Home Office / Guitar Practice Room Advice

[lawler]

I have recently purchased my first house and moving from a small flat in Central London, so finally have space for a proper home office / guitar practice area.

I am practically starting from scratch and so would really appreciate any advice on what to get.

I currently have:

Office equipment:

- Electronic standing desk (that my partner was given from a previous job)
- MacBook Pro / Keyboard / Mouse
- PC Tower
- PC Monitor
- Herman Miller Aeron chair

Guitar equipment:

- Les Paul 1959 Reissue
- Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue
- Taylor 414ce
- Ironman II Mini Attenuator
- Couple of pedals
- Music stand

Items I would like to add:

- Apogee Duet 3 (as a recording interface)
- Acoustic Microphone - probably a Neumann KM184 single or matched set
- Electronic Microphone - *open to suggestions*
- Monitor speakers - *open to suggestions* (including an amplifier if I go for passive monitors)
- Drum stool

Is there anything else I should consider adding and does anyone have any suggestions from the above list.

I am very much a novice with all this and having never had the space to do this in the past, it is quite exciting!

Appreciate any help…

[jim1960]

Room treatment.

Check out the videos on post #16 of the AGF MEMBERS GEAR MASTERLIST with RECOMMENDED TUTORIAL VIDEOS & PODCASTS stickied thread.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by lawler

I have recently purchased my first house and moving from a small flat in Central London, so finally have space for a proper home office / guitar practice area.

I am practically starting from scratch and so would really appreciate any advice on what to get.


Items I would like to add:

- Apogee Duet 3 (as a recording interface)
- Acoustic Microphone - probably a Neumann KM184 single or matched set
- Electronic Microphone - *open to suggestions*
- Monitor speakers - *open to suggestions* (including an amplifier if I go for passive monitors)
- Drum stool

Is there anything else I should consider adding and does anyone have any suggestions from the above list.

I am very much a novice with all this and having never had the space to do this in the past, it is quite exciting!

Appreciate any help…

As with many of these things, no mention of budget or ultimate aims. Not a knock on the OP -- those things are actually hard for many to formulate. Also, UK based so I don't know if price and availability is different.

I'll offer no opinion on the interface. For me I like more inputs than many so I can pull up a DAW template and have everything live and ready to record. I've occasionally needed to mic a full combo too, not just solo guitar with voice. I probably sacrifice preamp quality for convenience, so not recommending what I do/use as a general thing.

I've not used the Neuman model for acoustic. I'm currently using the Warm Audio sorta-kinda-same-thing ones which I got an attractive price on, and I'm happy.

You're going to need mic stands and booms. In my studio space I save floor space by running some mics down from my studio's lowish ceiling. Imagine mic booms & goosenecks "upside down." But again, that's me, and I like to have things setup when I enter the studio. I don't have any assistants and sometimes I have 1 hour to record from the moment I walk in. This lets me be ready quick.

Electric guitar amp mic. I've used SM57s for years. If your space is tight, the Sennheiser 609 draped over the front (as done on stage) sounds fine if you're close mic'ing anyway and don't want to bother with a stand.

Drum stool. I adopted a Roc-n-Soc drum stool from a drum set and use it a lot in my studio space as a "guitar chair." Swivels, quiet, and a klutz like me likes that I don't bark my shins when I bump into it while carrying things or not looking where I'm going. They also sell a stool with the same seat, which I also have & use for when I need to be higher while organizing sessions to see over things.

Recording monitors. You'll likely need headphones too. It's not "right" but I'm mixing more on headphones these days even if I check my mixes at the mastering stage with monitors. For monitoring while tracking I'm using either Sennheiser 280s or Sony 7506 cans. I replace the earcups with soft-touch replacements as I find those more comfortable for longish sessions. For mixing I'll use the Sony 7506 or a more expensive set of Sennheiser headphones whose model number I'm blanking on.


As mentioned already, room treatment may be important and needs to be considered.

Now before I leave, note that my Project is based on getting a lot done in a short time, and I'll compromise ultimate quality in ways many here will not -- due to my aims.

[KevWind]

opps double

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by lawler

I have recently purchased my first house and moving from a small flat in Central London, so finally have space for a proper home office / guitar practice area.

I am practically starting from scratch and so would really appreciate any advice on what to get.

I currently have:

Office equipment:

- Electronic standing desk (that my partner was given from a previous job)
- MacBook Pro / Keyboard / Mouse
- PC Tower
- PC Monitor
- Herman Miller Aeron chair

Guitar equipment:

- Les Paul 1959 Reissue
- Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue
- Taylor 414ce
- Ironman II Mini Attenuator
- Couple of pedals
- Music stand

Items I would like to add:

- Apogee Duet 3 (as a recording interface)
- Acoustic Microphone - probably a Neumann KM184 single or matched set
- Electronic Microphone - *open to suggestions*
- Monitor speakers - *open to suggestions* (including an amplifier if I go for passive monitors)
- Drum stool

Is there anything else I should consider adding and does anyone have any suggestions from the above list.

I am very much a novice with all this and having never had the space to do this in the past, it is quite exciting!

Appreciate any help…

Yes having a dedicated home recording space is exciting and congrats on the new home

As Frank suggested Your list arguably lacks the two key most important elements of consideration . Budget and recording goals now and possibly future, or what your anticipated goals for what you might want to do with any recordings ?

Also you list "home office and practice" room which is quite a different set of considerations than a --- home office, practice, and home recording room.

Also you have not indicated if you are talking about recording only instruments or instrument and vocals or if you anticipate adding any Virtual Instruments ?

Also you did not mention whether you are thinking about using the Mac or the PC for recording ?

And did I mention budget ? Without a budget range to work from, we can only offer very limited general areas of consideration and scatter gun suggestions for various equipment,,, most of which miss the mark entirely in terms of being efficient in actually helping you decide on equipment and thus making your
search and journey into recording more efficient ..

In terms of your existing equipment first a standing desk while great for home office, for home recording (and while I suppose is doable) is not at all standard recording furniture .. The Apogee is a grate piece of gear but limited to only two microphone inputs (which may fine or not,, depending on what you disclose as your actual intended recording goal and method )
Also the "drum stool " is for what purpose ?

And you might mention the room dimensions

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by lawler

Items I would like to add:

- Acoustic Microphone - probably a Neumann KM184 single or matched set
- Electronic Microphone - *open to suggestions*

I'm not sure what distinction you're making between what you're calling "acoustic" and "electronic" microphones. I've never heard microphones described using those terms.

[min7b5]

Acoustic room treatments and an espresso machine and they'll be no reason to ever come out

[hazmuz]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I'm not sure what distinction you're making between what you're calling "acoustic" and "electronic" microphones. I've never heard microphones described using those terms.

i read it as "a microphone for recording my princeton reverb" but i'm also a little bit

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by hazmuz

i read it as "a microphone for recording my princeton reverb" but i'm also a little bit

If that's the case, the OP should know there's no such thing as a mic that's strictly for amplifiers or "electronic" sources.
That point aside, a long-time popular microphone option for amps is a Shure SM57. It's only a $100 but 57s are found and used in studios all over the world.

[jpmist]

Originally Posted by lawler

I am practically starting from scratch and so would really appreciate any advice on what to get. I am very much a novice with all this and having never had the space to do this in the past, it is quite exciting!
Appreciate any help…

The drum stool is for playing/singing? If not, hopefully the Aeron arms come off as they'll get in the way. Dunno what you're planning, but it seems like it would be ideal to use your laptop connected to your monitor as it'll take up little space and you'll have a second screen available. Garageband is almost a dirty word in this sub, but it's an easy place to start from. I do maybe 3 vocal and 3 guitar tracks at most and my 2012 Mini handles it easily.

You probably have an old phone in a drawer somewhere, they make a great dedicated guitar tuner. I like the Airyware tuner for Apple. A bigger tablet will work to put up your lyrics. I use Apple's Pages for my songs so I can access them easily from other gadgets and I keep it above eye level as that helps keep my chin up when singing which seems to help.

It's over my pay grade to recommend microphones, USB boxes, or recording software. I'll just point out the higher you get in the features and expense side of all this, the more of a learning curve you'll have to figure out how to use it all. I've been content with my simple GarageBand set up with modestly priced mics as I'm likely to be the only audience for what I enjoy creating.

[Joseph Hanna]

I'll pile on

Get the room as best as is humanly possible considering budget, aesthetics, and sonic obstacles. Almost everything gets far better sounding after that. A Neumann KM184 in a crappy room is gonna sound like a Neumann KM184 in a crappy room. They'll be no significant gain by spending that kind of cash on a Neumann if the room negates the gain.

A great home recording environment, and great recordings ultimately distills simply to 1)The Player, 2) The Room, 3) Instruments, and lastly 4) The Equipment.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by lawler

I have recently purchased my first house and moving from a small flat in Central London, so finally have space for a proper home office / guitar practice area.

I am practically starting from scratch and so would really appreciate any advice on what to get.

I currently have:

Office equipment:

- Electronic standing desk (that my partner was given from a previous job)
- MacBook Pro / Keyboard / Mouse
- PC Tower
- PC Monitor
- Herman Miller Aeron chair

Guitar equipment:

- Les Paul 1959 Reissue
- Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue
- Taylor 414ce
- Ironman II Mini Attenuator
- Couple of pedals
- Music stand

Items I would like to add:

- Apogee Duet 3 (as a recording interface)
- Acoustic Microphone - probably a Neumann KM184 single or matched set
- Electronic Microphone - *open to suggestions*
- Monitor speakers - *open to suggestions* (including an amplifier if I go for passive monitors)
- Drum stool

Is there anything else I should consider adding and does anyone have any suggestions from the above list.

I am very much a novice with all this and having never had the space to do this in the past, it is quite exciting!

Appreciate any help…

Hopefully you weren't scared off!

It's all good. You're taking positive steps to develop what you want.

To keep from making a lot of false starts you might want to formulate a definite plan based on what you ultimately want to do, then take incremental steps to work toward those goals. A dedicated "play n' practice" space can take a lot of forms, so start small and remember that first and foremost it needs to bring you happiness.

My own space isn't sonic perfection, but I can flip a power strip and work out new material using instruments that are within arm's reach in a matter of seconds. I have another area with PC, interface, and monitors if I want to work with anything I've recorded in my "play pen".

If my S.O. decides to watch something on T.V. that I have no interest in, the power strip turns on the overhead Bistro lights and I can enjoy my own form of relaxation with a song or two. It's particularly wicked fast if I'm using the looper for laying down quick backing guitar and bass tracks.