RECORDING WEEK 2026: You’ve spruced up your computer and acquired the software to record with (your DAW, in other words), and you’ve even bought a microphone. You’re well on your way to being the next big thing in music for sure. And so, you settle down to do a great afternoon’s recording, and only then do you realise that you’re missing one or two things…
The problem with creativity, at least for most of us mere mortals, is that when it strikes, you need to be prepared.
This is why so many professionals organise their studios so that they can access everything they need without any hassle – often described as their ‘workflow’. That might mean having a hardware synthesizer plugged in and ready to go, a guitar or bass amplifier mic’ed up, or just a permanently live microphone, waiting to capture all of your ideas as they come.
Latest Videos FromMusicRadar
Let’s start with an easy one shall we, there’s that invaluable piece of 21st century equipment, the smartphone. Yes, that device that most of us carry around – and are typically glaring at – permanently is an ideal idea-catcher.
Your smartphone (whether iPhone or Android) has the capacity to capture your ideas quickly and easily. In days gone by, we might have used a dictaphone (essentially a micro-tape recorder) to grab ideas on the fly, and turn them into music or a lyric.
But, thanks to smartphones, you can do the same thing with an app, and better still, devices such as iPhones can upload into a cloud-based ecosystem, meaning that you can drop your ideas into cloud storage, for immediate access from a device such as computer or tablet/iPad.
So, it’s ideal for capturing ideas if they tend to strike you when you are out and about! It’s less useful if ideas come to you in the bath – as a rule, phones don’t like water – you have been warned!
1. An Audio Interface
MusicRadar’s got your back
Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
In an attempt to keep costs down for your home recording venture, you may be tempted to purchase a USB microphone. These microphones plug directly into a USB port on a computer and will do a fine job of capturing your live audio.
While software will allow degrees of control, you may prefer the option of an external audio interface. This is a box that plugs into your computer, allowing conventional microphones (which use XLR cables) to be used. There are far more XLR-based microphones available than USB, so it also widens your purchasing options.
It also means that you have a physical box-o-tricks with controls on it, and a couple of these controls can be invaluable in a live recording environment.
Firstly, you will have a pot (potentiometer) which will allow you to immediately increase or decrease the gain (volume) of your microphone. Better still, there will normally be a headphone output, with a dedicated pot to control volume.
By and large, you will find that audio interfaces are more flexible, and given that they have a dedicated task to fulfil, they often sound better than USB microphones. Of course, this does depend on the microphone you are using.
Read our guide to the best audio interfaces here.
2. Headphones
If you have a pair of speakers (aka, studio monitors) in your recording rig it is incredibly tempting to just play and record out of them. But, depending on the volume of your speakers, and the sensitivity of your microphone, you might encounter something known as ‘spill’. This is where unintended audio is captured by the microphone, with the same issue being encountered should you record multiple acoustic musicians, simultaneously.
There are ways to navigate this problem – mainly by shielding the microphone from the speaker emitted audio, but the tried and tested fix involves using a pair of headphones. This also means that, as a musician, it affords you the opportunity of locking-in to the track to a far greater extent.
The best option, by far, is a pair of headphones which are described as closed-back, and fit over the entirety of your ears, preventing sound leakage.
Being closed-back (and not open-back), they should limit unintended noise. The path of least resistance, with a cable going to your computer or audio interface, will also work best.
You can explore wireless/Bluetooth headphones, but these often employ a small delay, which means that you will be singing to a track which is a few milliseconds late! Hence, your recorded audio will be a tad behind the beat. Similarly, earbud headphones are not normally the best option, but they can be made to work with a little perseverance.
A very common headphone option in professional studios, is the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro. Their reliability is well known, while being fully enclosed and comfortable to wear, especially for long periods of recording.
Read our round-up of the best studio headphones here.
3. Extending Reach
Most headphones with a cable, particularly the DT-770 Pro, come equipped with a generous cable length, but depending on your recording set up you might need to go a bit further. It’s only then that you realise that you need a headphone extension.
A simple male to female affair should do the job, but if you find yourself recording with other people, think about getting a headphones splitter or distribution box instead.
More elaborate options include headphone amplifiers, which allow independent distribution and control of a number of headphones simultaneously. This can be exceptionally useful if your vocalist wants the headphones quieter than the guitarist who is rocking out for England at high volume!
4. Microphone Stands
It might sound obvious, but for every microphone that you wish to use for recording simultaneously, you will need a microphone stand. These come in many shapes and sizes, but for recording purposes a stand with a boom arm will allow you to place the microphone exactly where you want it. This might also mean that unintended knocks to the stand can be avoided.
All microphone stands are not the same though! Think about the weight of your microphone, and buy a stand that will suitably support it. Metal stands will offer greater stability, with companies such as K&M and Hercules offering plenty of different designs, to suit your recording setup.
Read our round-up of the best mic stands here.
5. Pop Shield
If you are recording vocals regularly, you may encounter the phenomenon known as ‘popping’. This is when a singer or vocalist uses plosives in their lyrics – ‘B’s and ‘P’s create a sharp blast of wind, which will hit a microphone, and create a disernable pop in volume.
One way to limit this effect, is to move the vocalist away from the microphone, but that doesn’t always solve the problem. What you will need, is a pop shield.
In days of old, many people made their own pop shields from a wire coat hanger and an old pair of tights. Understandably, you may not wish to inflict such a makeshift contraption on your friends, so thankfully you can purchase pop shields for relatively little expenditure. It will make a difference, and it will certainly look more pro than a wire coat hanger…
6. A Music Stand
Whether you are a fully-fledged professional who can read music or not, the addition to your home recording set up of a music stand will immediately prove useful for efficient recording sessions.
You can put lyrics in front of you, an iPad/tablet with chords written on it, or even a guitar tuner, so you don’t have to keep picking it up or even locating it.
Like all things in this world, you can spend a little and a lot. Cheap metal music stands, which fold out, start from around £10, but if you intend to use regularly for items such as an iPad, you might prefer something heavier and more robust.
A further consideration is that you might be working with somebody who wants to turn the lights down while recording. If you are using an iPad, they should be able to see what they are doing, but if they are reading from a piece of paper, the addition of a music stand light will be indispensable.
Read our round-up of the best music stands here.
7. Remote Access
Talking of placing iPads on music stands, many commercial DAWs provide the option for integration with associated or third-party apps, which can turn your phone or tablet into a remote for your DAW.
This means that you don’t have to be close to your computer, allowing you to think more about acoustics and vibe than physically pressing buttons. Having a music stand that can comfortably accommodate this, and the continual pressing of the screen, is another potentially important consideration.
8. A Stereo Bar
If you are fortunate enough to have a stereo pair of microphones in your armoury, you will obviously need more than one microphone stand – or will you?
A cheap alternative to buying a second mic stand, is the purchase of a stereo bar, which will allow two microphones to be mounted simultaneously using a single microphone stand.
You can purchase stereo bars in various sizes and widths, but a common example (such as Rode’s Stereo Bar – pictured) places the microphones fairly close together, for configurations such as a coincident pair. In recording this way, instruments such as acoustic guitars can sound very spacious!
Referring to our previous point about microphone weights, ensure that your microphone stand can accommodate the weight of two mics without falling over!
9. Acoustic Shielding
In choosing the ideal room to record in, domestic living environments such as a lounge, with its abundant wealth of soft furnishings, can provide a useful and dampened acoustic environment to work within. But what if your living partner is watching Love Island while you want to record in the same room? Arguments may ensue…
Less forgiving rooms for recording within tend to be those which have hard surfaces such as bare walls or windows. You can adopt a DIY approach, of draping sleeping bags or duvets in appropriate places to help absorb sonic reflection, or you can purchase acoustic screens, which will allow you to create a sort of mobile recording booth.
Established players in acoustics, such as GIK Acoustics and Clearsonics, have just the solution for you! Panels which open up to form a V-shape, which can be placed around a microphone, as well as around a performer. They will prevent first reflections, and in almost all cases tighten up a signal beneficially.
It’s the little things that count!
There is so much to think about when recording at home so getting ahead of the little niggles can alleviate so much faff. Even having electrical or gaffer tape on hand may just get you out of a quick hole.
Above all, being prepared for your recording endeavours will mean that you can get on with the thing you really want to be doing – making great music at home!
