For recording newbies, it’s easily the most commonly asked question when it comes to their first studio:
What’s the CHEAPEST one I can build?
Strangely, it seems that NO ONE out there has yet answered it.
So in this article, that’s exactly what I’ll do, by attempting to actually build the World’s Cheapest Recording Studio for myself.
Here’s what I came up with:
The Total Price of the Studio
After scouring the internet, in an attempt to find the absolute best deals out there, I constructed a simple working studio with a total sticker price of just over 400 dollars.
Here’s what I bought:
The Gear I Chose For this ENTIRE studio, I compiled a total of 4 items:
*Computer
*Digital Audio Workstation
*Microphone
*Headphones
The Computer
Common recording advice states that since DAW software is resource intensive, you want to buy the fastest computer you can afford.
Normally, I’d choose a Macbook Pro…
But Apple is expensive, and I wanted something cheap.
So here’s what I chose instead: the Acer Chromebook at a price of around 200 dollars.
As it turns out, Chromebooks are also made by Samsung, HP, and Toshiba. I chose the Acer model because it was the cheapest and also seemed to have the best overall reviews.
The Digital Audio Workstation
For a DAW, normally I’d choose Avid Pro Tools or Studio One…
The Microphone
For this studio, I knew right away that a USB mic was the only smart option.
By eliminating the need for either a mic preamp or an audio interface, it would save me HUGE money.
The mic I originally chose was the Rode Podcaster, since it is perhaps the most famous dynamic USB mic out there.
Now…the final item:
Headphones
Even the most basic home studio wouldn’t be complete without SOME sort of monitoring.
Normally I’d choose a Sennheiser HD280, but for this studio, I wanted to see if there was anything cheaper.
I found one: the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x.
Priced at around 50 dollars, you wouldn’t think to expect much, but the reviews I found on them were universally positive. So that’s what I chose.
Record your voice or instrument into the computer
Mix several tracks together into a complete song
Turn those tracks into a stereo audio file, and share it with your friends.
If that’s ALL you want, this studio will get you there.