The DIY Studio

This chapter is about building your own recording studio. With a few steps you can easily improve the quality of your recordings.

What do I need?

A silent room

• Avoid all kind of noises eg fans, phones, computers or other humans...
• Choose the best sounding place in the room by walking around and speaking aloud as you go.
• Try to find a place that sounds very dry.
• Check out the corners of the room - usually you will have less echoes there than in the middle of the room.
• Do your best to shelter this place from other noises using sound absorbing materials.
• Hard surfaces like glass or stone walls cause reflections, so cover them with something soft like foam or blankets, especially at the place where you want to record.

• If you are sitting on a chair, take one that cannot swing or move to avoid unwanted sound.
• Close doors and windows while recording.

A microphone

• If possible use an external microphone for your recording. The sound quality is usually better than that delivered by a field recorder. The microphone can be connected directly to your recorder or to a software audio interface connected to your computer.
• Use a wind shield or a pop shield to avoid popping sounds.
• Follow the rules in the chapter on Recording Techniques to get a good recording.

A mic stand

• Holding the mic in your hand can cause noises. Rather use a tripod that you can put on a table or a mic stand at which you can stand while recording.
• If possible place the stand on something soft (like a carpet) to avoid noises from the floor.

Headphones

• Always use headphones while recording. They are important for judging the sound quality of your recording.
• You will hear more precisely with closed cup headphones than with earplugs or cheap headsets.

A computer

• Installed with audio editing software like Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net, Hindenburg - http://hindenburgsystems.com, or something else to edit your recordings. Read the Audio Editing chapter for further information.