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August 30, 2014 editorial: comments

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Topic August 30, 2014 editorial: comments

Somewhere along the line you’ve probably read an article about the importance of acoustical treatment in your studio. But while those of us in the music media are always preaching about it, it’s a tough sell for a lot of home recording musicians.

Let me briefly reiterate why it's important: Home studios are generally not professionally designed spaces, and they often are located in rooms that have acoustical problems, making it tough to monitor correctly, and even to record clean tracks. If your mixes sound good in your studio, but not when they’re listened to elsewhere, you can be pretty sure you have acoustical problems that need addressing.

Still, many musicians are hesitant to pull the trigger on sound treatment for several reasons:

Reason #1: It can be expensive, even if you don’t bring in an acoustical consultant and instead use one of the companies that design a setup for you based on your own measurements of the room.

Reason #2:  Your spouse will kill you for A) spending lots of money on ugly looking things to hang on the wall B) Hanging ugly looking things on the wall.

Reason #3: It’s a lot more fun to purchase a new synth, guitar or microphone than a bunch of diffusers, absorbers and bass traps.

Those are all very understandable points, and I’m certainly not advocating that you run up your credit card if you don’t have the money, but if you do have some funds earmarked for improving your studio, getting the acoustics under control is probably as important, or more important than anything else you can spend them on.

You can also go the DIY sound treatment route, which can be quite effective, and a lot less money. There’s a lot of info available online about undertaking such projects.

So how are your studio’s acoustics? Do you have acoustical treatments of any kind?

Here’s a question for you: if the magic recording genie appeared at your studio and told you he’d give you either a $3000 high-end tube condenser mic or acoustical treatment, which would you choose? Just wondering.

Have a great week.

Mike Levine

U.S. Editor, Audiofanzine

2
I'd go for the acoustic treatment. But there is no genie :(

the more i consider it the more i'm thinking of just getting good mixing headphones. The acoustic treatment options are baffling (pun intended) and expensive.

Here is a new App someone needs to develop for mixing on headphones. After you enter the model of headphones you have, the Mixing mastering app allows you to simulate listening on ear buds, in car, home stereo, cheap computer speakers. Adjust the mix for each, then the software selects the optimum average mix for all.

There's a good market out there for the headphone manufacturer who comes up with a viable replacement for mixing rooms, acoustic treatment, monitors and stands, etc... Mixing and Mastering out of the box is a reality, just needs a big nudge forward.

Cliff Keller

3
No genie for me either! I think if he or she were to appear with 3000 quid, My first option would be some nice speakers! I have bass traps and acoustic treatment in my studio, but I fitted them myself. I assume a skilled person would be the key to putting them in the right place. So I`d pay a guy to sort that out!

Just a little tip,I know it sounds obvious, but many acoustically treated studios I have been in have half a dozen or so acoustic guitars laying around. Take them out of the room! I would like to try also one of those KRK ergo systems, that uses a mic to read the room resonance and does some sort of cutting it out of the mix.
4
Genies notwithstanding:mdr:, the ideal scenario is physical acoustical treatment after having your studio checked out by an expert, but DSP-based correction products like Ergo and IK Multimedia ARC 2 are worth looking into as lower-cost substitutes.