Essentials of Building the perfect Home Studio

Everyone who starts getting into music, dreams of having their own workplace where they could visualize their dreams. Thanks to the advances in technology and studio monitors, building a home studio isn’t as hard as you may think. This blog sums up the essential steps that will guide you through the process of setting up your recording studio. And the best part about it? You can do it if you’re on a budget.

Make a Plan

You can’t cook something new without a recipe. Likewise, you can’t start building your studio right away without a proper plan. You need to map out the specifics and figure out some unknowns. You need to decide what kind of studio you wish to have. If you are the musician type who wants to record or produce their own music then you would need a music production style studio to either record or synthesize your music. A recording enthusiast, however, would need a space strictly dedicated to recording and accommodating drums/bands and the like. 

Find a Place

Let's start with where you're going to set up. Decide where you want your studio to be. Ideally, you can choose a spare room or a basement that can be reserved solely for your project studio. You must try to make the space as sound-neutral as possible and limit the wave reflections that make it hard to capture the music and mix it later accurately. And though there is no way to soundproof a room completely, here are a few budget-friendly tips to improve the acoustics of your room –

·         Cover hardwood floors with carpeting or area rugs.

·         Windows should be covered with fabric treatments – the heavier, the better.

·         Choose a rectangular room as square rooms tend to create problematic "standing waves."

·         Use acoustic foam if you're in a more permanent space, but make sure it's the commercially available professional (and fire-retardant) type.

·         YouTube Search for and watch videos about how to set up your acoustic space for recording.

Studio monitors

The next most important thing to consider is studio monitors.  Designed to create the flattest response and not the loudest volume or ‘best sound’, studio monitors give an accurate representation of the sounds that they are playing. We all want our recordings to sound great on lots of different speakers, therefore we must choose monitors that are not biased towards certain frequencies. Making sure your studio has accurate monitors is essential. A great option is Fluid Audio’s studio monitor models. There are several different sizes and features allowing you to choose an ‘exact fit’ for your room and they are known for their flat audio reproduction and budget-friendly pricing without sacrificing any of the features found on brands costing X10.

Final thoughts

With so many variations in the design of home and professional studios, how you create your studio is a personal choice based on your commitment to music, budget and your goals. However, the most important point to keep in mind when organizing your home studio is what do you need now? What size? What equipment? How sophisticated? Also, keep in mind the type of recording you need. What’s important is to dig in, research, continually re-evaluate, and your home studio will turn out to be a place you never want to leave.