Why settle for just playing around when you can really tap into your musical genius with a home studio? If you’re into composing, playing and recording, you might be ready to turn that unused guest room into a simple recording studio. Along with our other soundproofing tips, which will keep noise from escaping, you’ll also want to focus on acoustic treatment options so the music that stays in sounds the best. Single set-up studios can be simple and more cost-effective, but you’ll want to consider these tips and tricks for keeping your sound just right:
- Cancel feedback from electrical equipment by putting items like amps as far away from microphones as possible.
- Don’t completely eliminate all sound reflection: Leave a few spots open and treat them with diffusers so the natural frequency of your music isn’t lost.
- Think about high and low-end sound absorption: Most of your reflection treatments will tackle the high frequency reflections, but you’ll want to install a few bass traps in order to dampen the sound for lower frequencies.
- Plan for power: Be sure to have plenty of outlets, and make sure all of them are the right wattage for your equipment.
- Think seasonally: When the July high temperatures hit, will the sound of the air conditioning clicking on and blowing into your studio become background noise?
- Arrange it right: Even if you’re playing solo, be sure to arrange your studio to accommodate the number of musicians who could play at one time in the space. If you host other artists down the road, this will make it easier to plan out and arrange your recording stations to maximize the best sound for the number of people who will be there at once.
- Maximize your equipment: When dealing with small spaces, you also should examine how to maximize your equipment so that you have more room and fewer things for sound to bounce off of. It’s time to embrace the digital age! You can use digital instruments to keep the clutter to a minimum and, when appropriate and affordable, try using compact equipment.