Home Recording Studio Guide Part IV: Workstation Capabilities

When building a home studio or upgrading their digital workstation, a lot of people just go out on a limb and purchase the most expensive one in hopes of getting a great sound. Digital workstations and recorders aren't all about price though. If you've ever made this common rookie mistake, you'll know that the recording software should be tailored the the producer, not the other way around. In the last chapter we saw a brief overview of digital recording programs. Now I'll go a little bit more in depth and talk about the various features that you're going to want to see in your choice of a workstation.

One: Editing Capabilities

What is a recording program without editing? Imagine only being able to do one take of your song, and if you hit a not somewhere in there that doesn't belong, well, too bad. Thankfully, we as producers have evolved since the first recordings, and software has evolved with us. How good is your workstation at editing? This should be the first and foremost of all your questions. If it doesn't edit well, it's not a good recording program. It's as simple as that. If at all possible, look for a program with very fine editing control. What I mean by "fine" is that you can expand your waveform after you're done recording and edit very very small bits of the cut. This allows for you to chop out the "bad notes" and weird sounds you'll inevitably face while recording. Remember, it's always easier to cut something out than to re-record an otherwise perfect track.

Two: Accessibility

It's easy for it to get rather confusing when setting up a home recording studio. You have a bunch of cables running this way and that, a mixer and a bunch of other equipment. You're going to want to make it as easy as possible on yourself when hooking all of this up, therefore you're going to want something that has a great deal of compatibility between different hard and software programs and devices. I can't tell you how many people ask me for advice when building their studio and say "Well I've got this program, but i can't figure out how to hook it up.". Don't just delve into something. Do your research and make sure that you're not going to have any hang ups in the configuration process BEFORE you buy. Use the internet to research others experiences and reviews! =)

Three: Track Capabilites

Tracks are like the vehicles for your instruments. On any given recording, the producer will have at least 1 track for every instrument. If you have a band with 4 people, you're going to have at least 4 tracks. One for guitar, one for bass, one for drums, and so on and so forth. Now, that being said, you can't just rush off and get a 4 track recorder because you only have 4 people. With advances in modern recording, you're going to want to occasionally (if not always) double your guitar tracks, add a separate reverb track for your drums to give them punch, layer your vocals,and possibly edit your bass track. I usually recommend a program with at LEAST 20 tracks - more if you have a keyboard and a lot of effects. Don't fret though, most programs can more than accomodate for the amount of tracks you'll need, and many of them are unlimited (depending on your RAM in your computer). This belongs in this list though, because it's commonly assumed that programs have unlimited track capablity. Be sure to check before you buy.

Check my other articles for more on Home Recording!