Recommended Audio Equipment for Recording Vocals (Singers, Podcasters, VoiceOver Actors)
DAW (Audio Software)
Mac: Logic Pro (https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/)
Mac (Free/Starter): Garageband (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785) or Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/)
PC: Ableton Live (https://www.ableton.com/en/)
PC (Free/Starter): Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/)
Melodyne (Pitch-Editing Software – Musicians Only)
https://shop.celemony.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CelemonyShop
*At least “Assistant ($250)” level for vocals, as the “Essential ($99)” is pretty limited. You can always upgrade later if you want more power to edit multiple notes at once in chords
Video Tutorials here: https://helpcenter.celemony.com/M5/doc/melodyneStudio5Training/en/M5tour_Videoseite
Microphone
$100-150 Beginner, easy to mess around with, plug and play USB, best starter mic:
Blue Yeti (https://amzn.to/3ynjgl4)
$250ish Semi-Professional, the one I’d recommend if you can afford it as a first upgrade, it has both USB and XLR options so let’s you have the best of both worlds while you learn how to use an interface and upgrade your setup.
Rode NT1A (https://amzn.to/3XpnuQ0)
*Kit comes with a pop filter for softening consonants and a shock mount for preventing vibration noise from desks/etc.
$500 Shure SM7B (https://amzn.to/3Xiehsk)
if you’ve got the money this is worth it, will work for most professional gigs. You can go higher-end certainly, especially as your career progresses, but until you’re working major projects this will do the job. You may need a CloudLifter Mic Amplifier for this to work best. Since it’s XLR only, you will need an Audio Interface.
Pop Filter/Shock Mount
See Above Rode NI Kit, or just pick up any on Amazon. Often metal pop filters can give a better result than fabric.
Boom Arm
$100 Rode PSA 1 (https://amzn.to/3x9GMy4)
*There are plenty of cheaper knockoffs available which are fine, but if you’re gonna spend money for a nice Mic, you shouldn’t attach it to a piece of junk that might break and damage it.
Open Back Studio Headphones
$75 Philips SHP9500 (https://amzn.to/3YkNbT4)
*Open Back headphones let you hear yourself while you sing, while also hearing the track from your computer. Essential for recording vocals.
Audio Interface
$120 Focusrite Scarlett Solo (https://amzn.to/3lqt4Es)
*Necessary for your microphone to ‘speak’ to your computer without lag and problems.
XLR Cable
$10 Amazon Basics XLR (https://amzn.to/3Yfj7I9)
*to attach your mic to your audio interface, you can spend a lot on better quality cables, but it only really matters if you’re noticing fuzzy feedback in your recordings, a cheap cable can be the cause, but usually, it makes no difference
Studio Monitors (Speakers)
$100 PreSonus Eris E3.5 (https://amzn.to/3x9Cneq)
*Again, as you progress, you can increase the quality of your speakers, get a subwoofer, you can go really “gearhead” here and spend thousands on good speakers, but you don’t need to, this’ll get the job done as you get started. They’re the ones I use for most of my audio production. They have an option to include a subwoofer for a few hundred more which really brings out the Bass in the sound
Midi Keyboard Piano
$200-$300 M-AUDIO Keystation 88 MK3 88 Key Semi Weighted MIDI Keyboard (https://amzn.to/3lfDne9)
I hope you found this helpful. If you’d like to work with me, reach out to book a private lesson to improve your skills: