Build a Laptop Studio on Any Budget

May 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By the EM Staff

           
 

SIX SETUPS FOR MAKING MUSIC ON THE GO

To keep things really portable, the MIDI controller for this setup is an M-Audio Oxygen 8 ($119), which gives you MIDI input through USB and a diminutive 25-key keyboard. If you're a keyboard player, you might want to substitute a larger controller with more keys, such as the M-Audio Oxygen 49 ($139), although your setup will be less portable that way.

To keep costs down, this studio has only two mics, both of the budget variety. The Sterling Audio ST51 ($99) is a large-diaphragm condenser that will serve as the primary vocal mic. It was rated very highly in an EM comparison of budget large-diaphragm condensers, where it did well on vocals and on acoustic guitar (see “Budget Mics, Big Sound” in the May 2008 issue, available at emusician.com). The other mic, a Røde M3 ($199), is a small-diaphragm condenser that is a versatile workhorse for instrument sources and can also be used as an alternate vocal mic. It's double the price of the ST51, but it adds flexibility and excellent sound quality to your studio.

For monitoring, I've chosen a pair of Mackie MR5 powered monitors ($149 each), which garnered a 2009 EM Editors' Choice Award. These speakers offer a relatively flat frequency response and, with 5.25-inch woofers, don't take up much space.

For situations where you can't use the speakers, I've included two pairs of headphones. The primary set is the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro ($99), which gives you a circumaural (closed) design for good sound isolation. I've also included the AKG K 77 ($49) for when you're recording with another musician or singer.

Full-Featured Songwriter's Studio
($4,068 to $5,271)

I have expanded this setup to allow you to record live drums as well as vocal, instrument, and MIDI tracks with your laptop. Not only does it offer more recording possibilities than the budget studio, but it also has better-quality components. As a result, its price tag is considerably higher. In the interest of keeping it affordable, I've picked items that offer good value. This studio is still quite portable, but it will require more than a backpack to cart it around.

Because I'm configuring this setup for drum recording, I'll need more inputs than in the budget studio, but I also want quality mic preamps. I opted for the Focusrite Sapphire Pro 40 audio interface ($499). It has eight Focusrite mic preamps/instrument inputs on combo jacks, a pair of headphone buses, and low-latency monitoring, among other features.

If you don't have FireWire, my USB 2.0 alternative is the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R ($499), which has eight mic preamps on combo jacks, a pair of front-panel instrument inputs, MIDI and S/PDIF on a breakout cable, and low-latency monitoring. It also can run Pro Tools M-Powered, which might be useful depending on your situation. If you want to run Pro Tools on a FireWire-equipped laptop, you could substitute a Digidesign 003 Rack+ ($1,549), which includes eight mic preamps.

I chose the Novation ReMote SL Compact 49 ($399) for the USB MIDI keyboard controller. It gives you 49 keys, 8 drum pads, programmable buttons and knobs, and Novation's Automap Universal software.

FIG. 4: The ribbon tweeter–equipped ADAM A5 can be supplemented with the Sub7 subwoofer.

The mic collection starts with the Mojave Audio MA-200 ($995). This large-diaphragm cardioid condenser gives you pro audio quality at a reasonable price, and it will serve as your primary vocal mic. For instrument recording, I've also included a matched pair of Røde NT5 small-diaphragm condensers ($429 per pair). They work well on acoustic instruments and as drum overheads.

I've added some classic studio mics for the drum kit: an AKG D112 ($250) for the kick drum, and three Shure SM57s ($99 each). That gives you seven mics, covering kick, snare, one rack tom, and one floor tom, with an overhead pair and a room mic.

For monitors, I chose the ADAM A5 ($399 each), which is relatively small, with a 5.5-inch woofer and a ribbon tweeter (see Fig. 4). In his A5 review in our sister magazine Mix, Kevin Becka said he was “nothing short of astounded by their balance, smoothness, imaging, and detail.” If you're going to be doing a lot of mixing and you need more bottom end, you can always add the ADAM Sub7 subwoofer ($549).

For headphones, I chose the high-quality Sony MDR 7509HD ($189). In case you want to track a band, I'll add three pairs of the modestly priced AKG K77s ($49 each), as well as an ART Headamp4 headphone amp ($65) since you'll need extra headphone outputs.

The On-Location Laptop
By Geary Yelton

The latest generation of portable recorders is perfect for recording live performances in stereo (see “Studio in Your Pocket” in the June 2008 issue). For on-location multitrack recording, though, it's hard to beat a laptop rig with the right peripherals. No matter what your budget, you should be able to assemble a compact, portable studio you could pack in a suitcase and toss in the back of your car or even carry aboard a plane, train, or subway.

At the very least, any laptop recording setup needs the means to get multichannel audio into your computer, and headphones to monitor what's being recorded. The ideal approach to capturing live performances is to record individual channels from the front-of-house (FOH) mixer. Most sound-reinforcement consoles have separate outputs or at least effects sends for each channel, which allow you to route the console's signals to individual tracks in your audio sequencer. However, you'll run into problems if the house mix uses more channels than your system can record. If that's your situation, you'll either need to have your own mixer handy, record from the house's mixdown buses, or decide which channels are most essential to capturing the live performance.