So, you have bought an audio sound card, a nice condenser microphone and speakers and are ready to record your own music. The problem is you suddenly realise how much noise there is inside and outside your workspace. Condenser microphones are very sensitive and pick up almost every sound from outside and inside, from low-end traffic rumble to the high-frequency whirl of your computer fan. These can all potentially combine to ruin your perfect take, here are a variety of products that can help make your room more appropriate for tracking and mixing and let you concentrate on what’s important, performing your best take.
Soundproofing
Soundproofing your space involves blocking out external sounds as well as keeping the sound from your studio inside your studio and not the surrounding suburbs. Purpose-built soundproofed spaces have a huge advantage here, however, processes such as adding mass, damping, decoupling and filling air gaps can help to reduce noise. There are many products available such as mass loaded vinyl, green glue, rubber isolators, acoustical caulk and foam gaskets which can be installed by a professional or via a good old fashioned DYI application. Getting your space as soundproofed as possible is obviously recommended, however, that is just the start to creating a workable space for recording.
Acoustic Treatment
Acoustic treatment is the process of absorbing the ambient or reflected sound inherited in a specific space. Generally, most home studios have substandard acoustics for recording. The cure here is to remove the natural reverb from the room which gives you the flexibility to add all those super nice sounding plugins or hardware effects you have been itching to use. Unwanted sound reflections can be greatly reduced via the use of acoustic absorption and diffusers. There are several kits available with a range of options to suit most typical home studio spaces, such as:
Bass Traps
Bass traps are also worth considering when treating a studio space. Regular acoustic panels handle mid frequencies well, however, they are not specifically designed for low end frequencies which are problematic in smaller, square rooms typical of most home studios. Bass traps come in two main forms porous and resonant absorbers, the fundamental difference being porous absorbers offer broadband coverage whilst resonant absorbers focus in on a specific or “tuned” set of frequencies. There are plenty of options available to suit your space, here are some suggestions here.
Reflection Filters
Reflection filters are portable and are a great way to save money and space. They are specifically designed for vocals, however, with a little invention, they could be used for guitar amps or other applications. Reflection filters are like a mini vocal booth that fit onto a microphone stand and can be set up only as required.
Monitor Isolation Pads
Monitor isolation pads reduce low frequency vibration transmissions and resonate artefacts increasing accuracy when mixing. Some models allow for a tilt function while others boast one size fits all capability. These are reasonably inexpensive and are a great investment due to providing a simple solution to an obvious problem. There are also isolation pads designed for amplifiers and subwoofers.
Isolation Cabinets and Load Boxes
Isolation cabinets and load boxes allow guitarists and bassists to use their favourite amplifier at volume in their home studio. A sound proofed cabinet with a speaker wired up can be connected with an amplifier then closed for near noise free tracking. Load boxes are a reasonably new invention and offer an array of handy applications for recording guitars including mic’d cab emulators, variable wattage, effects, re-amping, built in recording interface and a variety of other features.
Acoustic Treatment Software
Acoustic treatment software is a new technology designed to digitally analyse a recording space and by using a reference microphone, record and map the natural acoustics to your monitors to produce a flat response at the mixing stage of the process rather than room treatment beforehand. Sonarworks are pioneers in this field and they have developed pre-sets for lots of popular headphone models as well. This could be an answer for those people not wanting or being able to physically treat their rooms.
Musos Corner has a huge range of recording equipment to suit the absolute beginner in a project studio to professional studio fit-outs. We have everything you need with professional experience to back it up. Feel free to contact us today!
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