The Music Studio Equipment You Can't Do Without

You have the studio set up where the musicians will create their magic, but the control room - where the recording will take place - is still bare. This is the music studio equipment you need:

• Microphone

Of all the music studio equipment you will buy, the microphones will be one of your most important investments. The microphone converts sound into an electrical signal, and poor quality microphones will make it much more difficult to produce high-quality sound.

• Mixing console (also soundboard or audio mixer)

This is an electronic device used to combine (or mix), route, and change the level, tone quality and dynamics of audio signals. Depending on the type of console you pick, you can also mix analogue or digital signals. One application for this piece of music studio equipment is to combine the signals from two separate microphones - e.g. from two vocalists - to be heard through one speaker.

• Studio (or reference) monitors

These monitors are in effect loudspeakers which are specifically designed for application in recording, film, television and radio studios. These speakers are designed to give an accurate reproduction of the qualities of the audio that is produced in the studio. In other words, the frequency of the sound is not manipulated by the monitors and no distortion takes place. As a result, these monitors are more robust (and expensive) than home hi-fi speakers, as they have to cope with high volumes and sudden sound bursts that may happen in the studio.

• Digital audio workstation (DAW)

This workstation is an electronic system designed to record, edit and play back digital audio. With this piece of music studio equipment, recorded sounds can be freely manipulated, edited and played back. The DAW can also be used to convert signals from analogue to digital and vice versa.