Chances are, if you're reading this, you're probably in the same shoes that I was in several weeks ago.
I, like many others, am currently a student at the University of British Columbia who's being robbed every year from textbooks and tuitions, which then obviously implies that I don't have the finances to pay for all the fancy gadgets needed in home recording, but I've always had an itch to start up some decent sounding recording. So being the cheap person I've been known to be ever since I began my post secondary studies, I decided to make (rather than buy) whatever I could for the studio out of basic household items (or if not, the cheapest hardware I could get my hands on to modify). Here's what I did to get something started and at the same time, afford to stay in school.
*NOTE: I know this setup is probably more amateur than any other out there..haha..I just posted this up hoping to give a little hope to some individuals seeking for a cheaper way out in producing some recording that's going to sound a little nicer than those on-board laptop mics. I'm open to all comments and constructive criticism so please feel free to voice out your thoughts. I'm seeking for improvements as I'm a rookie in this area, any comments will be beneficial. Thanks!Lets get straight to the studio now shall we,
First of all, my mic stands were built from desk lamps(ones with clamps were my preference). The first lamp below was the $10 Ikea "Tertial" lamp. I could have just snipped the lamp head off and just left the stand but sadly, I'm just that cheap, so I decided to save it in case I needed an extra lamp in the future, thus the ugly zip tied thing on the stand. The second lamp below was one that I found lying around my bedroom unused, (I later found out that it was also from Ikea) which I unscrewed the head to remove the lamp and pulled it out leaving just the stand.
In all, I spent $10 for two mic stands.
As you may notice below, this is an attempt to make something that functions as a pop filter, and somewhat, hopefully, resembles one in appearance.
The pop filter was made from an embroidery hoop, pantyhose cutout, electrical wire, and cable organizer.
The only things I needed to buy was the embroidery hoop and electrical wire, which cost a grand total of $4.
Moving on, I built myself a shock mount for my MXL 991 mic. Yes, it looks terrible haha, but it really does work just fine. What i did was I bought an ABS tube at a local hardware store (i'm sure you can find some at home though) and did some sawing to get my desired shape. Sawed some slots in the rings for my 2 elastics on each ring to hold on to, and just clipped a mic clip on the top. I also decided to sand down the edges, spray paint it, and add some home made decals on it for cosmetics (just so it looks like it's worth more than the $2.50 I spent on it. I can include a full length tutorial on this if several people request it.
Total Cost: $2.50 (ABS tube)
Of course, for any recording studio you need the Mics. Unfortunately, it isn't preferred that you make your own mics. As for my Mics, I got myself a set that works fine for my standards (which are very low). I've read many positive (for the beginners/intermediate)reviews on these mics though. Guitar Center has the set of two for $99, I had a %10 off coupon with that. Be sure to check out Craigslist as well though, you could be missing out on some steals.
Spendings after taxes: About $100.00
And of course, the audio interface, which just like the mic, may cause some troubles if you were to build one yourself from scratch. I did some reading and came to the conclusion that USB mic's will not perform as well as a mic-xlr-interface combination, so even though the USB mic was a cheaper option for me, I went with the mic-xlr-interface combination. I bought the Tascam US 122 from craigslist for a total of $60.
And FINALLY, I have a laptop which some people may not be fortunate enough to have. A desktop will work as well only it may not be as convenient for those who want flexibility in recording locations. I managed to find a laptop that my parents were about to toss out the window because it was running too slow...lucky for me, I just reformatted it and now I have a free laptop used strictly for recording.
*The usb 2.0 cable connected to the laptop from the tascam us-122 interface was purchased from NCIX. It is a Monster 7 ft cable that I bought for only $4.99! retailing for over $20 at futureshop!
My total cost came up to be just a under $200, AFTER TAXES!**If you'd like any detailed tutorials on any steps above, feel free to leave a comment below.
So to my all my stingy brothers out there: Don't fret, who says students can't afford a basic home studio !