You might find yourself asking what if any equipment would you ever require if you ever were to venture out to something other than practicing at home. You’d be quite taken aback by what singers may have to do for equipment.
In most scenarios, singers don’t need to carry any equipment anywhere including studios (home studios included) and live performances. It is only when they seek to build their own home studio or perform with their preferred mic or instrument that the need for hardware would arise.
Singers really have won the lottery when it comes to carrying stuff, so next time you see someone carrying around their drum kit or an upright bass be sure to be grateful and have pity on other mortals.
You Need Different Equipment for Different Uses
The idea of having different equipment is like understanding the difference between eating burgers with a friend versus going to the five-star Michelin on a date.
In both scenarios, you eat but you do the same act, but differently. You pick out different clothes and you definitely crack different jokes. The end result is always the same. To eat.
In a similar vein, it is the same thing when you are looking towards your equipment, as a singer you will be exposed to certain hardware in various situations that will allow you to do the same thing, to sing. But because different situations require different mediums and different end results, the equipment for them differs.
The opposite is true as well, you can and oftentimes must change what equipment you’re using to reach a goal that you would like to achieve for yourself or help someone else by making their job easier as we will read about them ahead.
The reasoning behind that is simple as well, you will find it quite hard to achieve certain goals without changing how you’re approaching them. Essentially different tools (equipment) may achieve the same results but certain things are just better than others at some specific tasks.
We will now read about the different environments, and scenarios, and why certain needs make us shift our hardware to do the same thing, singing.
In a Studio
Equipment needed: None
As you can imagine, in a professional studio and even home studios that you will eventually visit, all the equipment will already be set up for you to use.
As a singer, you’d have to carry nothing unless you feel a certain mic or hardware you have is going to be used and something that is absolutely necessary and without which you will not be able to record a certain part of your vocals.
If you’re paying for the studio’s time then you should expect everything to perform smoothly and without any hiccups. You’ve paid and your time in that studio should be well spent. Also, it’s the owner’s responsibility to give you a service they’re providing for.
Of course, how much you pay depends on how much time you need and how big the scope of the project is, and obviously, the studio. They should provide you with the correct equipment and the right environment for you to record yourself and you should also be smart and realize that time is money.
Be well prepared.
Home Studio
Equipment needed: Some (if you own it)
I would like to say this, if you are going to a friend’s ‘home studio’ then it is again their responsibility to provide everything.
However, as much as studios will charge you for their expertise and time you can mitigate that by slowly and steadily building your own studio.
You can do wonders with it if you put in the thought.
The biggest barrier that a professional studio has is that you can’t take unlimited takes and you can’t work on your projects any time you want to. Wonderful isn’t it?
Although you may lose the ability to have a soundproofed room, you can still get amazing results. You can hone your mixing but as far as equipment is concerned, you will need several things.
But don’t worry, they don’t have to be expensive just as they don’t have to first hand. You’re just buying hardware, you can buy them secondhand if you’d like. But if your mood or budget permits you to own them outright then why not?
So what will you need?
- Computer
- Mic
- Audio interface
- XLR cables
- Instruments and their cables
- Softwares
In truth, you can just start with just a computer. Everything else just makes certain things easier to do. It’s quite amazing. The best part of having a home studio is that you can gradually build it.
A lot depends on your needs as well. If you’re sure you won’t be composing or arranging for work on a certain genre then you won’t buy certain things. For example, I don’t work with EDM or DJ kind of music so I obviously don’t have a turntable or even a MIDI keyboard.
I focus mostly on rock and orchestral music. So I own guitars and sample libraries of my favorite instruments. This brings me to say this.
You will need software, which means you need money to buy them. They can be expensive but it is what it is. Some are cheap and some are expensive but in all cases, if you’ve done your research, they’re worth it almost all the time.
Luckily, almost all softwares are up for giving you a trial period and you should really try them out and figure out your budget.
A small studio can be a very happy place even with just a computer.
Live
Equipment needed: None
Without a doubt, if you’re just the artist that is performing then there is no need to carry anything because a mic is all you need as a singer unless you’re singing along to an instrument and you want to carry your own. If you do carry your own instrument make sure you get at least one practice session in so that you are able to make give the engineer an idea of how things are going to be.
But, other than that, you should just focus on your ability to perform and showcase your singing abilities and there are various ways to do that of course, you may and should be able to sing. If you’d like to know how then check this page out.
Giving a live performance is really a showcase of your ability even if you’re singing covers and you should really focus on your performance and practicing prior to your performance because you’ve got the opportunity to do so and it’s your time to make an impact for yourself. Go and give your best shot.
Read here, how 30 minutes of practice can affect your progress.
Instruments
Equipment needed: Maybe
Having an instrument is your call but learning one is definitely recommended. You can read about it why it is so, here.
Obviously, guitars or pianos can go from a couple of hundred dollars to well, the sky’s the limit. I personally would recommend becoming a multi-instrumentalist if you really don’t care about being the ‘best’ at it. It will help you understand music and become really good at understanding the different roles that are played by other people.
But getting a decent guitar or any other instrument will tremendously help your musicianship and allow you to look at things in a different light. Additionally, they are going to help you with your own singing. There are really just benefits when you consider having to learn an instrument as a singer.
As long as your goal is still on singing and not becoming proficient with a given instrument you will be on the right track.
If you’re wondering which instrument will be the best one for you then I would ask you to check another article about it. You can read it here.
Essentially, given your budget and what you may need to work on, you can pick up that instrument and improve your abilities specific to the thing that you may be lacking.
Nothing Has to Be Expensive
Everything that you’ve thought about whether performing live to having your own instrument collection, doesn’t have to be expensive.
Everything that you could ever need could be had for a fraction of its price compared to brand new. If you don’t have too strict rules with what you own, you can get by pretty cheap without losing quality as well.
It also is important to say that the things that are about to be mentioned don’t necessarily need to be expensive. However, you will come across things in your musical journey that ask a certain price and if to you, they are worth it, you should definitely save up for that.
Another thing, this website is meant to help you and the primary way I believe people should do this is to learn how to sing better. To serve that end I believe that the answer is learning through online courses. There are tons of benefits associated with them and you should check them out for sure.
I say this because beyond spending money on something you should also focus on getting better or serving your own end of singing, whether those goals are achieved through buying an online course or setting up a home studio, or even performing live.
Daily Maintenance of Gear
You need to take one thing in mind though.
Certain things that you own will require maintenance and then there are things that will absolutely not and will work the same after four years as they did on the day you first bought them.
Your instruments for example, if you play the guitar will require maintenance and change of strings. Whether you plan to do it yourself or you plan to give it to someone else is entirely your choice but you must take that into account.
If you’re into recording know that changing strings will be plenty and is something everyone does unless you feel like it’s unnecessary and that’s the kind of tone you wish to have in your recordings.
Contrast it with a digital MIDI keyboard. Unless it falls from your hands and physically breaks, it’s probably going to work just the way it did when you first bought it. No changing of strings or daily maintenance.
Similarly, electronic gadgets like audio interfaces, cables, and mic don’t really go bad unless they fall and physically break. I’ve had mine for years and haven’t changed or bought anything new in the last four years. No complaints.
So, keep in mind what will cost you money and how much, again, you don’t need to buy $500 strings every time (joke). Maybe just once in a while.
The Computer
I believe this is the one thing that I suggest you buy and keep for a long time.
When I was at Berklee, students weren’t allowed to sit in music production classes unless they had a MacBook or something that could be its equivalent and even then, you’d have to prove it.
It was what it was but unless you’re attached to a specific brand or company, please stay away from high-and-mighty laptops. If you’re going to spend more than $1,200 on a laptop, build a PC instead.
You’d not just save money you’d be getting a machine that is meant to take on anything you throw at it, from gaming to music and video production capabilities.
Even when you do that, remember this, music production is ten times better if you end up buying the software. I really mean it, again, you don’t need the best of the best but just a few things that will make your journey towards recording yourself as easy as possible.
(If you’re looking at software to start producing music on I highly suggest Reaper. It will work even if you don’t pay for it but do think about paying up at some point).
Budget it and buy one but whatever you do, please do buy one.
Obviously, I prefer a Windows OS on my laptops and PC and I really love what I have right now.
Another way to think about having a laptop is that you shouldn’t get yourself in a situation that will not allow you to learn something. Yes, I am a big advocate for learning online but it’s also true for anything else. As good as phones may be, laptops and PCs are production houses these days.
Keep that in mind when you’re in the market for one. Don’t forget about the used category as well.
Mics
This is going to be personal and you may or may not want to develop a preference for starting a mic collection.
Should you try them all out? Yes.
So that you are able to make the decision for yourself as to which ones you ought to have for yourself. You can even go ahead and choose one for recording yourself and another one for live performance but as stated above, when you’re performing live, you’d be given everything.
As is true with everything else, there are expensive mics and budget mics. I have the MXL 770, 990, and 991. I don’t feel the need to change or swap them out anytime soon.
I hope I could help shed some light on this topic for you and that you are a little bit more informed about how things are so that you can take better decisions for yourself!