Defining digital audio workstation (DAW)

Home recording can be done in a number of ways - you can use a handheld recorder such as those used by reporters or connect a mic to your component system. These, however, are not made by serious musicians who wish to record their songs and make it public.

If you re planning to produce an album, the cheapest way to do it is by recording at home. But you need to keep other noise out, which is why you need a good digital audio workstation.

DAW is according to some people is the way to go due to the power, capability, sound quality and cost-effectiveness of this computer-based recording system. Unlike the old recording systems, DAWs are composed of many parts and it is imperative for any serious musician to choose the best for his workstation.

• COMPUTER: this, of course is the heart of your workstation. The capability of your PC/MAC determines how many songs you can record and the quality of each recording.
• DIGITAL AUDIO SOFTWARE: this includes any of the software I posted yesterday. Okay, not all features of these software are straightforward so you might need to try each one until you find one that suits you. Some of these software has plugins so which enhances its capacity to produce sounds.

• DIGITAL AUDIO INTERFACE: of course you need an audio in and out. Most computers already have mics and speakers integrated, these are fine unless you want better quality, so you might need to buy a high-quality mic. There are some mics that are great for recording vocals but aren’t able to record the acoustics. You might need to buy paired mics. Just remember, the quality of your input determines the quality of your output so it would be really nice if you can invest on the best mic.

So these are the basic things you need for your own workstation. Pretty boring huh? Unfortunately, that’s how learning is sometimes. The fun stuff begins when you’re ready to mix and make sounds, but it would take us a few more days before we get to that.

Anway, choosing the right equipment, where to record and how to record are different things, and will be discussed in another post. If you want to learn more about music production, you can subscribe to my RSS so you’ll get immediate notification if  I have a new post. Until next time, ciao!