Grebz - Home Studio

Home, sweet home studio

Welcome to my website dedicated to home studios!

For years, I’ve been composing, recording, and mixing my music. This site was born from the desire to share that experience with you.

Making computer-assisted music doesn’t necessarily require a big budget. Yes, a minimum of equipment is essential, but when it comes to software, there are plenty of free gems that rival professional solutions. Here, I present a selection of tools I’ve tested and approved.

On this site, you’ll find a complete tutorial on how to mix a track from start to finish, tips on choosing the right gear, an overview of the main DAWs (digital audio workstations), as well as a section dedicated to amp simulators (free or paid) for guitarists.

And if you feel like it, I also invite you to discover my own compositions, entirely produced in my home studio with the resources I have at hand.

Enjoy your visit, and above all, enjoy the music!

Grebz

TUTORIAL

Making a song from start to finish

You’ve got all your home studio gear, but how does recording and mixing actually work?

Here’s an introduction to home studio recording and mixing, based on my personal experience. It will help you take your first steps, and probably even go further.

The "mix in practice" section is a full example of mixing a song from start to finish, instrument by instrument, with all the tools used and the settings applied, from the raw recorded sound to the final mix, ending with mastering.

Finally, a glossary explains in a few words the terms commonly used in home studio music production.

AMP SIMULATORS

For guitar players!

Guitar players in home studios often face a few dilemmas: it’s hard to own all the amps you dream of (for obvious reasons of space and cost) and it’s just as hard to enjoy your amp at home without upsetting your family or neighbors due to the volume it requires to sound its best.

Fortunately, there’s a solution: amp and cabinet simulators. These tools virtually reproduce real or imaginary amps by modeling their electronic circuits and using IRs (Impulse Responses) to recreate the tone and feel of different speaker cabinets. And it’s easier than you might think.

HARDWARE

From computer to audio interface to studio monitors

To make serious music at home using a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), you’ll need to invest in some essential gear.

A computer, an audio interface, studio monitors or a high-quality pair of headphones, one or more microphones, and of course your musical instruments.

It does come at a cost, of course, but even entry-level gear, when used properly, can deliver surprisingly good results.

D.A.W.

When it comes to computer-based music production, software is key. Your computer becomes your main instrument, allowing you to record, edit, shape, and mix your music until it reaches its final form.

At the heart of it all is the DAW, used in combination with various tools called “plugins”. While many essential plugins come bundled with most DAWs, countless others are available separately, both paid and free (effects, software synths, virtual drums, and more).

COMPOSITIONS

To be enjoyed without moderation

I wrote my first pieces of music on a Commodore Amiga computer back in 1988.

Today, I compose in a Pop-Rock style, with forays into other genres, including orchestral and electronic music. My main goal is to enjoy the process, and if others enjoy listening too, then I’ve succeeded.

I also compose music for theatre plays.

MESSAGES

Nico
le 16/03/2020 à 01h12

Bonjour,
J'ai essayé de me créer des IR avec Voxengo Deconvolver mais je n'obtiens que des fichiers de 1K qui sont vides.
Avez-vous une idée du problème ?
Merci par avance.

Peekup
le 22/02/2020 à 08h47

Bonjour, j'ai testé récemment une simu d'ampli. Il me semble qu'on pouvait changer le skin des amplis (skaï revêtement, boutons contrôle).sauriez vous me dire le nom de cette simu ?
merci d'avance et félicitations pour le site, une vraie mine d'or.
Thierry

billynilly
le 18/01/2020 à 18h08

Whatever happened to the Cranked AC plugin? I've been looking all over for it but can't find it anywhere.

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Sorry, I never heard of this plugin. If it's an old plugin, chances are it's also a 32-bit plugin, which may not work properly on modern systems, but anyway I couldn't find it either.
Grebz

Kovrm
le 12/01/2020 à 23h06

So the chain goes:

DAW > Audio Interface Out > Amp > Speaker > Mic > DAW

This is correct based on my understanding from what I've read, and the few videos I've watch on creating IRs. My question, then, is when I plug into the Amp I've seen people say plug your Interface out into the FX return, but you say the guitar cable jack. What is the purpose in doing one or the other?

Side questions:

What channel should my amp be on? I'm assuming the clean channel.

What should my Amp settings be (EQ, Gain, Channel Volume, Presence, Master Volume)? I can't find a clear answer anywhere.

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Hello,

About plugging into the FX return or the guitar jack, I don’t know. Actually, the amps I’ve used myself to make IRs don’t have any FX return, so I didn’t have a choice and had to plug into the guitar jack. I guess there’s no harm trying both (not at the same time!) and comparing if you have that possibility. Chances are there’s not much of a difference, but again, I may be wrong as I have not tried this myself.
About the choice of a channel, and the settings: the channel doesn’t actually matter. You’re not capturing the amp sound, but the speaker sound.
From what I’ve experienced, the EQ and Presence should be neutral, the gain/saturation should not be engaged (or set to a level where no distorsion can be heard). As for the volume, set it to a level that’s high enough for your microphone to be able to pick up a good signal (no need to record higher than -6 dB, by the way, give your signal a bit of headroom).
But you should also be careful not to set it too loud to protect your own ears. It doesn’t need to be pushed too high. I think a level high enough to cover your own conversational voice should be enough. I tried various volume levels, and it did not affect the results notably. I did not get better results with very high levels than with normal, humanely bearable levels. Don’t set it too low, though, because it’s better if your speaker does move some air.

Experiment, try different amp settings and see whether that changes the results.

Grebz

William
le 20/10/2019 à 17h06

Hey, I downloaded the plug-in and extracted it. Then put it in the plugin folder but it is not working. C:|Program Files|Common Files|Avid|Audio|Plug-Ins. Would this be the right steps? Please let me know thanks!

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As you explained it to me by e-mail, you were using Pro Tools First, which doesn't support third party plugins. The solution is then to either upgrade to a paid version of Pro Tools, or use another free DAW, such as Cakewalk by Bandlab (Windows only), or use Reaper, which is not free, but can be used freely without constraints. These DAWs do support third party plugins.

Grebz