Jun

19

Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

Filed Under Music 

Full Studio Equipment View

I am going to assume, seeing how you are reading this you have a computer already. IF you don’t you will need one for this particular recording studio design.

    Firewire Cable

  1. The Firewire cable runs from your Studio Recording Pre-amp to Your Computer.
  2. There are also USB Recording Pre-amps as well. They both work the same way.

firewire Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    TRS Cable

  1. The TRS Cable is just your basic run of the mill guitar cable. Nothing too exciting. As Thomas pointed out, TRS Cables are different then mono patch cables(guitar cable). You can use either one for your monitors and guitar. The difference is that TRS cables have 3 wires in them just like XLR cables and reduces noise much better then mono patch cables.
  2. TRS Cables are used mostly for loudspeakers monitors and for guitars and amplifiers. Especially for long cable runs.
  3. I use 2 TRS Cables to connect my monitors to my sound card or commonly called Studio Recording Pre-amp

guitar_cable Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Guitar Cable Jack

  1. Standard 1/4″ Jack on the end of a TRS Cable. The Jack to your Ipod is a 1/8″ TRS.

guitar_cable_end Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    XLR Cable

  1. XLR Cables are Balanced, meaning, they are less susceptible to noise and interference.
  2. All XLR Cables are Balanced. Not all TRS Cables are Balanced.
  3. They are usually used to connect microphones or amplifiers to mixers or Recording Pre-amps

xlr_cable Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    XLR Male Plug

  1. Standard XLR3 Male Connector.

xlr_male Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    XLR Female Plug

  1. Standard XLR3 Female Connector.

xlr_female Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Studio Reference Monitors

  1. My Bookshelf speakers are made to enhance the highs and lows of the music I listen to. My Monitors are not.
  2. Having a flat response gives a more accurate picture of what is being recorded Digitally.

monitor_front Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Studio Monitor Rear View

  1. On the back of your monitors you usually will have 2 options for a audio connection. XLR and TRS
  2. My monitors use a standard power jack just like a computer or amplifier might.

monitor_behind2 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Microphones and Shock Mounts

  1. These are two different microphones I use for recording with and one shock mount
  2. Shock mounts help protect the mic during recording to prevent pops and other unwanted noise.
  3. The gold colored microphone on the left is a condenser mic which means it produces a higher output then a standard dynamic mic. They also require your mixing board or recording pre-amp to have 48v power.
  4. The Microphone on the right is a Dynamic Microphone which produces a lower output signal then a condenser mic, but is still what a lot of musicians use for recording vocals and other specific instruments that have a wide dynamic range.

2mics_shock Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Bottom View of Microphones

  1. Both Microphones accept a XLR Female Plug

2mics_bottom Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Firewire Studio Recording Pre-Amp

  1. NOTE: There are many different Recording Pre-amps out there. The Onyx 400f has some features others might not. I will try and focus on the most common features needed for a home studio.
  2. If your computer is the brains of your studio then your Recording Pre-amp would be the heart of your studio.
  3. This is what plugs into your Recording Pre-Amp: your computer, your monitors, your headphones, your microphone, your guitar, and your amplifier. Basically almost everything.

onyx_front Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Onyx 400f power button and lights

  1. Standard power button and information lights for clock source, firewire connection, and midi connection.

onyx_front_1 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Control Room and Headphones control

  1. Your monitors plug into the CR jacks on the back of your Firewire or Usb Recorder and then there volume control is determined by this dial on the left.
  2. You can plug headphones with 1/4″ jacks directly into these two inputs or use a 1/8″ to 1/4″ adapter for headphones with smaller jacks.
  3. Each output has independent volume controls for user preference.

onyx_front_2 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Pre-Amp Level Controls and HiZ Inputs

  1. These 4 dials control each one of your Pre-amps gain levels. There is a color coded level meter to tell if you are overloading or clipping the recording. Clipping is bad 99% of the time and you want to avoid it if at all possible.
  2. There are two TRS inputs known as HiZ Inputs. These are for hi-impedance instruments such as a guitar or a bass.

onyx_front_3 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Recording Pre-amp Rear View

  1. This may look like a pretty complex looking box, but don’t worry, to get started you only need a few of these connections.

onyx_rear Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Pre-Amp Inputs

  1. This is a key part of your recording box. Pre-amps are inputs that take your instrument, like a guitar or microphone, up to line-level. You want your instruments to be up to line level to get a loud enough and strong enough signal to record.
  2. These particular inputs can accept either a TRS Connector or a XLR Connector. I think most boxes are made this way now to save space which I think is great.

onyx_rear_1 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Inserts, Line In, Line Out, CR, and WordClock

  1. Inserts allow you to connect external processors to your device.
  2. Line Inputs are for connecting line level instruments such as keyboards and drum machines.
  3. Your line outputs can be used for connecting to your DAW or your DSP Mixer
  4. The control room is for your reference monitors or loudspeaker output.
  5. Wordclock is used for synchronizing digital devices.

onyx_rear_2 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

    Firewire, Midi, SPDIF, and Power

  1. Your Recording Box will usually use Firewire or Usb to connect to your computer.
  2. I prefer Firewire but not all computers come with a Firewire port. You can add ports by installing a pci expansion card into your computer.
  3. If you have a midi piano you can connect it here.
  4. SPDIF IO uses RCA connectors for Digital Input and output
  5. The Classic Power Cable

onyx_rear_3 Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio

All You Need

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Comments

3 Responses to “Visual Walkthrough of a Home Based Recording Studio”

  1. withambition on June 30th, 2008 4:57 pm


    Another extremely interesting home recording article. I disagree with your last picture with the “All You Need” caption. You’ve missed the most important piece of equipment… the microphone stand! Haha, I’m only joking.

    I also suggest having at least two dynamic microphones if you’re interested in recording acoustic guitar. Placing a microphone near the base of the neck and another near the bridge provides a better quality acoustic guitar recording. I know that isn’t necessarily related to the point of your post, but it’s somewhat related to the theme.

  2. Thomas on August 20th, 2008 2:40 pm


    Hi, I liked your site and ideas, but I just have issue with one thing.

    A TRS cable is a specific item and the 1/4 inch patch cable is definitely NOT a TRS cable.

    TRS = Tip, Ring, Sleeve

    It is specifically what you would also call a “stereo jack”.

    On most studio monitors today you can use either Mono Patch cables or TRS. The TRS option is exactly like XLR just with a different plug. The TRS cable has 3 wires in it just like the XLR and has the same noise reducing qualities.

    Basically a TRS cable is twice the price of a mono 1/4inch patch cable (a guitar lead).

    I’m sorry to be particular about this, but to me it’s an important one.

    Thanks for listening.

  3. Jeremy on August 21st, 2008 7:49 am


    *Thomas*

    No need to be sorry! You’re absolutely right about TRS cables being different then Mono patch cables. I will edit the article to clarify the details.

    What I should have pointed out is that you can use a mono patch cable instead of a TRS cable, but using a TRS cable will greatly reduce noise interference. Especially on long cable runs!

    Thanks for being a voice of reason! Come back anytime!

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