Newcomers to recording often wonder what the best way to get started is, which systems offer the best features, which is the cheapest, which is the easiest, and so on. It's only natural for the inexperienced user to have doubts, because the amount of gear hitting the market is enormous, and in the end consumers get lost among so many choices. Lately we've seen a host of products that manufacturers call “workstations,” and the differences from one machine to another are huge. So we have to ask: what exactly is a workstation?
Manufacturers generally use the term for multifunction products that, in the end, serve for multitrack recording, whether through FireWire or USB connections or onto their own storage devices. That means a wide range of tools falls under this label, in the form of guitar pedalboards, mixing consoles or control surfaces, multipurpose rack units, and so on.
Home recording systems, which is a reasonably accurate translation of the term “home studio,” aren't really all that homespun, because depending on the setup and the devices you connect to your system, you'll get very different results. They can range from a beginner's rig that records four tracks poorly to a respectable recording and production center that, in skilled hands, can achieve astonishingly professional results.
Obviously, professional studios (and I mean truly professional ones) are the ideal places to do recording work. As we've said in other articles, and as various industry professionals agree, home studios and pro studios can coexist perfectly well. In the former, ideas are developed and the groundwork is done (programming, sequencing, etc.), while in the latter, the professional facilities, the material gets its final, serious and powerful shape.
I want to build my recording system. Where do I start?
Although opinions vary on this, I believe each system has its pros and cons. Each of us has to weigh every detail, the needs of the idea we want to develop, our goals and, in short, judge what best suits what we want to achieve.
Workstations
Basically, and in my opinion, hardware-based recording systems, meaning the standalone physical units that fall under the “workstation” label, have two fundamental advantages:
1. Easy setup. This kind of gear typically comes with built-in storage, displays, and knobs and controls for managing recording, mixing, editing and so on. It's all in a compact format that needs little cabling, requires learning only one instruction manual, and can perform the functions we need without having to buy a pile of separate devices.
2. A better chance of success and fewer doubts for the inexperienced user. The number of variables the system offers will be smaller than in a PC-based studio, and it will very likely give us fewer “problems,” since it will be easier to set up and troubleshooting will be less of a headache.
As for the types of machines, there are consoles and units tailored to every kind of user, whether by the instrument you play (keyboard workstations, pedalboard formats, etc.) or by the look you find most comfortable (mixing-console format and others). You'll also find a wide range of prices, from budget to professional, and very different feature sets. That last point is closely tied to our budget and our demands.
Computer-Based Systems
One of the fundamental advantages of this option is the ability to gradually expand or partially upgrade your system. You can change the software, the plug-ins, the MIDI/audio interfaces, the external effects racks, synchronized outboard mixers, storage units, and so on.
It isn't all that complicated to start, either. Our basic requirements are as follows:
1. A reasonably current computer, meaning one that is fast and compatible.
2. A big hard drive, so we can store our files without a problem.
3. Plenty of RAM, since it's a resource we'll need often. Not enough RAM can make the machine freeze up or misbehave.
4. An audio/MIDI interface. In this issue (see the music computing section) you'll find the variety of interfaces within your reach and how to choose the best one for you.
5. Software. There are various programs designed specifically for this purpose. Here you'll need to find out what works best in your case: LOGIC, CUBASE, CAKEWALK, REASON, PRO TOOLS, NUENDO, etc.
6. A master MIDI instrument to trigger your MIDI sequences.
7. Studio monitors. If they're powered, you won't need an external amplifier.
To this basic set of tools you can gradually add plenty of extras, such as quality mic preamps to improve your takes, microphones of various grades, external dynamics processors to improve your masters, outboard effects units, control surfaces to run the software with a physical touch, and so on.
Connecting all the devices, along with properly installing the software and hardware, can cause some headaches for those unfamiliar with recording, and even more so for those who are strangers to computers. The wealth of resources will probably be greater (if you keep expanding), the system will always be up to date (if you modernize it gradually), and overall it's more flexible.
Hybrid Systems
Given our obsession with recording and with improving the quality of our recordings, many people combine all kinds of “artillery.” For example, you might have a “workstation” keyboard that can sample, sequence, record audio, edit and so on, and connect it to your computer. That way we'd combine the tracks from both systems. I've given this example as a basic one, since the number of ways to combine equipment is truly vast.
The more professional recording systems (within this type of studio) usually have a computer as the main hub. Around it, external tools get added without limit (or rather, limited only by our budget): from workstations to control surfaces, combinations of audio/MIDI interfaces, external racks, plug-ins and extra software, keyboards, other master instruments, audio processing tools, and physical mixing consoles to optimize inputs and outputs or get more control over each track (EQ, for example), etc.
Almost all products designed for this purpose (recording, mixing) follow certain standard protocols, which is why we can almost always connect them to each other and pool the resources of different machines.
Conclusions
If you've been in the thick of it for a while, the key is to study closely the products that keep coming out in each area. That way you'll know how to upgrade your software, your mixing capabilities, your storage options, the number of tracks you can record simultaneously, the warmth of your mic'd takes, mastering improvements, and so on.
If you're a total “greenhorn,” then depending on your patience and persistence, you can get started by adding a small audio interface to your home computer and some basic software to learn the ropes, or by buying a “gizmo” that lets you start playing around with recording without spending much money. If you get a taste for it and see that you'd benefit from future upgrades, it's all a matter of slowly working out how best to organize yourself.
