1  Define your own sound. “You shouldn’t think things have to sound a certain way in order to be ‘good,’ ” says Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), of the band Animal Collective. “There’s no perfect way to record drums or singing or anything like that. Just experiment, do it a lot, and find your own way.”

2  Emphasize performance, not production. “The performance matters most,” says Peter Kirn, creator of create digitalmusic.com. “It’s a lot like digital photography. If you don’t start out with a good image in your camera, and you try to do all your fixing with software, you’re going to have a lot of problems.”

3  Check your mikes. “The most important thing is understanding how to place a microphone, not spending a lot on one,” says Kirn. “And the easiest way to learn is to put headphones on when you’re recording and just experiment for a while.” If you want to upgrade, consider the industry-standard Shure SM57 microphone, a bombproof workhorse used for performances and vocal recordings alike. “I use them for pretty much everything,” says Lennox.

Go Platinum, Not Broke

Put down the air guitar and make room for the Grammy—this recording studio costs only $2,000

From the Editors of Men's Health Living

Platinum records don’t have to require platinum budgets. “In the past 10 years, recording software has become so flexible, and computers so powerful, that you can do everything on a $1,000 laptop now,” says Peter Kirn, creator of createdigitalmusic.com and author of Real World Digital Audio. We asked Kirn and Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear), a member of the acclaimed indie-rock band Animal Collective, to help us construct a top-notch home recording studio on the cheap. All you’ll need to supply is the guitar—and the talent, of course.

 1    THE COMMAND CENTER

Apple iMac 20-inch computer. The more complicated the task, the quicker the learning curve ought to be. That’s why we’re laying down our face-melting riffs on an iMac. Apple has long supported the DIY recording community by including drivers and sound cards that play well with music production. Even better: All new iMacs come bundled with GarageBand 8, a music-production program that takes about, oh, 3 minutes to learn. $1,200 and up. apple.com

 2  THE BRAINS

Apple Logic Express Recording Software. This digital audio workstation (or DAW, see glossary at right) is a barebones version of what many pro musicians use in the studio. There are dozens of similar software programs, but we chose Logic because it won’t seem like a major departure for anyone weaned on GarageBand, the best beginner’s DAW we’ve found. Logic is more advanced, adding several professional features that allow you to create separate tracks for each instrument, record several takes, and mix together the final song. You can even make drum tracks by dragging and dropping them from a library of prerecorded loops. Just find your groove, plop it into the song, and drag to extend the loop. $200. apple.com (Rocking out on a PC? We like Ableton Live LE. $150. ableton.com)

 3   THE DIGITAL KEYBOARD

Novation Remote SL 25-key MIDI stationThis keyboard features lush, weighted keys that mimic the ivories on an actual Steinway. But it’s not just a melody maker.The keys also provide MIDI input (see glossary) to the computer, while buttons, knobs, and faders on the body allow you to tweak track settings without having to use the mouse. That beats fumbling with your DAW’s on-screen buttons any day. $400. novationmusic.com

 4   THE MIDDLEMAN

M-Audio JamLab. Your computer doesn’t come with a quarter-inch jack, the size of the output used by most guitars and keyboards. That’s why this little device comes in very handy—one side accepts your guitar plug, and the other side features a USB output that attaches directly into the back of your computer. Your audio input goes in one side, and a digital signal comes out the other. The JamLab won’t accept the three-pin XLR attachments used on most professional microphones, but the next piece of gear solves that worry. $80. m-audio.com.

 5   THE DESKTOP DRUMMER

Korg PadKontrol Logic and Garage-Band already include a bunch of sampled drum loops—recorded from live drummers—that you can use to create backing tracks for your music. But what if you want to make your own drumbeat? This pad and its bundled software can function as a desktop drummer, allowing you to assign different sounds to each of the 16 velocity-sensitive pads. Then you can perform in real time, laying down and recording patterns as a studio drummer would. The Pad-Kontrol tells the computer how hard and how long you’re contacting the pads, adjusting the sound accordingly to mimic real-world acoustics. $200. korg.com

 6   THE VOICEBOX

Blue Snowball, USB microphone. Granted, plug-and-play USB microphones like this one won’t give you the best sound. But they’re convenient, and won’t blow your budget like high-end condenser microphones. This one features three modes—two for vocals and one  more for laying down ambient sounds or jam sessions. $100. bluemic.com

Become an expert