Top Home Recording Studio Kits & Packages. This is a full list of the best home recording studio packages that will turn your music room into a pro recording studio. PreSonus AudioBox 96. Creating a home recording studio. Setting up your music production equipment and studio. The first steps to building a home recording studio involve identifying the types of recordings you want to make and the type of dedicated space you have available to accommodate your home studio.

1. Home Recording Studio Download
2. Home Recording Studio Bundle

Are you a musician, singer, or do you have dreams of being able to make your own music through music production?

Not sure where to start?

This guide is your one-stop place for learning how to set up your own home recording studio and get started making music.

Here’s what you will learn in this guide:

• How Much Does It Cost to Build a Home Studio?
• What Do You Need to Make a Recording Studio?
• How to Set Up a Recording Studio in Your Room?
• What is Acoustic Treatment? and How to Acoustically Treat a Room?
• How to Properly Arrange Your Desk and Room?
• What Recording Studio Software Do You Need?
• Some Bonus Content That Every Beginner Will Find Useful!

Starting out as a beginner, you may have various questions about home studio essentials, how to make a home studio, or even just how to record music at home.

Obviously the biggest concern for a lot people who want to make a DIY recording studio is the price.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Recording Studio?

A good home studio can be built for around $3000 or $4000.

However, there’s no exact number.

This is something that heavily depends on your budget and the equipment you purchase.

If you’re looking to build a small recording studio, obviously the price will be lower.

What Do You Need for a Home Studio Setup?

Regardless of whether you want something more professional but still a simple home recording studio, or you just want to build a basic bedroom recording studio, the equipment you need remains the same.

I highly recommend you make a recording studio equipment list for things you plan to buy, and check items off of that list as you purchase them.

Below is a comprehensive list of ideal music production equipment for beginners.

1. A Computer

Any Mac or Windows computer with a powerful processor and at least 8GB of RAM is necessary.

2. An External Hard Drive or Solid State Drive

Most computers will run out of space quickly with music project files and plugins.

An external hard drive is a good place to store your projects and stay organized.

3. A Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW

This is recording studio software that you will use to make your music with.

Great options include Ableton Live (Mac and Windows), Logic Pro X (Mac), and FL Studio (Mac and Windows).

4. An Audio Interface

This item is what you plug microphones or instrument cables into in order to get your sound to go into your computer.

A great quality yet affordable option is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4. For more information, make sure to check out our guide to the best budget audio interfaces for beginners and our list of most recommended audio interfaces this year.

5. Headphones

A high quality pair of headphones, like the Audio Technica M20x, are necessary.

These are by far the best cheap studio headphones (under $50) on the market.

6. Studio Monitors

These can get expensive, but they’re even more necessary than headphones.

A decently cheap pair that works well for beginners is the KRK ROKIT.

We also have a special article on our website that covers best budget studio monitors under $200.

6.1. Studio Monitor Stands

You set your studio monitors on these to put them at the appropriate height so they’re at ear level with you.

7. A MIDI Keyboard

This is a keyboard that plugs into your computer and enables you to play virtual instruments in your DAW.

A very popular beginner model is the Akai MPK Mini MKII.

If you’re a serious piano player, however, you might want something with more keys or weighted keys, like the M-Audio Keystation 88 or the Novation Impulse 49.

8. A Microphone

If you plan on recording vocals or instruments like guitar or bass, you’ll need a microphone.

One of my favorites is the Rode NT2-A.

8.1. A Pop Filter

This is a screen that goes between your mouth and the microphone to prevent popping noises from when you say your “p” or “t” sounds.

8.2. A Reflection Filter

A reflection filter goes behind the microphone and works to prevent sound from going out farther into your recording studio room and bouncing off of walls.

8.3. A Microphone Stand

This is self explanatory, it holds the microphone.

8.4. A Shock Mount

A shock mount stabilizes the microphone in the stand.

9. XLR Cables

These cables are what you’ll use to connect the microphone to the audio interface. Check out our special guide to learn why getting a high-quality XLR cable is important.

10. Instrument Cables

You’ll use these to plug a guitar or guitar amp into the audio interface.

11. A Desk

Make sure you choose one that’s big enough to hold the computer, monitors, MIDI keyboard, and audio interface.

12. A Chair

Find one that you’re comfortable sitting in for long periods of time in front of your computer.

13. Acoustic Panels, Diffuser Panels, and Bass Traps

These are one of the most important things you’ll need for a studio, as they directly affect the sound that you hear.

They can get pretty expensive but there are a few different companies that sell acoustic treatment packages with these items in them, which is usually cheaper than buying each piece separately.

Choosing a Room for Your Home Recording Studio

An ideal room for a recording studio is one that is big. The bigger the better.

This allows for more room for gear and musicians, but a bigger room also provides you with better sound.

Not only should you choose a big room, but you should also choose one that is quiet.

Things like cars, chirping birds, and other outside noises will pose a problem when you record if your room is not one of the quieter ones in your home.

How to Make a Recording Studio in Your Room?

1. Take everything out of the room that you can. Clear up as much floor space as possible, and take down any paintings, posters, or anything else that is on the wall, and get rid of anything that vibrates.
2. Set up your acoustic panels and bass traps.
3. Arrange your desk/work area to your liking.
4. Arrange the rest of your room as you see fit.

Acoustic Treatment for Home Studio

What are Room Acoustics?

Room acoustics are the way sound behaves in an enclosed space.

Acoustic treatment for a home studio, or any studio, is extremely important.

When sound comes out of a speaker, it bounces off of walls or any other objects in its path.

This results in an inaccurate representation of the sound you hear coming out of your monitors, which will directly affect your final mix.

There are three items that you will need for acoustic treatment:

1. Acoustic Panels

– these absorb the mid and high frequencies.

Make sure you get acoustic panels that are 3-4 inches thick, or more.

Panels that are 1-2 inches thick won’t have enough substance to really make an impact on your room.

2. Bass Traps

– these absorb the bass frequencies, but most are porous enough to also absorb mid and high frequencies.

3. Diffusers

– these reflect sound and cause it to spread to different areas of the room.

How to Acoustically Treat a Room?

1. Analyze your bare room for how much absorption and diffusion you already have.
2. Mount absorption panels, diffuser panels, and bass traps based on your analysis.

Once you’ve removed everything that you can from your room, it’s time to figure out what you’ll need to do as far as acoustic treatment goes.

Walk around your room, stand in as many areas as you can. Yell, clap, talk, sing, make noise.

Listen carefully to how to sound travels and what it sounds like to you.

You could get one of two outcomes (worst case and best case, respectively), but you’ll probably have a mix of both:

1. A metallic ringing sound that is harsh and unpleasant to listen to (usually occurs if your room is small and square-shaped).
2. A mid to large reverb that is pleasant to the ear (usually in large rooms with diffusive objects).

Depending on your harsh-to-pleasant reverb ratio, you’ll need to add the correct amount of acoustic panels and diffusers.

• If you have more of outcome #1: you need more absorption (more acoustic panels).
• If you have more of outcome #2: you need less absorption.

Most medium to large sized recording studio rooms don’t need diffusion panels, so you likely will need acoustic panels and bass traps, but you can always experiment with diffusion panels and see if they improve your sound.

Exception 1: A Bedroom Studio

If you’re making a budget recording studio in a small bedroom, it’ll probably already have a fair amount of absorption with all of the items in it.

To manage any extra potential sound issues, a few bass traps should be okay to absorb bass frequencies, which are usually more problematic in small recording studios.

A bedroom studio isn’t ideal because of the low ceilings and small room size, but if that’s all you have to work with, you can still make do.

Exception 2: A Studio Where You Need a Flat Sound for Recording Vocals

If you’re on a small budget, you probably won’t have the money to make a whole vocal recording booth.

If you also plan to use reverb plugins, natural room reverb can cause problems.

In this case, you will need your room to sound drier (less natural reverb).

Having an extra dead/flat/dry room will affect the sound accuracy that comes out of your monitors.

With this trade-off, you’ll probably have to mix mainly with headphones.

The drier you need your room to be, the more absorption panels you’ll need.

Where to Place Acoustic Panels, Diffusers, and Bass Traps?

• Acoustic panels: on the walls; make sure they’re staggered (panel, skip one, panel, skip one, etc).
• Diffusers: on the walls, also staggered.
• Bass traps: in the corners of the walls and where the walls meet.

How to Hang Acoustic Panels, Diffusers, and Bass Traps?

You can purchase specific mounting/hanging hardware for acoustic panels, diffusers, and bass traps.

Audimute has some really reliable acoustic treatment mounting hardware.

Home Recording Studio Design: How to Arrange Your Desk and Room?

The Desk

The general idea of how a desk should be arranged is that the computer is in the center and the studio monitors are on either side of it at ear level.

Everything else should just be laid out in a way that is easiest for you to access each piece of equipment.

Some people use multiple desks, some use just one. Whatever works best for you should be fine.

The Room

Your desk will obviously be the most important part of the room.

Ideally, setting your desk up fairly close to a wall is best, so that the sound from your monitors has a good distance to travel before reflecting off of the opposite wall (or being absorbed by acoustic panels).

As for microphone placement, make sure your microphone is a good distance away from the desk in order to avoid picking up the sound of the computer fan.

If you have a guitar amp in the room, make sure it’s also away from the microphone to prevent any interference from the electromagnetic waves that the amp gives off.

Keep in mind whether you’ll be recording and making music by yourself or if you’ll be doing it with other people as well, as this will affect your decision on where to place things in your studio.

Keep watch for some future blog posts on further recording studio ideas and design.

Recording Studio Software: DAWs, Effects Plugins, and Virtual Instruments

DAWs

As far as recording studio software goes, digital audio workstations, or DAWs, are where all the magic happens.

It’s where you record your tracks, mix, and master.

Some DAWs are better for certain genres, some are good for pretty much anything.

Since you’ll be spending pretty much all of your time in a DAW, make sure you find one that suits your needs.

Keep in mind that all of these DAWs have a learning curve.

Some popular DAWs include:

• Pro Tools by Avid (A big industry standard, great for most genres)
• FL Studio by Image Line (Best for electronic and hip hop music)
• Live by Ableton (Extremely versatile, great for any genre, but excels in electronic and hip hop)
• Logic Pro X by Apple (Good for most genres)
• Cubase by Steinberg (Good for electronic and hip hop music)
• Reason (Has a very analog look to it, very straightforward)
• Cakewalk by Sonar (Lots of built in instruments, good for any genre)
• Studio One by PreSonus (Kind of a mix between Logic, Cakewalk, and FL Studio)
• Samplitude by MAGIX (A good basic DAW)

If you’re on a really tight budget, there’s a decent DAW called Reaper, which has a free trial.

Once the free trial ends, a notification box pops up every time Reaper is started up, asking you to buy the full version.

However, it only stays up for 5 seconds and then you can continue using Reaper and all of its features.

So if you don’t mind the pop up window at the start, Reaper will do.

Effects Plugins

What are plugins?

Plugins are software devices that manipulate how an audio signal sounds.

What are plugins for?

Plugins are for composing, recording, and manipulating how audio sounds.

Types of effects plugins include:

• Time-based effects (Reverb, delay, echo)
• Spectral effects (EQ, panning)
• Modulation effects (Flanger, phaser, tremolo, chorus)
• Dynamic effects (Compression, distortion)
• Filters

To use an effect plugin, add it to the track of your choice in your DAW, and tailor the settings to your liking.

The order you put your effects in will change up the sound.

Some of the industry standard plugins are sold by Waves, Universal Audio, and FabFilter, although there are also plenty of less expensive (and free) plugins out there.

Most DAWs come with stock effects as well.

Virtual Instruments

Virtual instruments are exactly what they sound like: instruments that you can play on your computer, in your DAW (or sometimes without a DAW if the instrument has a standalone version).

There are virtual guitars, pianos, synthesizers, brass instruments, percussive instruments, strings… pretty much anything you can imagine.

Virtual instruments are a lot like plugins in the sense that you add them into the effects chain of individual tracks in your DAW.

You can purchase virtual instruments online; there are plenty of websites that have extremely realistic instruments including 8DIO, Native Instruments, and Spectrasonics.

Some popular virtual instruments include:

• Omnisphere (by Spectrasonics)
• Trilian (by Spectrasonics)
• Keyscape (by Spectrasonics)
• Massive (by Native Instruments)
• Nexus (by reFX)
• Serum (by Xfer Records)

Recording Methods

• Microphone to audio interface
• Amp or instrument plugged directly into audio interface
• Mic’d amp or instrument to audio interface
• MIDI keyboard directly to DAW

Important Concepts and Terms to Remember

• Mixing: combining different instruments into channels and using audio effects to process them.
• Stereo: a two-channel audio signal.
• Mono: a one-channel audio signal.
• Clipping: a form of waveform distortion caused when a digital system or amplifier is pushed past its maximum limits.
• Gain staging: making sure the level of each instrument going into the signal chain is relatively the same as when it comes out of the signal chain.
• Signal/effects chain: the path an audio source goes through to reach the master output track on your computer.
• Headroom: how much volume you have before the master track starts to clip.
• Leveling: balancing the volumes of each track.
• EQ: a hardware or software effect that allows specific frequencies to be increased or decreased.
• High pass filter: an EQ curve allowing all the high frequencies to pass through.
• Low pass filter: an EQ curve allowing all the low frequencies to pass through.
• Panning: the distribution of a sound in a stereo sound field.
• Compression: a hardware or software effect that reduces the volume of a waveform when it reaches a certain level in volume.
• Reverb: the effect produced after sounds bounce off of different objects.
• Delay: a hardware or software plugin that delays when audio is played through it.
• Saturation: a subtle form of distortion that is pleasing to the ears.
• Distortion: an audio effect that creates a (potentially unwanted) fuzzy sound.
• Stereo imaging: refers to space in a mix.
• Sidechaining/sidechain compression: compression that is triggered by another source of audio.
• Automation: input information that can be used to control specific parameters of different effects.

The Whole Production Process

If you’re looking to be hands on in the complete production of a song, from its very start to the very end of it, this is basically how a generic production process would go if you were to break it down in an organized fashion:

1. Composing
2. Recording
3. Editing
4. Arranging
5. Mixing
6. Mastering

Composing

In the composition stage, you would write your lyrics, music, etc, and basically come up with all the melodies and riffs.

For a lot of people, composing happens throughout the creation of a track, not just a pre-recording thing.

Recording

Obviously in this stage, you would record your instruments, vocals, and anything else you might want to put in the track that would need to be recorded.

This also includes writing in MIDI with virtual instruments if you choose to use them.

Editing

Editing your tracks is basically cutting out unnecessary areas of silence, correcting pitch, crossfading audio clips, moving clips to the correct start times, etc.

Arranging

Arranging a song is a structural thing. If you’ve already figured out what parts you want in your verse, chorus, etc, it shouldn’t be too much of a lengthy process.

Arranging is simply dragging each instrument recording into its proper place in the song.

Mixing

Mixing is quite possibly the lengthiest part of making a song, especially for a beginner.

Here you would add effects, level your tracks, add automation, and things of that nature.

Mastering

I don’t recommend that you master your own songs, but if you really want to, mastering is where you would finish up the track by setting its volume to the industry standard volume level, and if needed, add some very slight EQ, compression, or stereo imaging.

How to Record Music?

Each DAW is a little different, but if you need a quick rundown of the basic concept of recording, here’s how it’s done:

1. Once you’ve got your microphone, MIDI keyboard, guitar amplifier, or other instrument set up and ready to record, create a new track in your DAW. Make sure the input is set to whatever input you’re using, whether it be a MIDI input or an input on your audio interface.
2. Arm the track for recording. There is a button, either in the mixer or on the track settings, that enables the audio signal to go to it. Click this button and play or sing a little to make sure the audio signal is going to the track. If it’s not, check your input settings again and make sure your equipment is properly connected.
3. Set your recording volume. Make sure the audio isn’t going above 0db on the track meter. Personally, I would make sure the audio signal is peaking at -10db.
4. Hit the “record” button in the DAW, and begin playing.
5. Hit the “stop” or “record” button again to stop recording.

How Exactly Do You Mix a Song?

So many people ask this, especially beginners. The correct answer is something that you might not want to hear: there is no hard and fast way to mix a song.

EQ and compression settings that might work for a guitar in a rock song won’t work for a piano in a jazz song, what might work for a Fender guitar might not work for a Gibson guitar.

Every instrument is different, so mixing really relies on your ear.

Developing an ear for mixing can take a while, but don’t fret! Everyone has been a beginner.

A Basic Effects Chain Example

Since mixing primarily has to do with effects, here is a very basic example of how you might set up an effects chain.

With a virtual instrument:

Virtual instrument > EQ > compressor > reverb/other effects

Without a virtual instrument:

EQ > compressor > reverb/other effects

Now, all this being said, there are some general guidelines that may help you along the way. Here are a few tips.

Look out for future articles on more in-depth mixing.

1. Get Rid of Any Unnecessary Frequencies When EQing

For example, if you’re using a bass sound that has virtually no high frequencies, you can EQ the rest of the high frequencies out of the instrument, as they’ll just take up space in the frequency spectrum and make it harder for genuine high frequency instruments to be heard in the mix.

2. Use an Effect Only If You Feel Like the Track Would Benefit From It

If you feel that a guitar recording is even enough in volume, don’t slap a compressor on the effects chain unless you think the guitar would sound better with a compressor.

3. Experiment

Take risks and experiment with your plugins to see what sort of sounds you can get.

Do crazy things with them. Eventually you’ll find something that works.

4. Mix At a Low Volume

Mixing at low volumes helps your ears to not get fatigued, and if you mix low, you’ll have plenty of headroom for when you master your track.

5. Don’t Spend Hours At a Time Mixing

This goes hand in hand with the previous tip.

The longer you spend mixing, playing your song over and over again, the more fatigued your ears will become, and it’ll be harder and harder for you to point out issues in your mix.

Mix for shorter amounts of time, like 30 minutes to an hour, and then take a rest and come back to it a few hours later or even the next day.

How to Get That “Professional” Sound?

I hate to break it to you, but the only way you’ll get to the point where you’re making music at a professional sounding level is by practicing, practicing, and more practicing.

These things take time.

As you develop your ear and become more educated, you’ll be able to pick out things in your songs that don’t sound good a lot easier.

Resources and Different Ways You Can Improve

Resources

YouTube

When I was first starting out, I watched a ton of videos on home recording studios, how to acoustically treat a room, the best gear to buy, how to mix and master… everything.

This helped me get a good base to start with and helped me get familiar with the basics. Some great channels are Pensado’s Place and In The Mix. If you’re a hip hop artist or producer, Internet Money has some good videos.

Reddit and Other Forums

Reddit was another helpful place for me once I started actually making songs.

Home Recording Studio Download

There are several subreddits related to hip hop production, audio engineer, mixing, mastering, etc, where you can post your songs and get feedback from other people who may very well have a more developed ear and more experience than you.

This might’ve been the most helpful for me once I started making music.

It was very direct and people were able to point out things that could use improvement in regards to how things were mixed.

Aside from Reddit, just any music production forum was helpful to me.

Articles and Guides

Guides similar to this one, and plenty of articles written by more experienced producers gave me more knowledge and tips that people on forums didn’t or couldn’t give to me.

Most guides that I’ve come across cost money if you really want to learn a lot.

Internet Money has a good one for hip hop producers.

Articles usually address more specific problems that one might have in a mix, and some people write articles where they analyze someone’s mix and explain where the issues are and how to fix those issues.

It can give you a lot of insight if you don’t have a very well-developed ear yet.

Books

Sure, books are a little old school, but there are so many great books on acoustic treatment for different rooms, setting up a home studio, recording, mixing, and mastering.

Most of the books I’ve found are a lot cheaper than the guides that are being sold online by producers, and they’ve got a plethora of information.

Amazon has a really nice selection of these books, and most of them can be digitally downloaded.

Ways You Can Improve

Keep Learning

Knowledge is key here. The more you know about EQ, compression, how audio travels through a room, what your plugins do, the quicker you’ll be able to make music that you’re satisfied with because you’ll know how to achieve the sound you’re trying to get.

Whether you learn by reading articles or guides, watching videos, or by experimenting, don’t stop learning.

There is always room for more information.

Make Music Every Day

Even if it’s just an 8 bar tune, the more familiar you get with your DAW, plugins, virtual instruments, recording, mixing, etc, the quicker you will improve.

Ask for Feedback

Get feedback from as many other musicians, singers, producers, engineers, etc, as you can.

People with a more developed ear for recording, mixing, and composing will all be able to point out areas where your songs could sound better or where you could do things differently to help your process go even smoother.

Get a Mentor

Find someone who could give you a steady amount of feedback and maybe even go over your recording and mixing sessions with you in person or over Skype, either for free or paid.

Having more direct information at your disposal can save you a lot of time, and you’re more likely to learn a bunch of different tips and tricks that others might be hesitant to give out.

Having someone showing you what’s wrong can really be helpful when you’re stuck and not sure what the issue is, but don’t get too reliant on others to fix your problems.

Searching for the best home recording studio package with everything to record vocals, guitar, drums, and your band is almost impossible. There are lots of different home recording kits and bundles, but not all have everything you need.

It’s a good idea to think about what type of recording you want to do before you try to buy any gear. Regardless of what type of instruments and style of music you want to record, you will most likely need a mic, set of headphones or monitors, cables, and a computer interface.

We’ve reviewed almost all of the top home recording studio bundles on the market, so let’s see which one you should get for your setup.

Top 3 Home Recording Studio Packages

Contents

• 2 Top Home Recording Studio Kits & Packages
  • 2.1 PreSonus AudioBox 96 Audio Interface Full Studio Bundle
  • 2.2 Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio Recording Bundle
  • 2.3 iZotope Spire Studio Portable Recorder
  • 2.4 M-Audio – Home Recording Package
  • 2.5 Tascam DP-008EX 8-Track Digital Home Studio Package

Home Recording Studio Bundle

Top Home Recording Studio Kits & Packages

This is a full list of the best home recording studio packages that will turn your music room into a pro recording studio.

PreSonus AudioBox 96 Audio Interface Full Studio Bundle

Presonus has established itself as an industry leader. It has given the music industry a lot of products that have tremendously affected the way live and studio productions are executed.

What we have here is a studio bundle that includes everything you need to get a home studio up and running.

First is the audio interface, a Presonus AudioBox 96. This is a two channel audio/midi USB interface. It comes with top quality microphone preamplifiers and a 24 bit, 96kHz resolution.

Next is the Presonus M7, a large diaphragm condenser microphone. With this you can record great vocals and impressive instrument tracks. To make tracking easy, a boom mic stand and a professional pop filter is included.

The included DAW is the Presonus Studio 1. With support for unlimited tracks and plugins, as well as impressive editing tools, you can get your project done from tracking to mixing with ease.

What’s a studio without proper monitoring? To monitor your sound, the bundle includes a pair of Presonus Eris studio monitors. These monitors provide a flat frequency response that allows you hear things exactly the way they are. For close monitoring and vocal tracking, you can use the included headphones.

Pros

• Interface Specs – USB, 24-Bit/ 96kHz.
• Number of i/o – 2×2.
• Included accessories – All required cables, mic stand and pop filter.

Cons

The included DAW is entry level and so has its limitations.

Suggestion

This is a very complete home studio bundle. With this, you can achieve professional level recordings.

Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio Recording Bundle

Focusrite is one brand that has managed to insinuate itself into fabric of music production with various top quality audio products. Lots of musicians and producers rely on one or more of its products for various production tasks.

The brand is here offering a production bundle that a beginner will find very helpful. This bundle is built around the Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio.

This is a simple USB audio interface that offers two analog inputs – one mic input and one instrument input. This interface is capable of recording at sample rates of up to 192kHz.

Also included in the bundle is a Scarlett Studio condenser microphone. This can be used for recording both vocals and instruments.

Finally, a headphone is included to help you monitor your audio during tracking, editing and mixing.

As part of this bundle, you will get Ableton Live Lite, ProTools First Focusrite Creative pack as well as some plugins which include virtual instruments and more.

This bundle provides the ideal core items for any home studio. Other equipment may however be required to get a complete home studio going.

Pros

• Interface specs – USB, up to 192kHz sample rate.
• Number of i/o – 2×2.
• Included accessories – XLR cable, mic stand clip.

Cons

This bundle will require a number of other gear and accessories to function well as a home studio.

Suggestion

While not very extensive, this bundle from Focusrite offers core tools needed to handle a professional recording. It may be best for mobile recording situations.

iZotope Spire Studio Portable Recorder

iZotope is a very well-known name in the music production industry. It is known for producing top quality software for music post-production and more. It has never been associated with a hardware product until now.

The Spire Studio is a mobile recording solution that may not really be called an actual studio equipment. It is novel and meets a unique need.

Unlike other products we are reviewing here, this is not a bundle but a simple, one-piece gear that is designed to work with your smartphone or other smart mobile devices to record, edit and mix (to some extent) audio signals.

This simple device offers two analog XLR/TRS inputs into which you can plug your microphones or instruments. It also has an on-board microphone which allows you record audio without the need for an additional microphone.

The box simply captures the sound to be recorded, performs some processing and then transfers it via wireless connection to the app on your smartphone or device. You can then multi-track, edit, mix, have someone else somewhere add some tracks to it etc. All these are done wirelessly through the app’s cloud storage.

This is great for sharing ideas, capturing quick ideas and possibly laying the framework for a project.

Pros

• Number of i/o – Two analog inputs, a headphone output.
• Recording – Wireless recording and cloud storage and sharing.
• Processing – Automatic and real time.

Cons

This may not be suitable for a professional production.

Suggestion

This is a very unique recording solution that however has a number of use limitations.

M-Audio – Home Recording Package

M-Audio is brand owned by inMusic Brands. This brand is associated with a wide range of music production equipment ranging from midi controllers to interfaces, speakers and more. M-Audio is majorly known for offering affordable gear that can be accessed by almost anyone.

The bundle it offers here is true to character as it is highly affordable. The bundle includes three items that will form an important core of a home studio.

It is built around the brand’s AIR 192 4 interface. This is a USB interface that supports recording resolutions of up to 24bit/192kHz. It has two analog inputs, one of which can only take a TRS connection while the second can take an XLR and a TRS connection. This means that you can only connect one microphone to it.

As part of the bundle, M-Audio adds the Nova Black condenser microphone for capturing those vocals and instrument tracks. You can listen to your recordings either in real time, or as playback through the HDH40 headphones.

With these three pieces of equipment and the included software, virtual instruments and plugins, you can begin to create professional sounding recordings.

Pros

• Interface specs – USB, 24-Bit/192kHz.
• Number of i/o – 2 in, 2 out.
• Included accessories – XLR cable and shock mount.

Cons

You will need some additional accessories like a microphone stand to be able to record well.

Suggestion

This is a bundle that includes core equipment needed for production. A few other accessories and equipment will make it more professional. It’s also great for recording podcasts.

Tascam DP-008EX 8-Track Digital Home Studio Package

One brand name that you will find featuring very prominently whenever the history of music recording is being told is Tascam. The brand owned by TEAC Corporation was there from the days of reels and has remained relevant even till date. The reason is that it has continued to innovate and evolve with the times.

Tascam has always been known for multi-track recorders and now offers this bundle built around the DP-008EX, an 8-track multi-track recorder that is small enough to fit into your pocket.

This battery powered recorder has two in-built omnidirectional condenser microphones and also has two phantom powered XLR inputs and two TRS inputs for your line level inputs. This interface supports resolutions of up to 16-Bit/44.1 kHz which is the minimum for a professional level recording.

Aside from the recorder, the bundle includes a handheld dynamic microphone, an XLR cable, a 1/4 TRS cable, 2 RCA male to 2 RCA male dual cables, batteries, a charger and a cleaning cloth.

Since this is aimed at real beginners, the included “Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies” provides important information to help you get started on your recording journey.

Pros

• Interface specs – 8-track recorder, 16-Bit/44.1 kHz.
• Inputs and outputs – 2 XLR inputs, 2 TRS inputs, USB and line output.
• Included accessories – XLR cable, TRS cable, RCA cable, batteries, charger and cleaning cloth.

Cons

The recording quality is very basic.

Suggestion

This can be regarded as a way of introducing a beginner to recording. With just 8 tracks available for recording, it is pretty limited for studio level production.

What You Should Get!

We have finally come to the end of this review and as always, it has been an interesting one. We had the privilege of looking at different offerings from different brands. Having reviewed them, we now have to choose from the list which of the products is our pick for the Top Home Recording Studio Package.

This decision is one of the easiest ones we’ve ever made. From the list of products we reviewed, one bundle stood out on many levels and we picked it as our choice. We are talking about the PreSonus AudioBox 96 Recoding Studio Package. This is the only bundle on our list with which you can effectively run a home studio.