The Ultimate Guide to Building a Home Music Studio on a Budget

Think back to the music studios you’ve seen in movies and TV.  Those places often seem out of reach, filled with expensive, complicated equipment that can look more like the set of Star Trek than a place where a new producer might learn to record music. 

The good news is that technology has moved along so far, so recording equipment is more accessible. If you're wondering how to build a recording studio in 2022, the answer will be a lot different than it was in years past when you practically needed a music degree to start a recording studio at home. 

Building a home music studio doesn't have to be expensive. With a little creativity and some careful planning, you can put together a great sounding space without breaking the bank. Let’s look at some of the things that will help you get started building a home music studio. 

(For more tips on DIY studio soundproofing, check out our tips for podcast studios)

 

1. Start by assessing your needs before diving into building a recording studio. 

When you start thinking about how to build a home studio, consider these questions:

• What kind of music do you want to record?
• Do you need a lot of space for live instruments?
• How many people will be using the studio at once?

Answering these will give you a better idea of what kind of home studio you need to build.

If you’re a solo producer hoping to record at home by yourself, your needs will be very different than someone who wants to start recording drums at home, or making demos for your friends’ bands. 

Figure out how much space you have and do your research on how to best use your space to create a creative environment that is functional and inspires you to record. 

You might find that all you really need is a good USB microphone, which would allow you to record pro-quality audio directly to you computer. If that sounds like a good option for you, check out Movo’s highly-rated  USB condenser microphones. 

 

2. Look for ways to save money on equipment for your home studio.

You don't need the most famous or expensive gear to get started with building a home studio. In fact, there are plenty of great sounding budget microphones and audio interfaces available to help you build a studio. Do your research and find the gear that will work best for your needs and your budget.

The technology has advanced so much in recent years that you can get gear that produces great results at much more affordable prices. Our goal at Movo has always been to help new creators and pros alike connect to equipment that helps them make great content without breaking their budget.  

So if you’re starting to put together your DIY music studio, Movo’s gear for music makers is a great place to start looking. Maybe you want to get started podcasting, but don’t have a huge budget to outfit your recording studio. One of our affordable  podcasting bundles might just do the trick!

 

3. Consider acoustics when deciding how to build a home music studio. 

When deciding where you want to set up your home music studio, you’ll want to consider acoustics. You'll want to avoid rooms with a lot of hard surfaces, such as tile or hardwood floors. These surfaces can cause reflections and echo. Instead, choose a room with carpet or rugs, and try to position your furniture in a way that will absorb sound.

Another great way to get good sound isolation when starting to build a music studio is to use heavy duty moving blankets. These are relatively inexpensive and provide great sound isolation. You can use them to create a DIY vocal booth by lining the walls of a small room or closet with them, or hanging them like tent walls to create an isolated space within a larger room.  

 

4. Make use of free software and online tutorials for making music.

There are some great free recording programs available, such as Audacity and Reaper. You can also download many free “Plugins,” which are add-on effects, instruments and presets that you can use inside your recording software program. With a little time and effort, you can learn how to use these programs to get professional sounding results.

Youtube is an amazing resource if you’re interested in learning how to produce music. Search for videos showing tutorials and tips for the software that you are using to get started.  

 

5. Feel free to experiment in your new music studio.  

A lot of information online will try to teach you the “right” way to record. There is a lot of value to this, especially if you’re just starting because you definitely want to be able to record audio that is clean and free of noise and interference. 

But that doesn’t mean you have to follow everything you read online about how to use microphones, audio devices, and the “correct” ways to record certain signals. Don't be afraid to break the rules!

There are no objectively “bad” sounding recordings, just recordings that might sound different from what people are used to hearing. Maybe instead of putting a condenser microphone in front of an acoustic guitar, you like the sound of a lavalier stuck right inside the guitar's soundhole.  Maybe you like a little bit of distortion when you are recording a vocal.  

Don’t be afraid to experiment, listen to your ears and record in a way that feels creative to you.  There are no rules, just creative possibilities! 

If you want an awesome budget-friendly microphone to experiment with, try our best-selling microphone, the VXR10 shotgun microphone. While it was originally designed to be a compact on-camera shotgun microphone, it’s incredibly versatile and we’ve heard of creators using it in all kinds of creative ways.  

 

Final Thoughts

Getting started on your recording journey can be challenging, but it’s easier if you start with a few pointers and build up from that.

One of the most important things you’ll need are the microphones, so make sure to check our best microphones for recording vocals.

By following ourtips, we hope you'll be well on your way to building a home music studio that sounds great without breaking the bank. Happy recording!