4 Acoustic Treatment Tricks That Make Your Room Sound Great Right Away

New rooms are tricky.

They’re uncharted territory, and dangers lurk in every corner.

Literally, the corners are your worst enemy.

Anyone setting up a home recording studio is going to run into some problems, but realizing what you’re dealing with makes the process so much smoother.

If you’re dealing with a bad sounding room, here are some acoustic treatment tips that make your home studio sound better right away.

1. Sitting in Thirds

Ideally, your mixing position should be positioned at 1/3 of the length of the room. Don’t sit in the middle and don’t sit too close to the walls. The best frequency balance is somewhere around one-third of the length. You can go a little crazy and bring out a tape measure like I did, or you can just estimate it.

2. Beware of the Corners

Like I said, corners are your enemies. Put as many bass traps as possible in the corners. Putting bass-traps in the corners is like setting a Ghostbuster trap that sucks up your low-end. You knowthat’s where the bass will be, so make sure you suck it out ofyour room.

3. Windows Suck

Glass gives an annoying bright slap that can really screw with a mix.

If you have a window either in front or behind you, consider closing it off with large acoustic panels. If you can’t do that, at least put some heavy drapes to kill the reflections.

4. The Acoustic Properties of “a Bunch of Crap”

I stole that quote from Jon Tidey over at discussing acoustics and I told him I had a bunch of crap for my room. He wasn’t impressed.

I was talking about the furniture in the room. A big sofa can act as an absorber and a bass-trap if it’s big enough. And bookshelves can help diffuse the sound, just by the unevenness of the books and the different density of the paper. But you shouldn’t rely on those to make your room sound amazing. They will certainly help to some extent, but not as much as real acoustic treatment.

Don’t Do It On Your Own.

If you are still struggling with getting you EQ the way you want, I put together a full course to teach many of the tips and tricks I use myself. This not just a trial, but a full online course delivered to your inbox for free.

Image by: Thomas Heyman

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