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Home » Tutorial » Home Recording Studio Equipment

Home Recording Studio Equipment

Last updated April 7, 2025

Home Recording Studio Equipment

  • Proudly written by Pro-Producer,
  • Hugh Richardson
  • 6 Comments
  • Studio | Headphones | Microphones | Software | Speakers and Monitors

Best

HEADPHONES FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION

Samson Z45 Headphones are built for critical listening
  • Overall: Precise Sound Tailored To Professional Studio Recording And DJ Mixing
  • Best Feature: Excellent Sound Isolation From A Closed Back Design
  • TedScore™: 8/10
Click for Best Price

Best

WORKSTATION DAW

Logic Pro Create and arrange music in real time and quickly build beats and melodies.
  • Overall: Create Fully Immersive Spatial Audio Mixes Using Integrated Dolby Atmos Tools
  • Best Feature: Expanded surround mixer and new 3D Object Panner
  • TedScore™: 9/10
Click for Best Price
Winner

Best

COMPUTER FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION

MacBook Pro COMPACT DESIGN AND AN ACTIVE COOLING SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
  • Overall: Ultra High Bandwidth Meets Ultra Versatility.
  • Best Feature: Up To 20 Hours Of Battery Life. Power On.
  • TedScore™: 8.5/10
Click for Best Price

Musicians have flocked to home recording studio equipment over the past two decades. Interestingly, countless professional recording studios have closed down due to the surge in home recording.

Many musicians and producers prefer home recording because it makes the process of making music much less expensive. After all, if all the gear they need is at home, then why should they pay for an expensive recording studio or for the time of engineers?

This was the story behind the Scissor Sisters debut album. A global hit album made without going to a professional recording studio.

So, if you want to follow in their footsteps, what will you need?  What equipment do you need to start your own home recording studio? Read on to find out:

Table of Contents

Home recording studio – the basic equipment

Computer

Many online forums are full of arguments and discussions about the best computer for producing music.

Some will say Apple, some will say PC. Some will say laptop, some will say desktop.

So what’s the truth? Which is the best computer for music production?

Home Recording Studio – The Basic Equipment

The honest answer is that the desktop vs laptop and Apple vs PC debates are red herrings.

You should really be focused on the processing power of the machine you buy.

Things like which DAW you use or whether you prefer Apple’s operating system or from a PC are just personal preferences.

But if your computer – whatever it is – isn’t powerful enough to handle the software, samples and plugins you need to produce music, then you won’t get very far at all.

Focus on getting the most powerful machine you can afford. As long as you do that, you’ll have a tool that lasts you a long time.

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For All levels

DESIGNED FOR: Logic Users

COMES WITH: Apple Production Software

FEATURES:
- Many Apple music production software can be used with this

Check Price >
8.4/10

Macbook Pro

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Runs logic pro
  • Runs pro tools
  • Easy to use
CONS
  • Expensive
  • Can’t run Cubase
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For All levels

DESIGNED FOR: Entry Level Users

COMES WITH: Custom/Windows Production Software

FEATURES: Often more cost-effective and customisable

Check Price >
8.9/10

Desktop PC

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Runs Cubase
  • Runs pro tools
  • More affordable
CONS
  • Not as easy to use
  • Can’t run logic
The TedScore™: 8.9/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

DAW

If you’re going to be a producer, you’ll need some form of digital audio workstation or DAW.

A DAW is essentially a digital recording studio packed with all the features you need to produce music on your computer.

There are several different options on the market, and many are aimed at different kinds of producers.

Here’s a list of the main DAWs on the market. Take a look and see which one is best for the kind of music you want to produce:

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For Professionals

DESIGNED FOR: Professionals

COMES WITH: Audio Recording

FEATURES: Excellent for audio recording

Check Price >
7.4/10

Pro Tools

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Integrated sibelius software
  • Different packages available to suit your budget
CONS
  • Complicated to use
The TedScore™: 7.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
How To Get Started In Music Production
Best For Professionals

DESIGNED FOR: Professionals

COMES WITH: Audio Recording

FEATURES: Excellent for audio recording

Check Price >
7.4/10

Logic Pro

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Easy to use
  • Suitable for all levels
  • Great for electronic music
CONS
  • Works on mac only
The TedScore™: 7.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Daw Meaning Music
Best For film music

DESIGNED FOR: Intermediates and above

COMES WITH: Audio programming for film and electronic music

FEATURES: Excellent for midi programming

Check Price >
8.2/10

Cubase

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Easy to use
  • Great for film music
  • Great for electronic music
CONS
  • Some connection problems with VST’s
The TedScore™: 8.2/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Daw Meaning Music
Best For electronic music

DESIGNED FOR: electronic/modern/hip hop producers

COMES WITH: Audio programming for film and electronic music

FEATURES:
- Ableton Live package has very modern features to use in live performance

Check Price >
8.7/10

Ableton

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Requires minimal music theory
  • Great for film music
  • Intuitive interface
CONS
  • Not great for other styles of music
The TedScore™: 8.7/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Audio interface

An audio interface is a piece of equipment that connects your virtual instruments and dynamic microphones to your computer. You could think of it as being a link between the two.

If you want to record a vocalist, for example, you’ll have to set up a dynamic microphone for them, and that same studio microphone will then be plugged into your audio interface.

The audio interface will then send the signal from that studio microphone to your computer and into your DAW, where it can be recorded.

Audio Interface

Many of the audio interfaces out there are USB audio interfaces, and, as the name suggests, USB audio interfaces connect through the USB ports on the computer.

So which audio interface should you buy? As always, this really depends on what you need personally.

Below are two options to get you thinking. One for small home studios and one for large scale operations.

Daw Meaning Music
Best For small home studios

DESIGNED FOR: Mobile and Home Use

COMES WITH: Audio loopback programming

FEATURES: Comes with loopback audio feature

Check Price >
8.7/10

Scarlett 2i2

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Great for home recording
  • Easy to use
CONS
  • Doesn’t have many inputs
The TedScore™: 8.7/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Daw Meaning Music
Best For small home studios

DESIGNED FOR: Mobile and Home Use

COMES WITH: Audio programming

FEATURES: Very powerful and will last a long time

Check Price >
8.2/10

Roland UA-1610

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Great for professional recording
  • Has plenty of inputs
CONS
  • For professionals only
The TedScore™: 8.2/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Microphones

Studio Microphones are an integral part of any home recording studio. Unless you’re a producer of purely electronic music that requires only programming and no recording, you’ll likely need some sort of dynamic microphone in your home recording studio.

So, what should you get?

Well, this really depends on what you will be recording.

Some dynamic microphones are best for drums, some are best for acoustic basses, and others are best for vocals.

Microphones

So the first thing to clarify is what do you want to record. Then, go to an online music shop and enter the relevant search query.

However, you may be a little overwhelmed by what you find.

How do you know if a certain dynamic microphone is good or not?

We’ve got you covered. Here are a few picks covering the most common studio microphones found in a home recording studio.  And if you want a more in-depth article about microphones, just click here.

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For small home studios

DESIGNED FOR: Low end instruments

COMES WITH: Basic Mic and audio

FEATURES: Also great for podcasting

Check Price >
8.4/10

RE20

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Best dynamic microphone for recording bass
  • Great for recording podcasts
  • Trusted mic amongst professionals
CONS
  • Expensive
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For home recording drummers

DESIGNED FOR: Home Recording

COMES WITH: Full set mics

FEATURES: Gives you every mic you need

Check Price >
8.4/10

SZD-8000 Drum Mic Pack

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Great sounding mics
  • Affordable
CONS
  • No option to specialize your set-up
  • A “one size fits all” option
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For everything from drums to choirs

DESIGNED FOR: Home Recording

COMES WITH: Full set mics

FEATURES: Incredibly diverse microphone

Check Price >
9.4/10

Aston Origin

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Gives a great sound when recording almost anything
  • Affordable
  • Extremely good value for money
CONS
  • We’ll let you know when we find one
The TedScore™: 9.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Headphones Size

Believe it or not, the size of your headphones is extremely important when it comes to home studio work.

The reason is that the headphones’ size will often dictate how well they can handle certain frequencies.

Most commonly, people who use smaller headphones such as Apple’s AirPods will notice that they can’t hear as many low register frequencies. This means that instruments that sit in that register, such as bass, kick drum or low register synths and keyboards, will be much harder to hear and produce!

As someone hoping to make their career as a music producer, using headphones like this rather than larger ones would be a disaster.

So, what should you look for in a pair of headphones?

For a start, I suggest you choose a pair with larger speakers or “over-ear” headphones as they are known.

Headphones Sizes

These will give you a much better overall sound and mean that you can mix, producer and master with much more confidence and precision.

But, the journey doesn’t stop here. You should look into particular types of over-ear headphones known as mixing headphones.

Why are these important? Well, many headphone manufacturers will actually have their headphones apply a pre-eq to music through their headphones.

They do this to make music (and their headphones) sound more exciting, more lively and to sell more units.

This is great for listeners but a nightmare for producers. When a producer comes to mix a track, they need to hear that track completely as it is. If anything, having their headphones present a distorted perception of that track by way of a pre-eq will mean that all of the mix decisions the producer makes are skewed.

Here are some good recommendations for mixing headphones:

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For everything from drums to choirs

DESIGNED FOR: Home Recording

COMES WITH: Full set headphone

FEATURES: Incredibly diverse microphone

Check Price >
8.4/10

Samson Z45

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Gives a great sound when recording almost anything
  • Affordable
  • Extremely good value for money
CONS
  • We’ll let you know when we find one
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For professionals/audiophiles

DESIGNED FOR: Professionals

COMES WITH: Full set headphone

FEATURES: Incredible sound and comfort

Check Price >
8.9/10

Avantone Planar

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Incredible sound
  • Great professional investment
CONS
  • Expensive
The TedScore™: 8.9/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Studio monitors

Headphones may not be for everyone. Some will prefer to make music and mix it with speakers, or studio monitors, in their home studio.

After all, mixing and mastering is an important part of the production, so you need to make sure you have the tools you are personally comfortable with.

Exactly which studio monitors are good is like asking “how long is a piece of string”.

Studio Monitors

Yes, you can spend thousands on monitors, but monitors will only sound as good as the room they are in. So if you spend 3,000 on some great studio monitors but don’t have an acoustically treated room, you’ll never get the best out of what you’ve bought.

For this reason, many home studios and producers prefer to make music with slightly more modest (but still good quality) speakers.

Here’s one example of such a thing:

How To Get Started In Music Production
Best For Beginners & Intermediates

DESIGNED FOR: Home Recording

COMES WITH: Ultra Wide Frequency

FEATURES: Ableton Live package has very modern features to use in live performance

Check Price >
8.4/10

M-Audio BX5 D3

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Great balanced sound for mixing
  • Affordable
CONS
  • For the price - none
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Microphone stands

Whilst they may not be the most exciting part of a home recording studio, studio microphone stands are certainly one of the most essential parts.

Without studio microphone stands, you won’t be able to hold the microphones you use to record the musicians you’ve hired. This is a huge problem.

As pieces of studio equipment go, they’re certainly not glamorous, but you really do need them.

Microphone Stand

Thankfully, knowing which stands to get isn’t anywhere near as complicated as choosing dynamic microphones because mic stands have clips and holders designed to be universal.

All you need is a mic stand that is the right length, height and size for what you want to do.

Here are a few classic examples of very common mic stands that you will find in most professional and home studio set-ups.

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For recording sound sources low
to the ground

DESIGNED FOR: Home Recording

COMES WITH: Portable Standard Mic Stand

FEATURES: Great for recording kick drums and acoustic bass tracks

Check Price >
8.4/10

Gooseneck Mic Stand

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Useful design
  • Affordable
CONS
  • There aren’t any
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Round Base Microphone Stand
Best For vocalists

DESIGNED FOR: Vocalist

COMES WITH: Portable Standard Mic Stand

FEATURES: The most common mic stand

Check Price >
8.4/10

Round Base Stand

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Affordable
CONS
  • Not as flexible as boom stand
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Home studio – what to consider when choosing a space

Each producer will have different needs and, as such, they will need different spaces to work from.

Some producers will only have a computer, and a small keyboard, so they might be fine working from the spare room of their home studio setup.

Others will have several computer set-ups a wide range of acoustic guitars and instruments and will also need the space to record large bands.

Home Studio – What To Consider When Choosing A Space Cut

Regardless of what you want to use a studio for, there are a few things you should always consider when hiring or buying a space to build your studio in.

Consider the following…

Room size and dimensions

How big should your studio be? Put it this way, how long is a piece of string?

Put simply, think about what you’ll use the space for and how much gear you have. Not about an arbitrary “ideal” size that you’ll find listed on an online chat forum.

Go and look at potential spaces (if you’re renting) and ask yourself; do you have space for all the audio interfaces that you have? Does the room you are viewing have space for the grand piano you intend on buying? Will you be able to record vocalists in this space?

Room Size &Amp; Dimensions

All these things really matter, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. If you feel a space does or doesn’t meet your needs, then so be it.

Surfaces within the room

The term “reflectivity” refers to how easy it is for sound to bounce around the room once it has left an instrument or the speakers being used to mix it.

Because reflective sound can actually colour the way we hear sound, it’s often felt that the higher the level of reflectivity in a room, the less desirable it is as a home studio space.

If, for example, you’re recording some acoustic guitars tracks, then you’ll want to be sure that you’ve captured the sound of that acoustic guitars. Not the sound of its reflection.

Surfaces Within The Room

Professional recording studios go to painstaking lengths to ensure that their mixing rooms are as “dead” (meaning unreflective) as possible, and you should strive to do the same in your room by covering reflective surfaces such as concrete walls with materials that will soak up sound.

Studio foam is the best way to do this, but you should also think about having other soft materials such as carpets, curtains and drapes in the room, which will help soak up the sound..

Noise levels within the room

Will you be programming or recording bands? Are you a vocalist who can’t help but make noise, or are you a mix engineer that’s happy working silently on headphones?

Understanding these concerns will help you think more deeply about working with noise levels within the room you have and where that room should be.

If it’s important to make a lot of noise as you’d have to when recording a live band, then look for a space that is well soundproofed and perhaps isolated from other buildings.

This means you can have high noise levels within the room without disturbing your neighbours or, worse, running the risk of the local authorities closing you down for making too much noise.

Noise Levels Within The Room

However, if your work involves mostly programming and no recording, then you may not be making a lot of noise at all.

As such, a smaller space with some acoustic treatment that allows you to have speakers at moderate levels will likely be fine for you.

Whilst it’s never a good idea to mix music at high volume levels, doing so will distort your perception of the sounds and force you to make falsely informed decisions about your mix, you should also be realistic about your own noise needs and select a space accordingly.

Top Tip
Home Recording Studio Equipment
Noise is important, and you need to ask yourself how much noise you can make in your new space.
Home Recording Studio Equipment
The surfaces within a studio are really important because they affect the “reflectivity” of the studio room.

Positioning the speakers

Knowing how to position speakers is a true art. Whilst there are particular tips that I could include here, knowing how to best position speakers is very much something you need to see someone else do to appreciate truly.

Seeing will also help you know how to listen for the differences that certain speaker positions will make to your working set-up.

Positioning The Speakers

Take a look at this video from the excellent YouTube channel The House Of Kush. It will tell you everything you need to know about speaker positions:

Home Recording Studio Equipment

Adding acoustic treatment

Adding acoustic treatment is very important for home studios.

If you are just mixing in your studio rather than recording, too, then you’ll want to make sure that your room isn’t too reflective.

The term “reflective” refers to how easy it is for sound to bounce off the walls and around your room once it has left your speakers.
If your room is too reflective, you’ll end up mixing the sound bouncing around the room rather than the actual sound of your track, which would be disastrous for the quality of your work.

Adding Acoustic Treatment

However, if you’re also using your studio to record sound and mix it, you should look at an acoustic treatment that will block outside noise that might contaminate any recordings you do from your studio.

There’s nothing worse than investing lots of money in a great session musician, hiring a great (and expensive) instrument for them to play, and then recording them in your studio only to listen back to their takes and find that there’s background noise on the tracks which can’t be removed.

How your room sounds is important but so is how much sound you let into your room.

Consider how you want to use your space and let that guide your decision making.

Furniture for your studio

Whilst a studio is a place of work, it must also be a palace that clients, artists and you are happy to spend a lot of time in.
This means that spending money on comfortable furniture such as a desk chair, couch or armchair is important.

Just as it will also be important to spend some money on making your studio a visually appealing place to be.

Home Recording Studio Equipment

What to buy is obviously down to you, so I won’t recommend anything here but just focus on making your studio somewhere you’d be happy to spend a lot of time.

Upgrading your studio

The world of production often moves very quickly, and you’ll need to upgrade your studio equipment like sample libraries, audio interfaces, speakers and other software as often as you can to keep pace with the market.

Learning how to use all these new things is also another challenge.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to join some sort of producers community so you can keep up to date with what’s current.

But should you not want to join social media platforms, not feel comfortable posting in online chat forums, or simply prefer to do things a different way, there are plenty of other ways you can keep up to date with the latest gear, trends and methods.

Sound On Sound has an excellent website packed full of great product reviews, interviews, and advice on almost everything relating to music production, composition, and professional music practice.

They also have an excellent monthly magazine well worth the subscription price.

Upgrading Your Studio

Should you be looking for a free option, I highly recommend watching and subscribing to the YouTube channel Pensado’s Place .

The channel has interviews, tutorials and studio gear reviews that are all conducted by Mike Pensado and his team.

I really love this channel because Mike and the rest of his excellent team are active professionals in the music production business. They’re out there, working in the field (so to speak), and they’re really at the top of their game.

Not only can you be sure that advice from them is well-considered and of the highest quality, but you can also be sure that what they are saying is current and of professional relevance to the field of music production.

So if you’re looking for new studio monitors for your home studio, wondering about how best to use some of the new accessories you’ve bought to produce your next record, or you need to learn more about mic preamps, then you know that Pensado’s Place has you covered.

Best home recording studio equipment packages

As you might expect, with the recent boom in popularity of home studio set-ups, many manufacturers have taken notice and provided the market with bundle options and packages which offer buyers many of the essentials they need at an affordable price.

However, even though most of these bundles are designed to do the same thing – give budding young producers what they need to get their careers started – many of these packages differ drastically.

Best Home Recording Studio Equipment Packages

Depending on what music a producer makes, their needs will differ significantly, so this does make sense. But it can make purchasing such a bundle package confusing.

Here are a few packages aimed at different corners of the market which will help you decide what you should buy.

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Best For vocalists

DESIGNED FOR: Vocalist

COMES WITH: Audio Interface

FEATURES: Pop shield, USB audio interface, and headphones included

Check Price >
8.4/10

SubZero BASE 2

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Affordable
  • Great for vocalists
CONS
  • Not great for non-vocalists
  • Not great for producers of instrumental music
The TedScore™: 8.4/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Aston Spirit Bundle Review 1
Best For vocalists

DESIGNED FOR: Pro Vocalist

COMES WITH: High Quality Mic

FEATURES: Very high-quality microphone included

Check Price >
8.7/10

Aston Spirit Bundle

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Mic is very high quality
  • Offers great quality for vocalists
CONS
  • Not great for non-vocalists
  • Not great for producers of instrumental music
  • Expensive
The TedScore™: 8.7/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.
Nta1 Home Recording Bundle
Best For vocalists

DESIGNED FOR: Pro Vocalist

COMES WITH: High Quality Mic

FEATURES: Very high-quality microphone included

Check Price >
8.3/10

NTA1 Home Recording Bundle

What Retailer to Buy From?

When you check the price above, you’ll see there are loads of great places to buy this item.  Our personal favorite is Gear4music.

It is the largest music retailer in the UK and fast becoming the most respected online music shop in the US too.  Their customer service is excellent, they have competitive prices, really fast shipping, and usually have the longest guarantee.

Most professional musicians use Gear4music, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t too!

PROS
  • Mic is very high quality
  • Offers great quality for vocalists
CONS
  • Not great for non-vocalists
  • Not great for producers of instrumental music
  • Expensive
The TedScore™: 8.3/10
The TedScore™ is our unique system of scoring products.
The professional musician who wrote this article combined many things,
from the product build, manufacturer’s reputation through to feedback
from other users, to create our famous TedScore™.

Home Recording Studio Equipment
Summary

Setting up a good home recording space can be a tricky thing to do. Nevermind do well. In all honesty, it’s much more of a constant work in progress than it is something you’ll ever definitively finish.

Working methods and studio gear are constantly evolving, and your set-up will likely have to move with the times.

Keep your ear to the ground but also keep up to date with your own personal preferences and let that guide the way your studio evolves.

After all, it is your studio.

FAQ's

What equipment do I need for home recording studio?

It really depends on what you want to produce; take a look at the bundle packages linked above for a great place to start.

What is the best home recording studio package?

Again, it depends on what you are producing. The bundle packages linked above provide great options for all.

How much does it cost to set up a home recording studio?

It depends on what you’re doing and what aspirations you have. It can cost as little as £200 but, if you want a more professional space to work from, you could comfortably spend £/$200,000.

What is the easiest home recording studio software?

Personally I would say Logic Pro X but many would dispute this. Try a few different softwares (most offer some sort of trial) and stick with what you like best.

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  • Hugh Richardson
    Hugh Richardson

    Hugh Richardson is a bass player and writer currently based in London, UK. Recently, he has been busy playing on West End shows and tours including Bat Out Of Hell The Musical, Kinky Boots and Priscilla. When he's not performing, he is probably teaching or spending time perfecting his table tennis game!

    You can find out more about Hugh from www.onlinebassguitar.com

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↓ Click here to leave a comment ↓
  1. simplysarah says:
    January 6, 2025 at 11:51 am

    best cheap mic for starting out?

    Reply
  2. GearHeadGary93 says:
    December 6, 2024 at 8:18 am

    Regarding the section on DAWs, Hugh Richardson, it’s important to highlight that the choice of a DAW can greatly affect workflow. For beginners, something intuitive like GarageBand might be ideal, but for those looking at professional production, Ableton Live or Logic Pro X offers more depth. Would have loved more detail on this!

    Reply
  3. LyricLass says:
    October 18, 2024 at 5:47 pm

    Love the positive vibe of this article! It makes setting up a home studio seem so doable. Can’t wait to start recording my songs.

    Reply
  4. BennyTunes says:
    September 1, 2024 at 9:29 am

    Really digging the section on DIY acoustic treatment, Hugh Richardson. Didn’t realize how impactful proper placement could be until I tried it out. Game changer for my mixes.

    Reply
    • EchoNest says:
      January 6, 2025 at 11:51 am

      Any cheap DIY tips for a newbie?

      Reply
    • SoundWave77 says:
      December 5, 2024 at 10:59 am

      Absolutely, BennyTunes. Acoustic treatment is often overlooked but it’s crucial for accurate sound representation. Just make sure not to go overboard with damping, as it can deaden the sound too much.

      Reply

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