and probably only for folks in the States, these Monoprice headphones are pretty great for just $17 ...
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8323

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Detachable cable too.
Monoprice has a lot of accessory type music/audio/video gear that's decent quality and at great prices.
It pays to order a few things as they don't do any free shipping.
https://www.monoprice.com/category/pages/13

That is a great price for those cans. My cans with detacable xlr cables were almost $100 each. I think you paid less for your headphone stand as well

One good thing about the move is I finally have decent Internet speed compared to where I was. I used to be thrilled with 40 Mbps downstream which now seems just awful. I've lived with crap internet for years.

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BEN added a new GREEN SCREEN which is very cool. Some great looking home studios in this thread! These have come a LONG way from way back in the day! The community has come together and helped everyone to make a really nice home setup. Congrats to everyone who has build their own Home Recording facility!!!

CAN YOU GUYS SHOW YOUR PROGRESS OF YOUR HOME STUDIOS? I"D LOVE TO SEE IT!!

mine has changed a lot over the years.
Version 1
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Verion 2
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Version 3
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Version 4
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Just a pic of my three monitor set up in the corner of my man cave

Spiff man cave!! For the modern musiican, the line between mancave and home studio can be a bit blurred

It's not real clean and tidy like y'alls but it's getting the job done ...

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BIg difference is that yours costs about twice what most of ours do just based on the NEVE looking piece and the UAD interface. That's some very nice gear! Not to mention the nice mics and guitars!

Todd




Finally getting my FX/Rack hooked up as well. Sadly I can't find my wonderful Iconnectivity 4+ Interface!!!! I have ordered a 3rd gen scarlett to replace it. Had to send the 3rd gen solo back as I realized I need two xlr inputs, one for micing a cab and one for a vocal mic to make guitar vids.

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The Neve looking thing is a 'clone' of a 1073 (Warm Audio WA273EQ) that I've had for awhile and relatively speaking, not expensive. I used to take that to sessions in home or small studios that didn't have much outboard gear. It's one of the most classic ways to treat a mic'd guitar amp. *It's great on vocals too ... anything really. The Two Notes Torpedo I got just before the lockdown. That is a cool piece of gear. I have all these great amps that I can once again crank up and play at midnight. And I have now discovered IRs. Yes, I know I'm totally late to the party Fun stuff!

I did buy a couple of mics - a condenser and a ribbon. I had a few mics from way back. A couple of 57s and an AKG C-1000 which I've found is great on acoustic.

Obviously, because I'm old, most of those amps and the guitars I've had for a long time. Seriously, I own gear that is considered "vintage" that I bought new.

But, I will need a more powerful computer if I want to do anything more than lay guitar parts on to other people's tunes. The reason I went with the Universal Audio interface is because it uses it's own DSP.

The UA is a great choice for any studio imho. Great sounding unit and amazing sounding plugins. the good news on new computers is that prices are pretty low just now on just about everything since nobody seems to be buying anything as so many people are not working. If you go PC you can get a pretty powerful laptop for not much money. As a stop gap, you could always buy a "vintage" macbook air, anything 2012 or later for maybe $300 with eight gig of ram and a 128 gb ssd. It will run reaper/logic etc. Those machines are not that different, but for the video card, from the macbook air 13 that are on sale today. You can still buy the dual core i5 and same specs, it just costs wads more now. I bought an old macbook air with those specs as my backup incase my old 2012 macbook pro (which I built from parts) just bites the dust one day.

Gonna stick with Mac but yeah, a refurb is probably the way I'll go.
Like I said, for what I need to do, my Mac is running fine. If I want to get into tracking and mixing more than just me - then I'll need more power.

Has your mac given you the "out of resources" error when tracking? Looks pretty new. Have you had trouble tracking or mixing on it?

No. It's a 2017 mbp but it's only a dual core i5 with 8gb of ram ... and I can't add more, as what's there is soldered in.
I'm doing OK for now. The fans will spin pretty good when tracking for a couple of hours but if I point my portable AC unit right at it, it seems to handle everything a lot better.

What's the full model name/number of that Ibanez ? It's stunning. Would you recommend it ? Researching my first 7 string...

Hey Zen,

It's a limited edition run. The model name is RG752MFS VFD. There were only made 39 world wide, if I recall correctly. However you may be lucky to find one. It's a good guitar, but also a bit pricey and it does have one flaw that would make me hesitant in buying it - the fret markers are almost invisible and very difficult to see. They are abalone and on the neck you can barely see them.

sorry for sticking my nose so close in, is there a specific reason for putting that piece of cardboard under the mackbook and the interface? i thought it might be for insulation and avoiding circuit loops, but then i realized that the table is already made of wood so that got me wondering

Ha, ha! No.
That table used to be, until the end of March, the "work bench" in my garage and I put that hunk of cardboard on it to protect the table from oil, solder, grease, solvent, screwdriver marks, etc. I can also write on it.
I just left it on there when it turned into my 'studio'. Mostly so I can scrawl notes to myself.
The photo makes it look grungier than it really is.

Thanks for the clarification, now i can rest in peace

Thanks ! I have added it to my GAS list

Hi
Lots of nice setups here.
Mine has certainly gone through many changes - some more drastic than others. I've also moved a few times. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Studio 2011
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Studio 2012
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Studio 2013
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Studio 2016
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Studio 2017
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Studio 2018
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Studio 2020
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PROGRESS!! Looks great Congrats on a cool setup!!

Todd

Thanks Todd, I have you to thank for much of the inspiration in the beginning. These monitors you recommended are still running strong!

I had a pair of those and I kick myself every day for selling them. Thats why I suggested them to you as I'd used them and I trusted them. I wish I had them as my second pair right now to have a B pair to test mixes. I bought and eris 4.5 pair and I HATE them. But I suppose they are meant to sound like crap to mimic crappy playback systems. They make my skin crawl. They sounded great loud, great quiet. they were just really solid monitors. I'm happy I could be of help! Your studio has really come a long way!!!!! Looks amazing.

Todd

Just a few pictures from today. Looks a bit messy, but it is what it is.

Very cool! I can tell your home studio setup quite a bit and it's looking very cool! Is there anything yet still in the planning stages?

Besides cleaning up there's not really much on the horizon besides guitars I miss that I used to own (Yamaha, Fender Strat), and maybe getting a bass.

Like gabe are you using OBS to do more than one input at a time with video?

I had it set up for streaming at one point, with the possibility to switch between "scenes", videos, angles and showing different things on my computer. Only yesterday I started having problems with OBS, and I ended up resetting all my settings and scenes to make it work again, so right at this moment I don't have that capability, but I usually am able to do so. I haven't used it since I stopped streaming quite some time back though.