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Musicians who build their studios oftentimes focus entirely on the equipment and neglect something very important – acoustic treatment. They spend a lot of money on professional equipment and end up being disappointed that the recording doesn’t sound like they expected.
That’s why, when you start equipping your home studio, remember to include acoustic treatment in the list.
In this article, we’ll help you figure out why acoustic treatment is such an essential part of the recording studio, what types there are, and how to choose the right one for you.
Common problems with acoustics in a home recording studio
When mixing and recording indoors, you may run into some issues because the sound interacts with the room you’re in.
Here are some of them:
- Comb Filtering – combines a direct sound with its reflection, creating notches in the frequency response.
- Flutter Echo – this problem occurs when sound bounces back and forth between parallel walls that are not treated.
- Room modes, standing waves, nodes, and anti-nodes – the resonances that occur when some parts of the room are more resonant in specific frequency ranges than others.
- Decay Time – this is the time when the “tail” of the sound fades away. The room should create a balance of fading that makes it neither fast nor slow.
Why your studio needs acoustic treatment
Large rooms with high ceilings and textured walls naturally have good acoustics. However, the same cannot be said for small rooms full of equipment, such as your home studio.
That’s why, with the help of technology, other ways have been created to get closer to the perfect sound.
Modern software programs known as digital reverb can simulate the sound of any acoustic environment, so you can add artificial reverb to your recorded sound.
But what is the role of acoustic treatment?
Even if you can add digital reverb, there’s no way to remove the natural reverb already in the sound.
The removal should happen during the recording itself.
This is the main function of acoustic treatment. It absorbs any excess reverb during recording.
What are the types of acoustic treatments?
There are several main types of acoustic treatments, and they are often combined for a better effect.
Reflection/Diffusion
When the sound comes into contact with a reflective material, its energy is redirected. A part of it will remain in the material, and the rest will go in another direction. Hard materials like wood reflect the sound in the best way.
Diffusion helps the sound spread throughout the room and deal with problems like flutter echo and standing waves.
Coupling/Decoupling
The coupling connects the floor to the speakers via speaker spikes. It is suitable for dense floors with a large mass, such as concrete.
The function of Decoupling is to reduce the amplitude of vibrations that pass from the floor to the speakers and vice versa. They work as absorbers and convert vibration energy into heat.
Acoustic Treatment tools
Three tools are used for acoustic treatments. Now we will introduce you to each of them.
Bass Traps
Bass Traps absorb the low frequencies and maintain the balance of the transmitted sound. They are very suitable for smaller rooms.
Acoustic Panels
Acoustic Panels absorb mostly mid and high frequencies. They work best in combination with Bass Traps.
Diffusers
Diffusers are used for spreading the remaining frequencies
Where should you place the acoustic treatment?
You go through several stages when you receive the sound from the studio monitors:
- direct sound
- early reflections
- sound of the reverberant field
Direct sound
Direct sound is the sound that comes out directly from the speakers before interacting with the room. It moves in a straight line from the sound source.
Early reflections
Early reflections are the point after which the sound bounces off any boundaries, such as walls, floors, and furniture.
Sound of the reverberant field
The sound of the reverberant field is where the sound interacts with the room’s boundaries.
The four critical areas in your home studio are:
- The ceiling above the desk
- The walls to the left and right of the desk
- The rear sidewalls
- The back wall of the room
Applying acoustic treatment to these areas will significantly limit acoustic problems.
Conclusions:
No matter how much money you have spent on expensive equipment, poor acoustics will cost you much more. It can ruin any good recording and masterful mixing.
That’s why you should invest in a good acoustic treatment. Placed in the right places, it will guarantee the high quality of your music, and your home studio will be able to rank with professional ones.
FAQ
What’s the difference between Soundproofing and Acoustic Treatment?
Soundproofing aims to minimize the level of sound passing through the walls in both directions.
Acoustic treatment controls the sound reflections inside the room.
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