This article features a number of articles aimed at helping you understand the basics of room acoustics and how acoustic treatment works to improve the response and overall sound quality of a recording studio environment. If you are dissatisfied with the sound of your studio take the first steps in improving the acoustic properties of your studio by checking out these articles.
Understanding How Sound Works
The basics of room acoustics can be quite complicated and difficult to get your head around. Sound, after all, is an invisible energy. We cannot see how sound works in a room, which isn’t very helpful for those new to audio production wanting to understand the basics of room acoustics.
Check out the following posts which include a fun yet informative video presented by John Calder of Acoustic Geometry in which he demonstrates how sound works in a room by showing the differences between direct sound (sound that arrives at a listener’s ear first) and reflected sound (sound that arrives later reflected off room surfaces such as walls). We’ve also included an interview with acoustics guru Andy Munro who provides excellent advice and insight into the world of acoustics.
This video is 3 and a half minutes long, it’s well worth a watch no matter your skill level. This free video visually shows you how sound works in a room by showing us the differences between direct sound (sound that arrives at a listener’s ear first) and reflected sound (sound that arrives later reflected off room surfaces such as walls).
In this series over the extended Christmas holiday, we are featuring 5 interviews from our growing archive of interviews, all of which you can find on our Interviews page.Back in December 2012, Russ Hughes had an extended chat with Andy Munro from Munro Acoustics and they talk about Shure, The Rolling Stones, the early days of home recording, plus of course lots of discussion around studio acoustics.
Building Your Own Acoustic Treatment Panels
It is no secret, a key component in any recording or mix environment is acoustic treatment. Studios generally sound too reverberant, making them challenging places to record and mix in without some level of absorption positioned at first reflection points.
Whlie foam is considered a helpful material in acoustic treatment it shouldn't be considered as the only line of defence against poor room acoustics. Generic off-the-shelf foam is typically quite thin and isn't usually that dense either. Such products generally perform quite poorly in critical mid to low frequency areas within a room. This is where acoustic panels do much better, but many off the shelf options can cost upwards of $100 per panel. Factor in multiple panels for treating an entire studio sufficiently and you’ll end up with quite a sizeable bill.
Luckily, broadband acoustic panels can be made by hand for a fraction of the cost with some basic materials and hand tools as you can see in our article Acoustic Panels - Learn How To Build Your Own For Under £50
It seems many people are frustrated with their studio monitoring and for a multitude of reasons. This article aims to help on a variety of levels to give you greater monitoring confidence.
With the help of a video in which acoustic panels are brought into a room while the presenter is speaking, in this article Julian suggests that off the shelf panels sometimes get blamed for not fixing problems they were never intended for.
Working From Home? The ASC AttackWall has been designed to easily convert any room into a professional sounding studio. In this article, find out how the ASC AttakWall could help you improve the acoustics your temporary home studio without any building work or DIY.
In this article, we share a detailed video showing you how to build your own acoustic panels. This video walks you through the entire process including measurements, where to install wood braces and, most importantly, how to install the absorption material and fabric covering. We take this a step further by pricing up the cost of making six panels for less than £300.
Opting For Off-The-Shelf Acoustic Treatment
Although some feel confident undertaking DIY acoustic treatment builds we recognise it isn’t for everyone. It is not possible to demo or test a full solution in your studio before buying which makes choosing the right off-the-shelf acoustic treatment quite challenging. We put together a list of top brands that provide great sounding low cost off the shelf acoustic panels and treatment solutions to help those currently looking at investing in acoustic treatment find the best solutions for their budget.
It seems many people are frustrated with their studio monitoring and for a multitude of reasons. This article aims to help on a variety of levels to give you greater monitoring confidence.
Does your studio suffer from poor room acoustics? Check out these 7 brands which provide excellent low cost off the shelf acoustic treatment solutions for desperate sounding recording studios.
How To Address Poor Acoustics On Tight Budgets
Off-the-shelf acoustic treatment can add up fast to eye-watering amounts which may not be economical for recording enthusiasts. Luckily, there are a fair few affordable acoustic treatment solutions available for home recording studio guys on a budget.
It seems many people are frustrated with their studio monitoring and for a multitude of reasons. This article aims to help on a variety of levels to give you greater monitoring confidence.
Off the shelf acoustic treatment solutions can cost an eye-watering amount, luckily, there are a fair few affordable acoustic treatment solutions available for home recording studio guys on a budget.