HOME STUDIO
Your First Home Studio for Under $500
You don't need a $2000 setup to make professional recordings. Here's the exact $500 kit that gets you 90% of the way there.
The myth that you need to spend thousands to record professionally keeps people from ever starting. Here's the truth: a $500 setup, used well, makes release-quality recordings.
The kit
- Audio interface: Focusrite Scarlett Solo (~$119). One mic input, great preamp, works with any computer.
- Microphone: Audio-Technica AT2020 (~$99) for treated rooms, or a Shure SM58 (~$99) for untreated — get the SM58 if your room isn't treated.
- Headphones: Sony MDR-7506 (~$99). The monitoring standard for 30 years.
- Cables and stand: a Mogami XLR and a basic desk stand (~$50).
- Treatment: two moving blankets and a thick rug (~$60).
- Software: GarageBand or Audacity (free).
That's under $500 and it's a real studio.
What to skip
Skip monitors for now — headphones in a treated corner are more honest than monitors in an untreated room. Skip plugins. Skip the second mic input until you actually need to record two things at once.
The one thing that matters
None of this matters if your room is bad. Spend the first afternoon on blankets and placement, not unboxing gear. The room is the instrument.
A $500 setup in a treated corner beats a $5000 setup in a live room. Start here.
EAR-TRAINING FIELD TRIP
Chicago, USA
Symphony Center (Orchestra Hall)
YOUR EXERCISE HERE
Find a seat in the lower balcony during a rehearsal and close your eyes. Listen for how the cello's low end resonates against the floorboards versus the walls; that clean, distinct decay is what we're trying to simulate when we treat a small bedroom studio.
Free Listening Worksheet
5 questions on sound & music (2 fill-in-the-blank). Take it to the venue.
You Just Read the Free Version.
The full Sound Check course turns this into a system — 8 modules, 6 hours, a room that finally sounds right.
ENROLL NOW — $97