The costs of studio recording equipment has come down considerably in recent years, making ownership of a recording studio a reality for many aspiring sound engineers. Studio equipment is classified by function, and the studio you build will depend in large part on the type of recording you wish to do.

Recording Equipment

You will need equipment that records sounds, including microphones and digital recording decks. The types of microphone(s) you get will depend upon the type of sound you will be recording: voice recording requires a different type of mike than does instrument recording. If you will not be recording analog sound (voice, instruments, live sounds, etc.) then you will not need to purchase microphones. If you are keeping everything digital, then you will not need traditional tape decks.

Mixing Equipment

You will need equipment that can take the input individually from each instrument or sound source and mix it together in a proper balance. This equipment is called a mixing board. If you are simultaneously recording many sound sources (a large band, for instance) you may need a board with 24 or more channels. But if you are recording a small band, an 8 channel mixer might suffice.

Editing Equipment or Software

You will need equipment or software to edit the recordings after they have been made so everything can be prepared as a single audio file. While there are pieces of equipment that do this, today most recording studios use sound editing software (like SonicStage, Garage Band, etc.) for this purpose.

Production Equipment

If you plan to distribute the final digital files by CD or tape, you will need production equipment like a CD burner or tape deck.

Acoustics

If you are recording live music in your studio, you will need to make sure the space is acoustically sound. This means that it is silent in the room, and ventilation and street noise do not intrude. You might have to specially insulate the space for this purpose.

Instruments

Some instruments (like grand pianos) are not portable. Most recording studios that are capable of recording live instruments provide a good grand piano and a drum set.

Source:

Build-A-Recording-Studio.com

Resource:

Choosing Recording Equipment