In-Home Makeshift Recording Studio for Under $2000

So you have the guitar and the amp, about 5 songs that you poured your heart into, but nothing to record them with. In this how-to guide, I will tell you how to create a makeshift in-home recording studio all for under $2000. There are just a few things you need first in order to keep this under $2000. And seeing as how you are reading this, you already have a computer. This studio does not include the purchasing of instruments like guitars, bass, drums, or keyboards. The amplifiers for these instruments are also not included.

Now if it’s just going to be you recording nothing but a guitar, the Line 6 GX USB Recording Interface is just for you. It will only cost you $69.99 for the GX. A guitar cord will cost somewhere around $12. Possibly less, possibly more depending on length.

The GX comes with the easy-to-use GearBox recording software. The GearBox has over 75 guitar amp models, 30 bass amp models, almost 100 stompbox and studio effects, and 6 mic preamp models. The GX is USB powered and is great if all you want is one guitar. The bad part is that is all you can have, no vocals unless you have an adapter which could run you around $20, and you’d need a XLR cable which would cost around $12. Plus you’d need a microphone so add $50 for that. With just a guitar and cord, this will only run you only about $82 but if you want vocals, the price could easily climb to $175.

If you want vocals, you’ll want to upgrade to the Line 6 TonePort UX1 USB Recording/Modeling Interface. It’ll run you $129.99 but it comes with a XLR input which saves you $20. You’ll still need a microphone though, and for $50 bucks but worth every penny, I recommend an Audio Technica Pro 63 Cardioid Dynamic Instrument Mic. It can be used to mic instruments that don’t plug in and it can be used for vocals. This will make your total around $200 including a XLR cable for your microphone, and a guitar cord. The UX1 also comes with Ableton Live Lite 6, which allows you to completely edit your song, plus add bass and drum tracks. This program is not include with the GX.

Let’s say you have a friend that you play music with, and like you he needs an instrument input and a vocal input. The Line 6 TonePort UX2 USB Recording/Modeling Interface is just like the UX1 but doubling your inputs. It costs $199.99. Plus you’ll need 2 vocal mics with XLR cords. That’ll be another $75 bringing your total to about $275. There are also outputs for footswitches (sold seperatley) that allow you to start and stop recording from a distance, and outputs for monitors, allowing you to hear yourself better. A good monitor (I suggest the Yamaha A12 12″ 2-Way Floor Monitor) will run you $169.99 each. But you will also need a power amp to power the monitor which will cost you $319.99 (QSC RMX 850 Power Amp price). So adding a monitor each plus a power amp will bring your total to $935.

There is also the Line 6 TonePort KB37 Audio Interface and MIDI Controller. This is basically the UX2 but includes a 37-note full-sized keyboard. Odds are if you’re interested in this, you’ve played a piano or keyboard before. And for an extra $100, it’d just be easier to plug in a keyboard to the instrument input. It includes everything the UX2 does just add $100 to make it $1135.

Now if you want more than just 2 vocals, 2 instruments, and a keyboard, you are going to need a few things. You will want the Line 6 UX1. This will now be used as a converter basically. You will need a mixer with more than 6 channels. I use the discontinued Samson Mixpad 12, but I would recommend the Yamaha MG16/4 4 Bus Mixer which costs $229.99. So far with the mixer and the UX1 your total comes to around $360. You will also need a power amp which again is $319.99 bringing your total to around $680. For 4 microphones it will cost about $200 bringing your total to $880. You don’t absolutely have to have monitors but I highly recommend it, so 4 monitors ($680) would bring your total to $1560. You will also have to mic each guitar, so for 2 mics (Sennheiser E609 Silver Dynamic Guitar Microphones) it will cost $220 but you can use the Audio Technicas ($100 for 2) bringing your total to $1660 with the Audio Technicas. That is a total of 6 mic cables (4 vocals, 2 guitars). Plus 1 for the bass amp. You do not need a mic for the bass amp, it will plug into the head directly. So a total of 7 mic cords. You can purchase 10 for $40, which is a good idea to have back-ups. This brings your total to $1700. If you are going to be using a keyboard you will most likely need a direct box. I suggest a Radial ProDI Passive Direct Box ($79.99) but a Behringer ULTRA-DI DI100 Direct Box will work fine ($39.99) bringing your grand total to $1740. So with about $260 left over, I’d say that’s a pretty good makeshift recording studio. And if you know people who are interested in recording, you can make your money back in no time.

All prices are based on musician’s friend prices.

If you actually do take my advice and make this studio, I am more than willing to help you pick out what is best for you so feel free to leave me a comment or message.