Nuts and Volts - January 2009

by Bryan Bergeron, Editor

DE VELOPING

PERSPECTIVES

Building a Home Recording Studio

Want to test the extent of your knowledge of applied electronics? Then try designing a home recording studio. Thanks to the affordable music recording and playback devices you can have fun creating your own music. Moreover — from an electronics enthusiast’s perspective — a home recording studio is a place where you can apply your creativity. However, designing and then getting the most out of a home recording studio requires a considerable understanding of electronics, from power supplies and digital signal processing to acoustics.

Options

Various options available for creating a home recording studio range from a pocket digital recorder and built-in microphone in your bedroom to a dedicated, acoustically treated room with the latest computer hardware and software tools, professional microphones, mixers, and signal processors. Budget is obviously a

consideration, as is available space.

A popular, low-cost option ($350 and up) is a studio in a box. This is an all-in-one, stand-alone recording appliance, such as the 64-track Boss BR-600 Digital Recorder, with built-in microphone, drum machine, and signal processing effects. A laptop or desktop computer with an analog-to-digital interface for capturing sound and associated software, as well as microphones and preamps, is a modest cost solution. A computer offers more flexibility and room for growth than a studio in a box.

Power

I’ve learned — the hard way — that the first thing to be aware of is the seemingly odd standards of the music industry. For example, the power supply polarity used by effects pedals and other audio peripherals is often ‘reversed.’ That is, it’s common practice with audio gear outfitted with coaxial power connectors to have the outside of the jacket positive and the inside negative — exactly the opposite of most consumer electronics. I’ve

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