
How I recorded an album on my own, in my room - romes
https://medium.com/@rodrigo.m.mesquita/what-i-learned-recording-an-alternative-album-on-my-own-in-my-room-c440b8201c9
======
hnruss
A few of my own home recording tips:

\- Use a condenser microphone with a pop filter for vocals

\- Use 2 matched condenser mics for acoustic instruments, separated by twice
the distance to the instrument, pan them left and right

\- Use a dozen cheap foam panels to reduce unwanted room sound (placed closer
to the vocals/instrument depending on situation). I tacked mine to a sheet of
plywood so that it could be moved around.

\- Eat a banana before singing to help improve vocal quality

\- It will never sound as good as you want, but the most important thing is
the performance. People will put up with imperfect recordings if the
performance is good.

~~~
baldfat
> \- Use a condenser microphone with a pop filter for vocals

As an old engineer and record label owner I actually say NEVER use a condenser
microphone unless you have great acoustics in your room and specific reason
for using them. Use a dynamic mic instead. They are great sounding used on
millions of songs and they are forgiving for bad acoustic areas. People just
assume that condenser are better for all vocals. My 1" condensers that cost
thousands sound amazing but a lot of times I just use a SM58 instead because
it was a better sound for it. SM7B is my go to mic for vocals but that would
be out of most people's budgets. Also no need for phantom power is also a
plus.

SM7B from Shure $399 Sennheiser e945 $219 SM58 from Shure $99 (This is a tank
of a mic that just rocks)

~~~
danbmil99
Sm57 all the way for me. $150 condenser mic I got at Guitar Center was
terrible.

As a back in the day old time recording engineer, I had access to Neumanns and
AKG mics worth thousands of dollars. But 60% of the time, a sure 57 ended up
sounding better.

~~~
random_moonwalk
Hi, sorry for hijacking. I'm a bedroom producer noob and I'm currently using
an NT1-A for vocal stuff although I've recently been working with a female
vocalist who's got a very strong (and pretty bright-sounding) voice. Would you
recommend giving the Sm57 a go for this sort of thing?

~~~
danbmil99
Absolutely. Condenser mics often don't work well with the kind of voice you're
describing. They end up sounding shrill and a bit clippy even if they don't
officially hit the clip level.

Mics like the 57, or the old re20 that you used to see in studios have a
warmer, analog sound that's more forgiving and softens the harshness that you
can hear in condenser mics.

~~~
random_moonwalk
Awesome, thanks! I'm going to give this a go :)

------
redis_mlc
1) Since record labels generally haven't given an advance to a new artist for
a decade, almost all albums and Youtubes are now done "in your room."

2) The Yamaha AG03 is a mixing console more intended for live gigs. If you're
mainly doing home studio recoding, then most people get a Focusrite 2i2 or
Yamaha/Steinberg UR22 and do mixing in the DAW (computer program.) The UR22
has MIDI-in and out.

Synths often have a built-in audio interface for microphones or guitars,
though sometimes without phantom power.

Otherwise, the how-to is pretty typical of how it's done. Note that the author
was already quite a musician, having been in a band. YMMV!

~~~
romes
1) Interesting note, I hadn't thought much about it - I don't know much about
labels, the only one I follow is 4AD and what they post, I listen to. However,
they're not that talked about.

2) I'll have to look into these - thanks for telling me!

3) Unfortunately I think playing simple chords in a band, when you and the two
other musicians are 17, doesn't really qualify as being quite the musician
ahaha thank you still!

~~~
swatts
I don't think you'll see any appreciable difference in conversion quality by
switching audio interfaces at this level, particularly with the style of music
you are making (which is great by the way, well done!). It all comes down to
workflow, and it seems you're getting it done just fine with the Yamaha. I'd
look to upgrade if you find yourself needing more inputs.

The more obvious upgrade would be a new microphone to replace the Kenwood you
are currently using. An SM-58 will last you a lifetime or if you have a bit
more to spend something like an SM7b will be a great investment particularly
recording in untreated spaces.

Also, you could try recording the midi information of your electric drum kit
and then loosely quantising/editing the takes to retain the feel. You can map
these to Logics in-built drums which are pretty great.

Congrats on finishing a body of work, most don't get that far!

~~~
romes
Thank you for your suggestions, and specifically on the microphone one. I
wanted to get a new one but I was having some difficulty choosing a good one
for me. I will look into this. And thank you for your nice words!

~~~
swatts
Yeah going down the microphone rabbit hole can be confronting. It's always
best if you can try a particular model before purchasing it (particularly for
your own vocals), as microphones are very source specific.

Not always an option depending on where you are, but often you can find an
audio-rental company nearby. It's hard to go wrong with the mics I mentioned
above though. Keep it up!

------
jdminhbg
On a similar note, here's a two-minute video by Calvin Harris on how he made
"Slide":
[https://twitter.com/CalvinHarris/status/843563157280903168](https://twitter.com/CalvinHarris/status/843563157280903168)

It's kind of crazy to see that while he has some slightly nicer instruments
than me, he mostly does the same thing I do, only with a couple orders of
magnitude more talent and a Dropbox with Frank Ocean and Migos vox in it.

------
andrew999
This is a great writeup. I did something similar to this. 80 songs. Everything
this author says about the process is pretty much the same that i experienced,
but it took me a year to figure it out and another year and a half to write
and record all the music. about one song a week. Oh except I did drums
differently, I found somthinig called Fat Drums (or something), a midi-based
drum machine, and basically i finger drummed on my usb keyboard into a track
on my DAW. it was fantastic, absolutely indistinguishable from a human
drummer. oh also i used ableton as a daw, it is really good, but really
anything could work. and like this author discovered, you can spend way too
much time redoing takes, so i took a lot of pride on doing one or two takes
and moving on. kept the creative process flowing. in fact after 80 songs,
maybe 12 i thought were actually pretty good, so we formed a band, learned
those songs, and played live locally for a year or so. it was fun. great job
romes!!!

~~~
highhedgehog
I have Addictive Drums 2 and used it even live on my e-drums. It just sounds
amazing.

------
zelienople
I tried to post a correction on Medium, but they wanted me to create an
account. So I created an account to post the correction and they still
wouldn't let me post, something about either my profile wasn't complete or I
hadn't done enough to allow posting.

Great business model. Outsource the content creation to the peons but then
implement draconian restrictions so you have to jump through hoops to make a
positive contribution.

Anyway, the correction is, the book "Set Your Voice Free" is by Roger Love,
not Robert Love as stated in the article. Helpful for anyone looking for it
because Robert Love writes Linux books that contain very little information
about improving your singing voice.

I don't understand why anyone would be suckered into creating value for a
place like Medium when they are so obviously exploitative.

~~~
romes
hey, thank you for noting! i'll fix it right away. this is my first time using
medium as well. I think i might abandon the account and repost the story on my
blog.

thanks again :)

~~~
l0c0b0x
If you repost, please update here :)

Thanks for the detailed info--looking at doing this myself.

~~~
romes
Hey! I posted it on my blog - I want to redesign it, however, its working::

[https://alt-romes.github.io/#/march2020/-M2VLHK-TP_orVo9_FjI](https://alt-
romes.github.io/#/march2020/-M2VLHK-TP_orVo9_FjI)

------
beckler
I do some mixing for live events on occasion, and I had a guy tell me once
that no mix is ever done, but every mix is eventually abandoned.

Honestly, it's true. You can sink an incredible amount of time into mixing and
still not be happy with it.

~~~
redis_mlc
Pro mixers generally finish in a day or maybe two, which is why producers
choose them.

~~~
beckler
Pro mixers also have lots of presets and tool chains already setup that they
always go-to. It's not that they could just finish a mix in a day, it's that
they have a lot of their tooling already roughly setup, and they just have to
dial it in. It still takes time to create and setup those chains/presets.

------
palijer
This is exactly the reason why I switched careers from audio tech to
development. Funny seeing this posted here.

I believe there was a post last night on mass amateurization -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_amateurization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_amateurization)

But yeah, you do not need a lot of professional equipment or specialized
knowledge now to create great records. I am not at all bemoaning this fact, I
love that creating music is more and more open for all, music is a very human
quality we should all have access to.

~~~
SOLAR_FIELDS
One of the more famous “in your room” records is Sufjan Stevens’ _Illinoise_.
Highly critically acclaimed album involving many instruments that was mostly
recorded on a Shure SM57 in a Manhattan apartment. And this isn’t your bedroom
EDM album, this is an album that well over 20 different classically trained
musicians played on.

[https://www.google.com/amp/s/pitchfork.com/thepitch/822-insi...](https://www.google.com/amp/s/pitchfork.com/thepitch/822-inside-
the-recording-sessions-for-sufjan-stevens-illinois/amp/)

[https://www.sageaudio.com/blog/recording/two-critically-
accl...](https://www.sageaudio.com/blog/recording/two-critically-acclaimed-
albums-recorded-100-microphone.php)

~~~
jmiskovic
Well, in couple of rooms, studios and a church. Thanks for introducing me to
the album, some awesome music.

------
moomin
It’s surprising how many albums are made in home studios these days. Most of
David Byrne’s stuff, Jagged Little Pill...

~~~
duncan-donuts
Another thing I find pretty amazing is how much guitar work is 100% digital
these days. The progress in DSP technology has allowed thousands of sounds
available to the masses. $500 goes a long way these days which wasn’t true a
decade ago.

~~~
iakov
And those digital units are not only "legit" sounding, but also much more
flexible and hassle-free. Lighter, with instant preset recall, different
input/output routing.

I love this tech, really, and the fact that it brings people closer to making
music.

~~~
grujicd
Can both of you share what is now used for guitar sounds?

~~~
swatts
The Strymon Iridium is fantastic, if you have more to spend and want more
flexibility Kemper profilers are hard to beat. AxeFX also gets a lot of love.

On the more budget end most audio interfaces these days will have a Hi-Z input
for guitar, there are many great amp/stompbox emulation plugins these days.

~~~
jongold
I adorrrrre my Iridium. I have Guitar Rig & Bias FX and a bunch of other sims,
but the Iridium is really special. The sound is _inspiring_ - in that it makes
me want to just sit and play guitar for hours on end because it sounds so damn
good. It's expensive and I try to not be a gear addict, but imo investing that
much in my joy was money well spent.

------
DigitalSea
Great write-up. People don't realise, this was instrumental to the success of
Billie Eilish. She and her brother make their music in a tiny bedroom studio
and you can't argue with the results. The trove of available VST plugins for
mastering, mixing and instruments are vast and most of them are affordable for
those who are serious about pursuing bedroom recording.

------
reggieband
Finishing an entire album is a great achievement. Even with the tremendous
improvements and price reductions in modern home-recording equipment there is
still numerous hours of effort required. It is a marathon like effort and
anyone who completes it should feel proud.

------
easymodex
This is great, exactly what I've been trying to do but there's never enough
time and now the second kid is on the way... I guess I'll have to just find
that extra time somehow because you got me excited again.

One question: What did you use for the guitar amp? I personally use Guitar rig
and I keep getting lost in all those infinite guitar sounds. I'm worried my
songs won't sound cohesive if I experiment too much and have a different setup
(or several) for each song. Do you just pick a few sets like a clean sounding
one, dirty sounding one and stick with them through the whole record (maybe
add some unique effects here and there) or does it not matter?

~~~
dsr_
Rule of thumb for any sound situation, live or recorded: give yourself a
limited palette so you can sound consistent.

If you want an album to sound like it's all one piece, you use the same
instrument and processing for it all the way through -- except for that one
time that you want to highlight it.

In visual terms, you want the grass on the left side of the painting to be the
same as the grass on the right side of the painting, unless you deliberately
want to say something about the grass. You should only be drawing people's
attention to what _you_ _want_ them to be looking at.

------
mimes70
Great article (and nice music). Wish I had read this pointers years ago, when
I still had a lot of free time. Maybe a nice hobby for corona quarantine time
:-)

~~~
duncan-donuts
I’m definitely planning on writing a lot of music over the next month

~~~
romes
let's go! if you wanna share when you're finished send a text to email or
social media (check last line of the post)

~~~
duncan-donuts
You bet!

------
bane
There's some fantastic artists on youtube who produce in similar
circumstances. Here's one of my favorite examples (the video was also made in
the artist's room)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYv6-5VmNEM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYv6-5VmNEM)

~~~
wnscooke
The artists name is Mree, and it's her cover of Walking on a Dream by Empire
of the Sun. It's worth the click, and now you know to what you'll be clicking.

~~~
bane
ha, yeah thanks!

If you aren't familiar with the original song she's covering
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eimgRedLkkU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eimgRedLkkU)

------
cmrdsprklpny
I cannot help but mention Jacob Collier, who self-produced an album (called
"In My Room") and won 2 Grammys with it. [https://youtu.be/4v3zyPEy-
Po?list=PLHX_dBxnc8z-EeR431dUujzqe...](https://youtu.be/4v3zyPEy-
Po?list=PLHX_dBxnc8z-EeR431dUujzqeFdMaeoGq)

------
superasn
Really neat article. The part about promoting your music seems really hard. I
have 0 knowledge about music industry but I've heard there are some sites like
Submithub that promote your music to blogs for a small fee. Maybe you can try
that. A few reviews from music blogger can help you get more fans.

------
danbmil99
One thing I believe is not mentioned in the article is your monitoring and
mixing set up. I didn't see any reference to headphones, speakers Etc

This makes a pretty big difference in the mixing and mastering phases.

------
woodandsteel
A four year old teaches a couple of lessons on how to use Garage Band

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK1PjOx9XoI&list=PLkx9TVrdk-...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK1PjOx9XoI&list=PLkx9TVrdk-e5AiYUz9K_Tcvmq4mrr1BmU&index=2)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDbrdwjj7c&list=PLkx9TVrdk-...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDbrdwjj7c&list=PLkx9TVrdk-e5AiYUz9K_Tcvmq4mrr1BmU)

------
Niccizero
Reminders me than one of my favourite albums ever, Sheena Ringo's Kalk Samen
Kuri no Hana was recorded entirely by her in her apartment with Mac and some
cheap hardware.

------
tchaffee
Good article and I like the music. BTW "Reverse Glimpse" gets stuck for me.
Just a black screen and it will not play. It stops the playlist there too.

------
leafario2
Jacob Collier has an album called 'In My Room'

~~~
flak48
Of which 2 tracks won Grammys

------
laurieg
Wonderful to see such a detailed run down!

I scrolled straight to the singing part to see if there were any nuggets of
wisdom. I've been singing with a teacher for 6 months and it still seems
impossible. Everything is so indirect and there is no obvious path to getting
better.

Are there any people here who have improved their singing skills
significantly? What did you do?

~~~
jongold
Yup! I went from "I don't even sing karaoke or sing in the shower" to really
liking my voice, performing super comfortably in public & preparing to record
my first studio EP. I guess it's been 3-4 years at this point.

I had a musical background which definitely helped, but the main thing is I
desperately wanted to be able to sing.

The main thing you can do is take weekly vocal lessons with a good vocal
teacher who you vibe with and practice every day. I didn't have lessons for
that whole time, but the periods where I have had a teacher I got better
quicker way better than when I just practiced by myself.

The cool thing is that singing unlocks songwriting, and songwriting is
absolutely transformative as a self-care practice. It's also infinitely more
fun to sing your own songs than covers. But also performing your own songs
gives you a drive to get better at singing. Virtuous cycle.

edit: here's a recent song
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrd7Uvm2h00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrd7Uvm2h00)

~~~
ramraj07
Curious, why does singing unlock songwriting?

~~~
jongold
it's easier to write songs when you have control of your voice.

------
thorin
Assuming I already have a guitar, bass and electric piano (with midi) how much
would I have to spend on bits and pieces to do something similar. I have a
couple of low spec windows laptops so might well need a new machine as well?

Guess the main costs would be the digital interface and software plus a new
computer maybe (does it really gave to be a mac!!)

~~~
romes
I spent around 90€ on the audio interface (however, i think you can get a
better one for less money now), 35€ on the mic stand, 15€ on the cable. I'm
pretty sure you can get far with free software, and it wouldn't require a new
machine - you just need the basics. I'm not sure how much the rest of the
equipment cost because most I didn't buy myself.

~~~
tigeba
Great job putting out an entire self produced album and documenting it. I
wanted to bounce this opinion off you.

Its my opinion that most folks who are going to be using programmed drums
would be better off with an inexpensive MIDI controller with some pads (like
the one pictured in your article) vs playing them on an electronic kit unless
they happen to be a very skilled drummer.

I play drums passably, but when I'm demoing up ideas I just thump them in with
some pads on a MIDI controller.

------
ambivalents
Just on the first track, but this is quite good! Thanks for sharing your
process.

------
briefcomment
That's some atmospheric shoegaze. Very nice!

------
danbmil99
One more question. Did you consider possibly releasing this material under a
Creative Commons rather than a commercial license?

~~~
romes
Hey! No, it did not cross my mind - where do you release Creative Commons
music? As a goal I wanted to have my friends listening and sharing the music
where they usually listen to it. If you want to chat about it contact me (see
last line of post for contacts)

~~~
danbmil99
Creative Commons doesn't mean you can't put it on Spotify iTunes Etc. It just
means it can also be distributed on platforms that aren't part of the music
industry copyright and licensing system.

One advantage of doing it this way is so your music is widely available even
if the platform of the day goes away and you're not on top of it to migrate to
whatever's current.

Check out more about this here [https://creativecommons.org/about/program-
areas/arts-culture...](https://creativecommons.org/about/program-areas/arts-
culture/arts-culture-resources/legalmusicforvideos/)

------
viburnum
You should keep at it, that was not bad at all.

------
antman
What would someome need to change to this setup for hosting karaoke nights?

------
pell
Paz is a nice song.

