A podcast is audio-driven content. Podcasts are recorded to find interesting people, share knowledge with them, or build a whole community of like-minded people. There are many types of podcasts, from entertainment content to scientific lectures. Sometimes podcasts come out as a talk show on YouTube with the studio and guests. They are often streamed live. It is essential to record high-quality audio with the speech of the host and guests to create a podcast. This article will show you how to organize your modern content creation space and turn your living space into a home podcast studio where you can get great sound.
The main enemy of good sound in a podcast studio design is reverberation
The room significantly affects the sound quality and sets the tone and atmosphere of the podcast, especially if the podcast is additionally recorded on video. Worst of all is a large and empty room with no furniture and will have a hideous echo drowning out the voice. Best of all is a small radio room, muffled with mineral wool. Soundproofing in the room also plays a role. No one wants to listen to the screams of a neighbor's child and the noise of cars from the window.
Not everyone will agree to build an expensive podcast studio design and make soundproofing in the room for the sake of a podcast. However, this is important if you are wondering how to become an inspiring podcaster. Fortunately, there are simple and effective ways to get good sound:
- Find a suitable room. Ideal if no windows. It is even better if its walls are not parallel to each other, the ceiling will be sloped, etc. Incorrect geometry will reduce the echo effect - this is called reverberation.
- Put a lot of furniture in it. The sofa, armchair, and sofa are excellent sound absorbers. A friend of mine even invested in Gym Equipment by Tonic Performance to balance work and exercise. In addition, any shelves, racks, cabinets are suitable, especially those heaped with books, old CDs and all sorts of rubbish. Most importantly, beware of the dishes because they rattle and give off sounds.
- Add as many interior items as possible. Spread a rug on the floor, hang another on the wall, add decorative pillows, large plants, etc.
If podcasts and streams are with video from the studio, then the area that the camera sees should be decorated with taste. With the rest of the areas, you can follow the rule: the more furniture and interior items, the better the sound. If you don't want to spoil the interior with huge panels, and there is no task to achieve the perfect result, you can always use the tricks from the list below:
Podcast Studio Design Tips
1. Rearrange speakers
In a standard rectangular room, you can place speakers along a long or short wall. Each method of this podcast studio design has both advantages and disadvantages:
- When positioned along a long wall, the primary reflections from the side walls will reach the listener later than the sound from the speakers. As a result, the sound will become clearer. However, due to the small distance from the speakers to the listener, long low-frequency waves will not have time to open up, which will lead to some lack of bass.
- Conversely, the bass will increase if you put the speakers along a short wall and sit away from them, but the sound will be less clear.
Either way, it is recommended to position the speakers exactly in the center of the wall so that reflections from the side walls reach the listener simultaneously. If the speakers are equipped with a bass reflex, you should not put them close to the wall. Otherwise, the signal will be partially transmitted to the rear wall and partially reflected from it. All this will lead to the low frequencies being heard not by the listener but by the neighbors. In order not to impress them with the deep bass of your audio system, it is better to move the speakers at least half a meter away from the wall.
2. Place speakers on stands
Floor-standing speakers and subwoofers are often placed directly on the floor, and the shelf speaker is placed on the table. As a result, vibrations from the audio system are transmitted to the entire room, which adds rattling and parasitic overtones and disturbs the neighbors.
Owners of large floor-standing speakers and subwoofers can be advised of unique anti-vibration mounts. They can be bought in stores for musicians, or you can make them yourself from the densest foam rubber.
For shelf acoustics, in addition to vibration-isolating stands, you will need stands that allow them to be positioned approximately at the same level with the listener's ear. The difference between these podcast studio design options, speakers on a table and speakers on stands, is so significant that many do not recognize the sound of their own audio system.
3. Move furniture
Calculators help you calculate the best speaker placement and standing waves in a room, but they are only valid for an empty space. In reality, the room is never empty, so along with the movement of the speakers, you need to move the furniture as well.
If there is a sofa in the room, it is best to place it directly opposite the speakers. A massive sofa will perfectly absorb sound waves. If you have a chair, it should be placed in the corner of the room - it will be an excellent bass trap. A wardrobe with clothes can play the same role - low frequencies will easily pass through the walls of the wardrobe and get stuck in the fabric. But the gym equipment is best leaned against the side wall - they will be an excellent diffuser.
4. Seal holes for sockets and a door threshold
In an apartment building, sound tends to seep out to neighbors through through-hole sockets. You can insert a mineral wool cylinder there or fill it with a non-combustible sealant; on the Internet, you can search for special acoustic sealants for such purposes.
Do not forget about your household, to whom the sound seeps through the loosely closing door and the gap under it. An ordinary rubber seal and a nut will help to cope with the problem.
5. Cover windows with curtains
Huge windows on the entire wall are pleasing to the eye, but not to the ear if the task is to achieve excellent sound in the room. You do not need to close them with wooden shutters. Ordinary thick curtains are enough. The denser and heavier the fabric, the better it will absorb unnecessary echo. Sound engineers for home podcast studio designs sometimes cover windows with blankets or even sleeping bags. They sometimes install a sheet of plexiglass on the window, attaching it to a sealant. This eliminates glass vibrations at high sound volumes and also improves sound insulation in the room.
Drum dampers are an excellent option. These are sculpted on drums and cymbals in the podcast studio design to muffle an overly loud element of the setup. If you stick a few of these around the edges of the window, they will help dampen vibrations. Soft toys with suction cups can work similarly.
6. Put the rug
If you want to be the best in hosting a podcast in 2021, you should think even of details. If there are tiles on the floor, then reflections will be a serious obstacle to good sound. In this case, you can put a carpet on the floor. Solid rugs with coarse piles are best. It is worth mentioning stretch fabric ceilings, which will help cope with reflections from above, although this is already a complicated and costly solution.
As for the carpet on the wall, this solution should only be resorted to when the sound in the room is too bright, with a predominance of high frequencies, since it is their carpet that absorbs the best. If the room, on the contrary, is deaf and booming, with problems in low frequencies, then it can only get worse. In this regard, the carpet is not much different from acoustic foam rubber in pyramids, which absorbs only the upper frequencies due to its low mass. It should only be used in a bright room.
7. Add plants
It is no coincidence that residential buildings are protected from highways with trees. Plants are excellent at absorbing and dissipating sound. Any large spreading flowers are suitable: croton, aspidistra, monstera, various palms and ficuses, citrus fruits such as lemon and tangerine. Even large succulents placed in the corner of the room will be a good bass trap. A good option would be a panel made of stabilized moss or even entire walls with vertical gardening. Plants create coziness and an eye-pleasing interior. The main thing is not to overdo it with the humidity in the room so as not to disable the podcast equipment.
8. Add shelves
Sound waves can not only be absorbed but also scattered. The fewer flat surfaces are better. For example, bookcases without doors are excellent at diffusing sound. Books arranged a little chaotically form a raised surface and turn into a beautiful diffuser. This method is used even in large recording studios. Racks with discs, vinyl, collectible toys, and other items, as well as blinds on windows, work in a similar way if it was not possible to get thick curtains.
9. Incorporate your brand
It's super important to have your brand on show when podcasting... as this will help monetise your show to allow you to keep making it better and better over time!
You can do this in two ways:
A - Ensure your logo is on show somewhere in the frame. If you don't have a logo yet, HubSpot's free logo maker will solve that problem for you
B - Ensure that your brand colours are on show... this is a great tool to help you find your colours!
Conclusion
Without a doubt, full-fledged acoustic panels and diffusers will perform the task more efficiently, but for many, the methods presented above will suffice. Plus, most of them cost little or nothing. These techniques will help improve the sound in the room and provide a more comfortable space for creativity and relaxation.
