strumstrum™

I have been wanting to record my music for a while now, but was scared away from it after walking through the Pro Audio dept. at a local music store. However, after some shopping around, I am happy to say that it is very possible to hook-up a very basic home studio for about $75.

There are even cheaper routes that you can take… like using a USB plug-n-play mic, for example. However, if you are even semi-serious about recording, I recommend investing in a foundation of very basic audio equipment that you can then expand on in the future.

Here is my $75 home recording studio:
$24.99 Nady SP1 Microphone and Stand Package (includes mic, mic clip, stand, and XLR cable)
$29.99 ART Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp (includes power source)
$1.99 Musicians Gear Microphone Windscreen Black Foam
$9.29 Hosa XVM105 5′ XLR to 1/8″ cable

This dirt-cheap setup has everything you need to capture sound – the mic is clipped to the stand and connected to the preamp via an XLR cable, and the preamp is connected to your computer via the XLR-1/8″ converter cable.

If you want to upgrade the microphone to something a little nicer, opt for the Shure SM58 for $99.99.

This package would cost a little bit more ($165):
$99.99 Shure SM58 Microphone
$12.99 Musicians Gear Tripod Mic Stand
$7.89 Musicians Gear XLR cable
$2.79 Musicians Gear Basic Mic Clip
$29.99 ART Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp
$1.99 Musicians Gear Microphone Windscreen
$9.29 Hosa XVM105 5′ XLR to 1/8″ cable

As you can see, things can get expensive fast. It just depends on how much you are willing to spend for the initial studio. I found all of this equipment at Musicians Friend with the exception of the Hosa cable, which is from Sweetwater.

Continue reading in part 2 of setting up your inexpensive home recording studio: Music recording/editing software.