3 Myths to Debunk Before Setting Up a Mini Recording Studio

Do you want to know how to set up a mini recording studio, but are you in that phase of many doubts, or even with information overload? So it's time to get rid of at least three myths, which you may believe are true, but that only distract you from taking your Home Studio project out of paper. Let's go to the first myth…

Myth # 01 - Dry Sound is Good

The myth of "dry sound" is one of the most common among the community that is starting their first recordings. By logic, you should eliminate all the echo in the room, to get an absolutely neutral sound. Here, again, the logic gives way to reality, as this also applies to this dry sound, which most small recording studio owners believe to be an undoubted absolute standard.

The fact is that within the definition of Hi-Fi, we can consider as "perfect", that sound that does not show any sign of interference between the sound source and the listener.

Let's imagine, what happens if you start making a lot of acoustic changes in the recording room by putting a lot of acoustic absorbers in order to reduce or eliminate echoes? Would not that be interfering with how sound is actually produced? Would not it be better to let the audio be captured as it manifests itself in nature? Therefore, it seems more logical not to dry the sound, leaving it a bit natural, so the sound does not lose its characteristics, becoming something real and full of life.

We can talk a lot more about working on studio acoustics while capturing the audio, but I'll leave it to the next opportunity.

Myth # 02 - Just Use Expensive Equipment and Everything is Solved

The second myth of today is what mesmerizes and enchants a plethora of enthusiasts and beginners in the art of Home Studio. The expensive equipment fever, I'm talking about really expensive, easily contaminates those who seek to increase the quality of the audio in their recordings. In the eagerness to get quality, these enthusiasts fall into the trap of thinking that "expensive equipment" = "quality audio."

In many cases, those equipment made for the masses, reach higher levels of performance than those made for a small part of the market.

It is also very common to see professional equipment, especially audio hardware, with compatibility issues with the latest operating systems.

When I recommend any audio equipment, I always look for something that is quite popular. This popular approach frees us from inconveniences such as incompatible drivers (especially with the latest version of Windows), gross hardware crashes (without any explanation), plus a huge amount of problems that appear during the work process when we are using expensive equipment.

Myth # 03 - Your Recordings Will Be Perfect Right The First Time

The third myth today is that your recordings, after you gather all equipment and install all the software, will be perfect right away. I can say that the equipment inside a mini recording studio, home studio or a professional recording studio, corresponds to 20% of the system, and that means that the other 80% are completely dependent on the producer / audio engineer skills. So I always recommend that the best way to increase the quality of your audio productions is to invest in knowledge.

Whether you've set up your studio and are learning production techniques, or are becoming familiar with one or more audio software, know that you can still extract much more quality from your equipment.

After 5 years of testing, we come to what we call the HSS Formula, which is nothing more than a standardized production method, supported by a simple mathematical algorithm. With this, we can solve 90% of our mixes before we even hear any sound.

If you are discouraged, do not worry; everything had a beginning and that beginning was not always easy. I can say that it may not be easy, but it will be worth it when you can, with the equipment you have in hand, produce audio capable of being published on digital platforms such as Spotify and even iTunes.

And those are at least three myths that may be preventing most people from starting their mini recording studios or Home Studios. Now that you already know that all of these myths are not true, you know it's difficult, but it's worth it, so just roll up your sleeves and start learning Home Studio every day more.