If you’re looking to start a recording studio in your house, a home studio bundle is a great way to get started without having to make loads of separate purchases. In this article, we’ll look over some of the pre-made home studio bundles you can buy online, so you can get your recording studio up and running with no headaches!
Our Top Pick – Focusrite Scarlett Home Studio Bundle
Our number one choice for the best recording studio bundle is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio Bundle! For someone who is starting out with no recording equipment, this bundle has just about everything you need to start producing your first songs!
Included Equipment:
- Focusrite 2i2 Interface
- Mackie Studio Monitors
- LyxPro Recording Microphone
- LyxPro Headphones
- Includes Pro Tools First and Ableton Live Lite (Recording Software)
- Also includes Softube and Addictive Keys Plugins
At under $500, this bundle is a great value. It includes two different options for DAWs (digital audio workstation, your recording software), so you can decide which one suits your needs.
The included gear is suited for beginners who are looking to explore music production. Over time, you may want to upgrade a few pieces here and there. The microphone and headphones would be my first choices to upgrade, but you can make that call once you’ve got more production experience.
This is our top pick because it truly does include each and every piece of gear that you need to get started with your home studio, plus lots of amazing software to start creating!
What’s Included:
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Two Channel Recording Interface
- Condenser Recording Microphone
- Studio Speakers
- Headphones
- All cables and connectors
- Recording software and plugins
Our Second Pick – Universal Audio UA Volt 2
Next up on our list is the Universal Audio Volt Home Studio Bundle! While it doesn’t include quite as much gear as the Focusrite bundle, there are some great reasons to pick up this home studio equipment pack!
Includes:
- Universal Audio Volt 2 Interface
- UA Volt Mic
- UA Volt Headphones
- Over $400 in software
Firstly, the Universal Audio Volt’s interface is an upgrade compared to the Focusrite. While both offer 2 channels of simultaneous recording, the UA interface has more features, like MIDI I/O and a “vintage” mode for both inputs. Second, the UA bundle includes their branded headphones and microphone, which are an upgrade from the mic and headphones included in the Focusrite bundle.
Last, but certainly not least, the UA Home Studio Bundle also includes over $400 of Universal Audio’s plugins. UA is known for their high quality plugins, and the suite of plugins included with this bundle is enough to make some seriously great recordings. It also includes Ableton Live Lite, a fantastic recording software.
What’s Included:
- UA Volt 2-Channel Interface
- UV Mic
- UA Headphones
As you can see, the main downside of this bundle is that it doesn’t include quite as much gear as the Focusrite pack, but luckily, Mackie has you covered with their CR5-X Studio Monitor Bundle. Coincidentally, the Mackie bundle includes the Pro Tools First software, so if you combine the Universal Audio and Mackie bundles, you’ll have Ableton and ProTools, just like in the Focusrite bundle. You’ll just need a few small accessories (listed below) and you’ll have everything you need to start making great music!
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EDM Producers – Consider this Home Studio Bundle
If you’re an electronic musician, you should consider the PreSonus AudioBox Home Studio Bundle! It includes the PreSonus ATOM MIDI Pad Controller, which is an amazing tool for programming drums and triggering sequences. It also includes Studio One, PreSonus’ recording software.
Includes:
- PreSonus AudioBox 96 Interface
- ATOM MIDI Pad
- Microphone and headphones
- All cables and connectors
- Desktop mic stand
- Studio One software
This bundle features a similar gear lineup to the Focusrite bundle, plus the extremely useful ATOM controller, so it’s also a great value. I personally would prefer to use Pro Tools or Ableton for recording, so if I had this bundle, I’d likely still purchase my own DAW. That said, even if you choose to buy your own DAW, this bundle is an amazing value.
The One Thing That’s Missing
For some reason, a huge majority of the recording studio bundles on the market leave out an important piece of gear, a MIDI Controller Keyboard. If you want to play and record software instruments in your home studio, you’ll need a MIDI controller to make it happen.
My favorite is the Arturia Keylab 49. It includes lots of software synth sounds, is a high quality piece of gear, and looks great on your desk.
- Includes Analog Lab software with 5000 synth sounds
- Powerful DAW control, software instrument integration and efficient navigation of presets
- All the knobs, sliders and pads you will need are available at your fingertips
Combining all of the gear in the above bundles with a high quality MIDI controller will give you all of the tools you need to create amazing music.
Final Thoughts on Home Studio Recording Bundles
As you can see, home studio recording bundles are a great way to get started in producing and recording. It can be nice to just make a one click purchase and have everything show up in one box!
The most under-appreciated part of these bundles is the included software. Both the Focusrite and UA bundles include some great plugins that are professional level software, basically thrown in as a free bonus.
If you’re not sure about a bundle, check out this article about what you need to build a home studio from scratch!
Included Equipment:
- Focusrite 2i2 Interface
- Mackie Studio Monitors
- LyxPro Recording Microphone
- LyxPro Headphones
- Includes Pro Tools First and Ableton Live Lite (Recording Software)
- Also includes Softube and Addictive Keys Plugins
Home Studio Bundle Buyers Guide
If you’re not sure what you need to get started, or what’s included in most home studio bundles, let’s review the included gear!
1: Interface
The central hub of any home studio equipment bundle is the interface. It’s a crucial piece of equipment that will allow you to convert the analog signal of your microphones and instruments into digital signal that you can record on your computer. It’s also what you’re going to use to plug in your studio speakers or headphones to listen back to your recordings.
It’s important to choose a bundle with a high quality interface, because you can only use one interface at a time. While it’s helpful to have a bigger collection of gear like microphones and headphones, you realistically will just have one or two interfaces at a time, so make sure you pick one that’s high quality!
2: Microphone
Your microphone is another central piece of equipment in any home recording studio bundle. There are countless studio microphones to pick from, and the mics included in these bundles are all great options for beginners. As you learn more and refine your taste, you may want to upgrade, but you can still keep your starter mic, since it’s nice to have more mics to pick from.
3: Monitors and Headphones
So, you’ve got some great sounding mics and an interface, but you’ll need a way to listen back to what you’ve been recording. Headphones are great for working without disturbing housemates, and for silently listening to the click track while you’re recording. Monitors are key for listening with other people and for mixing. All of the options in this article include both, so you’ll have your bases covered regardless of which studio equipment bundle you go for!
4: Recording Software
Most recording software is going to look like a foreign language to a beginner, so it doesn’t really make a difference which one you start with. Pro Tools has long been the industry standard, but as time moves forward, more and more options have emerged, all with pros and cons. When you’re choosing a recording studio bundle, I think recording software is a secondary consideration. You can easy switch to a different software for an affordable price, and there are even free options like GarageBand and Audacity that you can try out. What’s most important is that you learn how your DAW works inside and out.
5: Stands and Cables
All of these bundles come with the stands and cables you’ll need to get set up. Using a mic stand is simple, but important; just screw the microphone clip onto the top of the stand, ensure that it’s at the right height for the source you’re recording, and that it’s stable. The last thing you need it for your mic to break because your stand wasn’t set up properly.
Included Equipment:
- Focusrite 2i2 Interface
- Mackie Studio Monitors
- LyxPro Recording Microphone
- LyxPro Headphones
- Includes Pro Tools First and Ableton Live Lite (Recording Software)
- Also includes Softube and Addictive Keys Plugins
