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My Studio

On this page, I document my studio setup in various stages dating back to 2007!

For how to start your home studio, click here!

The Lab

Circa 2007

Circa 2007

Gear

  • PC: Gateway (Can’t remember the model)
  • Monitor: 19″ Lextron
  • Turntable: N/A
  • Drumpad: KORG padKONTROL (Old/White)
  • Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Pro
  • Keyboard: Roland (Can’t remember the model)
  • Studio monitors: N/A
  • Speakers: Logitech R-20
  • Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-M50
  • Microphone: Samson C01
  • Stand: On Stage MS7701B
  • Tank: Fish XD
  • Desk: My old desk from when I was young. It was a great desk in its time.
  • Chair: Computer, basic.

This was my very first setup when I still lived at home, and I still think back fondly on the memories. It was definitely a cozy space, and I very much enjoyed my time dabbling in audio and getting my feet wet. 

December 2014

December 2014

Before I sold that laptop and those KRK ST6s.

Transitioning from the old laptop to the new (Lenovo T510)

Gear

  • Laptop: Lenovo Thinkpad T510
  • Monitor: 24″ used Dell Monitor ($10 at the thrift store, lol).
  • Turntable: Audio Technica AT-LP60
  • Drumpad: KORG padKONTROL (Old/White), AKAI MPD18
  • Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (1st gen)
  • Studio monitors: JBL LSR305.
  • Speakers: Generic
  • Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-M50
  • Microphone: Samson C01
  • Printer: HP DeskJet 3632
  • Camera: Nikon D3200
  • Dessert: Chocolate Cheesecake 😛

Here I’m in the same space as 2007, just shifted right a little (note the window). At this point, the desk you see was essentially brand new, and I still have it today (with some modifications of course).

May/December 2016

Note: Never arrange your monitors like this. At the time, I didn’t have room on my desk to place them properly despite trying a few different things. This was just a stopgap until I simply decided to remove the top portion of the desk (as you’ll see later).

May 2016

December 2016

December 2016

Gear

  • Laptop: Lenovo Think Pad T510 (upgraded to 8GB of RAM)
  • Monitors: Dual ASUS PA248Q Monitors
  • Turntable: Audio Technica AT-LP60
  • Drumpad: KORG padKONTROL (New/Black)
  • Mouse: Wired
  • Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (1st gen)
  • Studio monitors: JBL LSR 305
  • Speakers: Generic
  • Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-M50, Sennheiser HD600
  • Microphone: Samson C01, Blue Yeti, Audio Technica AT2020
  • Stand: On-Stage MS7920B
  • Printer: HP DeskJet 3632
  • Camera: Nikon D3200

December 2020

December 2020

After getting the display port. Thanks, dad!

Gear

  • Laptop: Lenovo X1 Extreme (32GB RAM)
  • Monitors: 24.1″ Dual ASUS PA248Q
  • Display Port: Plugable USB 3.0
  • Turntable: Audio Technica ATLP60
  • Drum pad: KORG padKONTROL
  • Mouse: Logitech G305 (main), Logitech M325 (backup)
  • Speakers: Generic
  • Microphone: Blue Yeti
  • Amps & DACS: iFi Neo iDSD, Topping A50s/D50s, Creative SoundBlasterX G6 and G3, FiiO BTR3K, AudioQuest DragonFly Red, iFi hip-dac, iFi Zen, iFi Zen Blue, iFi Zen CAN Signature 6XX, FiiO E10K, K3, and K5 Pro.
  • Headphones: AKG K612, K702, K240M (600 Ohm), K260, Philips SHP9500 and 9600, Sennheiser HD600, Koss KPH30i, Koss KSC75, HIFIMAN DEVA.
  • Printer: Lexmark Interpret S405
  • Camera: Nikon D3200
  • Lens: AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G
  • Figurines: Travis Bickle, Snake Plissken, Lego men, Generic Troll.
  • Posters: Jerry Garcia (left) J Dilla (right)

This phase saw a shift and a reboot of sorts, i.e. starting over with recording gear and getting back into beats, raps, guitar, etc. 

A lot of the older stuff was sold, and originally I planned to build more shelves in this space in addition to the ones you see. I situated them in such a way that when I got new studio monitors, I could place them in an equilateral triangle towards my head at ear level.

A good chunk of my YouTube videos were recorded in this space.

After this image was taken, I purchased the Presonus Eris e3.5s as a stopgap and planned to continue recording here, but I’ve since moved the studio out of my bedroom completely.

2023/2024

Gear

Around March of 2023, I decided it was time for a complete revamp. I moved everything out of my bedroom and into this dining room space; one that I wasn’t using all that much and a perfect spot for a corner set up.

In addition to that, the space is nice and open, preventing the sound from bouncing around and causing problems. Being irregularly shaped, it works extremely well for sound dispersion, and I also put some panels on the walls to further mitigate any problems that may arise.

It’s still not perfect, but no home studio setup is, which brings me to my final point:

Closing Thoughts

As you can well imagine, your studio space will go through lots of changes over time due to, well, life. Don’t be in a hurry to get everything exactly how you want it, because there are always adjustments to be made. That’s part of the fun!

Just be grateful for what you have at any given moment, and always work to improve!

With that, the following guide is designed to get you started in the right direction. It is meant to be clear and organized while giving suggestions about how to start a home studio (with what I know works).

The last thing I wanted to happen when I began my journey was to get confused. Although I did on occasion, eventually I figured it out by doing endless amounts of research while in the process having about a gazillion browser tabs opened. I want you to avoid that!