Can you build an awesome home studio for $3000? The answer is yes, and Jacob shows you how! What would you include in your knockout home studio setup? Let us know in the comments! Shop all studio and recording gear at Sweetwater 👉 imp.i114863.net/QO9dPz
the c414 akg is a great mic and sounds amazing but in a 3000 dollar budget I think choosing a mic like the wa47jr for 299.99 or the wa87 for 599.99 or even the rode NT2A for 399.99. will still make great results and use the other few hundreds bucks to get a great external preamp like the warm audio tone beast or the art pro mpa ii preamp or even the presonus studio channel preamp. I think that combination such as rode NT2A, Presonus studio channel and the UA interface would create an amazing front end recording.
Cool video, but I disagree with several of your choices for budget reasons. My list would be as follows: Mic: Shure sm7b Interface: UA Volt 476 DAW: Reaper Monitors: Kali Audio LP-6 Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 77 Midi Controller: Novation Launchkey 49 MK3 That comes out to $1,474 total, which leaves room in the budget for a computer and the necessary cables.
Volt is not expandable, so you'll never be able to multitrack above 4. Sweet list, but I have a few things to add- Sm7b is a good all around microphone, but without the proper preamp it'll be shit. Not sure these pres will sound great with an sm7b. I like my ssl pres for my sm7b (those wont work in this budget), clean and punchy with a more balanced top-end. Focusrite ISA preamps are a bit darker with slight coloration, and can be driven into mild saturation with pleasing effects (not to mention the amazing D.I) so I'd ad one of those. Also, the ISA has incredible thump for bass drums and snare drums. I'd definitely recommend the ISA ONE for Vocals and acoustic guitar too. Can't have a shit preamp and expect good sound, and Interface pres rarely carry any weight at this level. All other choices I like. I'd buy all used though if it were me.
This is for a beginner. I get that you want it to be future proof, but the gear doesn’t make the music any better. I normally love their videos, but this isn’t a great “beginner budget studio”. Sanjay C does one that has plenty of usable gear, including computers for a much more approachable price, including computers. The second you start talking about a 1000 dollar mic as beginner, I’ve lost interest
Brian used to work at Guitar Center and he helped me with my very 1st studio ever lol. Sweetwater has made me actually feel very lucky to live in Fort Wayne
You can really go so many different directions with a 3k budget. Spend more on an interface and less on a mic and you can have 16 inputs and not have to replace your interface for years.
This doesn't factor in the cost of a computer, which is arguably the most important part of the workstation. Here's the setup I helped my buddy put together: HP Omen laptop with decent specs ~$1,500 Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen $180 Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones $100 Pair of Kali Audio LP-6 V2's $340 On-Stage SMS6000-P speaker stands $107 On-Stage MS7701B mic stand $38 Audio-Technica AT2020 $100 Audio-Technica AT8458a shock mount $30 Pro Co EXM-20 XLR cable $30 x2 Pro Co BP-10 TRS cables $42 Reaper $60 Comes out to just over $2,500. My buddy doesn't play keys, so he didn't need a MIDI controller.
Maybe the video should specify that this is a one-person minimalistic home studio setup. If you're recording solo and only need one mic, yeah, you can blow a third of your $3K budget on it and economize elsewhere. That wouldn't, however, work for a band, and neither would a 4-input interface. Even for one multi-instrumentalist, that's woefully limited. Unless, of course, they "have a friend who brings a mixer for additional inputs" (gotta love that nugget of information). And that's assuming that a computer, lighting, furniture, acoustic treatments, cables, stands, and all the other "stuff" essential for even a small home studio, is already present. Without all those things, it's not "building" a studio but rather getting a couple of extra pieces of gear for an existing one.
You can do this for a lot less money and I am even talking about Australian dollars at that. A decent studio system including the computer can be bought for under $1000 USD
Well, honestly I think getting monitors within this budget is kinda counter-productive, as they will only sound as good as your treatment. Maybe stick to headphones first and then build your treatment up, as this will not only improve your future monitoring, but also the recording
Guys guys guys first of all hi to the sweetwater team I love the shop the content you make helps a lot in decision making when it comes to buy gears but i was wondering .... I live in Perpignan which is a big city in the south and we don't really have music shop out there like sweetwater everytime i need to buy something for my studio i have to go online sooooo are we ok to say that there is no Sweetwater shop in France ?
Kneecapping yourself by shoving that mic through thows low level preamps. Most music is made track-by-track nowadays by someone alone in a room. They would benefit from a stronger foundation and dedicated preamp like Warm audio or Focusrite, then going into something with better converters like a smaller sized apollo, or atleast an audient with pres bypassed. Track count is where things really get expensive... I wish I didn't need 14 mics for my kit, or couldn't hear the lower midrange completely washed out by less-than-acceptable converters.
I’m not trying to argue with Sweetwater but if you want to save a little on an interface I would get the Focusright Scarlett 2i2 it’s more than enough for only around 180 USD.
I'm of the opinion that treating the room is the most important. No matter what, you're always recording the room. What does the room sound like? Can you null the room when needed? Room treatment is the most overlooked part when people are talking about building their own studio, and it's overlooked by UA-camr's who are trying to teach people how to build studios. 90% of my budget would be on the room treatment in this scenario.
I've seen a million of these videos. Guys coming into this need to know about computers this is the main item. it builds them up only to realize they need a reliable computer
I can do the whole thing for $1200, WITH the computer. Rode NT2A, A pair of SM57's, two Yamaha HS80's, a Behringer 404HD, a copy of Reaper, and a $75 used laptop from a computer recycling company. You're welcome.
A third of your budget for one mic is insane. You can’t even record in stereo. Nonsense. Considering there is a negligible difference between the sound quality of a $300 mic and a $5000 Manley Reference Gold (listen to the mega mic shootout on Sweetwater’s own channel for proof.) If you want to blow $1000 on mics, get a decent large diaphragm condenser from AKG or Audio Technica, a Shure SM 57, and spend the rest on a drum mic pack. Now, you’ll actually be able to record a whole band if necessary and you lack for nothing.
Great video but disagree on the midi controller. Should have gone with a arturia keylab 61 maybe. You need 61 keys for more reasons than I have time to type and it has performance pads and better key bed. You went a thousand on a mic but for keyboard very little :/
I’m agree, but sometimes the gear just limits our grow For a year the at2035 was my only mic, a great low-price mic, with a Scarlett solo, when I decided to upgrade, i got more jobs and opportunities, which means more experience winning, right now i have a nt1a and a c214, with a ssl2 interface Of course the change is notable in sound quality, at the same time I got better and I’m close to get a mainstream quality, I keep the at2035 and the Scarlett, which I still use for work and personal projects, but the skills I got now, I wouldn’t have them if I didn’t decide to upgrade
Wow. I found that some horrible advice. For someone who has his own project studio and put much more money into it, I would not spend most of my budget of $3000 on a overpriced vintage design AKG for $1300. Which will actually cost you $1400 or more after tax. You guys do remember tax right? Because our government loves it. The monitors aren't bad and the headphones. But a person really should try to understand as much as possible what they want out of the studio and exactly how they're going to use it. I would start with the DAW first in which is best for the type of music you make. Than the interface, monitors, mic and headphones looking at what you're going to be doing. If you're doing metal or rock for instance, a s..t ton of metal and rock is sung into a Shure SM7B. And the plugins that come with most DAW's are basic plugins. You really don't understand what plugins the professionals use till you really get into it. And cables? Cheap cables make cheap sound. They are completely leaving out stands and power conditioners and baffling too. What are you going to be putting into your interface? Do you play guitar and bass? Do you play keys well, and are you good at making drum beats? Because as a singer and guitarist who plays bass too, but isn't good at keys, it is much better using great drum programs like EZ Drummer for me to arrange and record drum parts. And if you're playing instruments in, you better consider how you're getting great tones. Are you gonna mics amps, or use amp sims? Are you going to use a modeler? All this stuff costs money.
Can you build an awesome home studio for $3000? The answer is yes, and Jacob shows you how! What would you include in your knockout home studio setup? Let us know in the comments! Shop all studio and recording gear at Sweetwater 👉 imp.i114863.net/QO9dPz
Is there a chance to win that Studio? 😅
the c414 akg is a great mic and sounds amazing but in a 3000 dollar budget I think choosing a mic like the wa47jr for 299.99 or the wa87 for 599.99 or even the rode NT2A for 399.99. will still make great results and use the other few hundreds bucks to get a great external preamp like the warm audio tone beast or the art pro mpa ii preamp or even the presonus studio channel preamp. I think that combination such as rode NT2A, Presonus studio channel and the UA interface would create an amazing front end recording.
Of course. $1000 for a mic in a $10,000 studio is excessive, considering how amazing lower cost condensers are nowadays.
Great video. I just want to visit that giant candy store called Sweetwater in person! 🙂Only 793 miles from me. Road trip!!!
Cool video, but I disagree with several of your choices for budget reasons.
My list would be as follows:
Mic: Shure sm7b
Interface: UA Volt 476
DAW: Reaper
Monitors: Kali Audio LP-6
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 77
Midi Controller: Novation Launchkey 49 MK3
That comes out to $1,474 total, which leaves room in the budget for a computer and the necessary cables.
Volt is not expandable, so you'll never be able to multitrack above 4.
Sweet list, but I have a few things to add-
Sm7b is a good all around microphone, but without the proper preamp it'll be shit.
Not sure these pres will sound great with an sm7b.
I like my ssl pres for my sm7b (those wont work in this budget), clean and punchy with a more balanced top-end.
Focusrite ISA preamps are a bit darker with slight coloration, and can be driven into mild saturation with pleasing effects (not to mention the amazing D.I)
so I'd ad one of those.
Also, the ISA has incredible thump for bass drums and snare drums.
I'd definitely recommend the ISA ONE for Vocals and acoustic guitar too.
Can't have a shit preamp and expect good sound, and Interface pres rarely carry any weight at this level.
All other choices I like.
I'd buy all used though if it were me.
This is for a beginner. I get that you want it to be future proof, but the gear doesn’t make the music any better. I normally love their videos, but this isn’t a great “beginner budget studio”. Sanjay C does one that has plenty of usable gear, including computers for a much more approachable price, including computers. The second you start talking about a 1000 dollar mic as beginner, I’ve lost interest
The UA Volt 476 does not have XLR outputs.... only TRS. Gonna need a few adapters.
Brian used to work at Guitar Center and he helped me with my very 1st studio ever lol. Sweetwater has made me actually feel very lucky to live in Fort Wayne
Did I miss a mic stand?
You can really go so many different directions with a 3k budget. Spend more on an interface and less on a mic and you can have 16 inputs and not have to replace your interface for years.
I spent £1200 on Physical sythersizors used.
6:44 Fun fact: the other spot they "jumped" to is literally 2 feet from where they were standing before. XD
This doesn't factor in the cost of a computer, which is arguably the most important part of the workstation. Here's the setup I helped my buddy put together:
HP Omen laptop with decent specs ~$1,500
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen $180
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones $100
Pair of Kali Audio LP-6 V2's $340
On-Stage SMS6000-P speaker stands $107
On-Stage MS7701B mic stand $38
Audio-Technica AT2020 $100
Audio-Technica AT8458a shock mount $30
Pro Co EXM-20 XLR cable $30
x2 Pro Co BP-10 TRS cables $42
Reaper $60
Comes out to just over $2,500. My buddy doesn't play keys, so he didn't need a MIDI controller.
w comment
House with spare room for studio: $425,000.
HAHAHA FACTS!!!
Closets dont count! 😂
I gave up my living room long ago.
3k: 2.5k monitors, 400usd interface, SM57. Thats how you roll. Thank me later.
is it heat? and why
Maybe the video should specify that this is a one-person minimalistic home studio setup. If you're recording solo and only need one mic, yeah, you can blow a third of your $3K budget on it and economize elsewhere. That wouldn't, however, work for a band, and neither would a 4-input interface. Even for one multi-instrumentalist, that's woefully limited. Unless, of course, they "have a friend who brings a mixer for additional inputs" (gotta love that nugget of information). And that's assuming that a computer, lighting, furniture, acoustic treatments, cables, stands, and all the other "stuff" essential for even a small home studio, is already present. Without all those things, it's not "building" a studio but rather getting a couple of extra pieces of gear for an existing one.
Super hit, we love Sweetwater 💕
Super, we are using studio one , it's super easy and very professional sound, effects, and synth, etc.
Thanks for this video, ive learned some new ideas, hope it could help me building my own music one of this days🙂
I would love to have a store like this in the UK but there isn't one.
You can do this for a lot less money and I am even talking about Australian dollars at that. A decent studio system including the computer can be bought for under $1000 USD
Please do this for podcast micro budget.
Well, honestly I think getting monitors within this budget is kinda counter-productive, as they will only sound as good as your treatment. Maybe stick to headphones first and then build your treatment up, as this will not only improve your future monitoring, but also the recording
Guys guys guys first of all hi to the sweetwater team I love the shop the content you make helps a lot in decision making when it comes to buy gears but i was wondering ....
I live in Perpignan which is a big city in the south and we don't really have music shop out there like sweetwater everytime i need to buy something for my studio i have to go online sooooo are we ok to say that there is no Sweetwater shop in France ?
Kneecapping yourself by shoving that mic through thows low level preamps.
Most music is made track-by-track nowadays by someone alone in a room.
They would benefit from a stronger foundation and dedicated preamp like Warm audio or Focusrite, then going into something with better converters like a smaller sized apollo, or atleast an audient with pres bypassed.
Track count is where things really get expensive...
I wish I didn't need 14 mics for my kit, or couldn't hear the lower midrange completely washed out by less-than-acceptable converters.
I’m not trying to argue with Sweetwater but if you want to save a little on an interface I would get the Focusright Scarlett 2i2 it’s more than enough for only around 180 USD.
Just get used a Clarett. Done.
Great vid. Not enough corny transitions though. 😁👍
Awesome as usual
Need some sound treatment and a desk to put it all on
I'm of the opinion that treating the room is the most important. No matter what, you're always recording the room. What does the room sound like? Can you null the room when needed? Room treatment is the most overlooked part when people are talking about building their own studio, and it's overlooked by UA-camr's who are trying to teach people how to build studios. 90% of my budget would be on the room treatment in this scenario.
Nice job 👍
I think a full picture hear would be best. We need to see what you do with this gear ? Let's hear sound examples
I've seen a million of these videos. Guys coming into this need to know about computers this is the main item. it builds them up only to realize they need a reliable computer
Did I miss the cost of the DAW...?? 🤔
Best I can do is a behringer
I can do the whole thing for $1200, WITH the computer. Rode NT2A, A pair of SM57's, two Yamaha HS80's, a Behringer 404HD, a copy of Reaper, and a $75 used laptop from a computer recycling company. You're welcome.
A laptop like that wont even be able to run most modern software, plug ins, or samples let alone compatibility issues with interface upgrades lol
@@FanaticDrummer Think again, Reaper runs on just about anything.
A third of your budget for one mic is insane. You can’t even record in stereo. Nonsense. Considering there is a negligible difference between the sound quality of a $300 mic and a $5000 Manley Reference Gold (listen to the mega mic shootout on Sweetwater’s own channel for proof.) If you want to blow $1000 on mics, get a decent large diaphragm condenser from AKG or Audio Technica, a Shure SM 57, and spend the rest on a drum mic pack. Now, you’ll actually be able to record a whole band if necessary and you lack for nothing.
LOL! Let's Jump!
As long as you arent a drummer of course you can lol
Just need sound treatment :)
Great video but disagree on the midi controller. Should have gone with a arturia keylab 61 maybe. You need 61 keys for more reasons than I have time to type and it has performance pads and better key bed. You went a thousand on a mic but for keyboard very little :/
Now build a Dolby Atmos studio. You can have $20,000.
Man, I went way over budget.
Cakewalk by Bandlab would have saved you $400 -- but it's free, so Sweetwater doesn't sell it.
nice generalist setup, now do guitar focused setup
Why?
@@PetraKann because guitar 😁
It can. I did it for 2500
As big the budget, as "big" the sound will be... (plus your skills, of course)
I’m agree, but sometimes the gear just limits our grow
For a year the at2035 was my only mic, a great low-price mic, with a Scarlett solo, when I decided to upgrade, i got more jobs and opportunities, which means more experience winning, right now i have a nt1a and a c214, with a ssl2 interface
Of course the change is notable in sound quality, at the same time I got better and I’m close to get a mainstream quality, I keep the at2035 and the Scarlett, which I still use for work and personal projects, but the skills I got now, I wouldn’t have them if I didn’t decide to upgrade
Wow. I found that some horrible advice. For someone who has his own project studio and put much more money into it, I would not spend most of my budget of $3000 on a overpriced vintage design AKG for $1300. Which will actually cost you $1400 or more after tax. You guys do remember tax right? Because our government loves it. The monitors aren't bad and the headphones. But a person really should try to understand as much as possible what they want out of the studio and exactly how they're going to use it.
I would start with the DAW first in which is best for the type of music you make. Than the interface, monitors, mic and headphones looking at what you're going to be doing. If you're doing metal or rock for instance, a s..t ton of metal and rock is sung into a Shure SM7B. And the plugins that come with most DAW's are basic plugins. You really don't understand what plugins the professionals use till you really get into it. And cables? Cheap cables make cheap sound. They are completely leaving out stands and power conditioners and baffling too.
What are you going to be putting into your interface? Do you play guitar and bass? Do you play keys well, and are you good at making drum beats? Because as a singer and guitarist who plays bass too, but isn't good at keys, it is much better using great drum programs like EZ Drummer for me to arrange and record drum parts. And if you're playing instruments in, you better consider how you're getting great tones. Are you gonna mics amps, or use amp sims? Are you going to use a modeler? All this stuff costs money.