2:00 Also for the computer spec, - ALWAYS - think about an extra HDD for backup Internal or external I had 3 ssd failure in the last 10 years for no specific reason and without real warning
That y u want to use a nas most people who buy regular drives or SSD dont want to back up their projects manually implementing the 321 backup rule and having the process automated on the other hand you can go with my cloud storage which will cost you more money over time so having a nas will give you the best both of worlds a regular drive and a cloud service ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_XD4_SqzPn0.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--VP0PXqk5uc.html
seriously man, you are the best. you spread your knowledge across the internet out of a care for music and sharing, not because you want to charge people money for your own self benefit. I am yet to find another music information channel as amazing as yours. from the bottom of all our hearts thank you for everything you do bro.
@@inthemix can you do video How to do Remix of The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia By Reba McEntire here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NnsyvVCzjxA.html
Power conditioning is one of the most overlooked things in studios. I highly recommend for people to look into it if they have their studios in apartment buildings, older houses, or in rural areas. Aging/substandard wires, transformers, and other electrical doohickeys can cause fluctuations in power that is not noticed with the majority of electronics but show up in music production equipment more frequently. Also it will extend the life of your gear :)
I'm using Dell's UPS from first day just because many years earlier I discovered benefits of this solution with graphic monitors /systems as I'm photographer.
Your last bit of advice about taking care of your body and self, and making the studio an inviting space associated with creativity and play - golden and overlooked
There is something genuinely comforting about listening to this man. Apart from being extremely knowledgeable, he takes the time to edit his uploads so they're not full of "um,....err.....like....you know?......." It makes a real difference to the 'palatability' of the message. And on top of that you feel he really cares, both about the quality of your music production, and even your health. Top channel. Please keep up the good work. It certainly motivates me to compose and record.
Something to keep in mind with laptops: some laptops can get quite warm quickly when you are using them, especially at full CPU load. Some of those same laptops can also have bad air circulation that is compounded greatly when you lay it flat down on a surface. Over time, this can warp the chassis of the laptop and can even affect performance due to heating issues. I highly recommend having your laptop resting at an angle rather than flat. You can use a laptop stand, especially ones that are designed to improve the overall air circulation (and this will help keep the laptop itself cool). The easiest and cheapest way is to put little "feet stands" at the bottom of the laptop. That way, you can open them up when you are using the laptop and close them when the laptop is packed away.
@@tchekesarecords Yes, I didn’t want to name names, but the Dell laptops are very notorious on that issue. I recently got an XPS 15 and knowing this about the Dell laptops, I took the appropriate steps to remedy that. So far, it’s successful: no to very very little heating issues at all.
This is literally the only guide anyone would need to start up a home studio. It's really amazing how we're getting this much of valuable info for free.
And, chose open back headphones Most microphones are good enough for vocals, it’s the room damping/acoustics that matters most, and that is an extensive subject, especially for small rooms and bass issues I use dynamics for voice
Hi Michael. Could you let me know what is the power conditioner you are using and what do you think about it? I have been thinking about getting one for my HI FI set up but recently I started to expand my "studio gear" and having a power conditioner is becoming more and more interesting topic. Thanks. :)
@@inthemix hello sir, i need ur help..but this is not related to this video....i have a problem in fl studio 20...the bass and 808's got popping and clicking sound when i output the audio to the headphones/speaker....how to solve this problem sir? There is no video on youtube about this problem..
The way you changed your seating spot between the headphones and microphones sections without the audio changing in any discernible way was great. That is a pro tip for acoustic control, without even having to mention it really! Nicely done sir. Love the channel!!!
I literally have almost all of home studio setup equipment. But I will still watch the video for the love, respect and loyalty I have for your channel. Anyway, a great video indeed! Thank yoh! 😊
Hi micheal! I just wanted to thank you for how much your channel has meant to me in the last couple of years. I got into production a couple of years ago and in the mix has taught me so much and has become my comfort channel. I named one of my cats after you and I thought that'd be fun to share lol. Have a good day!
My goodness that's so nice of you to say! Funnily enough I'm allergic to most cats lol. I do think they are adorable so I put up with the allergy though!
You are hands down the best music channel on RU-vid. The information you provide is all practical and important. thank you for all the value you add!!!!
Great video. Wish I had seen this years ago on my journey. Definitely agree a nice pair of headphones goes a long way. I've had a pair of Yamaha HS8 studio monitors in my untreated bedroom setup for a couple years and they've never really sounded that great imo, I get way more detail from my Audiotechnica M50x headphones. And I recently got a pair of open back Sennheiser HD650s which seem very similar to my monitors, but more perhaps controlled and detailed. Wish I had pursued the headphone path more earlier on instead of buying into the monitor hype. I agree they're useful to have, but more as a check than the primary tool
So I bought a 1200€ mixing console which was total overkill for my needs but I love this thing and it helped me record my drums because it has some real nice preamps for each input. I still feel like a noob but my production quality has gone up a fair bit over the last three years. Thank you for all your content!
There's no one out there making better tutorials💯after watching your videos I feel like I've left with something and it was worth the time💯you the best! I enjoy your content keep going 💯
Michael, you have one of the cleanest, chillest, nicest vibes I've ever seen on YT. Just to hear you speak so neatly about music and stuff, feels like being taken care of by someone special. I bet you're great to be around irl! I know this is off-topic but I just can't help thinking "daamn I wish I could give this man a hug" every time you upload lol
Thank you for this video. You are such a positive, balanced human being, it's inspiring to know that someone in this world is such a ray of sunshine. Your videos are very informative, concise, and its clear that you truly want to help people. I wish you all the success. May life always bring you many blessings for your good will.
Nice video. I do think the choice of a MIDI-controleer deserves some more elaboration. There are some many options. Most trivial might be the number of keys, but do you need, and if so, how many, knobs and sliders? Do you need keys at all? If so, mini or FS? Should you have your keys and sliders in one case, or maybe separate? Pads? Modern developments like Push? When you're into sound design or rather into beatmaking? Sequencer on board, or arpeggiator? By now i have five of them, partly because of buying one that had what the previous lacked. To turn back to what I started with ;-)
I pretty much only use kontakt in my workflow so the Komplete Kontrol keyboard just made sense for my workflow. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles in the world… but every important knob for sample libraries is automatically mapped out for you and the keyboard lights up depending on the range of the kontakt instrument. It might not work for others, but it made sense for my workflow.
The choice of a MIDI-controler is highly individual. From my experience, the only universal advice is to get something which works well with your DAW. Other parameters depend. For example: Do you need keys? If you want to play keys, yes. Do you need full-size keys? If you can play piano/keyboard and want to learn, yes. Do you want your midi keys to sit on a stand in your studio, or do you plan on taking them into your bad, on holidays or wherever? This is what decides the number of keys you can have. Do you need a hardware sequencer? If you use sequencing a lot in your workflow, certainly. And so on...
Wow, one of the best "how to" tutorials I've seen thus far! Very comprehensive, but on the mark and brief with only as much detail as needed to make an informed decision. Subscribed, excellent info!
Amazing video with very detailed tips. My recomendation for storage, use a SSD for the DAW and all your VST's, and the typical 4/8gb Barracuda for all your sound libraries.
Fantastic channel😊This is my go to channel for this stuff. I´m just getting back into music making after a long time and things have changed a lot. I´m not going to do much else then hooking up loads of keyboards.
Excellent video. I've seen plenty of these studio setup vids and yours is by far the best. No nonsense, no hype & very educational, particularly for the beginner. Well done & I hope some of the other content creators take note. Cheers from Australia.
Great and useful video. Cables and mic stands are important (and often neglected) piece of gear. They're not the most expensive elements but clearly deserve to spend few bucks more to avoid buying cheap gear twice !
1. What fun little piano can record, audio and play sound effects for a fun stream? 2. And how can I hook it up to my MacBook in order for my friends can hear the effects 3. Will the piano show on OBS? I’m sorry for the lot of questions too 😂🙏
I’m so frustrated, because I couldn’t show my appreciation this time. This is real educational gold. I tumbled for 20 plus yrs to accomplished some of this knowledge. I had even consider take a “ proper”educational and subsecuente carear. But the money requirements and the general snootiness of the whole environment; made me decide to just proceed on my own. I could contribute with a grain: Between a M1 plus Logic(best value ever), add a descent interface, one good mic, one good xlr cable, a pair of Beyerdynamics headphones, forget about the speakers and add a midi thing; will set you back on an average off $1000. Of course you can get all this for considerable less money. Search around find the best deals. Don’t forget to borrow a stand, for ever.
Honestly that last point really hit me, that the studio shouldn’t be a place of uncomfort or burn out, I need to invest in a monitor or a stand to raise my laptop, I’ve been hunched over for so long and it really hurts my bad lol
I’m sorry to hear about your back. Even using some thick books/textbooks is a good place to start until you find the right monitor or stand. Most importantly, take short breaks to move and stretch your back too.
Just a useful tip.... I'm a professional composer, but working in a not well treated studio, with windows facing the street. However, I use a pair of small condenser mics and not once I've had any issues picking up unwanted noises (of course it depends in every enviroment) But if you want clarity, I recommend you not to use dynamic microphones in home studios, even if you have doubts about room treatment. It is much more easy to EQ condenser later, than having a bad not detailed recording with a dynamic mic :)
Thanks for sharing your advice. Its good to hear what works for other people. Do you choose certain quiet times to record or use the polar patterns to avoid external noise?
@@inthemix Yes, I try to record in quiet times, just to be sure, but even when there is noise outside or when there was an ambulance passing by for example and I thought the recording was ruined, I could not here anything, while listening back the audio. They are cardioid mics anyway. I'm guess I'm lucky with it, but I think it worths a try for others as well. It might turns out well.
Great video, however just as a side note if anyone out there is interested in producing/composing any orchestral/trailer/cinematic music and is not going to be recording live instruments then 250gb is well below what you need. An average orchestral library can be anywhere between 20-80gb. A couple of those and your SSD is already filled. I'd be aiming for 1TB minimum and multiple TB SSD's if you can afford it.
You know out of every videos, you need a video from that guy whom you can always believe while your both eyes closed ........ Thank you for this tip :)
Your videos are so inviting and informative. I have learned so many interesting tips and tricks from your videos, such a breath of fresh air. Thank you for being an amazing content creator and musician!
This is the first tutorial I've seen that put some emphasis on using an SSD, and I'd been wondering why no one cares to bring it up. An SSD is a definite must-have if you have multiple samples or virtual instruments in your project, or you may have dropouts and crashes and all sorts of problems.
@@seanstar9698 oh absolutely. I’ll be making the highest quality possible at a reasonable budget. My design is one that I haven’t yet seen anywhere on the internet so I think it will actually be really interesting!
Power conditioning is really overlooked and I haven't heard this from anyone! I have been looking for what is this called, basically living in an older brick house with messy electric foundations got me thinking how I can prevent my gear to get burned from the inside. thank you
I’m happy to have pointed you in the right direction. Power stability is often an issue where I live and this real has helped. It’s great peace of mind knowing the equipment is protected.
Hey Michael. Could you make a video about power conditioning? Like how to set it up, how you turn your systems off/on, and so forth? I using a pretty weak computer with basic computer speakers and I'm finally looking to upgrade my hardware after saving up for so long. And I have done lots of research on equipment. But I can't find much on Power Conditioning for home studios. It would be so helpful if you were to make a video on the topic.
Thanks Michael! Do you use a sub when mixing/mastering to get a better idea of the low-end? Or is that likely to cause more trouble with room treatment, and better to check sub-bass in good headphones?
Excellent questions. I do not use a dedicated subwoofer but it is something I an experimenting with and researching. I believe that using 2 subwoofers is significantly more accurate and balanced than using a sole subwoofer. Luckily my monitors have a very deep low end extension but I do rely on my DT1990pro headphones to aim my bass management!
About the Audio Interface bit, I find $100 is a fin amount if you're on a tight budget but I found that the $150-$300 range gives you the maximum output for your money. Most interfaces around that area have expansion built in so you could set up an 8 track interface to record drums and connect it right to the main interface. Also the Preamps are cleaner and high quality when you step up from the $100 to the $150-$175 range even. $100-$200 interfaces I would say could last 5 years but increasing the budget just that much more could easily double the life span of the audio interface because of the higher quality specifications and manufacturing that goes into it.
it is hard if not impossible to beat the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 MK2 for quality and price and if cash is seriously tight the smaller Audio 2.
@@skx3248 I bought the Motu M4 because it has superb low latency its 4 input/output but the M2 2 input/outputs would probably be fine for most people. It also gives me control over the volume between my ifi Zen phono and the power amps. I also love the screen on the front you can see put input and output levels and it will work fine without the computer
Something else you forgot to mention about the computer specs. You need to make sure its capable of actually using high quality audio. If it has an older motherboard or soundchip (if its not already built in to the motherboard.) The best headphones won't be able to save that.
Have a back up solution also guys! I literally lost all my data and projects a few months ago, and havent saved a back up for a long time. Doing one on a schedule would be helpful just in case
Bomb vid as usual…”Session View” like Ableton Live has can be a clear differentiator for all levels that can make your decision a slam dunk for ease of writing and having button mashing fun ASAP on into advanced techniques that work seem-less with arranging, mixing, mastering. Good luck all 😎🖤🙌
Great video! really great for beginners but I'm hoping you would do a follow up video for advanced producers Just to give you an example, I was looking for a Power Conditioner without realizing it, I didn't know it was a thing, now I know :) And also potentially for future videos maybe explain how much to spend on treating your room, do you need a monitor stand and should you EQ your headphones (just some questions I have unanswered)
About the monitor section: I know it's controversial, but i think that the sound of the monitors is more dependent on the design of the monitors rather than the acoustic properties of the room. You can get "cheap" speakers to sound good in a room if you set up them correctly. Not saying that you shouldn't get acoustic treating for a (studio) room, it does help of course (with the usual box type speakers). Now to the accuracy. You can make speakers sound accurate, more accurate than headphones. With headphones its easy to get a pretty accurate FREQUENCY RESPONSE basically anywhere, but there are drawbacks. With headphones you get distance foreshortening (sounds appear closer than they were in reality), and the stereo field is distorted. To me headphones sound like if all the instruments were either inside my head or in one of my ears. This doesn't happen with speakers. The phenomenon of having to listen to certain monitors a long time before they sound good is because the monitors sound isn't perfect and your ears have to adjust to them. I wouldn't really change much in this video, other than the cant make monitors sound accurate part.
I agree with you, I didn’t say monitors can’t be accurate, they just are not accurate without dozens of hours of investment in learning and room set up along with hundreds (or thousands) of dollars of acoustic treatment. Of course, you can’t buy a good room, you need to know where to put the treatment! I hope it didn’t seem like I don’t think monitors are accurate, my system is now sounding good after a few years of setting things up differently and I would trust my monitors with any editing or mixing task. Thanks for sharing your experiences and adding on to my video!
Intel i5 PC with SSD and HD, Audient ID14 interface, Kali Audio LP-6, Beyer Dynamic DT770Pro 300 Ohm, Sonarworks Reference Software, 40" LG Monitor, M-Audio Oxygen 25 Keyboard/Controller, Presonus Studio One Artist Edition (Only $99), Mic Locker: Warm Audio WA47 Jr, Matched pair of sE SE7 SDC, SM57, Sennheiser E602, Neat Worker Bee...
i have just got a pair of head phones and omg i was shocked at how good they , iv struggled with mixdowns for years i get the tracks to a certain point but could never push it the bit extra cos i couldnt hear what was going on
Awesome Video, easy to watch and listen to. Do you have a list of recommended equipment and prices? Would love to price up the whole shebang. I'm looking to just produce some house/tech house style music with perhaps some vocals added. No instruments
I've found over the years that 'accuracy' in terms of monitoring is a somewhat overused term. The accuracy is not as important as the detail, which is the real reason to buy into monitor speakers. You can kind of compensate for the room in various ways, but if your speakers are showing you 60hz and 80hz as being the same thing, you're screwed. I've owned dozens of speakers over the years from £100 to £4000, and they all sound different. So none of them can be 'accurate' in reality. The difference is in the detail, and that difference can be staggering. It's like using an audio magnifying glass in some respects. Investing in treatment is absolutely the way to go though, especially if the room is bad.
