Congratulations, you're a mature musician. You're over 50, possibly retired, may have changed careers, or just decided to play your music and record it when you want to. Maybe your kid has gone off to college and gotten married and left an empty room. That empty room is calling out to you, begging to be turned into your personal home recording study. You have to get going on this project or your wife may decide to make it into a sewing room. Or maybe you have room in the garage. Wherever it is, you want to create a comfortable, creative space to play and record your music where friends can join in the creative process.

I have assembled some resources you may find useful in your studioÆs design. The websites I am sharing with you is just the tip of the iceberg. (Google has 6.2 million pages relating to home studios. These sites will get you get started on your project.

Before you start your design, you have to assess your needs. First, you should decide if you are going to make recordings on tape (analog recording) or by using your computer (digital recording). You already have a computer, so I recommend using it to make your recordings. Another consideration is how many musicians you want to be able to record at the same time. If you only want to be able to record yourself and one other person, the costs are much lower than being able to record a 5 piece group. Then ask yourself how often you expect to use your studio. If you only have one or two recording projects, it might be more economical to book time at a commercial facility and save time and money on construction. That being said, I assume you have the space and will be using your studio on a regular basis, so here we go"

A great way to begin your new home studio project is with "A GumbyÆs Guide to home-recording gear".recording for a total and complete newbie." from the Home Studio Connection. Click here to access the article: http://www.homerecordingconnection.com/news.php?action=view_story&id=581

Home studio users have raved about this book, The Musicians Guide to Home Recording: "the authors want to tell you how to utilize what you have-not preach about what you NEED to buy. " Musicians Friend is the internet business arm of Guitar Center, a large company with many stores across the US. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=141/g
=bv/search/detail/base_id/35304?netp=1

If you're a visual learner, a series of videotapes is available from Musicians Friend at http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=141/
g=bv/search/detail/base_pid/960452/ The tapes are part of the Sam Ash publishing group. Sam Ash has many educational DVDs, books, and tapes of interest to musicians. Go to www.samash.com and click on the tab that says "Books and Video", then type "home recording" in the search box. There are 16 reference books and videos, all very useful for the beginning studio builder.

The most complete site I have found so far for the home studio owner is from Tweakhead Labs. "Tweak", author of the site has thousands of hours as a professional engineer and has created 25 free "classes" on home studios that cover almost every part of the recording process. Look at the site, do the classes, and let me know if you agree. http://www.tweakheadz.com/recording_studio_accessories.html

When you construct your studio, you will most probably require at least one microphone. Shure is one of the major microphone manufacturers and has some good information about what kind of microphones to use for music applications such as vocal, drums, and voice. The web site http://www.shure.com/shurenotes/feb2003/default.asp is very good on microphone information. They talk about tape (analog) recording which may be of use depending on which recording format you have chosen.

Every studio will require some kind of soundproofing, if only to keep the neighbors happy. Two companies that manufacture soundproofing material are Sound Proof Foam (a division of American Micro Industries) and Sonex, a major manufacturer of soundproofing materials. For an idea of prices for this kind of material go to http://www.soundprooffoam.com/vinyl_barrier.html

The Sonex site http://www.sonexfoam.com/ also has a wealth of information on acoustics relating to the home studio environment. At the bottom of their page, click on "Go to Featured Application" then "Home Recording Studios" for a wealth of free acoustical information and good links to more acoustical resources.

These websites and tips are by no means complete. I hope they will help reduce some of the stress in your new studio project. If you find more information that you feel will be of help to the Mature Musician community, email me at michael@maturemusician.com

Best of luck. Let me know how your new studio turns out. If we get enough submissions, we'll run a "home studio of the week". Send some photos, a list of your equipment and the approximate cost of your complete project. Your studio may be featured next month.

-Michael



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