{"id":16836,"date":"2022-08-18T09:40:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T13:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/?p=16836"},"modified":"2022-08-18T09:40:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T13:40:53","slug":"sound-treating-your-home-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/18\/sound-treating-your-home-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound Treating Your Home Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"

The words \u201cHome Studio\u201d sound pretty high level, right? Well, trust me when I tell you it doesn\u2019t have to be. It can be as simple as a walk-in closet or a room divider or a blanket. I am a Home Studio Coach for Such A Voice and I help hundreds of students turn whatever space they have into a quality home studio. The ideas I am about to discuss are highly effective and cost next to nothing to set up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you mean by \u201cecho\u201d?<\/b><\/p>\n

Many people new to voice-over don\u2019t always know what we mean by \u201cecho\u201d. Yes, echo in its purest form is the, \u201cHELLO, HEllo, Hello, helloooo\u201d effect you hear when shouting in a canyon. In voice-over, it is an effect that makes your voice sound hollow, like you are speaking into a large tin can.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How does echo happen?<\/b><\/p>\n

Echo or <\/span>Room Reflection<\/span><\/i> occurs when sound waves bounce off hard surfaces and \u201creflect\u201d back into the front of your microphone. This means that anytime you are in a large room with hard walls and windows you will get a high level of room reflection on your recordings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why sound treatment matters<\/b><\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t I just set up my space in my loft, or home office or huge living room with the nine-foot high ceilings? You can, but you won’t get work. The main reason we don\u2019t set up our space in rooms with no sound treatment is because it creates room reflection, which is not desirable for any voice recording.\u00a0 Sound treatment absorbs the room reflection, allowing you to create a clean, echo-free recording. Another important thing to note is that you can\u2019t fix room reflection with software, so proper sound treatment is necessary from the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

What should I do?<\/b><\/p>\n

The most important place to put your sound treatment is behind you, which is in front of the mic. Your output speakers are typically facing the back wall. When the sound comes out, it hits the back wall and reflects into the front of your mic. Sound treatment behind you absorbs this echo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people start out by putting their sound treatment on the wall in front of them. It may look nice but it is essentially ineffective. Remember: the output is typically being sent to the wall behind you. Plus in most cases, the back of the mic doesn\u2019t pick up anything, or if it does it is very little (unless you have a ribbon mic where you can use the front or the back, but I digress).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ok, so now I know what it is and how to lessen it; what\u2019s next?<\/b><\/p>\n

Now you can set up your studio. There are many ways to set up an almost free and highly effective studio space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Size<\/b><\/p>\n

The smaller the better. I don\u2019t want you in a one foot by one foot area, but the smaller the space, the easier it is to contain and control the sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Materials<\/b><\/p>\n

Studio foam<\/b><\/p>\n