Home Recording Basics Ep. 03

Today we’re talking acoustic panels: essential equipment in the recording studio! Acoustic panels (sometimes called gobos) are a great way isolate a source from noise and generally control sound. They can be placed around, say, a guitar amplifier for a more isolated sound, or used as a wall or ceiling panel to control acoustic reflections and tune the sound of a recording space. There are a great place to save money, because these can often be built DIY style for the same or lower price as the professionally manufactured ones, at significantly higher build quality.

For additional specific details on bass trap and acoustic panel construction, check out our article Bass Traps and Air Gaps!

How to build an acoustic panel

First, build an open wooden box as a basic frame. Butt joints are fine. Keep it simple.

This frame is then filled with sound absorbing foam, and then covered in fabric that’s stapled to the outer frame. The type of foam you use is very important! Ask this question if you’re purchasing panels made DIY by someone else.

What type of acoustic foam to use in an acoustic panel

Make sure the acoustic foam you use in your panels is rated to maximize its sound absorption properties. Thicker foam equals a greater acoustic effect over a wider range of frequencies.

You can’t throw just any home insulation product into a frame and expect acoustic results.

We want the most acoustic control bang for our buck with these panels, so spending more for special acoustically rated foam is required.

Those thin black Auralex foam squares are often a waste of your money! They are too thin to affect anything but the very highest frequencies, and low frequency issues are the biggest problem in any small space. Thin black foam won’t touch any of these lower frequencies, so you could cover whole walls with this product and not actually solve some very common acoustic issues.

It’s a big red flag when I see black Auralex foam in a studio with nothing else having been done. You might as well just throw curtains on the wall and save some money; curtains can be just as effective at controlling higher frequencies, but again not so much on the mids and lows, which will likely be your biggest issues.

Specific product recommendations for acoustic foam in your panels

Owens Corning 703 is a rigid fiberglass foam that is an effective sound absorber. A little more expensive than other options. It comes as a rigid panel that’s thin enough that you might want to double layer it inside the frame you build. The sheets are precut, and can be a little easier to work with. Easy to build a wooden frame around because it’s a rigid fiberglass.

I really like Rock Wool Mineral Wool: 4 inch thickness, #4 density. They have a newer brand name called Safe 'n’ Sound that is designed to be an effective sound absorber.

This product is cheaper that Owens Corning, and very effective in something like a bass trap. It pulls frequencies down more evenly across the spectrum, and is quite effective in controlling the lowest frequencies. It is messier to work with, and needs to be packed correctly within the frame you build.

How to research effective acoustic foam products

Always check the published specs of an insulation product, before purchase for a panel.

Every insulation product will have published acoustics performance listed somewhere, and just make sure you’re buying a product with the strongest acoustic absorption properties-this will vary by product.

When you’re setting up your panels, the thicker they are, the better! If you’re going to the trouble to build acoustic panels, I’d make them at least 6 inches thick. 4 inches is a good minimum, or they won‘t do as much to control sound.

Professional studios sometimes have structural bass traps, where there’s a false wall into a space filled with acoustic absorption that could be several feet thick! The thicker the volume of absorption, the more effective in the mid and bass regions they can be.

What types of acoustic panels should I design for my recording studio?

The outer dimensions of your panels will depend on where they’re going and what they’re doing, and the size of your space.

You should have several hanging wall panels for reflection control in your mixing space, and several larger standalone panels for use around amps and instruments. And, as many bass traps as you can fit in your space is usually a good place to start. Often, you can build corner bass traps; these take up underused space in a room, and are very effective at controlling uneven low end in a recording or mixing space.

If you build enough standalone acoustic panels to make a cube (five of them), now you’ve got a portable vocal booth that can be set up anywhere!

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