Most home recordists don’t have access to a purpose-built tracking space, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited to the sound of the room you’re using for your studio. After all, many classic recordings were made in nonstandard locations such as charming old houses, unusual barns or outbuildings, or abandoned warehouses simply because these locations possessed an interesting — albeit imperfect — acoustic vibe that the artist or producer found inspiring. This article explores the places characteristically found in most homes that may be used to create distinctive, pleasing recordings. Remember, since every residence has unique acoustics, these ideas may or may not work in your specific situation. We hope they inspire you to think outside the box and uncover the unique sounds you can create in your recording environment.
Walk-in Closets
Finding an isolated recording space in a residential dwelling can be frustrating. That said, if you have a walk-in closet at your disposal, then converting it into a DIY vocal booth is easier than you think. A word of caution, however. For this to work, you’ll need a large walk-in closet as smaller closets create an unpleasant, suffocating vibe and lend a nasty, boxy quality to your recordings. Moreover, the closet’s parallel surfaces can create audible standing waves and resonances that can be more objectionable than the extraneous noises you’d hear in a non-isolated space.
Acoustic treatment is a must if you want your walk-in closet to function as an effective vocal booth. Bass traps are vital to control the low-frequency buildup inherent in rectangular spaces. You’ll also want to install enough absorption to attenuate any annoying slapback and flutter echo but not so much that the closet sounds like an anechoic chamber (sometimes the clothes hanging in the closet are sufficient for dampening). Last, a bit of diffusion can make the closet sound larger than it is.
You want to create a pleasant space with few sonic artifacts. What you don’t want to do is create a dry-as-toast space that evokes feelings of claustrophobia.
Broom Closets
While typical closets make for lousy vocal booths, they can work well for isolating guitar amplifiers. Unlike a walk-in-closet vocal booth, the goal is to make the space as dead as possible. Start with bass traps to mitigate runaway low frequencies (these will be very problematic in a small, square area) then cover the rest of the closet’s interior with thick absorption panels — the thicker, the better. Additionally, you may achieve an excellent sound by covering the amp or speaker cabinet and the microphone with a thick, heavy blanket.
This strategy works best with a cardioid dynamic microphone as these mics are less sensitive and, thus, less susceptible to room acoustics. Beyond that, you’ll need to balance your amplifier’s output level with how much it excites the closet’s walls. That said, you should be able to achieve enough volume from a smaller-size, lower-wattage amplifier to attain a satisfying sound.
Bathrooms
Want authentic ’50s-style slapback? Try recording in your bathroom. Since most bathrooms are relatively small and replete with tile, porcelain, and other reflective surfaces, they will produce the 50ms–150ms of natural slap echo you’ll need for a genuine rockabilly sonic experience.
Of course, you’ll probably need to play around with the room by adding some absorptive textures, such as towels or blankets, until you get the right amount of slap. Likewise, you’ll need to experiment with different microphones, polar patterns, and placements to see what works best.
Warning: it’s challenging to remove acoustic slapback from your audio once it’s recorded. That’s why it’s vital to get the correct balance at the source. But, if you get it right, the sound will transport you straight back to 1955.
Stairwells
Stairwells have long been used as an excellent source for interesting, textured ambiences. That’s why they’re commonly used as echo chambers. Therefore, if you have a stairwell in your house — especially a winding, wooden one — it would be a shame to let it go to waste.
To use your stairwell as a DIY chamber reverb, you’ll want to run audio from your console or audio interface to a powered speaker positioned in your stairwell. Next, place a microphone in the stairwell at a distance from the speaker, pointed away from the speaker to avoid capturing the speaker’s direct output, and run it back to your console or audio interface. You can also place two microphones in the stairwell for stereo reverb, but watch out for phasing issues if you use a stereo configuration.
You’ll likely need to experiment with mic and speaker placements to find the correct positioning. Once you’ve found a sound you like, set up an auxiliary send in your DAW and insert it onto a track. A huge benefit to this technique is that you’ll create a reverb exclusive to you — nobody else will be able to copy it. Thus, your recordings will sound as unique as you are!
Garages
If you’ve aimed — and failed — to obtain a massive, Bonham-esque drum sound, then you’re missing the primary ingredient: highly compressed room ambience. But, if you have a larger-size garage, the perfect room may have been sitting under your nose all along.
Most garages won’t sound great without some work, however. Instead, they’ll sound trashy, overly reverberant, and, well . . . like a garage. However, with some well-placed acoustic treatment, you’ll be able to transform your garage into a cavernous drum room, especially if your garage has exposed beams and a vaulted ceiling.
The biggest hurdle to overcome is the garage’s overpowering ambience. The first step in taming this is to place a large rug under the drum kit. Next, you’ll want to add enough absorbent material in the space to rein in the natural reverb without deadening the room. Plus, if you can find a way to minimize the room’s parallel surfaces, you’ll take it over the top.
When it’s time to record, close mic your kit as usual. Next, place microphones around the room to capture the ambience. A stereo pair of distant room mics and a closer mono mic are typical, but your mileage may vary. Experiment with positioning and orientation and see what sounds best. You may find that pointing mics toward the walls instead of toward the drums, or pointing a mic at the ceiling or floor, will yield an engaging, attention-grabbing sound.
Any Room in Your House
As we noted earlier, the ideas presented in this article are mere suggestions. Every dwelling has unique acoustics, and there’s no way to predict how something will sound unless you try it. What works in one house may sound terrible in another. Conversely, you may achieve a seriously cool sound by ignoring everybody’s well-intentioned advice and trying something that’s truly off the wall.
At the end of the day, you’ll find that every spot in your home exhibits a unique character that, in the right context, could blow everybody’s minds! So, stop limiting yourself to conventions. Play, experiment, and — above all — have fun!
Have questions about recording, microphones, acoustic treatment, or anything else we touched on? Give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 and share what’s on your mind. We’ll help you make all your sonic experiments a resounding success!