Dennis Mount Joy

I’m looking to set up a little studio in my house. What are some good lights like brands and watts to use? What kinda equipment do I need? Where can I get some backgrounds from? Whats the best kind of lens to use for portrait?

There is one question you need to answer before you can even concider this task. How high are your ceilings? If you only have 8 foot ceilings it won’t work. Plain and simple. They will be too low and will cast a glow over all your photos. If they are white, then color balancing will be impossible as they will wash out all your photos.

Other than that, let me best answer your question. (all links will be at the bottom).

Monolight kits by Photogenic are absolutely superior in portrait photography. There is no doubt about that. However, they are kinda pricey. White Lighting is another brand that produces good, consistent results and isn’t over priced. However, you don’t have the control with them.

Some standard equipment you will need are a Tony posing table and a posing stool. Props will vary depending on the type of studio you have. Seniors enjoy a wide variety of props while family and couple posing dont’ need that many.

When it comes to backgrounds, Muslins are the way to go. They are cheap, big and come in a wide variety. You can get a whole line of muslins from a company called Denny Mfg. Also, B&H Photo carries backgrounds, props, lighting, etc. So check them out also. I’ll use canvas backgrounds for intimate fine art portraits as canvas backgrounds don’t wrinkle if properly taken care of.

Lenses should be small and no larger than 90mm. Anything larger than that is not suited for portrait or studio work. My portratis are all done on a 70mm lense or smaller. I prefer Tamron lenses over all other name-brand lenses as they have outperformed my previous Canon and Nikon lenses. Even my tamron lense that caught on fire is still working to this day as good as when I purchased it. They produce lenses for Canon, Nikon and Konika.

Ebay is a great place to start to look for used equipment. There is nothing wrong with using used equipment either. B&H Photo has a huge used department for photography (digital and film) that works out very well.

Also, if you are going to use this as any type of income, you will have to look into insurance. I have close to $15,000 of equipment and my insurance is like $200 / mth.

Invest into some Photography organizations like PPA, WPPI and WPJA. They all provide a wide range of training and services that are valuable to any photographer.

Amherst Media is a great supplier of photography books for any photographer: novice or professional. They have books that cover all aspects of studio lighting, posing, photography business, fine art photography, Photoshop and more.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me: chris@wise-photos.net

i am trying to setup a home recording studio and i need help figuring out what equipment and sofware i need. (producing beats and recording vocals using windows). ive been doin some reaserch, but im kind of confused. ok, can someone make a list of the basic things i need. so far i just have my lap top and a midi axiom 49 keyboard. what software do i need to record my beats and my vocals? i heard fruity loops can do both, but i was wondering if cubase or any other softwar can also do that? the software is probably the most confusing part for me. other than that and a mic, what else would i need? and an estimate of how much it would seperatly cost me. im a rookie at this and gettin my feet wet in the producing biz for the first time. any music producers out their??, i NEED YOUR HELP. if you can be specific, id really appriciate it,,,, thanks for reading and i hope someone can help me.

p.s. i went to 2 bestbuy stores and non of the employees were able to help me, they said they didnt really know much about it either.

If you are using a laptop you will want to get a good audio card, which supports ASIO and perhaps get something with some easy inputs for a mic etc. Most modern USB audiocards have those options.

As for the software, any modern daw software will probably do, but they are all quite different so it’s a good idea to check demo versions to see what works best for you. Here’s a list of things you can check:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation

I use FL Studio Producer Edition and Ableton Live, both which can do what you want.
You can check the demo versions here:
http://demo.flstudio.com
http://ableton.com/download

In case you end up going for FL Studio you can get 10% discount with this promo link for new customers: https://support.image-line.com/jshop/shop.php?offer=Default&promo=BACJBAB469

Good luck and have fun!

I have a home studio, and I’m currently ready to start recording vocals over the tracks I have produced. I have my intro and one song with vocals on them, but I’m running out of space on my PC. Any info on what kind of hard drive would be best would be greatly appreciated.

The companies manufacturing external hard drives are Western Digital, Seagate, Maxtor (a division of Seagate), Toshiba, SimpleTech, Iomega, Verbatim, and a few others.

Western Digital, Seagate, Maxtor, and Toshiba all manufacture their own hard drives.

SimpleTech seems to use Hitachi drives.

I don’t know which companies’ drives Iomega and Verbatim use.

I have an Iomega external hard drive, the rest are portable hard drives by Maxtor and Verbatim. If I had more money I would try the rest.

Which is the best? Doesn’t matter, all hard drives are subject to manufacturing variances and tolerances, and damage during shipping by incompetent handlers. So if the drive does not work right the first few weeks return it for a replacement or a refund.

You might do best moving unnecessary data files from your PC to the external hard drive to free up space on the PC, and use the external hard drive to make backups also.

I’m not going to be renting it out or anything(it is going to be in my house),which generally is just going to be my guitars,piano,and etc.Of course I will need a microphone,I will also be doing vocals in there.I’m only making the recording studio because I would love to have lots of room to play my instruments and sing.But what else are some very essential pieces I should have in my own home recording studio?Thanks everyone.

In general you won’t be using more than two or three mics at a time, so I would get a four track mixer. This gives you the best control over each mic, including a bit of reverb, level, etc. I tend to only use two mics at one time, so this works perfectly for me.

The L + R sends from the mixer need to go somewhere, so you have two options… either a good sound card, or a USB / Firewire interface. If your computer can support USB 2.0 or Firewire, this is essentially the way to go. Get an interface (or sound card) that can take two inputs, or a stereo line in, which is basically the same thing, although you’ll have to set your software to record the L to one track and the R to another. Ideally, being able to record at 48khz at 24 bits is ideal. You don’t need to go up to 96 khz… this is overkill for a home studio, and may actually degrade the quality of the audio if your computer can’t handle it. 96 khz bitrate also takes twice the space of 48 khz, so consider that, too.

You can just use an interface/sound card if you absolutely need to use more than 2 mics at once. I prefer using a mixer because I crave as much control as I can get. I’ve seen interfaces that have up to 16 ins (Tascam). This is crazy, but if you really feel you need it….

Get an interface and/or mixer that supports phantom power. With phantom power you can use condenser mics, which are really good for capturing delicate treble detail that dynamic mics can’t really accomplish. They can’t be used live, and they’re a little more delicate than dynamic mics, but dynamic mics just can’t capture a piano or voice like a condenser. Try doubling them up, ie, one of each, then blending the results. Good stuff.

A studio-quality pair of headphones is a pre-requisite. I create a scratch track when I’m recording, then have everyone overdub it while listening to the track over the headphones, one at a time. It’s slow, but I get the best sound quality that I can from a home environment.

Your computer should have at least 1 Ghz processor, 1 Gig of Ram, and at least 100 Gig HD.

If you are running Windows Vista, then I sympathize with your pain. Vista sucks for pro audio and recording. I strongly recommend that you optimize the snot out of it before you start recording. Many of the "features" that Windows loaded into it can hose a recording… or CD burning… or video/CD rip…

Very quickly, I suggest the following (google if you don’t know how to do it): Give yourself administrator privileges, disable UAC, Superfetch, Readyboot, ReadyBoost, Windows Update, windows defragmenting, and definitely Aero and as many other graphics options as you can. Each one takes up memory and processing power! Then google "Black Viper Vista" to find a list of services that you can disable. Be conservative and only take out the ones that you really have no need for – if you aren’t sure, don’t disable them. I put many of the services I’m not sure about on Manual. Disable Remote Access! Finally, I recommend disabling Windows Firewall and loading a 3rd party firewall like ZoneAlarm. Windows Defender doesn’t work well, but you don’t *need* to disable it… just get two (repeat TWO) other antivirus and malware utilities. I like Spybot S/D, Adaware, and a few others. Oh yeah, they’re free. Good stuff. Norton sucks. I disconnect the internet when I’m not using it, because a lot of Vista programs and services like to talk on the internet, and that’s something you don’t want happening in the middle of a sensitive recording. Make sure you update your computer’s drivers, as well as Windows if you’ve turned the Update off. Or turn it back on for a day every now and then, then turn it back off.

Doing these things has taken my bloated POS Vista that couldn’t burn a CD without glitching and wouldn’t record well to a rather bare bones but moderately efficient recording machine.

Okay, that’s that.

Saul

I’m trying to make myself a home recording studio. The problem is, I’m not sure what to get myself. Right now I’m working with a crappy microphone and audacity.
So if you have any ideas on either physical equipment or even software that could be used, I’d be much obliged.

Thanks,
-The Blash

It all depends on what you want your studio to do. If you want to make an acoustic guitar album, you could probably rig yourself up for under $500.00. If you want to record a full rock album, then you’re looking at a much bigger project.

I use a lot of m-audio gear, but that’s not to say it’s for everyone. The best thing to do is educate yourself. That way you can look at items, and find for yourself exactly what you need by translating all of the nerd jargon. You can have tech specs thrown at you all day, but without knowing what you’re doing, you can waste a lot of time and money (trust me on this). As far as software goes, I swear by Digidesign’s Pro Tools. Audacity is good for getting your feet wet, but eventually you’ll want a more powerful recording/mixing/editing platform. It’s going to take time (which is why most people pay other people to do it for them), but if you’re willing to put in the effort, it can be a very rewarding job.

When I took an introductory class to recording, we used this book as our text: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Recording-Techniques-Sixth-David/dp/0240806255/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232002926&sr=8-1 . It’s a great resource, and a great reference as well. There’s also recording magazine: www.recordingmag.com , which contains some good reviews on new products.

Happy Recording!

P.S. When you upload your work, send me a link!

I have a small office/recording studio which needs ventilation and cooling, but I can’t have a noisy unit in the room itself. I’m wondering if I can mount a small window or portable-style unit remotely and duct the cold air back into the office…

IDEAS?

I think the problem is that the fan that comes with it can not blow the air through a duct. You would need a real blower for that to deal with the back pressure of the ductwork.

I want to convert my garage into a music studio and a friend of mines told me that I need to have a permit. Is that true? Also I live in California

You need a building permit only if you change your garage to a living area, add electric or plumbing, or change the structure. So unless you plan on putting in more electric service, than no you won’t need a permit.

All Music

Home Recorder
http://www.homerecorder.com

mac, apple??? What type ?? HELP!?

i personally wouldnt go with macintosh,
intel or presario/ compaq might be a good idea

if youre also looking for a program then i would suggest windows media center edition or windows vista

make sure you get a nice big hard drive and memory card for that computer so that it doesnt crash

I’ve been trying to compare Reason 4 mastering results to those of a mastering studio. If you know of any comparison tests taken, or have experience dealing with both let me know. Thanks.

Greetings,

I have experience with both scenarios – I own a recording studio and I’ve been to a mastering house. Plus, we’ve used Reason for years as part of our production.

For starters, the audio engine in Reason just isn’t very good. I get much better results rewiring into my HD system. My partner has posted side by side comparisons on the DOA forum (dogs on acid, look up Fullclipaudio) and the differences were quite pronounced. Stuff bounced out in Reason sounds much worse than the same stuff bounced out rewired into a different audio engine. That alone really ends the discussion. If the audio engine is weak then the mastering suite, toys really, can’t come close to what you would find in a studio or mastering house.

Next, digital equipment has limitations that you will not find in analog gear. A 5 Series SSL EQ is damn near impossible to overload and just wont comb filter – ever. Wanna see just how bad the EQ’s are in Reason?

1. Generate some Pink Noise or go download a high quality .wav sample of Pink Noise.

2. Put it in a sampler and put an EQ in the chain.

3. High Pass at, say, 100hz (in other words, only allow frequencies above 100hz to be played).

4. Look at the before and after results on a spectrum analyzer. Soundforge has some pretty good ones. Download a demo SF if necessary.

You’ll see that by removing low freq’s using a digital plugin that you’ve added as much as 6db in the 1k, 3k and 6k range. A simple high pass digital eq will totally trash your track. Imagine what happens when you try to do a more difficult EQ curve. BTW, this isn’t just with reason but I’ve replicated this with Waves, SF, Digidesign, and Sonar EQ’s.

The MCDSP stuff isn’t quite as bad but you’ll pay a bundle for their EQ and Compressor plugin paks. I’ve put some of their EQ’s head to head with the real EQ’s that they are designed to emulate and they come pretty close but the digital eq’s just can’t handle the levels that the outboard gear can.

Where I might pay $1500 for a good EQ, the mastering house might drop 10 – 15k for the EQ’s that they use. These things are generally passive, have relay circuits, and pass signal through banks of ceramic resistors as a way to cut signal. I’m not positive how the passive eq’s boost signal but if I had to guess then I would say that chosen freq’s are added to themselves. Doing all that without the help of transistors or IC chips makes for a beast of a machine that can take a ton of signal and will cost a fortune. Reason can’t even come close.

I love Reason. It is a great tool for writing music and I would be lost without it. It isn’t a Mastering Tool but they tried to make the program all inclusive. Finally, I’m a gear wh*re snob and what I find to be unacceptable could be 100% useful to someone else – keep that in mind while making up your own mind.