365-HOME RECORDING STUDIO SETUP 101 PART 1

·1 hr 20 min·5 clips

David Kaminga just built a proper home studio, and John Fentel runs a professional studio—they reveal what you really need to record at home.

The episode begins with hosts Todd Novak, Tony Dudzik, and Rob Chafe introducing guests David Kaminga, a guitar collector who recently built a home studio, and John Fentel of Relay Recording, a professional studio owner. They announce the topic: setting up a home studio for recording music or content. The first segment features roundtable updates: Tony discusses making bound pick guards for archtop guitars, detailing the labor-intensive process and issues with celluloid degradation. David talks about buying an octave mandolin and a new Alex Lifeson pedal. John describes recording choirs in two prisons for the Harmony Project, involving over 100 inmates each. Rob reveals he is selling several Gibson Juniors. Todd reviews pedals from Sketchy Sounds, including a fixed wah and a boost pedal with a custom Guitar Knobs dial. The main discussion focuses on home studio setup. David explains his approach to acoustic treatment, using bass traps, diffusers, and absorption panels, and emphasizes achieving a flat response. He shares using Room EQ Wizard and a Behringer UltraCurve to EQ his monitors. John and Rob chime in on room treatment, debating 'killing' a room versus aiming for neutrality. The conversation shifts to gear: John recommends avoiding bass-hyped headphones like Beats and suggests open-back models for mixing. David outlines his setup with a Focusrite 8Pre, Universal Audio Apollo TwinX, and aggregate device routing. Todd lists budget audio interfaces from Guitar World, including Audient iD4 MK2 and Universal Audio Volt. The episode concludes with a tease for part two, covering direct recording units like Blackstar Amped series.

As heard by us

A practical home-studio review that finds its best bite in shaping bass before the amp.

Home recording gets a practical, musician-first look as the Guitar Knobs crew talks through what to weigh when putting together a home studio.

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Why you'd press play

You want a home-studio conversation that knows the right dirt starts before the bass amp gets too much low end.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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