Room design, it is the most important thing you can do to maximize the quality of your recordings! If your room is "tuned", then your speakers will give you the most accurate representation of what you are actually hearing and recording! I live in an apartment right now so I can't do much to my space. I'm in the living room which luckily is very big, 25' x 15' which is great! As long as your side walls are twice as far away from your optimum listening place, or "sweet spot" than your speakers are, you are fine. The front soundwaves will hit you way before the side ones. Let's go over some things...

1. Panel Absorbers - These "diffusers"only have to be like 3' x 4' (depending on the room size) or about the size of a big painting and they have to be at least a few inches thick to do any good. You can make these yourself and cover them with any color of cloth to match the decor (for the wife) and stuff them with regular house insulation. There is a trick to help you find the trouble spot on the side walls. While sitting in your sweet spot, have a friend hold a mirror flat against the wall and then move it until you can see the speaker. Anywhere in that vicinty is where to place the panel. Make sure you place it at eye level. The back wall is usually the worst one. Depending on how close it is to you, directly behind you is where to start. Make a panel thats kinda like a very shallow "V", like only 12 degrees is enuff. Make sure the high point of this panel is directly behind you.You may also need a panel "behind" your speakers or desk, too. Same "V" design applies here as well.

2. Carpet vs. Floor - If you have the choice, go with hard floors or hardwood floors, even better. Not only is it easier to move your chair around but if you need carpet, just roll out an area rug or two! Chances are you are going to be doing some tracking in the same room where your DAW is, I know I have! You can also construct some movable panels on wheels that you can make to surround or isolate a speaker cab or vocalist. Tile floors and concrete are just way too hard! Lots of reverb and slapback from those. Try going to an empty home filled with tile and you'll hear what I mean.

3. DAW placement - A lot of us just don't have a choice, but the best place for your DAW desk is as close to the center of the room as possible. This gets your speakers away from the walls and also places you in the best possible listening spot. If not, then at least get your speakers as far as possible from the wall. Especially corners, they are the worst!! Don't ever corner your speakers if you can help it! Also put any noisy equipment (CPU, power amp, etc.) into a closet or on the other side of a small panel so you can hear the speakers better. Also, place the speakers where the tweeters are at eye level. The desk itself also reflects sound waves so try to place the speakers behind the desk, not on it. Even better if you can angle the desktop down just a little like a drafting table.

Here is a picture of a basic studio design made in a garage that was divided into two parts. We don't even need to go this far unless you have the real estate and the cash! Notice the absorbers and how the walls are not at right angles? This keeps reflections way down. In the control room it is most important to kill all of the corners and make sure the walls are angled, not straight. Now, I know we can't do ALL of these things, but just showing you the basics in studio design and WHY they are designed that way will help us in our recordings. But, I know we can do some or most of these things in our studios to tune our rooms, good luck and we'll be in touch!

cgtrox