Studiospares’ Top 5 Must-have Project Studio Products

With a growing number of us all working and spending more time at home, you may find yourself eyeing up that spare room or fantasizing that you can turn your newly made home office into a project music studio. With an extensive choice of different brands and product specifications, it may seem like an almost daunting task starting to gather some kind of equipment list to make that dream of a project studio a reality. So, we’ve decided to condense this task into a manageable bite-sized guide of products we think every project studio should have. Hopefully, this will shine a light at the end of the tunnel for any newcomers and unearth some fresh new ideas to those with pre-existing project studio set ups.

 

1. Audio Interface

The first must-have item on our list is an audio interface. Without a doubt one of the most crucial items and the heart in any setup. Your audio interface is the epicentre for hooking up your speakers with your computer, controlling overall volume and getting your audio source such as your voice or instrument into your computers DAW.

 

The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (3rd Gen) is always a great choice. Sitting on the desks of a huge global community of musicians, producers and project-recordists, the iconic 2i2 has already helped make more records than any other interface in history and will fit in perfectly to your new set-up. At this time, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (3rd Gen) comes in at a very reasonable price, giving you high-performance analogue to digital conversion and build quality that will stand the test of time. Making this a project studio must-have. Find out more

 

 

Alternatives

PreSonus Audiobox USB96 – Find out more

Audient iD4 USB Audio Interface – Find out more

 

2. Monitors

Another must-have project studio item is a set of great-sounding monitors. Having monitors that translate the sound you’re hearing accurately is incredibly important, as you want to be making the best recording and mixing decisions while you’re working. Coupled with the audio interface, your studio monitors will influence every decision you’ll make when in your studio.

 

The PreSonus Eris E5 XT Studio Monitors will be a more than an ideal choice of studio monitor. The Eris monitors feature smooth, accurate frequency response, powerful amplification with plenty of headroom and acoustic tuning features so you can dial in the perfect sound depending on your room to achieve the best sound possible. The sound quality and versatility of these monitors make them a must-have for any project studio. Find out more

 

Alternatives

Adam T8V Active Nearfield Studio Monitor – Find out more

Studiospares SN6A Active Studio Monitor – Find out more

 

3. Monitor Stands

An effective and often overlooked element of project studios is monitor placement and isolation. More often than not studio monitors are simply placed straight onto the users work surface or desk. Unfortunately, this creates more problems than it solves, as having studio monitors placed directly on your desk will create all kinds of noise and frequency resonance on your desk and in your room. Having frequency resonance and noise won’t allow you to hear an accurate representation of the sound being produced from your monitors, resulting in you making misinformed recording and mix decisions. Speaker stands and isolation pads will give you the isolation, and having your monitors set to the correct height and angle to your ears will only help in achieving the perfect listening position, so you can experience the most accurate of sound reproductions.

 

The Trojan Pro Desktop Monitor Stands are a fantastic must-have project studio product, these stands will get your studio monitors to the ideal height and angle for the perfect listening position. The Trojan Pro Desktop Clamps feature rubber plates that will provide essential grip qualities to the monitors themselves while also acting as isolation pads to reduce any unwanted vibrations travelling into the desktop or colouration of the sound you are hearing. Find out more

 

Alternatives

Triangle Base Monitor Speaker Stand – Find out more

Studiospares Monitor Isolation Pads – Find out more

 

4. Acoustics

Most rooms that end up being used for project studios were not originally designed to be used as such. Therefore, more often than not the sound in your room is at the mercy of your room’s acoustics. If your room or space has no acoustic treatment it will be highly susceptible to reverberations and frequency build-up. In an untreated space, somewhere between 30% - 45% of what you hear, and record is the room reflections. Acoustically treating your room will offer better audio integrity and sound definition, giving you a more accurate listening environment for making better recording and mix decisions with the additional benefit of a less fatiguing experience.

 

The StudioPANEL Single Acoustic Panel 600 x 600 x 25mm Black by Studiospares will be more than ideal to take care of this, making them another must-have project studio Product. They are comprised of high-density fibreglass backing under an acoustic core material that is then finished with a bevelled edge. The 600 x 600mm size of the StudioPANEL make them perfect for strategically placing around your room, especially on the wall behind your studio monitors and the wall behind you. Find out more

 

Alternatives

StudioPANEL Single Acoustic Panel 1200 x 300 x 25mm Black – Find out more

StudioPANEL Single Acoustic Panel 300 x 300 x 25mm Black – Find out more

 

5. Microphone

Another absolute must-have product for any project studio is a great performing microphone. A quality condenser microphone will be like a swiss-army knife in any studio, whether you are recording a voiceover, broadcasting a stream, laying down vocals or mic’ing up a guitar cabinet.

 

All this in mind, this is why the Audio-Technica AT2020 Condenser Microphone is a must-have project studio product. The AT2020 offers exceptional sound capture, with a wide dynamic range, very low intrinsic noise level and great performance at high SPL’s. all wrapped up in a rugged construction that will last for years to come. Find out more

 

Check out how the Audio-Technica AT2020 performs and sounds in our blind microphone shootout.

 

Alternatives

SE Electronics X1a Condenser Mic – Find out more

Rode NT1A Vocal Recording Pack – Find out more

 

Honourable mention

 

Cables

Behind every pro and project studio is cabling. Your studio is only as good as its weakest cable! Much like studio monitor isolation, cabling can be often overlooked and cut back on in terms of price. By having high-quality cables in your studio, you are sending and receiving the best possible signal and experiencing the best performance from your equipment.

 

Studiospares has a wide array of high-quality cabling options. Everything from cables themselves, to adaptors, cables drums, connectors, looms and more. We even have a dedicated cable technician at our Luton HQ that can custom make any cable to your requirements. We are here to help get your project studio set up to the best it can be. Find out more 

 

 

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