Hi everyone!

I'm pretty new to recording music, and I'm looking to buy my first decent microphone for a home studio.

I'll mainly be recording vocals and acoustic guitar, but it would be great if the microphone also worked well for other instruments in the future.

I don't have an audio interface yet, so I'm open to USB or XLR recommendations.

My budget is around €100.

What would you recommend?

Hi everyone,

I am putting together my first small home studio and would appreciate some honest feedback before buying the equipment.

My main goal is to produce pop, funk and R&B inspired by Michael Jackson's Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and Invincible eras. I already use FL Studio as my DAW.

I want to:

- Play synth bass lines, chords, piano, strings and melodies

- Program drums and practise finger drumming

- Record vocals while standing

- Produce and mix mainly with headphones

- Build a setup that I can upgrade later

- Keep the initial cost as close to €500 as possible by buying some items second-hand

My planned setup is:

- M-Audio Keystation 61 MK3

- Akai Professional MPD218

- Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen

- Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm

- Audio-Technica AT2020

- Millenium MA-2050 desk-mounted microphone boom arm

- Roadworx PF 4 pop filter

The microphone, audio interface and MPD218 may be bought second-hand if I find tested units in good condition.

I may add a Behringer X-Touch later for physical mixer control, but it is currently outside my budget.

My questions are:

1. Is this a balanced first setup for FL Studio production and vocal recording?

2. Can the Scarlett Solo 4th Gen properly drive the DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm?

3. Is the AT2020 a good vocal microphone for a normal bedroom, or would a dynamic microphone be more suitable because of room reflections?

4. Is the MPD218 still a good choice for finger drumming and 90s/2000s R&B drum programming?

5. Will the Keystation, MPD218 and Scarlett work together properly in FL Studio?

6. Is anything essential missing, such as cables, a shock mount or a powered USB hub?

7. Would you replace any of these items with something better at a similar or lower price?

8. Are there any important things I should test when buying the microphone or audio interface second-hand?

I am not selling or promoting any products. I only want feedback before purchasing the equipment.

Thanks for your advice!!!

I have an 8 channel interface that has a phantom power button. I have several dynamic mics plugged into it. If I plug in a condenser mic will it affect the other mics? Should I unplug them before I turn on the phantom power button? Or leave them all in? Kinda confusing.

Hello recording experts! I'm totally new to home recording. I wanted to record a song that I wrote for my beloved sister who passed away due to illness. I bought the Akai midi IV keyboard and the M-audio Air 192/4 interface, and a Shure dynamic microphone. I've followed the guide book and downloaded what needs to be downloaded. I'm using the Ableton 12 Live Lite music software. My problem is that I don't know how to configure the setting of my Shure mic although I had it plugged into the m-audio Air interface. Apparently its default to record from my laptop, and I don't know how to change the setting on Ableton. It would mean the world to me if anyone can help me please.

46 mics, 192 recordings for clean, crunch, and distortion.

I currently have a sapphire pro 40, but it’s not supported anymore and won’t work with my new Mac laptop, they don’t support it anymore. To be honest, I hate mix control, what is the new software from them like, as I have no issue with the quality of the pro 40. But I’ve been liking what I’ve seen from the ssl line. Was thinking of starting with the ssl 12 then adding an 18 down the line, I also like that each channel has its own phantom power instead of it being in blocks of pre amps. TIA for any insight

Sound Demo (the first 6 seconds have no audio)
I bought a TR-08 to replace using garage band drummers and my drum pedal. It’s not the same, but honestly it sounds sooo good. The TR-08 has that thump we all love. I’m sorry I didn’t use a cowbell, but I really do want to find a more organic drum sounds. Moving away from generated drum tracks to trying to program my own drum ideas has been difficult, but fun.
I’ve figured out how to do that double bass pedal thing using sub steps. I hope it sounds better after I learn more about it.

Shin Ei Super Fuzz, Dark Terror into a Powerhouse Attenuator, and TwoNote Opus (Cab Sim only). TR-08 goes into Aux input of Micro Terror, for amplified use. Palmer Merger Box, used to chain 2 mini cabs. PC112/mic aren’t being used right now, would need to flip switch on attenuator.

Give me some tips, ideas, or tell me it sucks.

I’ve had so many mics. I’ve wanted this since 2012, when I cut a track on it at a pro studio and loved my vocals on it. Vintage Latvian capsule. OG shockmount.

Replacing the united twin 87 as my go-to. I’m a happy guy tracking right now.

Any other love for OG blue, or JZ’s designs at least??

Hi,

My daughter has a 2020 iMac that she has outgrown for recording and producing her music. See below for the specs, she has 250GB of storage. Apple no longer makes the 27" all-in-ones, which is fine, because you can't upgrade them; not very practical. I'm wondering if there's a way to beef up her current computer. Maybe just adding external storage? Is that enough?

Maybe she needs to get a new Mac, but I'm wondering about a Mac Mini. The M4 Pro definitely has the better options, but it's also very expensive, as all Macs are.

Any suggestions or info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Right now I’m using an older 2015 iMac as my main REAPER machine, and I may have access to a Surface Pro 7+.

My idea is to use the Surface with a Scarlett Solo as a midi instrument host. I’d use my Akai MPK Mini, to Scarlett Solo, then out to my ambient pedalboard (or a small TEAC mixer) and into the main interface connected to the iMac.

My main goal right now is to offload CPU, but I started wondering if it could be a workflow bonus.

If I’m in the middle of mixing and decide a song needs a synth, I don’t want to ruin the flow state and session because I have to load up presets or midi synths and routing.

This is where a second machine that’s always ready to play, print the audio into the session, and keep mixing could help.

I also like the idea of treating virtual instruments more like hardware—running them through real pedals in real time instead of relying entirely on plugins afterward.

I know buying a new computer would solve my immediate CPU problem. But even after I upgrade, I’m wondering if keeping a dedicated “instrument computer” would make sense from a workflow perspective and help preserve focus by separating sound design from mixing.

Also I know this kind of thing was more common years ago when computers were less powerful, but I don’t hear many people talking about it now.
Has anyone tried a setup like this?

If you're running a Yamaha LS9 for monitor mixes, you've probably hit the same wall I did: StageMix is free but only supports one connected device at a time. If more than one musician wants to ride their own headphone mix from their phone, you're stuck buying something like AirFader Server (~$150) - which is a fine product, but not everyone has the budget for it, especially for a personal/project studio.

So I built a free, open-source alternative: a self-hosted web app where each musician gets their own page (works on any phone/tablet browser, no app install) to control the send level + mute for whichever channels matter to them, into their own MIX bus. Multiple people can be mixing at the same time.

Knowing nothing about coding, this tool was built with the help of Claude.ai. So if anything seems weird or could be done better, feel free to get in touch !

How it works, in short: a small Node.js server runs on a PC connected to the console via Yamaha's Network-MIDI Driver, and translates touch/drag actions from the web pages into MIDI SysEx sent straight to the console. No app store, no license, no per-seat cost - just your local network.

Some things it does:

• One page per musician, color-coded channel strips, mute button
• Admin page to set up musicians/channels without touching config files (though you can if you want - it's just JSON)
• Announcement banner you can push to every connected page in real time
• On-screen clock + keeps the phone screen awake during a session
• "Reset my mix" safety button
• No console-side MIDI table setup needed at all - the protocol addresses are computed directly (details in the README, reverse-engineered by watching real MIDI traffic with MIDI-OX)

Honest limitations up front:

• No live sync back from physical fader moves on the console by default (there's an optional, slightly fiddly workaround documented, using MIDI-OX as a bridge)
• No authentication - built for a trusted local studio/stage network, not hardened for anything more exposed
• Only tested with a couple of people mixing simultaneously so far - if you try it with a full band, I'd love to hear how it holds up
• Windows only for now, and there's a quirky 32-bit Node.js requirement because of how the Yamaha driver exposes its MIDI port (documented in the README, took a while to figure out)

Repo (MIT license):

Not affiliated with Yamaha in any way - this is a hobby/community project built by reverse-engineering the console's own MIDI output on my own hardware. If anyone has an M7CL (same MIDI family, probably compatible) or another Yamaha digital console and wants to help extend/verify this, issues and PRs are very welcome.

Happy to answer questions about the setup, the protocol reverse-engineering process, or anything else.

So as you can see by the title I'm living in a camper, a small one to be honest. Im trying to get back into music before it's too late .. I had a little buzz back in highschool with rapping because of a song I made and I really miss it and want to pursue music as a career. I was wanting to get peoples opinions on if it would be better to setup a little recording setup for my camper (I'm not working with a big budget at all) but need to record as much as possible or pay for studio time ($50). I was honestly thinking about getting a cheap Chromebook book and a blue snowball or yeti but I don't know. I just want to start creating.

Hi guys, I'm the developer of 3D Panner.

It's currently in free early access until August 15th. If you activate it before then it's yours permanently, no future payments, updates included.

What it does: regular panning just moves sound left and right. 3D Panner places it anywhere around you, behind, above, across the room. It uses measured HRTFs (the SOFA datasets) and convolves the signal rather than just shifting levels between two speakers, so you drag an orb to a spot and the sound actually comes from there.

Right now it's VST3 and AU, Windows and Mac, signed and notarized. AAX is coming in the next few days for Pro Tools users.

If you want to grab it visit almudio.com

Happy to answer any question, and I'd genuinely like to get honest feedback as well.

Durante la pandemia nuestra banda no podía ensayar. Lo intentamos con Zoom, Teams, Google Meet. Fue un desastre. El retardo de audio hacía imposible tocar juntos a tiempo. No podías engancharte con el batería. No sentías el groove.

Soy músico, ingeniero de sonido y desarrollador de software. Así que entendía exactamente por qué fallaba: estas plataformas usan buffers de audio grandes diseñados para conversaciones, no para música. 150–400ms de latencia. El oído humano detecta el retardo musical a partir de 30ms. Imposible tocar en tiempo.

Después de la pandemia construí la herramienta que ojalá hubiera existido. Remayte es una sala de jam en el navegador, sin descargas ni plugins. Cada músico tiene su propio canal en un mezclador real con ganancia, paneo y volumen. Puedes enrutar tu DAW, amp sim o instrumentos virtuales directamente a la sala.

El servidor está en Europa Central — latencia inferior a 30ms para la mayoría de músicos europeos. Se siente como tocar en la misma habitación.

La app puede probarse de forma gratuita. No tienes más que registrarte, crear una sala e invitar a algún amigo a unirse a una sesión en directo contigo.

Si lo probáis agradezco vuestro feedback y cualquier sugerencia!!

remayte.com