Music Think Tank

Recording at home is a viable option for musicians now. Whether you just want to throw together a quick demo or you want to record a whole album from your garage, you can get a relatively affordable setup and set up something resembling a makeshift studio at home. Just because you are a musician or singer doesn’t mean that you are an audio engineer, and there are many reasons your recording probably sucks.

Not tuning. I wish this weren’t on the list but I hear it so often. Fix? Tune your instruments!
Zero production. Just recording something isn’t enough, and it will need to be compressed, polished and edited. Fix? Record into proper software and use the editing and effects facilities on offer.
Poor acoustics. Don’t record in your kitchen, it probably will sound awful. Fix? Buy, or even make some acoustic treatments.
Not multi-tracking. A room microphone to record your whole band isn’t going to give you any control over volumes and effects. Fix? Track each instrument separately or at least with its own microphone.
Bad microphones. You can get decent microphones without spending a fortune, but the $5 toy karaoke microphone you bought your niece isn’t going to cut it. Fix? Find a decent mic setup or even borrow one.
Bad playing. It happens, guys. Sometimes you’ll listen back to the demo and think “well that sucks”. The song might not be that great, your technique might need some work. Fix? Practice, practice, practice.

Home recording done right is great, it liberates garage bands and lets you take more of the work in house, plus it means no waiting for studios and engineers to be available. Avoiding some very basic mistakes can go a long way to ensuring your recording is at least passable.