#Setting up a home recording studio mac pro
#Setting up a home recording studio mac software
#Setting up a home recording studio mac professional
#Setting up a home recording studio mac free

With the exception of being able to multi track drums with more than 2 mics (more on this later) you can do EVERYTHING with this box!

#Setting up a home recording studio mac pro

I don’t think people realize just how good of a deal this is and just how powerful Pro Tools 8 with an Mbox 2 Mini can be.

#Setting up a home recording studio mac free

It of course comes with a free copy of the latest version of Pro Tools LE (version 8 as of this writing), which as I mentioned contains everything you need to make top notch recordings. You can plug in speakers and studio headphones to it to listen to your tracks. It comes with a great microphone preamp, guitar and bass input, and stereo keyboards inputs. It is a 2 channel interface which means you can record up to 2 channels at a time (guitar and vocals let’s say). It doesn’t even need a separate power cable. It is a simple device that plugs into your computer via USB. They come in many shapes and forms (and brands of course), but I’ll give you my simple recommendation… Get the Mbox 2 Mini from Avid. This is where an audio interface comes in. Since you don’t have a $500,000 mixing console in your bedroom you’ll need some way to get your sounds (guitars, vocals, keyboards, etc) into your computer and into the recording software.

#Setting up a home recording studio mac software

Now, that sounds great and all Graham, but how is this wonderful Pro Tools software FREE? Simple, just purchase on of their audio interfaces (see below) and it comes free! You can’t get a better deal than that. The great thing about making your studio a Pro Tools studio is that you can take your sessions with you to almost any other studio in the world and your files will open up flawlessly on their system, ready for you to keep working! You’ll find it in practically all major studios for music, film, and TV.

Despite the controversy surrounding this, Pro Tools is far and away the most used recording software in the industry. You don’t need any other plugins, virtual instruments, or software to make amazing recordings. Plus, since it’s so widely used and loved, there is an abundance of free resources online to help get you started! Of all the DAWs I’ve used, Pro Tools is by far the easiest to get up and running in, while at the same time offering so much depth. This means you don’t HAVE to get a different kind of computer to use it.

But at the end of the day, the program I keep coming back to is Digidesign’s (Avid’s) Pro Tools…and here’s why: There are many to choose from these days, and I have used a whole slew of them. What you need is recording software, specifically known to recording geeks as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Since computers have become so powerful, they have replaced the mixing console, recording tape (DAT, 2 inch, etc), as well as all the outboard gear (compressors, EQs, reverbs, etc). Each type of recording software will have certain requirements but that should get you started no problem. So make sure you have a decent computer to start with (not the cheapest processor, 1 to 2 gigs of RAM, a hard drive with plenty of space on it to record to). If you don’t have a computer already then I don’t know how you’re reading this blog to begin with, and I don’t know how you’ll get much more out of this post. I am assuming you already have a computer (mac or PC, laptop or desktop) that is relatively new (within 2 years or so).

#Setting up a home recording studio mac professional

The number one question I get as a music producer from bands, songwriters, and worship leaders is this: “How much do I really need to spend on home studio equipment to get a professional sounding recording?” In this simple 2 part post, I am going to cut through the hype and tell you exactly what you need (and don’t need) to not only get started with home recording, but to excel at it and create quality recordings. For different options of studios for only $350, check this out. Note: The below Pro Tools rig no longer exists.