Do you have a good setup for making music at home?
Do you have a good setup for making music at home?
I am setting up a home recording system, and I have a list of parts that need checking. I always feel bad when someone says "this is perfect" because any criticism hurts me, but I'm putting this out there for weak links or if you feel like you want approval. So, I'll start with a Mac Mini 4m with 16gb RAM and 256gb SSD storage. My main app, program, or DAW will be Logic Pro Connected via a usb-c display port cable to a Samsung 34" ultrawide monitor (1440p). The second monitor for my tablet-controlled mixer acting as an interface is a Behringer XR18. Below that is a Dell 24" 1080p HD monitor, which is a general-purpose screen. These two monitors are placed side by side with the smaller one on top of the larger one. I'm going to get you the Magic Keyboard from Apple and a Logitech mouse for any tasks needed.
The way things are set up looks good so far. You won't really know if you like it until you try it out in real life. The biggest problem is the space. The Mini comes with only a 256GB SSD. Are you planning to use external drives? Also, how do you want to back up your system files?
There is no perfect setup because there is always a trade-off somewhere. Be open to new ideas and try to balance things according to what you have and how much room you can use. What do you plan to spend your money on? Which items are most important? Draw a simple sketch of the whole system for yourself. You can find examples online by searching "recording studio system diagrams". It doesn't need to look fancy or official; just make it clear, easy to understand, and show every device plus cables and where all ports and plugs go. This picture will help you see the big picture and remember everything else. Post your drawing here on imgur (www.imgur.com > "New Post"). There might be more suggestions coming later based on this one.
The amount of space needed for recording sounds pretty small in general. It's great that you can buy cheap, easy-to-get extra storage. If you're going to use your external hard drive directly with your files, make sure to have USB 3.1 speed between the laptop and the drive at least.
I'm going to reach out to a buddy who could help me with this, not expecting anyone to give their number for a call lol, but this all sounds necessary and too much for a quick reply. I'll actually give him a ring. So far i don't feel bad about this system, it seems like just a little tweak here or there, thank you everyone!
The basic system and setting up are fine if things work out right away. So you get going on that front. You just gotta handle your local storage like we talked about before. To be honest, I think a 1TB drive is a bit too small when you have big files everywhere to keep. Filling up that space could happen way faster than you expect. Backups are totally different from the setup stuff though. That's where you put things away so they're safe if something goes wrong. For instance, I use a local NAS to back up all my systems every 24 hours (there is more to my backup plan but you gotta start with the basics).