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Turn Your Closet Into A Recording Studio
Author: Eric Dellolio
Last Updated: February 9, 2024
Read Time: 7 Minutes
Turn Your Closet Into A Recording Studio
Author:
Eric Dellolio
Last Updated:
February 9, 2024
Read Time:
7 Minutes
Author: Eric Dellolio
Updated: Feb. 9, 2024
Read Time: 7 Minutes
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work-from-home push has been stronger than ever. Why sit in traffic, waste money on gas, and wake up earlier than you have to? Not surprisingly, this push was accompanied by a surge of DIY projects inspired by an abundance of how-to YouTube videos, Tik Toks, and Facebook videos. With more time spent at home, homeowners began investing their own time into fixing, building, or renovating their properties. If you tracked the share price of Home Depot from 2020 to 2022, you know what I mean.
We’ve seen this same trend when it comes to soundproofing a home or commercial space. One request that’s becoming more common is people wanting an in-home recording room. Instead of spending a bunch of money hiring someone to do it, many resourceful folks are getting creative and doing it themselves. You might ask, “Well, where does one even create a budget recording studio? Is it even possible to get decent quality audio?” You know where this is headed; use your closet.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work-from-home push has been stronger than ever. Why sit in traffic, waste money on gas, and wake up earlier than you have to? Not surprisingly, this push was accompanied by a surge of DIY projects inspired by an abundance of how-to YouTube videos, Tik Toks, and Facebook videos. With more time spent at home, homeowners began investing their own time into fixing, building, or renovating their properties. If you tracked the share price of Home Depot from 2020 to 2022, you know what I mean.
We’ve seen this same trend when it comes to soundproofing a home or commercial space. One request that’s becoming more common is people wanting an in-home recording room. Instead of spending a bunch of money hiring someone to do it, many resourceful folks are getting creative and doing it themselves. You might ask, “Well, where does one even create a budget recording studio? Is it even possible to get decent quality audio?” You know where this is headed; use your closet.
Soundproofing Vs Acoustics
Before getting to work on your closet recording studio, it’s important to cover what makes a professional soundproof studio successful in the first place. The two focus areas include soundproofing and acoustics. Soundproofing is important because when in your closet recording booth, you don’t want to be hearing any external noise, like loud talking from your family members in the next room.
Soundproofing should be your number one priority because it won’t really matter how great the sound quality is if outside noise is creeping into the background of your audio. Acoustics refer to the quality of the sound by reducing echo or reverb to ensure you’re producing sound that is clear and concise in your closet recording studio. Your closet has a head start on acoustics (we’ll get to it later).
How To Soundproof a Closet
Now that you’re familiar with what components are key to a successful closet recording setup, we’re going to identify the three areas where sound is most likely to transfer through so you can properly soundproof your closet recording studio. Theres a three step plan for soundproofing a closet:
- Soundproof the Door
- Soundproof the Walls
- Soundproof the Closet Windows (If you got them)
Step One: Soundproofing Your Closet Door
First, the door. Interior doors are tricky when it comes to soundproofing because they tend to be hollow core and lack the density needed to block sound. They also have big air gaps, especially below the door. If you have a soundproofing issue, you will need to replace your hollow core door with a solid core door. Then, install a Sound Lock Door Seal Kit on the solid core door. With this method, you can achieve a Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating of up to 51. An STC rating refers to a score given to a barrier based on its ability to reduce sound transferring through it. Anything over 40 will be excellent for your closet studio!
If replacing your door is not something you’re interested in while building your closet recording studio, you will not be able to soundproof the closet very well. We did write a guide on how to soundproof a hollow core interior door to give you your best alternatives.
Step Two: Soundproofing Your Closet Walls
The next area to focus on soundproofing is the walls of the closet. Like your door, you’ll want to ensure your walls are dense and airtight to reduce the sound that can transmit. Acoustical caulk is your best friend when making sure your walls are sealed well. Use it around the base of the wall behind the baseboards along with around any penetrations (outlets, light switches, and vents). Use our guide on acoustical sealant caulk to learn more about how to use this product successfully.
Now that you’ve sealed your walls, you’ll want to add density to your closet wells to soundproof them. Your best option is an additional ⅝” drywall with Green Glue between your two layers of drywall. This will increase the STC rating of the wall up to about 50. You might be hesitant to add ⅝” of drywall to your closet walls, because it’s already a small room – but if you need to stop sound through the walls – it’s by far your beat option for a properly soundproofed closet studio.
Remember that acoustic sealant you applied before adding the second layer of drywall? You’re going to want to apply that again after your second layer of drywall to ensure your wall is well sealed.
Some people don’t feel comfortable making such big adjustments to build their closet recording studio. That’s perfectly okay. For most people, just sealing up the door is going to be the biggest impact so we’d recommend you start there. And as always, feel free to call the experts at Second Skin to help you with any wall soundproofing questions.
Step Three: Soundproofing Your Closet Windows
The third component of soundproofing is the windows. While it’s not common for closets to have windows, you'll see it in larger closets. If you're using your giant closet as a makeshift recording studio, the window should be soundproofed. We build custom soundproof window inserts designed to block outside noise through an existing window, stopping up to 80% of noise.
Acoustics In Closet Recording Studio
Moving on to sound quality, it’s important to set up your closet recording booth so that you’re experiencing the best possible acoustics with your sound. Now, let’s start with expectations. This is not a professional level recording studio booth, BUT we know how to get the acoustics right. The key is to cut as much reverb as much as possible.
if you’ve chosen to use a closet filled with clothes as your recording room, you’ve picked the correct closet. You might achieve good enough quality sound with no extra absorption just because the huge volume of clothing absorbs sound. However, if the closet is empty, you’ll need to use alternative methods to reduce echo and reverb from interfering with your recording. One basic tip to keep in mind is focus on treating the walls, windows, ceiling, or door where you expect to be sitting to absorb those first reflections. This should influence the placement of any panels you install.
One of our most popular solutions in a closet are our CelluZorbe acoustic panels. They’re extremely cost-effective, so you don’t have to break your budget, and made of safe, recycled materials. They have a high noise reduction coefficient, and are just what the doctor ordered for a closet recording studio. Another cost-friendly option to consider is our EcoVerb panels, which comes in a variety of colors.
We have a huge variety of acoustical panels though. If you’re looking for your closet recording studio to look a bit more professional and want it to have the aesthetic of a real recording or vocal booth, we recommend either our PolyZorbe panels or fabric wrapped panels. These options are more on the pricey side, but they are more decorative and resemble what you may see in a commercial or office setting. So if appearance is important with your closet recording studio because you’re shooting a video, it is worth the extra investment in either of these panel options. We also offer EcoBass panels if you need low frequency control within your closet studio.
If you're looking for foam, you want to have the right stuff. There's a lot of cheap foam out there that's yellows quickly and is flammable. That's why Second Skin acoustic foam is a melamine foam that is also class A fire rated.
Our Mela Mute™ linear wedges, pyramids, and anechoic wedges are popular picks, and our super wedges are great for taming lower frequencies along with our corner bass traps.
Read our article for more home studio acoustics help, and be sure to reach out to us to discuss your project!