Everything you need to start recording your songs at home, a refreshingly simple guide.  The truth is: real superstars look fly in H&M, so you don't need to buy Gucci until you got your bag.  Take creative power into your own hands and build your fucking empire, one step at a time.

CHOOSE A DEVICE

I don't care what they told you, any old laptop should work.  Even tablets, old desktops, and phones can record music now.  Will you eventually want something new and fancy?  Yes, but wait til you get the hang of recording yourself.  Then you'll know exactly what you want and feel much better about dropping those coins.  For Mac, I recommend using Garageband because it's free and amazing.  Watch free tutorials on YouTube to get the hang of tracking vocals.

RECORDING INTERFACE

WTF is this??  If you chose a computer or laptop, you'll need this magic box that sends the microphone sounds into the computer.  This is the basic bitch, get the job done interface.  For $100 you can make presentable songs at home and (like the laptop) upgrade later on.  If you chose a phone or tablet, get a USB microphone and eliminate the need for this interface.  You can just plug in and go!

MICROPHONE

Every mic will sound different on your voice.  Every mic can be plugged into fancy compressors or EQ'd to the gods.  Michael Jackson recorded on a $99 mic...Drake's mic is $10,000.  Don't stress too much about it.  Try to test them out at the store or take note of mics you've loved in studio sessions.  Buy whatever you can afford.  This one is great because it's versatile, comes with the pop filter, and mount.  Get a standard XLR cable (15 feet long) and whatever shitty mic stand you want.  Tape some blankets up on the walls around your setup to dampen any echo.  If you're going the USB mic route, I recommend Apogee HypeMIC.

SPEAKERS

A studio engineer told me about this amazing little speaker/sub combo years ago and we're still using them in our studio today.  All you want is speakers that sound GOOD and feed your inspiration while working.  They plug right into the headphone jack on your laptop, so no fancy cables needed.  Can't beat that for $150.  When you're upgrading your setup, by all means, spend more coins!

KEYBOARD

Holy shit, this little guy gets it done.  You wanna sequence some simple beats?  Lay down basic chord changes to sing over?  This 13 inch keyboard is only $49.  Plug and play.  If you don't wanna make beats, you can buy them online for very small cost.  Several artists have had legitimate Billboard success on a $20 beat they found online.

I hope this helps!!  Stay inspired and push through because the initial learning curve is annoying AF.  But lots of people have done it, and I have faith in you.  If you already have a laptop, you can build this home studio for a few hundred dollars.  Check out used options on Craigslist/Offer Up because there might be amazing deals.  Lots of people buy gear and then give up, selling it for a fraction of the store price. 

xo QVEEN