Home Office / Guitar Practice Room Advice

slawler · September 2022

I have recently purchased my first house and moving from a small flat in Central London, so finally have space for a proper home office / guitar practice area.

I am practically starting from scratch and so would really appreciate any advice on what to get.

I currently have:

Office equipment:

- Electronic standing desk (that my partner was given from a previous job)
- MacBook Pro / Keyboard / Mouse
- PC Tower
- PC Monitor
- Herman Miller Aeron chair

Guitar equipment:

- Les Paul 1959 Reissue
- Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue
- Taylor 414ce

- Ironman II Mini Attenuator
- Couple of pedals
- Music stand

Items I would like to add:

- Apogee Duet 3 (as a recording interface)
- Acoustic Microphone - probably a Neumann KM184 single or matched set
- Electronic Microphone - *open to suggestions*
- Monitor speakers - *open to suggestions* (including an amplifier if I go for passive monitors)
- Drum stool

Is there anything else I should consider adding and does anyone have any suggestions from the above list.

I am very much a novice with all this and having never had the space to do this in the past, it is quite exciting!

Appreciate any help…

fastonebaz · September 2022

A good front door lock and home insurance policy first

GoFish · September 2022

Congrats on the space!

It is exciting, and on the risk of being a downer, give it a littlw time to see how the new setup pans out. There always seems to be less space / time than you think...

saying that, audio interface and powered monitors are a great investment, even just for listening to music. Quality over size would be my guiding principle here. Cost can spiral pretty quickly, so size of room and realisitc use cases will help. That said, nearfield monitors are an excellent investment for your ears.

Some kind of bass traps are probably the next thing to treat the room a little. From there you can add mics and a midi keyboard as it is required.

It's very tempting to want to get *everything* you need quickly - I'd advise against this to avoid getting swamped. I think you've got a good wants list. I'd say a good condenser mic and stand will do a lot, then add a dynamic if you need it to record amps etc.

Now to await the cavalry with their really useful suggestions.

sev112 · September 2022

If you plan to dry your washing in there, then a dehumidifier to protect that lovely Taylor, stop the strings rusting on the others, and stop the circuit boards on the amp from going up in smoke.

in addition you might need to look at how many electric sockets you have, and potentially wall hangers for the guitars. Cupboard / shelves for tools, strings, etc .

enjoy

Lodious · September 2022

How much noise can you make without disturbing others?

I'd maybe not spend as much on mic's if the acoustics of the room you are recording in are not that great. Ditto for monitors... better to buy a less expensive pair of monitors and get some room treatment than have really expensive monitors in an untreated room.

Stuckfast · September 2022

The obvious thing missing from your list is acoustic treatment. Realistically, if you want good results then you need to put a lot of thought into that and possibly a fair bit of money depending on what you want to achieve.

Whistler · September 2022

GoFish said:

Some kind of bass traps are probably the next thing to treat the room a little.

Stuckfast said:

The obvious thing missing from your list is acoustic treatment. Realistically, if you want good results then you need to put a lot of thought into that and possibly a fair bit of money depending on what you want to achieve.

A common recommendation amongst studio folk is to put 50% toward new gear and 50% toward acoustric treatment. You can always start with a bit and add more later. Avoid foam as it is the expensive route.

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Home Office / Guitar Practice Room Advice

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