For a poor musician, it’s only natural to want a cheap alternative to commercial acoustic treatment.
And that’s fine. Because there are plenty of DIY options that work wonders.
But there are also many that don’t work at all. Some make the problem worse.
Care to know which bad apples I’m referring to?
Here are the 3 most common ones people try:
Three Common Traps to Avoid
1. Carpeting
Home recording studios all across the country have carpet nailed to the walls. And few if any of them manage to create good recordings.
The reason carpet doesn’t work as acoustic treatment is that it can’t absorb bass frequencies. The high frequencies get absorbed, the low ones don’t.
The result is a dull, unpleasant room tone.
Combine that with the fact that used carpet is usually soaked in red wine and cat piss, and its a poor solution all-around.
Don’t use carpet.
2. Cup holders
Ever seen Hustle and Flow? In this movie, the aspiring music producers staple cup holders to the walls of their make-shift studio.
Think it would work? Nope. It wouldn’t work for the same reason carpet doesn’t work. Not enough low end absorption.
And anyway, how on Earth is someone supposed to steal that many cup holders from McDonalds?
3. Egg Crate Foam
Everyone has tried egg crate foam in their studio at one time or another.
At first glance, I admit…egg crate foam looks promising. It looks almost exactly the same as professional acoustic foam, just a little cheaper.
Except it’s not.
When you compare egg crate foam to a real acoustic foam panel, you notice one big difference: Density.
The real stuff is dense, while egg crate foam is much lighter. And the result is the same as in the other two examples: Not enough low end absorption, and a poor overall sound.
Do yourself a favor and avoid it.
So What’s the Alternative?
If you want quality acoustic treatment in your home studio, you have two options:
Option 1: Spend the money and buy commercial acoustic foam. For the vast majority of us, this is the best option by far.
Option 2: Grab your tools, roll up your sleeves, and build them yourself. If you’ve got some carpentry skills, here is an introduction to how it’s done.
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