I’m sure you’ve had the experience of holding off on making some kind of improvement, but when you did make the change, it made such a difference you kicked yourself for not having done it sooner. Well, I’m no different — here are five studio upgrades I wish I’d done much sooner.
More inputs
The Mac can aggregate multiple audio interfaces, so it’s easy to add enough inputs to have all your audio sources patched in and ready to go — you may not need a patchbay. You can also aggregate with Windows’ native drivers. However, if you have an ASIO- or Core Audio–compatible interface with an ADAT optical input, adding another audio interface or expander with an ADAT optical out provides more inputs for either Windows or Mac.
Acoustic treatment
My previous home studio started with no treatment. Adding bass traps improved the sound significantly, which I thought was probably enough. But when I moved, my new home studio had been acoustically treated by the late Bart Walsh, who was David Lee Roth’s guitarist. The first time I stepped into the studio and heard the sound (or more correctly, the lack of sound) I usually associate with commercial studios, I wished I’d done a better job of treating my previous studio. Yes, it is possible to get a big studio sound in a home studio (or at least come close).
Sonarworks
I alternate between speakers and headphones when mixing, but they didn’t sound the same, and I was never quite sure which one was “right.” Sonarworks software claims to be able to flatten headphone response curves, as well as tune speakers, by using a series of measurements to compensate for the response of the speakers or headphones. I was skeptical about whether something like this could work, but I have several different sets of headphones, and all of them were supported, so I gave it a try. I loaded up the headphone profiles to flatten their curves and was surprised to find out that although the headphones still have different characters (i.e., the highs might sound a little more transparent on one pair than another), they all had a consistent frequency response. Then I tuned the speakers — between that and the acoustic treatment, now I can trust what I’m hearing.
Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizers
When I first saw these speaker isolation pads, I thought I detected the scent of snake oil — especially because I’d used other isolating pads, and they made no discernible difference. But these didn’t just make a little difference — they made a major difference. The bass was better and so was the imaging. I thought maybe it was my imagination, but I saw a demo at AES with the same pair of speakers set up side by side. You could switch between a set with pads or a set without. The difference was so obvious that one guy simply couldn’t believe it and assumed there was more in play than just a switch connected to an amplifier’s output. But there wasn’t. What’s more, I know other people who’ve tried these pads, and they all say the same thing — better bass, better imaging. What’s not to like?
Stealth Engineer’s Chair
I have an office chair in my office, but I didn’t think a “designer chair” was necessary in the studio. Wrong. The Crown Seating Stealth Engineer’s Chair has made long sessions far more comfortable. One of my favorite features is that you can remove the arms, so I removed the right arm — perfect for playing guitar while sitting down at the console. Worth the price? My body says, “absolutely.”