Soundproofing a Recording Studio

Building a successful Recording Studio from the design stage, or retrofitting to an existing, finished Studio, the goal is twofold: first, to isolate one room’s noise from the next, and second, to produce premium sound quality within each room for the purpose of recording or broadcast. This can be done with acoustic sound panels.

For instruction on Recording Studio Soundproofing, we refer you to the Soundproof Walls and Soundproof Ceilings sections of this website. For the purposes of maximizing sound quality within your space, stay right here.

The key to producing premium quality sound within your room is to control your level of background noise. Unwanted echo will blur original sound signals. The goal is capture and convert the echoes from your room, which in turn delivers back premium sound quality. The key to making your Recording Studio great is to control your level of reverb.

Questions?  Call 1-800-638-9355

Related Soundproofing Products

Tiger Traps or Corner Bass Traps are the compliments to our Fabric Panel. These are base traps that can be wrapped in the same color as your Fabric Panels, and recessed into the 4 corners of your live rooms to reduce base frequency reverberations that will gather in the corners of your studio space.

Also, popular for our Recording Studio clients are the Pyramid Acoustic Foam Panels. These are 2’x2′ panels that measure 3″ thick and are class A fire rated.

See Pyramids

Recording Studio Soundproofing: Q &A

How to Design a Recording Studio for Premium Sound Values

You can deaden the potential noise that travels from room to room with recording studio soundproofing. This can be accomplished by lining your common walls with dB-Bloc. As you build the walls, work to angle them so there are no parallel walls within the studio to help combat standing sound waves. Use triple-pane windows between live and control rooms — each pane of glass should be a different thickness with argon gas injected in between each panel. Once the rooms are built, line their perimeter walls with acoustic panels to deaden unwelcome reverb. Also, make sure the floor is more reflective than the walls by putting down a hardwood flooring surface.

How to Soundproof an Existing, Finished Recording Studio

Anchor your acoustic panels to the existing walls. By choosing 2” thick Fabric Acoustic Panels, you’ll be able to absorb low frequencies more efficiently. Cover up to 70% of your wall space with these sound panels for premium sound quality.

Why It’s a Top Priority to Control Reverb When Soundproofing a Recording Studio

Unwanted reverb will cause the background noise to build to uncomfortable levels. In turn, this will distort and blur the original sound signals. To produce premium sound clarity, you must keep the reverberations to a minimum by installing acoustic panels for recording studios.

How to Produce Premium Sound Quality for Recording Music

For premium sound quality, cover up to 70% of your perimeter wall space with 2” thick Fabric Acoustic Panels and add a hardwood floor. The reflective floor and absorptive sound panels will produce a clear, crisp sound for recording purposes.

How to Produce Premium Sound Quality in a Voiceover Booth

The same sound absorption techniques apply to voiceover soundproofing. Line the perimeter walls and ceilings with sound panels to capture the echoes within the room. In turn, this removes the background distortions and generates premium vocal clarity. Pyramid Foam Panels are popular for this technique since they are easy to self-install. Cover up to 100% of the walls and ceilings for maximum sound performance.

How to Prevent Noise in a Control Room from Bleeding into a Live Room

In order to properly isolate two rooms in a soundproof recording studio, care should be given to the window and the wall. Check out our Wall Soundproofing section of this website, which teaches you the proper “disconnection” and “density” for common walls. When layered properly on a new build or existing common wall, you can deaden up to 90% of noise bleed. As for your window, we recommend you reach out to a local window expert. Be sure that your window is triple-paned and that each pane is a different thickness to capture and reduce different frequencies of sound. Also, be sure the middle pane is angled inside the casing. Argon gas should be filled between the panes for effective recording studio soundproofing.

How to Soundproof Walls in a Recording Studio

When soundproofing common walls, apply the “disconnection and density” formula that we showcase in our Wall Soundproofing section. This entails using our ultra-dense membrane dB-Bloc, a channel system, and a new 5/8” drywall layer. The goal is to force the collapse of the transmitted sound waves, rather than letting the energy vibrate through the assembly. Up to 90% of the transmitted noise can be softened with acoustic panels for recording studios.

How to Calculate Sound Panel Coverage Amounts for Your Recording Studio

Your coverage amounts depend on the size of your room. Typically, we recommend measuring your overall wall size and ordering 50-70% of that square foot total. The acoustic panels can be placed as you wish throughout the studio, but the quantities should be close to this percentage. (See our Fabric Acoustic Panels.)

How to Brand Your Space by Applying Artists’ Images to Your Sound Panels

Imagine displaying your artists on large murals that decorate the walls and halls of your recording studio. Then, imagine those same murals work double duty as sound panels absorbing sound wave reverberations and generating premium sound quality within your space. Murals can be cut up to 10’ tall. (See PicturePanels.)