Set up your home studio
What a home studio needs, what $330 to $3,000 actually buys, and why the room matters as much as the mic. Plus links to every guide on the site.
Read the complete guideFree guides for vocals, podcasts, guitar and bands
Record better at home.
Guides, gear roundups and direct answers for recording vocals, podcasts, guitar and full bands at home, plus a free acoustic panel calculator.
130 guides and answers, 142 diagrams, one free calculator
Gear compared across 19 roundups, including
- Shure
- Neumann
- Focusrite
- Audio-Technica
- Auralex
- Yamaha
- Ableton
- Genelec
Ten topics, 130 pages
Everything a home studio needs, in one place.
Setup, gear, acoustics, soundproofing and recording technique, written so each page answers its question in the first few lines.
See the full studio guideGear roundups
Recording gear
The home recording studio equipment list: what each piece does, what to buy first, and interface, mic, headphone, monitor, and DAW picks at three budgets.
6 pagesMicrophones
The best microphone for recording at home depends on the source: SM7B or NT1 for vocals, MV7+ for voice, NT5 pair for acoustic guitar, SM57 for amps and snare.
17 pagesAudio interfaces
The best audio interface for a home studio depends on how many mics you record at once. Seven current picks from 1 to 8 preamps, compared on gain and noise.
13 pagesMonitors and headphones
The best studio monitors for a home studio, picked by room size and published frequency response: JBL, Adam, Yamaha, Neumann, and Genelec compared.
15 pagesAcoustic treatment
Home studio acoustic treatment in order: bass traps in the corners, panels at first reflection points, a ceiling cloud, with lab data on which materials work.
26 pagesSoundproofing and booths
How to soundproof a music room or home studio: seal gaps, decouple, add mass, in that order. Lab STC data for six wall builds, plus what renters can do.
12 pagesRecording how-to
How to record music at home in 8 steps: set the session to 48 kHz and 24-bit, track peaks near minus 12 dBFS, comp vocals, mix, then bounce at minus 14 LUFS.
25 pagesDAWs and software
The best DAW for beginners: GarageBand for Mac; FL Studio, REAPER, or Ableton Live Intro on Windows. Compare cost, trials, track limits, and difficulty.
5 pagesPodcast and voice over
Podcast studio setup at home: a dynamic mic and closed-back headphones per host, in a small, quiet room. Gear lists, costs, and a layout for 2 hosts.
2 pagesPick a starting point
What do you want to record?
Five pages for each, in the order we would read them.
Vocals
- How to Record Vocals at HomeHow to record vocals at home: sing 8 to 12 inches from the mic behind a pop filter, leave 10 dB of headroom at 24-bit, pick a dry room and comp 4 or 5 takes.
- Best Microphone for Recording VocalsThe best microphone for recording vocals is the Shure SM7B in an untreated room and the RØDE NT1 5th Gen in a treated one. 7 picks by room, voice and budget.
- What Equipment Do I Need to Record Vocals at Home?To record vocals at home you need a cardioid mic, pop filter and stand, an audio interface with phantom power, closed-back headphones and a computer with a DAW.
- Vocal Booths for Home StudiosA vocal booth cuts room echo. Only a sealed one blocks outside noise. Compare booths, treated rooms, and reflection filters by dB, size, and price.
- How to Mix VocalsHow to mix vocals: high-pass and EQ first, compress with matched make-up gain, de-ess at 5 to 8 kHz or 3 to 6 kHz, and put reverb on a send, not the track.
Podcast or voice
- How to Set Up a Podcast Studio at HomePodcast studio setup at home: a dynamic mic and closed-back headphones per host, in a small, quiet room. Gear lists, costs, and a layout for 2 hosts.
- Home Voice Over Studio SetupDubbing studio setup at home: hit a minus 60 dB RMS noise floor, record 48 kHz 24-bit, and play picture in your DAW. Closet booth plan, gear and how to measure.
- Best Microphone for Voice and Podcast RecordingThe best USB microphone for podcast recording is the Shure MV7+, a dynamic with USB-C and XLR. Six voice recording picks for any room, USB or XLR, and budget.
- What Is the Best Way to Record a Voice Over at Home?The best way to record a voice over at home: a dynamic mic 1 to 6 inches away, in a clothes-filled closet, with a noise floor at or below minus 60 dB RMS.
- XLR vs USB MicrophoneXLR vs USB microphone: USB is one box for a single voice, XLR plus an interface lets you add mics and upgrade parts. Compare the costs, specs and upgrade path.
Guitar
- How to Record Guitar on a ComputerRecording yourself playing guitar on a computer: plug in direct for a silent track, add an amp sim plugin, or mic your amp with an SM57. Steps and settings.
- How to Connect a Guitar to an Audio InterfaceHow to connect a guitar to an audio interface: run a TS cable into the front input, press Inst (Hi-Z), set gain so peaks stay green, or mic your amp over XLR.
- Best Audio Interface for Guitar RecordingThe best audio interface for guitar recording: 5 picks with 1 megohm Hi-Z inputs, bundled amp sims, and published latency, from Scarlett Solo to AXE I/O.
- How to Record Acoustic GuitarHow to record acoustic guitar with one mic at the 12th fret, an XY pair, or a spaced pair: exact distances, angles, spacing, and which setup is mono safe.
- Best Microphone for Recording Acoustic GuitarThe best mic for recording acoustic guitar is a RØDE NT5 matched pair, or a Shure SM81 if you want one mic. Five picks, SDC vs LDC, and where each one goes.
A full band
- How to Record Drums at HomeHow to record drums at home with 1, 3 or 4 mics: where each mic goes, the 32 inch Recorderman overhead pair, kick and snare placement and a quick phase check.
- Best Drum Mics for Home RecordingThe best drum microphones for home recording: Shure Beta 52A on kick, SM57 on snare and RØDE NT5 overheads, built up as 3, 4 and 8 mic kits for small rooms.
- Soundproof Drum RoomA soundproof drum room needs 60 to 70 dB of isolation, as drums average 103 dBA. What each wall leaves next door, plus floor isolation and cheaper options.
- How to Record Music at HomeHow to record music at home in 8 steps: set the session to 48 kHz and 24-bit, track peaks near minus 12 dBFS, comp vocals, mix, then bounce at minus 14 LUFS.
- What Is the 3:1 Rule for Microphones?The 3:1 rule for microphones: put a second mic at least 3 times as far from the first mic as that mic is from its source, for about 10 dB less bleed into it.
Mixing only
- Best Studio Monitors for Home StudiosThe best studio monitors for a home studio, picked by room size and published frequency response: JBL, Adam, Yamaha, Neumann, and Genelec compared.
- How to Set Up Studio MonitorsHow to set up studio monitors: form an equilateral triangle with your head, put the tweeters at ear height, aim them at you and keep the layout symmetrical.
- Home Studio Acoustic Treatment GuideHome studio acoustic treatment in order: bass traps in the corners, panels at first reflection points, a ceiling cloud, with lab data on which materials work.
- Acoustic Panel CalculatorFree acoustic treatment calculator: enter room length, width, height and use to get how many 2 x 4 ft panels you need, coverage percent and where they go first.
- Best Studio HeadphonesThe best studio headphones for home recording: closed-back pairs for tracking, open-back pairs for mixing, compared on weight, impedance, and isolation.
- What Is the 38% Rule in Room Acoustics?The 38% rule in room acoustics: sit with your head 38 percent of the room length from the front wall, 4.6 feet in a 12 foot room, where bass is most even.
Free tool
How many acoustic panels does your room need?
Free acoustic treatment calculator: enter room length, width, height and use to get how many 2 x 4 ft panels you need, coverage percent and where they go first.
Open the panel calculatorShort answers
Most asked questions
- How to Soundproof a Room?
To soundproof a room, seal every air gap first, then upgrade the door and windows, and only then add mass and decoupling to the walls, floor, and ceiling.
- How to Build a Home Recording Studio?
To build a home recording studio, work in this order: choose the quietest room, set up a computer and DAW, add an audio interface, mic, and closed-back headphones, wire them together, place your desk and monitors, then treat the room.
- What Does 48V Do on an Audio Interface?
The 48V button on an audio interface turns on phantom power: 48 volts DC sent up the XLR mic cable to power a condenser mic's internal electronics.
- What Is an Audio Interface?
An audio interface is the box that sits between your computer and your mics, instruments, and speakers.
- How to Record Music at Home?
To record music at home, plug a mic or guitar into an audio interface, record each part as its own track in a DAW at 48 kHz and 24-bit with peaks around minus 12 dBFS, then comp, mix, and bounce the song to a WAV file.
Buying guides
Featured roundups
- RoundupBest Computer for Home Recording
The best computers for home recording studio use: RAM, CPU, and SSD minimums per use case, a Mac vs PC table, and 5 picks from Mac mini to a Windows PC.
- RoundupBest Budget Microphone for Recording Vocals
The best budget microphone for recording vocals: Shure SM58 for a bare room, AT2020 or AT2035 for a treated one, plus USB picks. Under $100 and under $200.
- RoundupBest Audio Interface for Guitar Recording
The best audio interface for guitar recording: 5 picks with 1 megohm Hi-Z inputs, bundled amp sims, and published latency, from Scarlett Solo to AXE I/O.
- RoundupBest Closed-Back Studio Headphones
The best closed back studio headphones for tracking at home, compared on published isolation, weight, and impedance, plus a 5-minute mic bleed test.
- RoundupBest Acoustic Panels for Home Studios
The best acoustic treatment panels for a home studio, compared on lab absorption at 125 to 500 Hz: GIK, Primacoustic, Auralex foam and fiberglass, DIY cores.
- RoundupBest Portable Vocal Booths
The best portable vocal booth for singers is the Snap Studio. Compare 5 foldable booths by size, build, and price, from a budget closet hood to a walk-in.
- RoundupBest DAW
The best DAW for each genre and workflow: Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, REAPER, Bitwig and Fender Studio Pro, with prices and 3-year costs.