Setting up a home studio that actually sounds good

One of the most common questions I get is about my studio setup. People assume you need tens of thousands of dollars to make music that sounds professional. You don't.

Start with the room

Before you spend money on gear, think about your space. I'm working out of a spare bedroom in my Bay Area apartment, which came with all the acoustic challenges you'd expect—parallel walls, hardwood floors, and neighbors who don't love 808s at midnight.

The fixes don't have to be expensive:

• Bass traps in the corners - This made the biggest difference
• Absorption panels at first reflection points - DIY rockwool panels work great
• A thick rug - Seriously, it helps more than you'd think

The gear that matters

Here's my current signal chain for tracking and mixing:

Guitar/Keys → Apollo Twin X → Yamaha HS8s
                    ↓
            MacBook Pro M1 Max
                    ↓
              Ableton Live

The Apollo Twin was my biggest investment, but the built-in UAD plugins and near-zero latency monitoring make it worth every penny. I can track through an LA-2A compressor emulation without any perceptible delay.

Plugins over hardware

Hot take: for most home producers, plugins are a better investment than hardware. My FabFilter bundle and Soundtoys collection get used on literally every session. A hardware compressor that sounds as good as the Pro-C 2 would cost 10x as much.

The workflow advantage

The real benefit of a home setup is iteration speed. I can wake up with an idea, be tracking within 5 minutes, and have a rough mix by lunch. No booking studio time, no commute, no pressure.

My French bulldogs make excellent A&R—if they fall asleep during playback, I know the track needs more energy.

Keep it simple

The best studio is the one that gets out of your way. I've seen people with $50k setups who never finish anything because they're too busy tweaking gear. Start small, learn your tools deeply, and upgrade only when something is genuinely holding you back.