My home office is where I do all my editing and post production. I also use this space to record green screen footage, voice overs and the videos we produce for Pull My Focus.

When I first set up this room, the walls were bare and the floor uncarpeted. This made it difficult to record audio since all the flat, bare surfaces made sound reflect like crazy in my microphone. Then I’d spend time in post trying to fix the less than awesome audio.

Simply put, I wanted to reduce the reverberation or reverb in the room, so I can add it later if needed.

Reverb vs. Echo

A simple definition of reverb is:

"The gradual decay of original and reflected sound waves that occur naturally as a result of room acoustics."

Remember that reverb and echo are different. To be accurate, the term "echo" usually means:

"A distinct and separate delayed sound."

Getting back to my room situation, I needed to suppress the natural reverb of the room. Which meant I needed to reduce the duration of audio reflections in this space. One effective way to achieve this is to apply acoustic foam.

Note that soundproofing and sound absorption are two totally different things. Acoustic foam won’t allow me to play my Stevie Wonder “Music of My Mind” album at full blast at 3am without waking the baby. And, yes, I said album as in vinyl because it’s just the way I roll.

The Solution

Even if I covered every inch of space in this room with acoustic foam, I won’t achieve soundproofing. That takes mass, or weight and layers of it built into the walls and floor. This house just wasn’t built with that in mind.

But that’s okay! I simply want to control my sound. So I jumped on the internet and I ordered as much acoustic foam as my budget allowed.

Now not all foam is created equal, so don’t grab that packing foam you had left over from your last move, slap it on your wall and expect good results. That stuff looks the part, but it simply isn’t engineered for sound. It’s engineered to protect your furniture. I suggest you go online and look up actual acoustic foam, preferably something at least 2 inches deep measured from the base to the top of the pyramid. Buy the right stuff the first time.

The Mirror Trick

I placed the majority of the foam behind my master editing desk, making sure to have the wall behind my speakers covered for when I edit audio. This reduces the reflections coming from the back of the speakers. I also used the mirror trick to properly place foam on the side walls. Have a friend hold a handheld mirror on the side wall and move it until you see the reflection of the speaker in the mirror. That’s where you will place the foam.

Like I mentioned before, you don’t need to cover one hundred percent of your room with this stuff. But you do want to place them strategically. For example, if you have a blank spot on one wall, try to add some foam in that position to the opposite wall. That way you are reducing the repeated reflection off that wall.

If you have more foam, then you can add some directly over your chair or main working location and also some in the back. But as long as the front and sides are decently covered, you’re good to go.

The Results

So how much did the foam help, you ask? Here are some before and after tests I did. You’ll probably notice the difference better if you’re wearing headphones in a quiet environment. All in all, I’m now able to get a more dry sound when recording audio in this room. The foam is doing its job and my post production audio work is reduced.

There are other ways of controlling sound for your videos if you don’t have money to lay out on acoustic foam. If you record in your bedroom with carpet and a bed, then you are halfway there. Add some curtains or drapes and you may be already set. I would still suggest a small amount of foam near your recording area either way. The bottom line is, try to reduce the amount of flat, reflective surfaces in your recording space to control the sound going into your mic.

That’s it for my acoustic foam treatment. Let us know some of your solutions in the comments below.

LINKS:
Where I purchased my Acoustic Foam:
https://arrowzoom.com/

Music & Audio

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