Need to record your own song, album, demo, or podcast at home? Whatever your reasons and goals may be, this simple checklist will help you get started with recording yourself at home…
The gear
First thing you’ll need is to make sure you have the right equipment: a computer (or a phone/tablet), an interface (the thing that allows you to plug in a mic or instrument and listen back to what you record), a mic, and headphones. Because I love you and want to make your life easier I’m gonna be that guy and suggest you buy a used or refurbished Mac. Sure it may cost more than a PC but it’ll be more plug and play and I’ll bet you’ll have a better experience overall.
The software
Once you have the gear you’ll need to decide on a DAW (digital audio workstation). This is an app or program that allows you to press record and then mix together your individual instruments, loops, track, and vocals into a form you can share. There are many DAW’s you can choose from ranging from free to hundreds of dollars. The important thing is to find something that allows you to focus on your craft instead of getting bogged down by technical stuff. Unless you’re going for that, of course.
Setting up
Now that you’ve decided on gear and a DAW, next you’ll need to set it up to make sure it’s all talking to each other. Ideally you’ll want to choose a desk or table as a workspace then connect your interface to your computer. Turn on your interface and computer then open your DAW.
Routing and Signal flow
This is often where people get stuck. But it’s simple. Go to preferences or settings (may be called something similar depending on your DAW and platform). Click on “audio” or “devices” or similar preferences option. Make sure your interface is selected as the input and output device. Then connect your mic to the interface. Create a new audio track (or channel). Once your mic is connected, make sure the input on your DAW’s track (or channel) is the same as the physical input where you plugged in your mic.
(NOTE: If you’re using a condenser mic you’ll need to turn on “Phantom power” or you won’t hear sound. This may be shown as “48v” button.)
Record
Now record-enable the audio track you have selected. If you want to hear what the mic is picking up DURING recording, select the “monitoring” button. Some DAWs may call it “input monitoring” or it may be a “speaker” icon. Most DAWs have this button next to the record button on the track. At this point you should be able to hear audio through your headphones. When you’re ready, hit the main record button and record away!
(NOTE: If you’ve got your mic in the same space as your monitors (speakers), make sure you switch them off or turn their volume all the way down. Otherwise you’ll record the audio from the speakers through the mic along with your vocal or instrument. That will sound less than awesome.
Share
Basically this is the step where you take all the different tracks and mix them together into a file you can share with people or upload to a streaming service. First, in your session’s edit window mode, you usually have to select the start and stop points. Then go to one of the dropdown menus to mix down the song. Different DAWs will refer to this using a variety of different words. For example “bounce” or “export.” If you want a higher resolution file, then export as a .WAV. If you want a file you can easily email or text to someone, then you’ll want to export a more compressed file type such as .MP3 or similar.