Best AFFORDABLE HOME STUDIO Gear

IN DEPTH MIX TUTORIALS, Music Business advice, Live Q&A, Awesome Merch
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Gear In This Video
Lauten Audio Atlantis imp.i114863.ne...
Lauten Audio LA-120 imp.i114863.ne...
Lauten Audio LA-220 imp.i114863.ne...
Audio Technica AT4033 imp.i114863.ne...
ATH-M30x imp.i114863.ne...
ATH-M50x imp.i114863.ne...
DT770 Pro imp.i114863.ne...
Volt 2 imp.i114863.ne...
Beta57 imp.i114863.ne...
e906 imp.i114863.ne...
Kali Monitors imp.i114863.ne...
Auratone 5C imp.i114863.ne...
CAPI VP28 Kit capi-gear.com/...
CAPI Pre Built Pre's capi-gear.com/...
AudioScape 1176 www.audio-scap...
Auratone GIVEAWAY
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Music I’ve Worked On / from-the-studio-of-col...
Favorite Plugins
EQ Plugin imp.i114863.ne...
Mastering Limiter imp.i114863.ne...
Compressor Plugin imp.i114863.ne...
My Gear:
Studio Desk dangerfox.com/...
$100 off Dangerfox Desks Discount Code: coltcapp
Ultra Wide Monitor amzn.to/3DaYR2G
Monitor Arm amzn.to/3cV7mo8
Microphones
Lauten Audio Atlantis imp.i114863.ne...
Neumann TLM 67 imp.i114863.ne...
Neumann KM184 imp.i114863.ne...
Manley Reference Cardioid imp.i114863.ne...
Shure SM7B imp.i114863.net...
Royer R-121 imp.i114863.ne...
Beyerdynamic m201 imp.i114863.ne...
Warm Audio WA_CX12 imp.i114863.ne...
Pearlman TM-47 pearlmanmicrop...
Lewitt LCT 1040 imp.i114863.ne...
Rack Gear
Audioscape V-Comp www.audio-scap...
Audioscape Spring Verb www.audio-scap...
AudioScape 260 VU www.audio-scap...
UA 1176 imp.i114863.ne...
SPL BiG imp.i114863.ne...
Pope BAX 2020 EQ www.popeaudio....
Interface imp.i114863.ne...
Drum Bus / Vocal Comp imp.i114863.net...
Radial EXTC imp.i114863.ne...
Mix Buss Comp imp.i114863.ne...
CAPI Mic Pre www.capi-gear....
Coil Audio Mic Pre coilaudio.com
Power Conditioner imp.i114863.ne...
Interface imp.i114863.ne...
Monitor Controller imp.i114863.ne...
Patch Bay imp.i114863.ne...
Monitors / Headphones
Favorite Monitors imp.i114863.ne...
Second Monitors imp.i114863.ne...
Make any Speaker SOUND BETTER imp.i114863.ne...
Favorite Speaker Stands imp.i114863.ne...
Budget Speaker Stands imp.i114863.ne...
Best Mixing Headphones imp.i114863.ne...
Tracking Headphones 1 imp.i114863.ne...
Tracking Headphones 2 imp.i114863.ne...
Bose Bluetooth imp.i114863.ne...
Plug-ins
Fabfilter imp.i114863.net/e42J5g
Noire Piano imp.i114863.ne...
Komplete 14 imp.i114863.ne...
KIT (Neve) Channel imp.i114863.ne...
Melodyne imp.i114863.ne...
Waves Tune imp.i114863.ne...
Slate Trigger imp.i114863.ne...
Waves Element Synth imp.i114863.ne...
Instruments / Amps
Favorite Synth imp.i114863.ne...
Acoustic Guitar imp.i114863.ne...
Resonator Guitar imp.i114863.ne...
Maschine imp.i114863.ne...
Keyboard imp.i114863.ne...
GTR Amp imp.i114863.ne...
Iconic Guitars iconicguitars....
Lauren Audio www.lauren.audio/

[@LautenAudio]

Thanks for including us, Colt!! We are so stoked you love your Lauten mics🙌

[@goobabooba1665]

W company, Incredible products

[@SkinnEmannProductions]

I wish we could afford one but hopefully later this year we'll be getting one

[@LautenAudio]

@@SkinnEmannProductions Feel free to reach out with questions.

[@bobbyt9999]

Nice to see the Tele thinline on the list. I have a 1977 with Humbuckers, built in USA that I bought new in '78. Still original, still plays like a dream.

[@checkitout611]

Audio-Scape is absolutely the most bang for your buck. They make some stellar gear with extremely fair pricing.

[@sleonse]

VERY BEAUTIFUL VID

[@rothconrad5428]

Dude I love the lauten audio. I just get a set of the series black recently. 120, 220, and 320. All of them are super cool.

[@LautenAudio]

We are so glad you love them!! Thanks for being a part of the family 😄

[@samprock]

I like Mac Studio Ultra on the thumbnail photo of budget gear! LOL Yes, I confirm once I got Ultra, its most/best/only needful thing :D

[@RecordingStudioLoser]

@12:10. I have 8 VP28s. Can confirm they are fantastic!

[@SEABE4ST]

When it comes to preamp I really recommend the Black Lion Audio Auteur MKIII! For that price range is pretty unbeatable and quite affordable!

[@mikeandersonwa]

For acoustic I use a Schecter Orleans Studio which is also in that $4-500 range, and I absolutely swear by it. The thing plays like a damn Taylor and sounds incredible plugged in and acoustic. Honestly blew me away. Also, I only have one Harley Benton Bass, but from my experience with that I can say Harley Benton has a stupid amount of bang for the buck.

[@H12379]

AudioScape is amazing. They have top notch stuff!

[@ThisMichaelBrown]

Thanks Colt! Great scoop as always

[@Ahowe61993]

Thanks for another great informative video man. Much love from the Midwest down to you in Nashville

[@tekkau2]

Incredible video! Clear and super helpful! Thanks a lot!

[@tekis0]

I love the Fender Thinline electric guitar. Great for the studio. Everyone is raving about the M2 Mac Mini!

[@Damianthelovetour2024]

Bro. I can’t believe the iloud monitors. A/B then to genelec it’s mind blowing. Awesome video

[@brokenskater84]

Beta57 is one of my favorites! Use it for snare alllllll the time Also the Camden 500 for 350 is a ridiculous value mic pre two color or as they put it “mojo” options in a variable knob. Can’t go wrong. Used it a bunch to beef up flat tracks

[@toddj9548]

I own the whole Lauten Audio black series. Amazing microphones.

[@LautenAudio]

That's amazing!! Thank you so much for the support and for being a part of the family!!

[@miguelmikemigs]

I have the LA120 from Lauten. There've been a few sessions when I've recorded vocals with them. Takes a bit more finesse to compress given how fast sdc are but totally worth it cause they sound stellar.

[@johnnywalkerguitar]

Glad to hear you mention that Mac mini M2 pro... cause that is what I have been eyeballin! Great stuff as always buddy! Still loving those MXL-990's for guitars! Also, those Volt interfaces are super cool!

[@ChaitanyaBhagwatChai]

only 8 gigs of ram on the base m2 mini worries me for audio production...

[@MoreMeRecording]

Great episode. I was really surprised to see you feature the AT-4033. I can attest! My old writing partner bought Sarah McLachlan's 4033 way back in the day and we used that mic on literally everything but my bud is a tenor and the mic really suits his voice but loved it on acc guitar as well. ALL AT mics are great bang for the buck TBH. Only thing I disagree with in all these products is the WARM. I find their stuff to be quite sad overall (especially their Pultec and 1176 spins) and CAPI isn't just good for the money as you know to all too well! and I don't think you meant to bill the VP28 as simply for the money but just an overall solid choice regardless of budget! ;) Cranbourne 500 mic amps are insane value, Daking ONE or Great River 1NV on the used market for people wanting a solid single channel desk top. Great River might be the most robust build quality I've ever seen.

[@JakisaMungu]

Thanks for sharing.

[@jloiben12]

Another good audio interface option that is reasonably priced is the SSL 12. - 4 channels with independent phantom power per channel. - Bus powered. - Monitor outs with an extra pair of outs. - 2 headphone outs.

[@omtfiji]

you forgot to mention adag expansion capability , i might buy it cause of that

[@easternsouvenirs]

I generally agree that preamps less than $600 can be questionable in terms of improving the sound. But at the same time, I remember getting an Art MP/C preamp and compressor and being surprised at how much better it sounded than stock Scarlett 2i2 preamps. A lot more gain, less noise especially when using low sensitivity dynamic mics. It’s like $120 new.

[@AJOrpheo]

though I agree somewhat with the comment about budget mic pres and that anything less then the warm is probably not worth it, the golden age project stuff is really really good sounding.

[@launchpadmcquack98]

love the list, but if you're not tracking, the DT990 is just better for mixing than the 770.

[@ColtCapperrune]

I don’t doubt it! I didn’t think to include them since I haven’t used them before. Good suggestion!!

[@TheOziBattler]

Just upgraded my studio computer. Rather than buy new, I bought a 2nd hand "gaming" computer that is plenty powerful and half the price of building myself or buying new. Gamers want the latest and greatest, while last year's gear is still fantastic for audio production. Just be careful with the scammers...

[@omtfiji]

yeah i just bought a some used parts and open box i spent 1.1k for a super fast pc . ryzen 7 7700x 3070 32gb ram

[@Jackson-zh2xc]

Hey Colt, have you heard of HRK Audio? They’re from Poland and make some awesome 500 gear at shockingly low prices… would love to see you test out some of their gear!

[@TonyThomas10000]

Are you going to get a console next like Andrew Masters?

[@mosermichael4404]

Headphones clear beyerdynamic dt 770 or higher, or Sennheiser hd25 series the cheap or slightly more expensive. Mic I'm really enthusiastic about lewitt lct 441flex very well. mic preamp clear favorite Focusrite isa one has unfortunately become a lot more expensive in the last six months, from 475.- to 699.-!😢 but sounds sensational!🥰 but has a few options where other preamps don't offer in the price class. like 4 different inpetances to choose from, Di in/out option independent of the mic output. So additional output, digital card option on adat or d-bus. and headphone preamp! when it comes to computers I'm a PC freak like mac not much too overpriced. and 8gb ram I find too little minimum 16gb and sometimes it pays a lot more with a mac than with a PC! I would prefer audio interface to audient. are cheap and sound really good!😉 I really like the Yamha Hs 7 monitors. If you have more money then consider Eve Audio. I've never heard of the kali so I can't say anything about them.

[@Logicamentis]

Great stuff Colt! As always! In the thumbnail I can see a pair of iloud MTM, but in your list you talk about Kali Monitors. Wich ones are your favourite for a budget/quality ratio?

[@JasonBaretto]

Great video with up to date recommendations! Any recommendations on a bass guitar and MIDI keyboard?

[@guinhomusico9504]

Hey Colt! You are an international star! USA entries only, not... I would like this Auratone giveaway to go all over America(from Canada to Chile). Or at least for the 5 largest countries in America: Canada, USA, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. To avoid tax problems, simply send the prize to the consulate closest to the winner's home.

[@Ben_Ghaxi]

That’s what’s up big dawg

[@this_is_jmdub]

Great stuff Colt! However, if this is your opinion on pres you should really try the Focusrite ISA One

[@ColtCapperrune]

Thanks!! I’ve used it a bunch of times… it’s totally fine. But if I have it, and all the pre’s I mentioned, maybe minus the warm, I’m using the CAPI

[@calliecorro5903]

Hey Colt, what do you think of the FMR Really Nice Preamp as a budget per-amp? Also, the DBX 160A (used since they don’t make new ones) as a budget compressor?

[@IvanGarcia-mk6fk]

Can’t speak for the FMR pre but the 160A is a great comp

[@ColtCapperrune]

Unfortunately I haven’t used either. Thanks for watching!

[@andrus108]

Regarding Beyerdynamic headphones, why not DT880 for mixing? They are semi-open design, so not as good for tracking as 770, but I think they have flatter sound, even better low end response, more akin typical speakers; 770 seem quite bright. Unless your experience is exactly that thanks to 770 you skew the mix towards low end, hence make it sound good on other systems?

[@danielbentley7117]

I agree. I have the DT990 open back and I think they are better than DT770 for mixing

[@rome8180]

I have some 770s and find them quite unpleasant and harsh in the high end. I prefer Sennheisers, though they often don't have much low end.

[@danielbentley7117]

@@rome8180 The Beyers are not harsh, you're just used to the Sennheisers which are bumped in the mids and lacking lows and highs. Beyer DT990 go down to 5hz so this massive frequency range means you have plenty of low end and detailed highs. Beyers are not harsh, they are famous for having a very flat EQ.

[@fetusbelt6851]

What do you think about the Black Lion Auteur MKII? Seems like a bargain for the 500 series and especially for the quad rack version.......

[@SEABE4ST]

Which output transformer is better for that CAPI? EA2623-1 or 2623-1-Litz?

[@Soundadb]

What about CAD microphones? What about Audient mic pre's/soundinterfaces?/ What about Epiphone guitars? / Suyoz mics?... Sweetwater infringed?

[@ghostakablackpanther]

Cheap microphones that blow me away connected to a 1073 and 1176 and a pultec eq Behringer b-1 and at2035 or and akg c214 or a mxl 990

[@AndrewCCM]

Quick correction. The Kali IN-5 go for $695 a pair. Not $399.

[@lenimbery7038]

Would I not be better served by buying a higher end interface (Apogee comes to mind) rather than a budget interface and one of those pre-amps you covered? Would it at least be comparable?

[@ColtCapperrune]

Certainly a number of more expensive options I would choose!

[@sheldonsmith9438]

Just curious on your thoughts about Lewitt mics and something like a Cranborne Audio Camden EC-1 for a minimalist desk setup, and super near field monitors for an untreated room (there isnt an option currently to treat my work area)

[@JayfkProductions876]

Correction Best Budget in America..

[@JayfkProductions876]

Looked at prices 😂 yup definatley Budget IN AMERICA 😂

[@52Tele]

15:23 Excellent recommendations on the electric guitars but I’d have to disagree on the acoustic side because Martin makes great high end guitars but very shitty guitars under $1000. I would recommend any Yamaha in the $500-1000 range which blows out any other acoustic guitar brand in that space.

[@kakegarcia8056]

Hi my friend and thanks for the video, the email for the giveaway seems to be not working. Bests regards from a Venezuelan follower!

[@Liam-mp8ht]

If you don’t mind macs I would really suggest a 2nd hand MacBook Pro with the M1 chip it will handle everything recording and quite heavy in the box work!

[@mastermachetier5594]

What about the warm audio wa12 mkii preamps I think they have great reviews

[@easternsouvenirs]

I have one and it’s great. Really solid build. Clean, low noise, and you can get some character with the tone switch. Find one on sale or b stock and it would be super worth it

[@JSSTUDIO-wr2jq]

👍

[@OKNOOOOOOO]

Did you even mention the monitors used in your thumbnail?

[@danielbentley7117]

I think those are just for tracking and his KZbin setup. You can't do proper mixing on monitors that small.

[@tonyvalenti6614]

Hmm … You included all the budget prosumer hardware, and I waited in anticipation for the DAW, but ... 🤷🏻‍♂️

Reaper, for sure

[@tonyvalenti6614]

@ Ah! Thank you! I just got the Avid MBOX Studio and a year of Pro Tools Studio, but bring just a home user, I’m not gonna be able to pay $600. I’ll use it for the year and look for an alternative. Guess I’ll put Reaper at the top of my list. 😊 Thank you sir!

@@tonyvalenti6614 Am glad! Reaper is really lightweight and super customizable. Dan Worrall is a good source, as he seems to use reaper to it's fullest. Cheers, and good luck!

[@nondelusional]

Been using PC's for music Since 2000, and have NEVER and will NEVER use any kind of apple computer for music production.

[@290moepodcast]

Mannn ain’t shit affordable on this list 😅

[@carlehuston]

Colt, try not to use the term "cheapest"...least expensive is an excellent option

[@romulomc]

cmon Colt, a budget list without any Black Lion Audio item?

[@jloiben12]

The best bang for your buck computer to me are PCs. While Macs have nothing wrong with them, if you want a pretty future-proof computer (ie - will last you 10-15 years), PCs are much better. You can get a cpu that absolutely blows away the market (insofar as we are only talking the personal computer market) and 64gb of ram for sub-$2.5k. Now that isn’t… cheap. But if you are looking at a 10-15 useful life like a machine like this would provide you, that is phenomenal value

[@YohannDore]

2nd 😏😶‍🌫 🤣 you da man Colt!

[@symondealmeida9454]

I don't agree with the Guitar guy at all. a Stratocaster is always the best choice over a telecaster, same price lvl same brand. versatility is what you should aim for when it comes to studio recording, and a Strat is well known for her versatility you can play any style of music and you have a wider combination of tones with a Strat 5 at least , and 3 with a Tele. unless you really want a Tele kind of tone. as a Guitarist I can guarantee y'all when it comes to music styles, a Strat will cover all of them

[@TonyThomas10000]

As for computers, I was able to buy a PowerSpec B734 from MicroCenter AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8GHz Processor Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 16GB DDR4-2666 RAM. It is only $700 now. I upgraded it to 32GB for a bit over $100. Much better "bang for the buck" than Apple!

[@Da1Prophessor]

I was a HUGE PC guy until I switched…. Yes you can get/build a PC for very much cheaper than the cost of the equivalent Mac however there are some GREAT convenience that comes with using a Mac. Have you tried Airdropping a session vs using a usb drive? Another is the lack of having to install rptMIDI for wireless MIDI. There is a lot of maintenance needed for ensuring the PC runs smoothly for music production… No war of Mac vs PC; my point is some people would rather pay for convenience and a Mac provides a lot of convenience and time savings overall via maintenance…. By the way I have both in my studio so I’m speaking from experience; I’m also an IT professional so I’m not a novice in the IT field.

[@TonyThomas10000]

​@@Da1Prophessor I have been using PCs exclusively since the 80s and started out with Atari STs for music production. I have no problem with maintaining PCs. I have sold them professionally and have built many of mine own. So, that isn't an issue for me. The "Apple tax" and constantly shifting hardware and OS on Macs would drive me nuts! YMMV. A similarly configured Mac Mini M2 would have been $1900 and is not expandable and easily repairable. That said, I think MacBooks are a solid option if you want a portable computer. Very powerful and energy efficient.

[@magicmark3309]

@@TonyThomas10000 I was exactly like you up until about 2012ish. I think it was was right around the time PT 8 or 9 was out. But 2 years earlier I had decided to go all out on a really nice custom set up with an intel Xeon and even had a nice rack mounted case. Had a super optimized version of Windows Vista(Think there was still issues with Win 7 at the time), and made sure that thing had no bloat whatsoever. That was was the last PC I ever had for music and work. It was an endless nightmare of issues trying to get Pro tools to work or if I wanted to use FireWire with a device, and I was by no means unfamiliar with any this stuff at the time. End of 2011, I bought a base model MacBook Pro, just try out the while I was going to be recording at a studio out of state for two weeks and just needed something to take any pre-pro sessions to the engineer. That MacBook Pro ended up being my main recording machine for years and it wasn’t even speced out for it. Gave me literally zero issues with Pro Tools from the start, and ran like a dream. Then I got my first Universal Audio Apollo with thunderbolt 2 and it was game over for PC. No latency, no PT HD buy in, and no stupid drivers to install. Anyone doing music work who says apple is overpriced and charges an “apple tax” and yada yada, I have such a hard time believing they’ve ever actually used one or calculated how much the parts are if they bought them on their own with similar quality. There’s just no comparison when it comes to the reliability. And now you have the M1 and M2’s which absolutely kill for price to performance. 99% of home studio musicians would be way better off with a $500 m1 Mac mini or even then the $800 M1 MacBook Air. There just isn’t a PC equivalent, and if you say there is, you haven’t looked closely enough.

[@TonyThomas10000]

@@magicmark3309 Well, I don't use Pro Tools, but I do use FL Studio, Ableton, Reaper, Bitwig, Studio One, and Cubase on my DAW without any issues whatsoever. I have plenty of external storage, plenty of I/O, and great performance. Before that, I was using a 2013 Dell Optiplex i5 that I bought for around $100 and upgraded to 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD for less than $200 more. It also performed flawlessly and I was able to produce plenty of music on it. Glad you enjoy your Macs, but they are not necessary for music production and WAY overpriced for what you get! "99% of home studio musicians would be way better off with a $500 m1 Mac mini or even then the $800 M1 MacBook Air." With only 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD? You are kidding, right?

[@pvalenti]

I got all the parts for my new PC at MicroCenter. I spent about $850 in total and it's a smoking fast machine. I see a lot of fan boy responses here, and I guess it's to be expected at this point. But coming from a guy who has used both, I still prefer PC if for nothing than easy to build, upgrade, and maintain. Mac has a lot that I like, but the PRICE is pretty much a deal breaker for the budget minded studio. However, having said that...if my studio were in full swing and booked solid, I would probably still have the Mac...but at this point Mac just said that they are considering ditching the Mac Studio. So now is not a good time to make any decisions to be sure!

[@PaulEubanks]

Do ya one better on budget electrics - Jet Guitar JS-400 or Donner DST-400. Both around $275, and both capable of great single and double coil guitar tones.

[@Dokken74]

Nothing from outside The US ?? WAY?

[@jigilous]

I’m a healthy student

[@mikaeljohansson83]

I won't thank you because your proposals are stupidly expensive. Ok sure if you try to have a wannabe profesional studio type of gear but if you want to have a nice home-recording studio you could put together a system for less then 1500 dollars!

[@flavanthensome]

You were obviously not listening. He said these are not the cheapest options. He said they are the cheapest options HE would recommend for PRO LEVEL recording.

[@Blueberry27]

First

[@scorestorm]

Tell us about your chair. You sit for a long time and it is important to have something comfortable so as not to kill your spine. Which one do you have, why is it...

[@ColtCapperrune]

Actually, there will be a dedicated video on my chair coming soon!