How to soundproof a room, the next level
Perhaps you’re after something a little more, like a real home studio. The more clarity you have when you record, the more control you have over your final recordings. Lo-fi sensibility isn’t for every genre of music, that’s for sure. And even if you’ve got a lo-fi aesthetic, there are plenty of reasons you might want to keep that distortion minimal. Maybe you like crunching things up in production, enjoy figuring out your sound by constant tweaking, or maybe you just want the vocals to sound good.
It can be a challenge to get a clean sound when you’re recording a non-electric instrument, like drums, the acoustic guitar, the oboe. Even when it sounds good in the room, things end up distorted. If you’re wondering how to soundproof a room the way today’s indie recording artists do, here are some tips.
Every home studio should have the following:
Soundproofing panels on the walls
If you can’t afford to buy readymade panels – and not everyone can, at $500 apiece – or don’t have the skill to buy the materials and frame them yourself, it’s perfectly fine to simply hang soundproof foam directly on the wall. It’s worth spending more for a better product, but you can find decent soundproof material cut for wall hanging for as little as $35 per piece.
Proper flooring
Hardwood flooring is good when it’s on a concrete foundation. You should also have a thick layer of insulation in between. Again, putting rugs down can further dampen sound.
Soundproofed walls
To soundproof your walls, make sure they’re well insulated. It’s a good idea to add double-thick sheetrock, or even to add a layer of plaster or plaster skim coat atop your old sheetrock walls. Every layer works to stop sound. And the spaces in between the layers where there is air or insulation help trap whatever sound penetrates the walls.
Build a vocal booth
It’s also advisable to build a “booth” with even more soundproofing for when you’re recording vocals, drums, and guitar. It doesn’t have to be a real “booth.” If you could make a recording cubicle out of three soundproof panels, it would still make a world of difference in your recording quality. And with the cubicle, you can just put it up and take it down, meaning it’s not always taking up studio space.
