What to buy if you want to start producing music at home

Posted on 25/01/2023 by Terrence O'Brien

These days it’s not necessary to go to a giant studio with overpriced, pro-grade gear to record a Grammy-winning record. You can do it right from the comfort of your own bedroom in fact, using tools priced for even the most casual of hobbyists. It's not news that the tools of creation or the avenues for distributing art are accessible to more people than ever. But the cultural institutions that have dominated popular music for so long can no longer ignore the bedroom producer or budding Soundcloud star.

Maybe you've been inspired to build your own home recording studio. And maybe, you're not quite sure where to start. Well, an audio interface, a good mic and a decent set of headphones will get you pretty far. But the first thing you'll need is probably staring you right in the face: a computer.

Computer and a DAW

An overhead view of Ableton Live 10 on a laptop surrounded by home studio gear.

Justin DeLay, Director of Product and Category Marketing at Reverb, drives home just how important the computer is: "You can strip away everything else and as long as you have a computer you can still create music," he told me. He suggests you "spend the money on a good computer and get other gear — such as audio interfaces, mics, headphones, etc. — used or at reasonable price points."

But, truthfully, you can do quite a lot with whatever computer you have on hand. Joe Pecora, the engineer and producer at Red Room Studio, says your set up "could be as simple as an iPhone/iPad with Garage band." (I know someone who recorded an entire album this way.) While he agrees that the most important part is your computer, he argues it doesn't have to be super powerful. It doesn't even have to be a desktop. JDilla famously created many of his beats on a Roland SP303, and you can basically recreate that experience with an iPad and the $4 Koala Sampler for iOS. And don't forget that Gorillaz recorded an entire album on an iPad.

Which leads us to the next thing you'll need: a DAW, or digital audio workstation. If you're a Mac user, then you're lucky enough to have access to Garage Band, a surprisingly capable free option. And upgrading to Logic Pro X is only a $200 investment. If you're on Windows (or just don't like Logic), I often recommend Ableton Live (starting at $99). But honestly there are plenty of great options out there, like FL Studio, BitWig and Cubase all of which start at $99. And often, stripped down versions come free as part of a software bundle when you buy music-making hardware like MIDI controllers and audio interfaces.

Assuming you already have a computer and you just need the accessories to get recording, you can pick up everything you need for under $500 new. But, if you’re patient, you could build a well equipped bedroom studio with used gear for as little as $250.

MIDI controller

An overhead view of four different midi keyboards on a wooden desktop.

Speaking of which, one of the first additions to your studio should be a MIDI controller. DeLay says this is a piece of gear often overlooked by beginners. "It's not just for playing keyboard sounds," he explained, "it can be used to write drums and percussion, to control mixes and more. It's the creative interface of music production, and you don't have to play the piano in order to harness its power."

We've covered plenty of affordable and portable options before. But if you don't plan to make music on the go, I can't recommend the Arturia MiniLab 3 enough. It punches well above its weight, and even the pros love this thing. And if you have the space, it's not much more to upgrade to something like the Keylab Essential 49 ($269) or Novation Launchkey 49 ($229), which will give you a lot more controls to play with.

Microphone

An Audio-Technica AT2020 condenser mic is on a stand above a coffee table with a laptop, with a leather couch in the background.

Unfortunately there's no gear that will magically turn you into a breathy pop goddess, but a decent mic and audio interface can at least help you sound your best. Now, you could get a USB microphone, like Blue Microphones’ $130 Yeti, and it will certainly get the job done. Heck, that album I mentioned earlier was recorded using the wired headset that came with the iPhone.

But, honestly, your better bet is to get a regular XLR mic and an audio interface. Pecora specifically warns against splurging too much here. "People will look at their favorite artist and see that they use a certain mic or preamp or plugin and want to use the same thing thinking it will get them the same sound." On early singles like "Ocean Eyes" Billie Eilish used an Audio-Technica AT2020 condenser mic, which costs just $100. And I’ve stuck almost exclusively with cheap Shure SM58s and 57s ($100 new, $50-$75 used) whether I was recording demos with my band in college or voice over for review videos at Engadget.

If you fancy yourself a future pop sensation and want to make sure your vocals are the star of the show, you could consider using a significant chunk of your budget on something like the Rode NT1-A ($229) or Shure SM7B ($390). You will get better results with more flexibility for post production, but you can clearly get excellent results with more affordable options.

Audio interface

As for the interface, there are tons of great options out there. Companies like Focusrite, Arturia and Tascam make excellent ones. But our new favorites in the budget interface space are Universal Audio’s Volt series. If your budget allows for it we strongly recommend the $299 Volt 276. Though, the $189 Volt 2 is also excellent, it just doesn’t standout from the crowd quite as much.

If you’re trying to save a few bucks, it's hard to beat the Scarlett series from Focusrite (just make sure to get the second- or third-gen models). You can get the latest Scarlett 2i2 for around $130 used, but it's just $180 new (and includes a huge bundle of very useful software).

The reason to opt for an audio interface instead of a simple USB mic is because it offers you a lot more flexibility and room to grow. For one, it offloads a lot of the audio processing from the CPU. Second, it will allow you to connect not just mics (and swap in different ones for different purposes), but also instruments, turntables or anything with an audio-out jack. An audio interface is also necessary if you plan to connect a pair of studio monitors.

Studio monitors and headphones

The Sony MDR-7506 headphones suspended in the air in front of a dark background dotted with bright light spots.

This is an area that DeLay advises caution. While a good set of studio monitors will obviously be better than the speakers on your laptop and will result in a better mix, it's too easy to get caught up in what he calls monitor envy. "The reality is that monitors at a $300 price point are going to work just fine in most spaces," he says. Plus, your bedroom probably doesn't have the space to really make the most of large, powerful monitors. So, save your money.

And if you're just starting out, you're probably better off getting a decent set of headphones. There're tons of amazing and affordable studio quality headphones out there for under $200, like the $179 Beyerdynamic DT990PRO (currently down to just $179 on Amazon). But one of our favorites is an old workhorse from Sony, the MDR-7506. They're well under $100 and actual pros have used them for decades to mix music.

One tip DeLay offers for novices: Double check your mixes in the real world. Headphones can over emphasize bass, while smaller studio monitors can have trouble delivering accurate bass response. So make sure to listen to your track on laptop speakers or in a car to get a sense of how it will sound in the wild.

And that's really the key — have the patience to develop your skills and make the most of the gear you have. It's really easy to catch a bad case of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) when you're first starting out — trust me, I know. But there's no need to shell out thousands of dollars for high-end gear to start making music. You don't even need to buy new gear. Pecora suggests the only thing you absolutely should buy new are headphones. And, presumably, that's just because you don't want to be wearing years worth of someone else's sweat on your ears.

What to buy if you want to start producing music at home

Posted on 25/01/2023 by Terrence O'Brien

Computer and a DAW

MIDI controller

Microphone

Audio interface

Studio monitors and headphones

This beautiful wireless speaker comes in two parts for outdoor and indoor use

Posted on 15/01/2023 by JC Torres

Bluetooth and wireless speakers are all the rage these days, coming in all sorts of designs, sizes, and prices. While there is a great variety among them in terms of aesthetics, it seems that most of them fall into one of two categories. There are gorgeous speakers that improve the ambiance of your house but would probably die when used outside. And then there are those that are born to be used outdoors but don’t exactly mesh well with your interior decor with their rugged and rough aesthetic. There are, of course, a few that straddle the line between these two worlds, like this speaker design concept that is a work of art indoors and a handy portable speaker outdoors.

Designer: Tyrion Ma

There seem to be two separate and almost mutually exclusive sets of requirements for outdoor and indoor wireless speakers. Those that are meant to stay inside are often big, eye-catching, and sometimes even imposing, while portable speakers, by necessity, are smaller and designed to be more durable. Some properties, like omnidirectional speakers, can apply to both types, though blasting audio at 360 degrees might make less sense outdoors where there are no walls to bounce the waves off.

It is difficult for a single speaker to have all these traits, not to mention that it is expensive to implement and manufacture. The AUREOLA wireless speaker concept design sort of sidesteps this problem by actually having two parts, each designed for a different environment. The portable outdoor speaker part is barely bigger than a smartphone and sits on the larger part’s base, which also serves as a wireless charging pad for both the speaker and other devices.

While the portable part of the speaker is almost negligible in size and appearance, the indoor part is undoubtedly the main attraction. A large ring rises from the base, providing the omnidirectional sound source as well as the AUREOLA’s source of character. It is clearly a speaker that was designed to grab people’s attention through its sheer size and artistic form. In different colors, it can easily blend with your room’s design, becoming the visual and aural focus of the space.

While the speaker’s design is elegant and its concept intriguing, the concept still leaves plenty of questions unanswered. The most important is how the two parts can actually be considered a whole when they’re together. It seems as if the two are only related by design and operate independently of each other, making them just members of a set rather than two parts of a whole. Then again, it might not be that hard to think of ways to make it happen, like how the smaller speaker is actually the brains behind the AUREOLA’s functions. It’s definitely an avenue worth pursuing, if only for the sake of seeing such a striking speaker become a reality.

The post This beautiful wireless speaker comes in two parts for outdoor and indoor use first appeared on Yanko Design.

This quirky iPhone case embraces architectural art to improve its usability

Posted on 19/12/2022 by JC Torres

Common smartphone cases provide the bare minimum protection possible without bulking up the device. Some go beyond the call of duty at the expense of making otherwise thin and slick phones look like miniature tanks. Other provide additional functionality, like batteries, card slots, or even rings for holding the phone more securely. That last one is a bit divisive among smartphone users because while it does offer a more secure grip, it also makes the phone look a bit awkward. That, however, has nothing on this weird-looking protective case for an iPhone that brings an extra grip and a stand in a manner that can only really be considered to be a form of art.

Designer: Bailey Hikawa

At first glance, you might not even recognize this object as a smartphone case, nor would you be able to immediately see the iPhone it snugly cradles inside. It looks more like a tiny shelf for tiny people that turns the iPhone into something like an art project. Although there will be little doubt that this can protect the phone since it manages to keep everything away from its body, some might have reservations about how it actually makes the phone more usable.

The shape of the Geta case wasn’t just plucked out of thin air. Its very name bears the source of its inspiration, that of traditional Japanese sandals that elevate their wearers with “teeth” that protrude from the bottom. In the case of this smartphone case, those teeth also hold the phone up like an angled stand. They also give places for people to insert their fingers when holding the phone.

The space between the extruded fins lets you hold the phone with a lot more confidence than a ring since you can use multiple fingers to keep it in place. Those fins are also angled at the sides so that the phone can rest on them, propping up the display for hands-free viewing. One side is cut differently, though, so it gives a different and lower angle. The fins also let you stand the phone upright in portrait orientation, which is better for video calls.

The Geta case is a rather clever way of using structure and architectural forms to provide these functions, though it admittedly won’t appeal to the majority of smartphone users. Seeing it more as a somewhat outlandish piece of art that also delivers some functionality might make it more palatable. There is even one variant made of clear silicone with fake eyelashes randomly embedded in it. It won’t, however, do anything to help make it fit inside some small bags, not to mention in your pockets.

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Unique embroidery mixed-media art get contribution from actual bees

Posted on 17/12/2022 by Ida Torres

You’ve probably seen those cute videos of humans and their furry pets collaborating on paintings and other artwork. Even though I’m not much of an animal lover, I do find myself saying “aaaww” whenever I come across one of those videos or stories. Usually we see dogs, cats, maybe even a bird or two that is able to contribute to their owners’ artwork. It can be something they’re trained to do or something that is instinctive as well, if you believe that animals can have creative genes as well.

Designer: Ava Roth

But have you ever seen a human and bees collaborate? This is what Canada-based artist Ava Roth has been doing as she creates embroidery using natural materials and then she allows the bees to add their own natural flair with their honeycombs. The final result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art that will definitely look unique in your living room wall. You can have bragging rights that real-life bees actually contributed to this mixed-media collage and that not one piece is the same.

The artist first has to hand-stitch different geometric patterns onto Japanese rice paper and then adds some found materials like leaves, rocks, porcupine quills, etc. She then installs them into maple frames that actually resemble bee hives in order to attract the bees to it. Once she’s finished with her part, it’s the bees’ turn to do their magic as they add their unique golden honeycombs. There are pieces of art where the embroidery are in rows and the space for the honeycombs are in the other rows.

If you’re interested in art that mixes creativity with nature, this mixed-media art will look pretty cool in your space. You can purchase some pieces through her website. If you suffer from trypophobia or honeycombs make you feel uncomfortable, then best stay away from this. If you’re allergic to bees, maybe you also shouldn’t have these hanging on your walls just to be safe.

The post Unique embroidery mixed-media art get contribution from actual bees first appeared on Yanko Design.

This sleek CD player lets you display cover art like a picture frame

Posted on 05/12/2022 by Aki Ukita

Vinyl records have been revived in the past years, but ironically, the younger CDs seem to have fallen out of fashion almost completely. Not only have streaming services and digital collections (legally acquired, of course) made the limited capacity of audio CDs pointless, the physical medium doesn’t offer any distinct audio flavor as old-school records do. That said, CDs continue to be made and sold, and there are people that still hold onto their library of collected albums in this disc format dearly. It’s definitely possible to still listen to them, but most CD players these days come in large boxes that stay at home or peripherals that connect to computers. This minimalist CD player, however, offers the freedom to listen to that kind of music anywhere you go and also gives you the opportunity to flaunt that CD’s cover, just like album art in music apps.

Designer: km5

Click Here to Buy Now: $127 ~~$149~~ ($22 off at checkout). Hurry, Post-Cyber Monday sale ends in 24 hours!

Digital music created the concept of album art as a digital counterpart to the CD cover jackets of old. It’s a visual experience that you lose when you listen to CDs unless you have the jacket in front of you all the time. You definitely can’t display it on the device you’re using to play the CD, especially if it’s a portable CD player that covers everything up to create a compact form fit for traveling.

The CP1 CD Player breaks away from the mold with a device that in itself is a work of minimalist art. The plain, boxy shape of the player looks like a picture frame or an enlarged Polaroid-style photo. The middle of the device is transparent, showing the bed where the CD would lie and spin. As it is, it is already quite striking in its bold transparency, but it is also the perfect place to insert the CD’s cover jacket. In essence, the player lets you create the experience of album art in physical form.

More than just a CD player, this device also becomes a piece of decor, especially when you hang it on walls. It has its own built-in rechargeable battery, so you don’t have to worry about ugly wires until it’s time to recharge it. Of course, that same battery lets you carry it anywhere so that you can listen to your favorite CDs anytime you want. There is a 3.5mm jack to plug in headphones and speakers, but you can also enjoy the music through wireless audio equipment thanks to its built-in Bluetooth support.

This photographic CD player doesn’t really add any advanced features for playing this physical medium. In fact, it even takes a small step back by making you manually insert cover jackets to get the same effect as album art on music apps. It does, however, hone in on how appreciating music also comes with other treats for the senses, and it does so in a very elegant way that puts a CD’s art proudly on display.

Click Here to Buy Now: $127 ~~$149~~ ($22 off at checkout). Hurry, Post-Cyber Monday sale ends in 24 hours!

The post This sleek CD player lets you display cover art like a picture frame first appeared on Yanko Design.

Realistic Eyeball Toenail Art: Toeballs

Posted on 29/11/2022 by hite

Because this is the internet and the internet is full of unholy abominations, nail artist Tahvya of Nailedbytav created this realistic eyeball toenail art. I don’t know about you, but that’s probably the last thing I’d want to see when taking my wife’s socks off. Although, knowing her, she’ll probably get them anyways just to scare me. And that will be the last time I ever take off her socks when she asks.

Tav painted each nail by hand and says the whole ten-toeball pedicure took about three hours. I only hope a telemarketer called during that time, and Tav told them she can’t talk now; she’s painting eyeballs on toenails. Because in my mind, that happened, and it was glorious.

So was this part of an elaborate Halloween costume or what? I hope so, but it looks like Tav posted the toe eyeballs in May, so I don’t think that’s the case. And I don’t know about you, but the thought of somebody walking around in sandals with toeballs in May instead of October gives me the heebie-jeebies.

This smartphone app is bringing art galleries and interactive experiences from the metaverse to your fingertips

Posted on 29/11/2022 by Vincent Nguyen

Created to bridge the gap between artists and patrons, a Korean smartphone app named ArtzMe is trying to disrupt the art world by giving artists as well as consumers the tools they need to create, experience, and enjoy art across the globe, right in the metaverse!

Available for both iOS and Android, ArtzMe wants to democratize art by breaking the barriers to entry for young, budding artists, allowing their work to be appreciated by a larger group of people without the standard roadblocks of professional reach, gallery red-tape, and broker fees. The way ArtzMe does this is by relying on three core features that make art accessible to everyone.

Designers: GraceJo and Shazwina Zaky

Click Here to Download for App Store
Click Here to Download for Google Play

The ArtzMe App can be separated into its three features, all accessible right through the home screen. The first feature, dubbed the Artz Filter, brings artistic filters to the real world through the power of mixed reality. The different filters are accessible right within the app, giving users the ability to superimpose artistic sculptures and elements in their videos and photos, quite like the AR tools seen on social media apps, but with a bigger artistic focus.

The second feature, codenamed Artz Frame, lets you bring art into your own space. While the filters helped superimpose art in regular videos, Artz Frame lets you decorate the walls of your house with art that pleases you. The app scans your surroundings, letting you add AR art to walls that you can go back and look at whenever you want. This feature helps reduce an artist’s dependence on galleries for getting their work showcased and viewed by patrons. Instead, patrons can browse the ArtzMe app and directly approach the artists they like to buy their art. Unlike brokers who take large commissions (as much as 50%) from artists for sales, this feature doesn’t exploit artists. Instead, it lets them freely share their work with a global audience.

The third feature is ArtzMe’s most ambitious yet. Named Artz Scan, the filter helps turn art into a more immersive experience by allowing it to transcend just the flat 2D plane it’s on. Art can sometimes get lost in translation. You really don’t know what an artist was trying to convey simply by staring at their work. A lot of it is conjecture, and projecting your own feelings onto the artwork… but what if the art could speak to you?? With the Artz Scan feature, the artwork can be brought to life simply by holding up the camera and scanning the 2D artpiece to reveal the 3D immersive multisensorial experience associated with it. Artists can use this feature to add layers of experiences to their art, either through animations, text, audio interpretations, or holograms where the artist talks to the observer. This experience empowers both the artist as well as the viewer, helping the former produce art and the latter consume art in a way that traditional galleries have never been able to replicate!

The ArtzMe app is currently available on Android and iOS devices and is free to install. The app is in Korean for now, but ArtzMe hopes to unroll English, Japanese, Chinese, French, and Spanish languages in the second half of 2023.

Click Here to Download for App Store
Click Here to Download for Google Play

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These massive mosaics are made out of millions of hand-rolled colorful paper quills

Posted on 17/10/2022 by Vincent Nguyen

Created using hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of hand-rolled paper seeds/quills, Ilhwa Kim’s art-pieces are grand yet detailed. Each hand-rolled paper seed acts as a pixel, playing a small role in the grander scheme of things. Millions of these ‘pixels’ come together to create some staggeringly beautiful pieces of art, which are now on display at The House Of Fine Art (HOFA) in London.

Titled Real Life Architecture, Kim’s latest exhibition “will feature more than 20 large panel artworks. Pieces that explore a liminal space between human perception of existence and the true state of reality, a body of abstract artworks representing true life without the limitations of senses”, HOFA said.

Designer: Ilhwa Kim

Kim’s abstract works are impactful artworks composed of thousands of ‘Hanji’ paper seeds whose inherent dynamism creates works of art that shift between painting and sculpture, delivering art as a new experience of discovery, dynamism, and intrigue.

Kim’s works are larger than life, but start with small, humble pieces of paper. Each segment or seed in these pieces starts as a strip of paper that’s rolled into its flat ‘clump’, and then stuck on a massive canvas. What Kim eventually creates is a dizzying mosaic of thousands of such paper seeds. The South Korean artist’s current collection, titled “Real Life Architecture” explores the ‘chasm’ between what we see and the tactile reality of our visions. The artworks look like Post-Impressionist paintings, with each seed acting as a defined stroke, almost like the works of Van Gogh, Gauguin, or Cézanne.

“My seed works contain the dialogue between our senses and the tactile world surfaces, dreaming to be the monument of our sensory architecture.” – Ilhwa Kim

“Cezanne was right in saying that our senses do not represent the outer world as it is. However, this does not mean we cannot or do not have to represent things as they are. Without knowing the surface of the apple, for instance, we cannot learn how to cut the apple or how to make juice out of it”, Kim said.

You can view Ilhwa Kim’s artwork on the HOFA website, or visit the gallery between October 6th and 20th, 2022.

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Ammunition designs a luxury digital display to create your own NFT art gallery at home

Posted on 15/09/2022 by Gaurav Sood

NFT art has taken on physical artwork in a way unanticipated five years ago. NFTs are now not just for the crypto maniacs; art collectors, artists and audiences are swimming the waters with equal intent. This is giving rise to “digital art renaissance”, Danvas, the creators of the first ‘luxury digital display’ for the innovative NFT art, notes.

NFT art is an impending cultural movement but this art form is not as convenient to display as the physical artwork that you can show off in a frame placed above the fireplace. Despite the unfathomable expansion of the domain, artist and collectors are struggling to warp their heads around delightful ways to show off the NFT art collections. The simplest way, for now, is printing still artwork and displaying it like usual art. The only difference here is that some artists/collectors would attach a QR code to the art so it can be easily scanned and verified online. On the other hand, NFT digital display frames are just catching up as an inventive way to show off NFTs in videos or GIF formats.

Designer: Danvas and Ammunition Design

Danvas in collaboration with Ammunition Group has taken a new approach to this idea of displaying NFTs within their compelling digital frame which invites audiences, artists, and collectors to interact with the digital artwork. The objective of this luxury digital display dubbed Series G is to “convert” individuals into “lifelong collectors”. Such collectors can have their own private gallery of digital artwork at home, watching their collectible NFTs rolling away in turns on this digital canvas.

The Series G display frame is like any traditional one, however, it embraces the ability to emit audio and also deliver subtle interactive lighting to convey the authenticity of the artwork. For this, the 48 x 48-inch display syncs with an NFT wallet and allows onlookers to behold an interactive gallery with bewildering information about the collection on exhibit.

The Series G display integrated with software to gather, organize, share and display NFT art comes in matte black, crisp white, or North American maple options to choose from. It is custom-made in the US but gives artists and collectors worldwide a digital canvas to display NFT art in their homes every day.