Home studio recording is one of the most important parts of creating your own productions, and capturing quality recordings of your vocals and instruments can be made much easier when you follow a few simple rules.
You'll need to use different recording techniques for each of the different sources that you'll be recording in the studio. The best way to do this is by following simple and straightforward guidelines in your role as audio engineer.
Creating a headphone mix is also a vital step in getting a solid recordings, and you'll have control over what the singer or musician hears in their headphones when a new take is being recorded. Different musicians will favor different sub-mixes so they can feel more comfortable during recording, so it's worth taking the time to get it right.
Modern studios, both commercial and home-based, use multitrack recorders to capture recordings of vocals and instruments. They allow you to record your tracks gradually, one on top of the other, building your productions up layer by layer - a process known as overdubbing.
These days, you'll find computers with DAW software packages being used as the main way to achieve this, although some studios will still record to multitrack analog tape.
A handy tip to always keep in mind during recording is to aim to capture the best source you possibly can - fixing things in the mix is definitely best avoided. A quality home studio recording can be reached using three key ingredients:
Everything else flows from this solid base.
Learning the basics about microphones and knowing a few key microphone techniques will help you enormously when recording in the studio. You don't need to know as much as a professional audio engineer, but following a few basic guidelines will help you in your quest for great recordings.