Top 4 Professional Studio Upgrades
Are you looking to upgrade your studio without breaking the bank? Read on to learn 4 affordable tips to make your studio become more professional and efficient.
1 – Adding acoustic treatment
We have stressed this before in other posts, but it is simply because of how drastically acoustic treatment can affect a room and enhance your studio. Acoustic treatment can become extremely expensive when done professionally and it often requires hiring a contractor and construction crew.
However, it can also be extremely cheap if you stick to basic upgrades and hacks. Even something as simple as adding a rug to a room with wooden floors can make a major sonic change to your space!
Generally, the idea is to reduce the amount of reflections a soundwave will make as it comes through your speakers. Adding acoustic foam to the rear wall or bass traps in each corner will help stop low rumbling and fluttering sounds from clouding the room.
Tip 2 – Better mic stands/cables
There is nothing more annoying than trying to deal with a bad cable or a mic stand that just won’t stay still. Trying to set up a microphone for a recording and then spending more time dealing with cable buzz or the mic stand slowly falling down is a common occurrence with cheaper equipment.
We recommend bypassing these problems all together and spending more time recording and having fun in your space! If that means upgrading to studio quality cables, or heavy duty stands, then we would suggest you go for it! It will be worth it in the long run when you have less headaches to deal with in your studio.
Tip 3 – Cable management/ general organization
Organization is a key factor in a recording studio as it helps keep every piece of gear safe and ready to use when needed. Even just setting up a general system for where equipment is supposed to be stored can help ease your workflow and provide easy access.
However, one form of organization that is often ignored is “cable management” and while it might sound incredibly boring, it can really help declutter a workstation and make the studio feel more open and accessible. All of which can help you feel happier and more at home in your studio.
Tip 4 – Natural light
Studios have a tendency to be dark and dim due to the fact that sharp surfaces like windows can often cause unwanted noise problems. And while the suggestion of adding natural light to a space sounds like something off of HGTV, having a studio with some natural light and fresh air can drastically help a studio.
It may sound silly, but humans are meant to see the sun, and both your physical and emotional health can be easily drained as you start to spend more and more time in a dark, closed off room.
It may be tricky to balance a controlled studio sound while also having a window that adds both reflective and outside noise, but it can be done. So long as you ensure that your window is away from any major reflection points then it shouldn’t disrupt the sound too drastically.
Having the window along the back side of your computer and studio monitors is a great option, or simply adding heavy curtains that you can be moved, are great ways to integrate a window into a studio without ruining the sound. Plus, you’ll be happier and able to spend more time working, stress free.
We hope that these tips help your studio become more professional and easier to use. You may be surprised to find out that some of these tips can really make a huge difference to the sound of your studio.
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