Recording in big commercial studios can be quite expensive. They have expensive gear, big rooms, a staff of technicians, managers and engineers, and upkeep of new and sometimes vintage gear. However, the biggest difference between home and commercial studios is not the gear; but rather the rooms. Many of the rooms in commercial studios have been acoustically tuned and treated by professionals to optimize the sound that reaches the microphone. For, when we record any acoustic instrument, we are in fact recording the room as well.

Your Room

The sound produced from the instrument or voice reflects off of the floor, walls, and ceiling and into the microphone. These reflections are subsequently captured on your recording. When musicians, producers and engineers talk about great sounding rooms, they are referring to how good acoustic instruments sound when played in the room whether it be oud, guitars, buzuq, riq, drums, piano, vocals, horns, strings, or even an entire orchestra. For example, Studio A at Avatar Studios in New York (pictured below) is considered by many as one of the best sounding rooms in the world for recording drums.

Okay, the room at my home studio doesn’t look like Avatar’s Studio A either! I don’t have a room that big! That being said, I have engineered and produced many fine recordings in attics, nightclubs, hotel rooms, basements and garages. So let’s focus on how to optimize your room for recording.

A good sounding room gives you the option of adding room microphones in order to give the recording depth or space. One of the things you will come to understand about great sounding recordings is their depth or space. While reverb, delays and other sound effects do a great job, there is nothing that glues a mix together like room microphones! Always remember that any effect, instrument, approach, instrument is only a tool to help facilitate the making of music. If it something sounds good to your ears, then it’s right.

When talking about how sound reacts in a room, we are talking about acoustics. Simply put: Acoustics is the science and study of sound. Your goal is to choose a room that doesn’t impart its sonic characteristics to your recordings in a negative way. The easiest way to hear the sound of a room is by simply walking into a room and singing or clapping your hands and listening how the sound reacts. Try singing in the bathroom and listen to how it sounds then sing in another room. You will hear a difference! Try finding a neutral sounding room. You don’t want to have to compensate for your room when recording or mixing. If all else fails, a good pair of headphones can be used as an alternate monitoring source. I check all of my mixes through headphones.

Floors

Look around. Do you have hardwood floors or carpet? Hardwood floors will yield early reflections that will affect the recording. This can be a distraction in the program material. Reflections can really wreak havoc on acoustic instruments and vocals! However, if that’s the effect you are looking for, it can be beneficial. Most of the time however, you will want to minimize the reflections. If your room has a lot of reflective surfaces and a hardwood floor, you may want to invest in a carpet to cut down on early reflections. Carpets can help even out the sound and keep certain frequency ranges from building up in your recordings.

Our astute readers will wonder why the picture of Avatar’s Studio A has a hardwood floor and all that wood floors will cause undesirable reflections. While this is true, keep in mind that it is always easier to ‘deaden’ a room than it is to try and ‘liven’ it up. All we would need to do at Avatar is throw a carpet or two and use some gobos (moveable walls fitted with sound absorbing material). Besides, the sheer size of the room cuts back on the amount of early reflections. We want to calm down the room a little bit, not kill it!

Walls

While seated at your work area / mix position, look the surfaces directly to your left and right. If they are reflective surfaces, consider some sort of absorptive material like foam. Properly placed foam tiles at the point of first-reflection will make a world of difference. I’ve been in some larger studios and rehearsal spaces that installed big fiberglass panels that worked well. Companies like Auralex offer products for home and project studio owners to help with room acoustics. In the 1980’s, there were audio engineers who would line their walls with cardboard egg crates. Some still do. Don’t bother. Besides, it seems like a big fire hazard to me.

Gear Placement

Once you have decided on a room, look for a spot that has ample outlets and enough room for your speakers. I try to make sure that I have enough room behind my recording rig so that I can easily get to the back of my components. Granted, I spend most of the time in front of the speakers; but I am thankful for the space when I do have to alter my connections.

I also make sure that the room allows me to have my cables routed so that nobody will walk on them or be in anybody’s way. Please don’t set anything on your cables; and remember to keep audio cables and power cables as far away from each other as possible.

I generally try to keep everything within arms’ reach: instruments, a vocal microphone. Ideas come fast when making music, so I make sure everything is set up and ready to go. I want to spend my time recording my ideas rather than looking for a cable! Finally, refrain from keeping any drinks, liquid, or food around the gear. Accidents happen. I’ve heard of people spilling a drink and ruining mixing boards worth a lot of money. It’s not worth the hassle and expense.

Neighbors

To you, music is the most pleasing sound in the world. However, your others might consider it noise. Be considerate. Put one of your songs at your normal listening level, shut your door, walk around and assess the leakage. If you can hear it, your neighbors probably can, too. This should go without saying; keep an eye on the clock when you are recording or mixing. Time flies when you are having fun. Keeping the neighbors awake is a quick way to upset the peace and cause problems. I find that talking with my neighbors can ease any possible tensions. Most of the time, you will find that people will appreciate your consideration.

When I’m setting up a date to record drums, I check with my neighbors to make sure it won’t be a bother. It also helps when I assure them that I will end the noise at a reasonable hour (10:00PM where I live). When mixing at louder levels, I switch to headphones once the clock strikes ten. A little communication can go a long way! It sure beats having to find another apartment! Once, when I was tracking a live band, I invited all of my neighbors over and made the session into a block party. The band was fine with the idea. They gained some new fans. My neighbors had free beer, food and live entertainment. Due to the extra cost, I didn’t make much money on that session; but it made for smooth relations in my community.

Be creative.

Have Fun!

YallaFan