These are software programs that you can 'play' with a MIDI keyboard.Īt the risk of over-simplifying it, the process goes something like this: I combine real instruments that I can actually play - like guitar and bass - with fake (otherwise known as 'virtual') instruments like drums, trumpets, strings, etc. There are a lot of unbelievably affordable (some ever free!) recording programs out there, such as Audacity, Reaper, or Adobe Audition. These are just some affordable, great sounding examples I personally use. there are also tons of LDCs out there as well. I recommend an Audio-Technica AT2035, which is a large diaphragm condenser (LDC) mic. Amazing stuff.įor the best quality, I recommend that instead of using a USB microphone, you invest in a recording interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo or 2i2. But today, with the availability of unbelievably USB microphones (such as the Blue Yeti, Rode NT-USB, or Samson C01UPro, just to name a few), professional sounding audio is achievable for just about anyone with a computer, or even a smart phone now! In 2022, just about any USB mic can be used with a phone or tablet. Just a few years ago, that kind of home recording studio would not have been quite good enough to yield professional quality audio. If you have a computer with a sound card or external audio interface, and any kind of microphone, then your virtual recording studio is probably sitting in a room in your house, or on your laptop. The Hardwareįirst let's talk about the hardware - the physical, non-virtual part of the equation.

You won't really need that much more stuff than you would to do anything on your computer. In fact, odds are incredibly high that you already own a virtual recording studio. The best news of all is that the virtual recording studio is the one that is simultaneously more advanced AND more affordable. It can also be duplicated and replicated any number of times without losing any fidelity. Instead of being held on tape format, audio can literally be beamed through the air and transferred from one box to another. There isn't that much difference in 2022 between a traditional recording studio, as in recording onto tape, and a virtual recording studio, where you record directly to a computer.Īudio immediately enters into what we might call the virtual realm immediately upon recording.

Best virtual audio interface