For recording newbies, it’s easily the most commonly asked question when it comes to their first studio:

What’s the CHEAPEST one I can build?

Strangely, it seems that NO ONE out there has yet answered it.

So in this article, that’s exactly what I’ll do, by attempting to actually build the World’s Cheapest Recording Studio for myself.

Here’s what I came up with:

The Total Price of the Studio

After scouring the internet, in an attempt to find the absolute best deals out there, I constructed a simple working studio with a total sticker price of just over 400 dollars.

Here’s what I bought:

The Gear I Chose and Why

For this ENTIRE studio, I compiled a total of 4 items:

• Computer
• Digital Audio Workstation
• Microphone
• Headphones

These are the ones I chose, and why:

1. The Computer

Common recording advice states that since DAW software is resource intensive, you want to buy the fastest computer you can afford.

Normally, I’d choose a Macbook Pro, or one of the other fast computers I recommend inthis article.  But Apple is expensive, and I wanted something cheap.

So here’s what I chose instead: the Acer C720 Chromebook at a price of around 200 dollars.

I chose it, almost entirely because of it’s association with Google.  Hate on them all you want, but Google doesn’t make crappy stuff.  So if there’s any computer in this price range that can deliver on its promises, its this one.

As it turns out, Chromebooks are also made by Samsung, HP, and Toshiba.  I chose the Acer model because it was the cheapest and also seemed to have the best overall reviews.

2. The Digital Audio Workstation

For a DAW, normally I’d choose Pro Tools or one of the other top names I recommend inthis article.

The problem is, most of these are expensive…and way too much for the world’s cheapest recording studio.

My first thought was to choose Audacity, (pictured to the right), as it is easily the most popular free DAW software on the planet.  But as it turns out, Audacity runs on Windows and Mac, but not the Chrome OS.

So after a bit more research, I found that the Chome OS only supports onlinerecording options, which is essentially a DAW within your browser.  The two best free options I found were UJam and Audiotool.

3. The Microphone

For this studio, I knew right away that a USB mic was the only smart option.

By eliminating the need for either a preamp or an audio interface, it would save me HUGE money.

I also need it to be a dynamic mic, since in my opinion, condenser mics are worthless inrooms without acoustic treatment.

The mic I originally chose was the Rode Podcaster, since it is perhaps the most famous dynamic USB mic out there.

But then I discovered this one: the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB.

At a price of around 75 dollars, it’s MUCH cheaper than the Rode Podcaster.  It also has rave reviews, and includes a headphones jack with volume control, which would eliminate the need for a monitor management system.

Now…the final item:

4. Headphones

Even the most basic home studio wouldn’t be complete without SOME sort of monitoring.

And while I don’t believe studio monitors are a MUST-HAVE for every studio, I do believe that headphones ARE.

Normally I’d choose a Sennheiser HD280 or one of the other closed back headphones I recommend in this article.  But for this studio, I wanted to see if there was anything cheaper.

I found one: the Audio-Technica ATH-M40fs.

Priced at around 50 dollars, you wouldn’t think to expect much, but the reviews I found on them were universally positive.  So that’s what I chose.

Next….

What to Expect from this Studio

Now that I’ve covered the gear, let’s get a few things straight about this setup:

• Don’t expect it to record a world class tone, since there are no condenser mics and no acoustic treatment, among many other reasons.
• Don’t expect to do any advanced with Soundation or any other free/cheap DAW.
• Don’t expect to record in stereo, don’t expect to record bands, and don’t expect to record drums…Since you only have one input channel.

Now here’s what you CAN expect:

If you’re new to recording, you don’t have a lot of money, and you want a simple and easy way to get your feet wet, this studio could be the perfect solution.

You’ll be able to:

• Record your voice or instrument into the computer
• Mix several tracks together into a complete song
• Turn those tracks into a stereo audio file, and share it with your friends.

If that’s ALL you want, this studio will get you there.

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