Setting Up the Ultimate Small Home Studio 

"Why do we watch this channel?" you ask. We watch because we love your spunky attitude. Thanx for not using foul language, too. I share some of your videos with my Music Production students (high school).

I'm nowhere near this level but this video was really helpful to get me started. Thank you

You’re a big inspiration man. I’m currently converting my shed into a studio. It’s about the same size as that room. Have concrete floor, electricity wired, Rockwool installed. Drywall and acoustic treatment next. I’m ready to swap the gigging life for the recording life.

Can lights in the cloud and power strips on the ceiling... Brilliant!

Awesome video Colt. We just bought a new place so I'll be moving from a 12'x12' dining room to a large room with high cathedral ceilings. I've been rewatching some of the videos I had seen years ago when you uploaded them - around the time you were building the acoustic panels in your A room. And here you are still killing it with the insanely helpful videos years later, thank you man!

In that small home studio, you can record great hits!! no more is needed!! Cheer up and good luck with the project!!! greetings from Spain!🙋🏻‍♂️🇪🇦

Beautiful studio! Great outboard gear! I just finished mine!

perfect for some inspiration. just bought a house and will convert my (small) garage into a studio where I can get the basics done

First time listener, candy I really enjoyed the entire vid..im a drummer but I love this kind of tech info, so thank you sir..im on my way to building my dream home drum studio and I believe sound is very important and you laid that out really well for the layman like myself.

Very similar to my own new small setup. Good to see you using a small fluffy rug right where the vocalist will be. Bless up from Amsterdam and thanks for your wealth of information.

Helpful as always! You've saved me a lot of time and headaches over the years. Thanks Colt

Limited spaces always inspire some of the greatest workflow ideas ever, and I really relate to that as I've been working on a tiny room for a big part of my career now. Your tips are always inspiring. Thanks for the great content, Colt!

Thank you for your inspiration. I want to start my own music company in probably one year and your video has helped me to know what I want to buy

That’s the best topic that I wanted to watch and learn for! I got a smaller size room that got a similar shape and the door is in the short side so I have to place my stuffs on the long side and I think I’m doing it right after watching your vid! Thanks🥰

Yeah buddy! Can't wait to come see it in person. May have to look into that desk top!

Thank you for sharing your musical kitchen cooking for ears to eat. Cheers, Colt!

That dry erase patch bay label is clutch! I just ordered one.

man this this looks small for you bu for me its amazing , i only have laptop and headphone . love your home studio for sure

What a fantastic setup. I love the huge monitor. My eyes are not what they used to be and I can see something like this being so helpful.

Maaaaan!!!.... I usually NEVER leave a comment... but... You know what you're doing as this was quite the concise, highly justly animated, entertaining and knowledgeable points given that I'm certain leaves your viewers with the educated choices in which manner to proceed in music production, live performances and choosing either one of those tools or perhaps follow your leas in using both jointly!! I worked extensively in TV, commercial and voice over projects for years...I was quote impressed by your presentation indeed. Somebody should be paying you for it....makes me want to buy an MPC-X SE now!!! Can't wait for the follow up video dude!! Also another "I never do"...subscribe. Hittin' dat button as soon as this one is sent!! Keep up the great work, all the best in your musical journey and looking forward to the follow up to this video!! Bless Up. 🙇🏾‍♂️🙏🏿🕊☝🏾🤗

This is really nice to see something like that that's used for pro work! I work FOH and live sessions so I needed to do streaming and the best screen capture audio tool for mac is Loopback just like a physical loopback switch but virtual so you can record audio with your screen without a dual system! That could allow you to put the Avid box back in the table I think. Me I got a central Anker hub/stand to route everything to my M1 MacBook with hidden cables routed through the middle, with 10gb/s ports, car reader, fast charging, it feels built-in! Still using my good old Zoom R24 ... when upgrading it'll be a SoundDevice or Nagra, but the pandemic hit so hard I still feel it and I was just starting out. Hopefully soon!

Great information. I'm moving into our retirement home, and finally have the time to play. Thank you for sharing your incredible knowledge.New subscriber.

Your rim light is 💯💯 in this video. You've become as good of a videographer as you are a sound producer.

thanks very much for uploading

the hallway to the attic goes crazy 🔥

😢 dude I just love all of this I’m gonna learn this stuff because I am actually really good with starting music from scratch in my head and hearing every single instrument in masterpieces

having front ported monitors really helps with close to the wall monitors as well

Love to see a alternate studio on a beer budget I bet yours would sound amazing even with 120 monitor speakers and a smaller sound board and still with sound Accoustic wall and ceiling to absorb I made some out of picture frames lined with Foam inside out of an abandoned RV I then Velcro to the walls so I didn’t put holes in my rental walls . Arturia MKII 49, Focus rite 2i2, FL Studios with 12gb windows 10 😂 out to an ion speaker with no powered speakers / yours is so NEXT level, let’s awsomeness

Awesome space.. my question would be with regards to your mixing spot which is centered on the long wall. I am going to have to do this as well given where the door is going to be in my space and because i have drums stuffed in. ( and my console and hardware racks) Any down side to having your side walls further from your ears? What would the considerations be.

That would be a dream for me!! Mine is still very little and limited. Hopefully one day I can set up a studio like that.

Genius. Pure genious plus wisdom. Thank you!

Love it. I did the exact same idea with the folding shelf. Very handy! Spinning in every video - you don't do it because half of us would be ill. LOL! Great job, Colt. Always learning. Thank you!

thank you bro. exactly what i want this moment, I will send you picture of my studio when it'll be at the end

man this is beyond awesome and inspiring!

Awesome recap of your B room Colt. Have been in my unfinished space for quite sometime acquiring gear and such. From your A room to your B room ... I've conceived a hybrid approach for my room thanks to you sharing your journey with us! Bravo bro ... many thx!!

Colt may I suggest that you look into getting a USB hub for the front ports of the Mac Studio as well as a Thunderbolt type one. That way you have more connections

One word Smart.

Thank you for this. I just built a room in my new house that is roughly the same size and shape as your room, so this gives me some inspiration on a potential build-out of my room.

NICE! I'm about to set up my home rig in an extra bedroom, so this is right on time. Thanks again Colt.

Love it! Always prefer more cozy places!

Just in a taxi, will be there in about 8 minutes to take that work bench.

Hey I'm a artist/ producer from 🇯🇲Jamaica. Thanks for the info.

I'm glad you recovered from COVID & moving forth w/ all that on your plate! Got your 'NEWTON's" Rebuild another Room again which some on us go through. ( while Dialing in you MAIN ROOM for your "ATMOS" ) was nice to see you @ SWEETWATER w/ Mitch w/ 'Build Your RIG' ! ...both were good it their own way. I had tend to lean toward yours w/ what you had to work with like you said with the BUGET. looking forward to more Vids from you! George Amodei Like I've mentioned before I bought the 'SHELFORD CHANNEL' just as it came out! Yet I think would need a 2nd :)

Really like your channel!! Just has all the knowledge and skills I need. Many thanks ❤

"The gear is probably the least important part" [Gearslutz forums screaming in the distance]

very motivating and a great home studio!

Superb roundup Colt and some awesome stuff on how to set up a smaller studio. Loved it.

Super helpful thank you

Thank you for THIS! Awesome presentation and very informative. I am getting ready set up my home studio and this is timely.

You are so amazing, thank you for your videos Colt!

The alcohol bottles on the top of the acoustic panels is a very college age thing to do 😅You could just add a shelf above the countertop and display them there like an adult. *said with love

love the setup i came from the hardware days #reasongang

Love all the video's Colt, excited to follow your journey

So much useful information here Colt. Love your channel! Thanks

Hey! Awesome video man! Whats the way to get computer audio to Tascam? My two cents, I would remove the rug underneath the mic, as it might overkill the room tone for the singer, plus less risk to trip on it.

I had the Focal Solo6 ST6's here for a while and they're great monitors. However, I didn't get on with the highs on this monitor. They sounded pretty hyped and un-natural and the stereo imaging and phantom center wasn't that solid in my room compared to the Neumann KH120's. The Neumanns sound more natural and I can hear deeper into the mix with things like reverb tails. I also hear more separation. I’m now keen to hear the newer KH120II and KH150.

I am totally digging everything you got going on. I know nothing about music but would love to build out a bad ass studio then have the folks that know come in and do what they do!!! So do you have a base line price on what you got there?? 75 K ish???

Amazing, thanks a lot! What is the desk model? The one in the link is not the same one.

Bro a genius

And it is seriously a drinking room with lots of alcoholic treatings 😂 - and customers can perfectly sleep on the couch when they are completly drunk

Always think about your neck, the big monitor that high will damage tour neck you’ll get tired within an hour of work cause you have to keep your head looking to the roof most of the time…I’ve seeing this most of the time in every home studio…

Colt, i wanted to ask. Are all the modifications + treatment you’ve done to your rooms recommended only if you own your place? Or is this rental friendly as in easy to revert back if needing to move. Seems like a lot of work!

Excellent video. Thank you for clearly explaining.

Love it! Great video! I hope things are working well with the new setup. How about a follow up in about six months to let us know how it is working??

Love the studio. 🔥 What are the panel measurements?

Hello Colt, which espresso machine do you have over there? :)

looks soooo good!!💙

nice studio man, i need to get a bar in my studio too :)

Great place! I've got only 60 ft2 studio & I'm counting every ft of it))))

Awsome 🏆🏆

nice room bro

Excellent advice.

This video is really great. Do you have a link where we can hear your recordings?

Good Luck Man!

Colt, the desk for your small studio is beautiful, where did you get it, or did you make it or have it made for you studio?

Fantastic video Colt. Colt, I know this video is not about the DLX universal audio microphone, however, I know with your years of studio experience and knowledge about gear I want to ask you for your help and advice. I think I need a new microphone for my recordings and the DLX seems to offer a lot of good things. I love to hear your personal opinion on my story so I can make a good decision. I am a professional opera singer and do my recordings at home. I have an apollo x4 and most of the UAD pre amp emulations and other good plug ins for vocals and mixing. I bought the Charteroak SA538 I think 20 years ago, it is that old, however, I didn't use it on a daily basis. The challenges I run into using this mic is that my voice sounds diminished, like it is locked up in a box and the power of the voice and also the clarity is not captured - it sounds completely different from what my real voice is. That means if I want to bring power back in and clarity I have to do tons of processing to get the sound a little better, it is kinda frustrating for a 1700 euro mic. I made a vocal booth using professional materials hoping the sound would improve by getting rid of my living room over-acoustic frequencies. No difference on the power of the voice. The vocal booth is closed with the professional blankets but it adds more muddy sound and no clarity. I recorded close by 3 inches, and 6 inches, 12 inches to see if it is because the mic cannot handle the operatic sound - the farther I stand away the thinner the sound becomes....I have no idea if it is the type of mic I bought, or that it was maybe broken from the start, or, that 20 years made it warn out although it always diminished my vocals. The DLX, do you think in your opinion and experience with the mic that it would be the solution for me to finally get my voice recorded as it is, or, do you think that the mic without any processing and even without the UAD different mic options, this mic would capture my voice the way it is and make a big difference of what I described about the charteroak studio microphone! Mostly opera singers are recorded with 2 mics to get that wider kinda stereo field sound as we hear on classical albums, or Pavarotti's recordings. The DLX plug in does have a stereo option to record vocals that mimics the stereo field, and I wondered if that would record my voice getting the same kinda operatic wideness the way opera singers are recorded. What do you think? You can hear recorded their vocals sound FREE and not boxed in and weak - I think you know what I mean...I think they probably not do a whole lot of wild processing on opera voices beside maybe some compression and reverb if it is not recorded in a live hall that is. Hope you can shine some light into my recording world 🙂and looking forward for a positive reply hopefully that the DLX will make a big difference for my recordings...Thanks in advance...

Hi, why do you need a separate interface in your rack if you already have the one on the table? The answer is probably very obvious but please enlighten me

hi there! if any professionals see this, can they explain please what the huge rack on the right of the desk do? Sorry for the question, but I'm a begginer at this type of stuff. I heard him talk about how they change the sound, but don't the FL Studio's plugins do the same? Or do you have to hook every single knob to a certain function in the program? I'd appreciate any type of helpful answers as this can help me choosing what's best for my future career. Thanks alot!

Monitor placment needs its own segment!

One last thing Do you always use the G drive 7200 spinners I’ve had 2 die, 1 was restored (kinda) But I did buy the same Gdrives and have the same 2TB drives stacked 3 high plus the ssd versions for various vst libraries,samples Time Machine And daily session redundancies since I don’t use a cloud service

Wow thank you this is a great video ... Who did you contract to measure and place the acoustic panels ?

Superb little studio I got carried away with 2 walls of guitars And 32 Amp rigs Mostly tube and 2 modelers Axe3 and Kemper So no couch room,lol but yours looks comfy Looks a little like a old sound city room with less tacky carpet Yours space is a great ergonomic layout except that upper screen looks like a neck breaker at least for me Nice outboard selection it’s nice to see someone not using all the usual suspects or worse Warm Audio copies of said suspects So much gear out their and years of engineered design techs we all don’t need 610s’ 1176’ and Teletronix la2a’ Don’t get me wrong you couldn’t pry my la2a or my 90s vari mu from my lifeless arms But at 62 years old I’m still slave to some gear I also played guitar for session and live for 37 years so not a load of chair time compared to your business All Apollo and Genelec here(speaking usual suspects) so curious if you are also using an overpriced Subwoofer? like I bought, lol Considering the heft of you main near fields I’m just thinking about when the clients are lounging and catching the whole mix pre of post mastering for shock and awe

thanks

What’s the purpose of the two monitors? I see one main monitor on the desk and a second large one (well, a TV) on the wall. I’m trying to decide if it makes sense for me to get a TV for the wall like your setup but I don’t know what real applications it has. Do you have certain windows that work better up there than at the desk level monitor?

Mantap sekali master

Rad!!

You Are Simply Musical Einstein 🎛🌫

You can mix and master in any room using the Slate VSX system.

Very nice setup 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Question? Does the TV above the desk also work to make the sound dead? I have been thinking about this but I am not sure if I need more treatment in that spot.

Good stuff man. Excellent decision for how to use the wasted hall space. I didn't think of that just prior to you describing it, but man, that is the perfect use for that space. Keeps the shop vibe tucked away, out of sight from the creative vibe. Yet instantly accessible when you need it. So sweet. Also, I am loving the ceiling panels with the LED lighting. I want to do something similar for my space. Thanks for sharing your lessons learned. I love your whole setup. (What was the software you were using for the 3D home layout?).

Always love your videos I would love to send you pictures of my a lot of it was picked out because of you send me a link where to send pics Thanks again

Fantastic videos, and I wanted to ask for your advice. I have a 13X13 room and will be using a Universal Audio Volt 276 for playing Bass Guitar and keyboards to write and produce music. I am confused on how big of a studio monitor (KRK Gen 4 is what I am looking at), what OHM for headphones (DT 700 Pro X is what I am looking at), and what free DAW software is best to set up a studio in my house. Any suggestions?

So you plug a guitar into the heads...but where are the cabs? Or, do you use reactive load boxes???

Hi Colt, thanks for this inspiring video! I noticed you didn't set up bass traps in the corners. Doesn't that give you some kind of problems while mixing in there? I ask you this 'cause I'm about to set up my studio and my room looks a little like yours.

stagg jr flex

Hey Colt, thank you for your awesome Channel. Can you please tell me how you're going into the mic preamps from your LR Master Bus? Are you connecting it directly with patch cables or do you use a DI or a something, so you can come from your Interface with patch cables and then switch to XLR? I can't figure out what is the correct way here? I hope you can help me here. Thank you

Awesome video ! We used almost the same title too =) except mine doesn't have the pretty sound treatment options as yours

Thanks man. How far apart are your speakers?

That's awesome bro. how can I reach you, I need your help building a vocal and master chain from hardware !