FAQ About Recording Music From Your Home

It’s no longer true that you have to pay a small fortune just to rent a music studio for a few hours to cut a demo or record your music.  Getting started only requires rudimentary equipment.  Beyond that, anyone can record music from home.

Q: How close should my mouth be to the microphone? 

A: When you are recording, it's best to keep about 6 inches between you and the mic.  During certain portions of the song there will be an actual inclination to come closer, and that is usually okay.  What you want to watch for is to not over saturate the input gain on the microphone, which will cause the recording to distort and not sound very pleasant.

Q:  What if my overall mix doesn’t sound right?

A:  There could be many things that are musically off that all contribute to the overall mix of vocals and instruments sounding “off”.  The best way to troubleshoot such a problem is to record with at least four tracks, and selectively muting different instruments.  By meeting each instrument or vocal in turn, you can get a better idea of which track is not sounding up to par. 

Q: Do I need a four track recorder?

A: It helps to have a four track recorder, but if you only have a two track recorder there are still steps you can take to improve your overall sound.  You can try recording part of your band or instruments into one input and the rest to the other.  When you get a good mix, you can combine the two inputs and bounce it into one.  Now you have one track open to add more instruments.  Keep adding instruments gradually, and you can better pinpoint what goes wrong when you add a new instrument into the mix.

Q: Should I use a digital or analog recorder?

A: Digital is becoming more popular since the media allows for non-destructive edits.  Digital recorders also are cheaper when it comes to adding more media for recording longer audio.