Whether you are an amateur recording artist, have a passion for music or want to find a space for your professional music equipment, a home studio is a great idea. Having a home studio can help you cut the costs of paying for studio time each time you want to work on a song. Setting up a studio in your home also creates a comfortable environment for you and your loved ones and friends to create great music together. These days, there are many professional equipment items that you can include in your home studio to give you a professional and balanced sound. You can use a spare room in your home to create a music studio. Having the right equipment will complete the space, along with final changes that celebrate your personal style. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you transform a spare bedroom or den space into a studio.
Choosing the Right Room
If you have more than one room in your home that can be converted into a recording studio, choose the biggest room. This will give you great sound and allow space for multiple singers or musicians to be in the room comfortably. It may also be best to choose a room that is not near a window. It is easy to hear the noise of traffic, as well as small animals like birds or crickets outside the window. This can cause a huge distraction when you are trying to record.
Select Proper Flooring
For a recording studio, hardwood, tile, or concrete is ideal. Carpet can wear quickly if there’s a lot of foot traffic in and out of the studio. Carpet does not absorb low frequencies, but it does absorb high ones. This could affect the acoustics in the room. Some studio spaces feature a rug in the middle of a hardwood floor for the comfort of the singers and musicians in the studio. This adds to the overall look of the room and will not alter the acoustics too much.
Use a Sound Meter and Soundproof the Space
A sound meter is necessary to detect where the standing waves and nulls are in the room where you want to create your studio. This helps you determine the acoustics of the room, so you will know where to set up your equipment.
You can also soundproof the room by attaching egg crate foam to the walls of the space. You can also attach the foam to the ceilings and cover the windows with the foam. This will reduce echoes and keep the sound insulated. The music you record in the room will have a fuller sound. You can keep the foam in place by stapling it to the wall. Use screws that are designed for drywall to hold the foam in place.
Creating a Quiet Place
You can make the home studio quiet by putting electronic equipment like computers in the closet. If you do not need the computer for recording, you can take the computer out of the room altogether. This will take away the sound of fans in the background when you are composing music or singing. Look around the room and remove the items that resonate with the frequencies of your recording equipment. You can either take the object(s) out of the room or use tape to make sure the items do not resonate.
Your wall equipment, including speakers, should be mounted to the wall so that the resonance will be reduced. Check the speakers before you start recording to make sure there is not too much reverb or echo. The grills of speakers can resonate loudly; the same is true if the mounting attachments are loose. You can correct any vibrations in the room if you use a pink noise frequency sweep. Be sure to use a high volume so you can correct the vibrations.
When you set up equipment or put furniture in the room, wrap the metal legs of the items in bubble wrap. This will take away audio reflections. A sound meter is also a great tool for calibrating the location of all the objects in the room. Before you start your recording sessions, test your amplifiers and microphones to make sure there is no feedback.
Setting Up Your Workstation
You will need machinery to record and mix the songs you create. The desk and equipment should be reserved for one corner of the room to make the acoustics more balanced. You can use a desk or table that you already have in your home for starters. Continue to add quality items to your studio over time. Make sure that all the electronic items that you need for recording are in one place so you can get to them easily.
Decorating According to Your Style
After you have arranged all the equipment in the room and balanced the acoustics the way you want them, it is time to start decorating. Find microphones that fit your decorative style, or purchase covers for the microphones in your favorite colors. If you have sofas or chairs in the room, select furniture in a style that makes you feels inspired when you walk into the room. You can even paint the walls so that the studio space looks different from the rest of your home. For instance, one of the walls can be reserved to paint a mural of your favorite artists. Alternatively, you can use the accent wall to paint inspiring sayings that are easy to see no matter where you are in the room. If you do not want to paint the walls, hang up posters of the artists who inspire you. It is also a good idea to make the door of the studio stand out from all the other doors in the house. Painting the door or adding a decorative border to it will send the message that the room is designated for a special purpose. Adding a sign to the door that lets your friends or loved ones not to enter the room when you are recording is helpful as well. While you can print a sign out and put it on the door, you can also frame a sign or paint one in colorful letters and hang it on the door as needed.
Setting the Ambience
Finally, make sure that you feel especially creative and calm when you are in the studio. You can do this by using lighting or lamps with red or orange bulbs to make the room more inviting. You may also want to use essential oils like lavender or lemon balm. These are calming oils that put you in a relaxed state of mind. There are also oils that can open up the airways and improve your singing voice, such as eucalyptus or chamomile. Putting the oil in a diffuser is often better than using incense, since the smoke can irritate your voice when singing. It is also a good idea to have some instrumental music playing in the background while you are working with other artists to come up with a song. Place things in the room that will motivate you to come up with great song lyrics or melodies. Of course, listening to your favorite artists in a studio setting can also get your creative juice flowing and help you come up with new ideas for your next composition.
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