You’re a singer/musician and you want to get noticed. With YouTube and music streaming services, you have instant access to millions of listeners who’re devouring digital music. Literally trillions of songs get streamed every year! So obviously you need know how to record your music and get it out there. Nowadays that’s easier than ever. You can have a top-notch setup in your bedroom that rivals the best of the hit-making studios a decade ago. Pretty exciting!

Here’s how to record a song, starting with the equipment you need.

USB Mics:

The first thing you’re going to need is a microphone to record your voice and instruments. The simplest setup is to get a USB mic. This sidesteps the need for more elaborate gear. A USB mic plugs directly into your computer or laptop’s USB port and you’re pretty much ready to go in one minute.

The Blue Yeti is an excellent USB mic for the price.

A step up would be the Rode NT-USB. Rode makes rock solid gear and their support and service is some of the best I’ve experienced.

If you want to be able to plug your mic into your iPhone or iPad, the Shure MV51 is what you want. Shure has been making top-notch equipment since 1925. You can trust their gear.

Audio interfaces:

While USB mics are really convenient, they can be a little bit noisy and are almost never used in a serious studio setup. Want to know how to record like a pro studio? A leap forward in sound quality comes from getting an audio interface and a standard (non-USB) mic. An audio interface is like a kind of soundcard. A proper audio interface can typically record at higher sample rates and bit-depths (relating to the dynamic and frequency range you can capture) than the soundcard in your computer. It also will have a lot less inherent noise than in-built soundcards so your recordings come out more clean and detailed. I generally recommend the audio interface approach to everyone who wants to know how to record because you get much better results. If you’re serious about music, leave the USB mics to the casual hobbyists.

What are you looking for in an audio interface? First, check what kind of ports your computer has. Interfaces connect either via Firewire, Thunderbolt or USB. Then you’ll want an interface that can record at a bit-depth of 24 bits (most interfaces now are capable of this, but some of the older interfaces are 16 bit only). Then focus on reviews of the preamps; these amplify the level of your microphone and can be a significant source of hiss and noise if they’re low quality. Then finally check on the drivers; Some manufacturers pump out a decent piece of hardware, but the drivers are a nightmare or don’t keep pace with updates. If the last software update for an interface is more than a year ago, you might think twice about getting it.

If you think you’ll only ever use one mic at a time, the Focusrite Scarlett Solo is a good place to start.

I own Steinberg’s UR22 for mobile use and really like it. Rock solid physically, very dependable, simple to setup and use. Highly recommended!

The Scarlett 2i2 is the next product in the Focusrite range. It has two inputs which is required if you’re going to plug in two mics for stereo mic’ing (which you may do if you intend to record acoustic guitar, piano or strings) or if you’d like to record two sources simultaneously (guitar and vocal, for example).

For the next bump in quality, look at the Apollo Twin. It’s incredible. Professional-grade sound quality with on-board effect processing (you’ll come to appreciate this when you get to mixing your music).

The above connects via Thunderbolt, but if you need USB connection, get this Apollo Twin.

Standard Mics:

With an audio interface, you can use a standard mic which opens up the world of professional studio microphones!

If you only have around $200 to spend on a mic, you can’t really beat the Rode NT1A for vocals. Clean, detailed, cheap.

I personally use the Shure KSM42 as my vocal mic and it’s unbelievable. Transparent, noiseless, huge sweet-spot. I love it. It’s triple the cost of the NT1A, though.

For a low-cost, nearly indestructible, all-purpose instrument mic you’re going to use just about everywhere, get a Shure SM57. Every studio needs at least one.

When recording instruments like acoustic guitars, pianos, strings and ensembles, it’s very common to use two mics (an identical matched pair) to get a true stereo recording. The Rode M5 matched pair is a good,  cheap way to get into stereo mic’ing.

Have a little extra money? The Rode NT55 matched pair are glorious. Without a doubt the best buy in the upper echelon of stereo pairs.

Monitor Speakers:

You don’t want to use standard desktop computer speakers to playback your music because you won’t get an honest representation of what you’ve recorded. Consumer speakers are usually hyped in the low and high-end giving you an unrealistic picture of how your recording sounds. To really evaluate your work, accurate studio monitors are crucial. Note that while monitors are usually sold in pairs (you need two of them, of course), they are also sometimes sold solo–watch out!

The Mackie CR3s are a small but formidable pair of studio monitors if you’re on a tight budget. They’re ideal as a cheap reference for consumer desktop speakers. Note that they only go down to 80hz, though, so you’ll be missing some low-end.

I quite like the Mackie MR8s for (relatively) low-cost, full-size monitor speakers.

The Yamaha HS8s are very well regarded studio monitors.

Headphones:

When you’re recording music, you very often need to listen to a backing track or a metronome for timing and reference. But you don’t want this reference to be picked up on the recording–you only want to record the part you’re performing. Basically, if you’re anything other than an acapella performer, you need isolation headphones.

I really, really recommend the Sennheiser HD280s. I’ve used a pair of these for over 10 years. They’re comfortable, have incredible isolation and give ridiculously detailed sound. Buy them, you’ll be glad you did.

Cables:

Right, you have to hook all this up!

You need XLR cables to connect mics to your interface.

If you’re plugging an electric guitar into the hi-z input on the interface, you’ll want instrument cable.

For your monitors, get TRS to TRS cables. The 1/4″ jacks will do but you can also use XLR if your monitors inputs and interface outputs have such a jack.

DAW Software:

To record your music, you need a program to manage all the tracks and mix them down. This is called DAW (digital audio workstation) software. There’s lots of software that does this and it all does basically the same thing. Don’t get caught up in which is ‘best’ but rather which fits with how you think. Watch some tutorials, download some trials and see what clicks with your brain. I personally use Cubase. It’s a little costly, but if you’re a student make sure to get the academic license. It sports all the same features as the full version…just generously discounted for students.

Now you’re well on your way to knowing how to record. Any questions, drop by the video below and leave a comment. I’ll be happy to help.

Note! I’ve partnered with Amazon on this how to record tutorial which means you can show your appreciation for this article by purchasing your products through the links I’ve provided and Amazon will give me a little tip for the referral. The price to you is the same. Cheers! 🙂