Building a Home Studio

I first started building my home studio for producing music back in 2019. I made all the classic mistakes. I bought a lot of fairly large equipment without really planning the space I was going to be producing in. All of the equipment I bought has eventually been incredibly useful but I almost always bought it at the wrong time...basically too soon! The tendency, for me at least, is to want whatever exciting toys I can get my hands on. The problem with this was I hadn't even learnt to use all the stock software that came with Logic Pro X yet and had no decent working environment to properly explore using these cool musical gadgets.

I don't want to talk about specific ways of producing music or about the intricacies of EQ's, Compressors, and reverbs but rather, how to make sure the space you are working in is going to bring out your best creative self. There's no point in having all the exciting gear but then when you sit down always feel uninspired to make music. Some of the things I mention might not seem super relevant to making music but it's just what I have personally found to be the magic ingredients to boost my productivity.

1.) Lighting

To me, lighting is everything when it comes to helping set your mood. If possible I think it really helps to have plenty of natural light coming into the room during the day. A lack of natural light can, and will eventually make you feel lethargic, especially if working for an extended period of time at the computer screen using your DAW. It's also useful if you suffer from headaches or strained eyes to look out the window into the distance every 10 - 20 minutes or so (my optician recently told me this). As well as optimal sunlight there are times when you are going to want to work through the night. Oftentimes either you might be feeling particularly inspired and a track is coming together just right so why would you want to stop. Or maybe you have a particular deadline and you're last-minute cram-composing for a string quartet. I'd suggest getting some nice warm lamp lighting to help you feel relaxed and in the zone. I invested in some smart bulbs for my home studio room that can change colour and brightness all controlled via an app on my phone. I find this really helps when I have a particular style or mood I'm trying to capture in the music because I can get the room to match that vibe while I work.

2.) Plants

Get yourself some greenery in your home studio. Plants literally make you more productive. They filter out carbon dioxide and release more oxygen into your room. They can also filter out, to a certain extent, other nasty stuff in the air. If you get enough little potted plants in your studio I guarantee you'll start to feel the difference when working for long periods of time. They also just look nice and make the studio feel less 'sterile'.

3.) Seating

Make sure you buy an ergonomically sound chair. I'd even put this before some pieces of studio gear. You won't want to work when you've got a horrible achy back or you just can't sit at the right height for your desk. It's going to piss you off and you will be less inclined to sit down and crack on. This hinders not just your productivity but your creativity as well because, even if you can push through the discomfort, part of you will be distracted when you are making music.

4.) Design

Make sure you have designed your working space so everything you need on a regular basis is almost instantly usable. There is no point in having one of the world's greatest synths if every time you want to use it you have to fold out the keyboard stand, unplug something else and connect it up to your computer. You need to be able to sit at your workstation and fire everything up ready to go. Inspiration can be fragile and needs to be nurtured but also captured fast. If you can realise an idea in your head on multiple instruments in a short space of time your ability to finish tracks is going to be so much quicker and more enjoyable.

5.) Relaxation

Make sure you have some kind of breakout space in your home. You need to take regular breaks to make sure you are working smarter not harder. It's often very important to go away and reset your ears when doing long writing or mixing sessions so if you can have a comfy sofa or fold-out bed in the studio room then get one. I often will go and take a ten-minute nap in my home studio just to try and reset and not have to go get distracted by flatmates or other tasks in the flat.

There are many more ways to improve your productivity while working in a home studio environment but these have certainly been the big ones for me. I hope you get something out of them.

Keep creating.