As someone who has spent years managing the recording department of Canada’s largest music store, You can imagine that I’ve been asked MANY times “What do I absolutely need to get great sounds in my home studio?” or “How can I get the best bang for my buck within this budget?”.
I thought I’d take some time today to give you some perspective on the essential gear needed to produce professional sounding recordings from home. It’s cheaper than you might think to outfit yourself with the necessary tools!
You see, because of massive advances in technology, even the “cheap” gear is pretty damn good! However, if you do have a more flexible budget, I’ll give you some guidance on how best to spend that cash. I’ll explain where the “leverage points” of your system are and how to avoid getting sucked into marketing hype.
One thing to remember though: No amount of gear will improve your actual skill level! Don’t forget to upgrade your “neck-top computer” as well!
This episode of TechMuze is sponsored by MixLessons.com. Learn the art of 3 Dimensional Modern Mixing by taking the free course today!

Good Luck with the new chapter Brother! As always, a great discussion of things audio.
Thanks Dave! Keep in touch 🙂
Hi Dezz! Thanks for the great info. I have a small 8 ch. Behringer Mixer for my mic inputs. Doesn’t that act as a mic preamp also? Or do I need to invest in a mic pre-amp?
Hey Jim! Yes, there are preamps in your Behringer mixer. However, they are probably not very good. Some of Behringer’s new, higher end mixers are quite good because they bought Midas a while back. It would be beneficial to try to rent or borrow a nice preamp and let your ears be the judge.
Dezz – as always….smart info delivered in pure easy-to-understand eloquence! Best in the biz.
Thanks Rich! I appreciate that 🙂
Thanks Dezz! Sounds like I’ve made some good choices in my gear. I use 2 WARM pre’s, 2 GAP 73’S, & 2 Joe Meek Twin Q’s. I also lucked out & snagged a 4 channel TL Audio Indigo Series mic pre. All “budget” pre’s as they are all analoge. I run them into an ECHO Audiofire 12 & an Echo Audiofire 4. Loving the podcasts brother! Good luck with your new endevours in 2016 my friend.
That’s a mighty fine setup you got there! Thanks for the kind words 🙂