“If someone isn’t changed, what’s the point of your story?” - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
This is the first post of a new exploration of my discoveries in starting a personal home recording studio. I acquired a lot of the knowledge I’ve built by trial and error at first, then getting a degree in audio engineering, and finally by working in world-class recording studios. Luckily, I also have a master's degree in teaching, so hopefully that means I can transfer this knowledge to you :)
It’s a little weird to be professionally “promoting” home recording. Life circumstances brought me to home-recording, not a burning desire to record in my bedroom. But over time I’ve experienced it’s benefits first hand, and it’s created a music career for me that otherwise, wouldn’t be possible.
I write this on the tail end of my time living in NYC. I'm about to move to Asheville, NC, so I figured what a great way to end my time in the city by reflecting on some of my biggest lessons in home recording I've made while I was here. Change is scary, but change is truth and I've come to embrace the uncertainty of it.
So here are a few stats on what I’ve been able to do from home over the years in various projects (Freddy Oak and Steph Durwin):
- Recorded a full length album, 3 EPs, and 6 singles at home and released them all
- Recorded all of these projects for $0
- Used the money I would have spent on recording to build other parts of my business, which has increased my music income by 1000%
I’ve certainly made a lot of mistakes over the years in learning to record myself, and the learning is never over.
In this post I’ll share some of my biggest lessons.
I’ve formatted this post as a Q & A based on common questions I get from friends wanting to embark on or simply curious about recording by their projects from home.
The overarching principles extend beyond home recording, and it’s important to remember, there are a million methods to actually apply these principles.
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Question: Why did you start home recording if you came up on pro studios? How has your recording evolved over the years?
I started recording myself at home in 2017. The shift from studio recording to home recording coincided with my transition.
I’m a trans person, and started taking testosterone in August of 2017. I had written a bunch of songs while I was processing whether or not to transition. My voice was about to change, and after talking with a friend, he recommended I record the songs while I still could. Once my voice changed, it wouldn’t change back. I had no money for a studio, and had no time to save up since my voice was going to change.
So I started recorded all the songs at home. The plan was to start the record with my old voice, then eventually duet with myself by the middle of the album, and by the end my new, deeper voice would be the lead. The topics I was exploring were deeply personal, and over the months, as my voice was changing, this project was the main driving force behind relearning my singing voice.
Admittedly, the album isn’t the “best” sounding project I’ve ever worked on. My methods and approaches to recording have evolved since then.
That said, my big takeaway from this first project was that it was a freer process, as the presence of other people and being in expensive spaces wasn't something I had to hold while I was trying to perform. This led to better performances, agility in experimentation, and building my self-confidence as an artist.
At the end of the day, the home-recording process of observing, recording, listening, comping, mixing, are not all that different from the work I had done previously in the studio. The setting is different, which means having to incorporate some different methods to be able to control the sound.
Question: Do the recordings you make make any money?
The recordings I’ve made don’t really make me any money, to be honest. They didn't when I was spending thousands at studios either. At least not directly. Streaming has changed the industry so much, and if I’m honest, I don’t really expect to make money from the recordings. That said, they are the driving force behind all the other aspects of my music career.
Everyone is going to have a different experience depending on your goals, your music, and your location. That said, playing better gigs, connecting with other artists, drawing people to the products and services I make all starts with the recordings. So in a way, the recordings have been the foundation of all the money I’ve made. That said, if I was expecting much income to come from music sales or streaming itself, that would be unrealistic looking at my story as a case study.
Question: What is your long term music recording strategy?
My long-term strategy in recording is to work from home until I’m making enough money to go to studios and hire out the processes I’m currently doing myself. I love working from home AND I love studio recording. I love building projects myself AND I love working with producers. I love being able to say I made projects completely on my own AND I love being able to collaborate with other Artists who can help me create something neither one of us could have done on our own.
What feels most important is that I do these things in a smart way, that leaves me happy at the end of the day. If I blow all of my grocery money on going to studios at this point in my career, well… it doesn’t matter how well that producer produced. I won’t be happy. I’ll be hangry.
I guess the message is that with the technology many of us have access to today, there is no reason you have to spend thousands to get a GREAT sounding song on Spotify.
Cost doesn't have to hold you back. If you can't afford or have the schedule that lets you get to a studio, you CAN record at home.
Question: What gear do I use? What gear should I buy?
Let’s break this down for a second. Because I could tell you specific pieces of gear and then in two years there’ll most definitely be something “better” available for the same price.
You need a few things to record at home:
- Computer or laptop
- Microphone
- Mic stand
- XLR Cable
- Interface
- Headphones
In truth, that’s all you need. Of course, there are always pieces of gear you can add to this as you grow as a recording artist. If you have any extra cash from the get-go, get a pop-filter.
But these are all you need.
What gear you buy depends on your budget. There are GREAT mics for less than $100. There are GREAT mics for more than $10,000.
But how do you allocate your budget across all the aforementioned pieces of gear?
- First: Use 40% of your budget on an interface.
- Second: Use 30% of your budget on a microphone
- Third: Use 20% on headphones
- Fourth: Use the remaining 10% on stands, cables, pop-filter etc.
For example, if I had $1000, I would:
- Spend $400 on an interface
- Spend $300 on a microphone
- Spend $200 on headphones
- Spend $100 on a stand, cables, a pop-filter, whatever other accessories you need.
If you’re having trouble finding gear that fits in your budget using these metrics, look to used instrument retail platforms on FB Marketplace, Craigslist, or Reverb.
One more note on “gear” before we move on:
Shortly after I moved to NYC, I was managing a record label. It was one the hardest, yet rewarding parts in my career so far. Trans Trenderz was a label that signed Black Trans Artists to give them opportunities in the industry. Over the years, several of the artists I was working with were literally homeless. At certain points, other than a plastic grocery bag with clothes, they only had a $100 interface and a $100 mic.
The music they were able to make with these was remarkably good-- all releasable and even got press and streams.
These artists taught me that anyone who claims they can't record at home is making an excuse.
For your own sake, please try to get to the root of where this excuse is coming from.
9/10 times? It's fear of being judged by other people. The gear you have or don't have is not a good excuse in the majority of situations.
Question: Is it too late to start recording myself at home? Can you teach old dogs new tricks?
You can learn to record yourself at home.
You can learn to record yourself at home.
You can learn to record yourself at home.
Got it?
Here’s how I know.
Learning how to record is truly not that complicated. And if you’re saying to yourself, “Well maybe not for you…” then I challenge you to think why you are REALLY making this excuse.
A lot of people aren’t willing to put in the time or energy to learning because of deeper fears that they’ll make a bad recording, or they’ll release a song that their friends or family will judge, or they will discover that their songs really aren’t that good after all, or they will “fail” in some other way.
So really, they’re being self-preserving by never learning to record. If they’re song tanks… they can pass the blame to whoever else worked on it.
You can learn this. You just have to decide that you want to. Once you do, there are some fantastic resources online. I can also help guide you.
Question: How much time do you put into recording? If you see spend your time coaching other artists, how do you make time for actually recording your own music?
Before I jumped into coaching full time, I was in grad school and working full time as a NYC public school teacher. Trust me, I get that time can get tough lol!
But even during those days, I dedicated every Monday night to working on music. On my calendar, from 6pm-8pm, I worked on songs-- either writing or recording. By doing this, in one “school-year” I was able to record and mix a full album of 10 songs (which for creative and artistic reasons I boiled down to release a 5 song EP).
Now as a coach, I'm fortunate enough to dedicate one day of my week to recording / mixing.
If you want to record yourself at home, you CAN make the time. All you really need is a couple hours a week. For me to implement this, all I really needed to do was put it on my calendar, communicate with my spouse, and if someone asked for my availability, all I had to say was, "Sorry, I have a prior commitment during that time".
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Lastly but certainly not least, I want to thank my mentors who helped me learn how to listen, record, edit, and mix!
Sean McLaughlin - 37' Productions
Benny Grotto - Mad Oak Studios
Jeff Lipton - Peerless Mastering
Joel Hamilton - Studio G Brooklyn