Having a home recording studio is the dream for many musicians, but knowing how to keep that space optimal is critical. Some of the most important tips for improving your home recording studio include ensuring you have the right equipment for the job, finding the ideal room, and establishing a proper setup.
Get the Right Equipment
The first tip for improving your home recording studio is to gather the right equipment, such as:
- A microphone and stand
- Headphones
- Cables
- Pop filter
- Studio monitors
- A computer
All your sound equipment should remain inside the studio, since it will serve as an office for your musical needs. Moreover, ensure you spend the money to get quality pieces that will assist you over time and not just for a short while. Purchasing the wrong or cheap equipment will produce sound of a lower quality.
Find a Room
As you go through and either select a new space for recording or improve an existing one, remain mindful of the room’s size and the furniture’s material within it as both impact overall sound quality acoustics.
For example, a small room beside a busy street is not ideal since acoustics will likely be poor, and you may pick up outside noise unless you’ve had the room acoustically treated. Additionally, some furniture pieces will absorb acoustics, while others will cause a reverb, so do your research and place pieces strategically.
Your home may not have a room that you can dedicate solely to your musical needs, and that’s okay. Allow that office or spare bedroom to serve a dual purpose by installing acoustic panel art; while this looks like a beautiful piece of art, it works to ensure the space has great acoustics, thus improving your sound quality!
Set It Up
Lastly, make sure you have the best setup inside your carefully chosen space; this includes establishing an arranged work and recording station that best serves your work process.
Make sure your workstation remains organized to ensure efficiency. Additionally, a properly arranged recording station improves your sound quality by allowing you to hear the sound as you put it out with minimal reverb.
For the best sound, arrange your recording station like an inverted triangle with your monitors side by side at one end and you as the point – this allows you to hear the sound you’re putting out properly. By keeping this final aspect in mind, you can begin taking steps to improve the music studio inside your home!
