Recording studios use digital audio workstations, or DAWs, to capture and edit audio. A DAW is simply a program that allows you to record audio waveforms in real time and then alter the recordings by applying effects, adjusting the frequency ranges and balancing the different tracks, or layers (for example, you might record guitar, bass, vocals and drums on four separate tracks). A professional workstation supports recording (capturing the audio), mixing (editing the audio) and mastering (post-production).
You can find hundreds of digital audio workstations for sale, but not all of them are sufficient for professional studio recording. A good DAW must support multi-tracking, or the ability to layer the different parts of a recording. For example, in a multi-track environment, you can record a guitar riff on track 1, and then add a line of vocals on track 2. A good DAW must also support Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, the process of digitally recording notes by selecting instrument sounds within the software and controlling them from an external device (like a MIDI keyboard). A good DAW must also offer a versatile grid equalizer (EQ) for adjusting high, middle and low frequencies and a multiband compressor for smoothing out volume peaks.
Industry standard DAWs include Pro Tools, Logic Pro and Cubase, all of which support recording, mixing and mastering. Other versatile DAWs include Audition, Reason, Cakewalk, ACID and Sonar. If you have the budget for a fully-equipped DAW system, which includes recording-specific computer hardware as well as the necessary software, you might invest in the Solid State Logic Altimix, Sonic Solutions SonicStudio or Fairlight MFX3. Note that these products can cost as much as $25,000, so if you want to create a budget home studio, stick with DAW software on your personal computer.
If you want to emphasize post-production in your studio, purchase a mastering program such as Peak Pro, Wavelab Studio or Ozone. While most professional DAWs can handle mastering operations, a mastering-specific program allows you to bypass the excess editing procedures and focus entirely on the post production, with specialized plug-ins not found on conventional DAWs.