building a home recording studio 5

Finally, in our discussion on how to build your own recording studio, we talk about connecting everything together. We've already discussed getting a good computer, recording software, microphone, audio/midi interface, and a good pair of monitors. To build your own recording studio you need to know how to connect various pieces of equipment together.

What I shall present here will be pretty simple and straightforward for beginners. This is the way I have my own small home studio set up. You can use it as a guide to build your own recording studio.

You connect your keyboard to your computer with a midi interface such as the Midiman USB Uno. You can get one for about $34 online.

If you are not going to be using the sounds of the keyboard itself you can get simply use a basic midi controller. These produce no sounds themselves. You can use a midi controller to play the soft synths and modules in your computer.

Build your own recording studio - hook up your audio

The next thing you need to hook up is your audio. If you buy a Delta 44 audio interface, it will come with an instructional manual that will guide you in doing an installation. In a nutshell, you have to install the Delta 44 PCI host adapter card in the computer. This will be attached to the Delta 44 break out box via a 15-pin D-sub to 15-pin D-sub cable. This is a simple process; the manual makes it easy to understand.

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In my setup I use an Alesis mixer. Two aux sends are connected to Ins 1 and 2 of the Delta 44 via two 1/4 inch cable. Outs 1 and 2 of the Delta 44 connect to the aux returns of the mixer via two 1/4 inch cable.

My microphone plugs into the mic input of my mixer and my keyboard plugs into the line input of my mixer. My mixer then connects to my powered (active) monitors - the output of the mixer to the input of the powered speakers using two XLR cables. A headphones connects into the mixer.

What we've discussed is a simple home recording studio set up. Use it as a guide to build your own recording studio. Your interface will usually come with instructions that can guide you as to various ways in which you can set up your home recording studio with or without a mixer. You can also be guided by the store in which you buy your equipment. They should be able to explain how everything works together.