Home Studio ​ y Ro Mayzes 

Home Studio : How to Design 

and Build Your Dream Studio 

Settin up a home studio isn t eas . 

It takes a it o time and mone to et oin . 

But hen ou et it i ht… ​ o , is it o th it. 

When ou ha e a p ope l setup home studio, ou an p odu e musi at home 

that sounds p o essional. You an p odu e musi that s o th o the adio. 

In a t, nume ous musi ians ha e p odu ed hit sin les and al ums in home 
studios. People no ​ hoose​ to e o d at home athe than in an e pensi e studio. 

One o m a ou ite lo - ud et al ums, Fo Emma, Fo e e A o Bon I e as 

e o ded in a a in – ith onl a heap Shu e SM mi ophone. 

The Bla k Ke s p odu ed thei i st t o al ums in Pat i k Ca ne s asement. 

The White St ipes e o d De Stijl on an ei ht-t a k in Ja k White s li in oom. 

Foo Fi hte s e o ded Wastin Li ht in Da e G ohl s a a e. The list oes on… 

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Home Studio ​ y Ro Mayzes 

How to Build a Home Studio That Wo ks 

This isn t just an a ti le a out the asi e uipment needed to e o d at home. 

This is a out uildin a ull - un tionin home studio apa le o p odu in #  

hits. 

Don t et me on – it s pe e tl possi le to p odu e an hi h- ualit al um 

ith just a heap mi ophone and a pai o headphones i ou ha e the skills. 

But onside in thin s like oom hoi e, studio desi n and a o da le a ousti  
t eatment ill make e o din and mi in at home a easie . 

You mi ht al ead ha e all o the asi e uipment needed to setup a home 

studio in hi h ase, ou an skip to the se tion on home studio desi n . 

But o those ho don t, let s sta t ith the asi s… 

  

Home Studio Setup: What E uipment You Need 

The e a e ke pie es o e uipment that ou need to sta t a su ess ul home 
studio: 

1. Laptop o Compute  
2. Audio Inte a e 
3. Mi ophone o t o  
4. Mi ophone Ca les 
5. Mi ophone Stand 
6. Pop Shield 
7. Headphones 
8. Monito Speake s 
9. E te nal HDD 

With this home e o din studio e uipment, ou an p odu e eat musi at 
home. 

But e en then, some o these items a e optional. You don t ne essa il needed 
speake s, and a lot o people lea n to mi on headphones. An e te nal HDD ill 
help, ut ou an still e o d ithout one. 

Let s look at ea h item in a it mo e detail. 

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Laptop o ompute  
An mode n ompute ill e su i ient o e o din . 

But, i ou ant to un la e p oje ts ith a hi h num e o hannels, a ompute  

ith a po e ul CPU and GB+ o am ill help. 

You also need to onside the ope atin s stem. Pe sonall , I ha e ound that Ma  
ompute s a e a mo e elia le and sta le hen o kin ith audio. 

  

Audio Inte a e 

Ima e ou tesy o ​Wikimedia​  

Most people hose to use a USB audio inte a e. This pie e o e uipment allo s 
ou to onne t the mi ophone, speake s and headphones to ou ompute . 

Somethin like the Fo us ite i o P eSonus AUdio o ill o k ell o most 

appli ations. 

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I ou need mo e hannels, ou ill need a la e inte a e. E entuall ou mi ht 

also ant to up ade to somethin ith ette p eamps and on e te s, like the 
Apollo T in o Apo ee Duet. 

  

Mi ophones 

Sta t o ith a a dioid la e diaph a m ondense mi ophone. 

Let me eak that do n… 

You ant to i e p e e en e to ​ a dioid​ mi ophones hen e o din at home. 

The eje t sound om the ea , so a e use ul o less-than-pe e t ooms. 

And the pe e t t pe o mi ophone o ou i st mi is a ​la e diaph a m 

ondense ​. 

This mi t pe sounds eat on o als, a ousti uita s and othe a ousti sou es. 

The sE Ele t oni s sE a is m a o ite a o da le mi ophone. The Rode NT  

and Audio-Te hni a AT a e t o othe solid options. 

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Then, i ou ant to add anothe mi ophone to ou a senal, I e ommend 

pu hasin a a dioid ​dynami ​ mi ophone. 

These mi s sound ette on uita a s, pe ussion and sometimes o als too. 

He e, I ould e ommend the Shu e SM o SM . 

  

Mi ophone Ca les 
Yep, p ett o in , ut essential! 

Don t spend too mu h he e. I the a le o ks, it o ks. You need a alan ed XLR 
a le. 

I ind that the middle ound is usuall est ith a esso ies. 

Don t o o the most e pensi e option – ut don t o o the heapest eithe . You 
ant thin s to last. 

  

Mi ophone Stand 
The same oes he e. Go o the middle ound. 

You need one stand pe mi ophone. 

  

Pop Shield 
I ou e e e o d o als, ou n
​ eed​ a pop shield. 

The a en t e pensi e, and ill stop plosi es om uinin ou o al e o din s. 

  

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Headphones 

You ha e t o options he e: losed- a k o open- a k headphones. 

Closed- a k headphones a e o monito in hen e o din o mi in on the l  

in pu li pla es . 

Open- a k headphones a e o mi in . 

Fo ou i st pai , o o losed- a k headphones. You an still mi on them just 

emem e to mi at a lo olume and use a e e en e t a k . 

I lo e the Sennheise HD headphones o an a o da le i st pai . 

  

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Monito Speake s 

It s di i ult to lea n ho to mi ithout a set o p ope studio monito s. 

These speake s ha e a lat esponse, so ou hea the mi as it eall is. No mal hi- i 
speake s olo the sound – not ood. 

You ​ an​ mi on headphones alone. But onl a te a lot o p a ti e and e pe ien e. 

E en then, it s al a s o th he kin ou mi on monito s. 

I lo e the a o da le Yamaha monito s, su h as the HS s o HS s. 

Fo smalle ooms, opt o ″ speake s. Fo la e ooms, o a ousti all t eated 

ooms, opt o ″ speake s. 

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It doesn t eall matte hi h speake s ou hose, thou h – just u a pai and 

sti k ith them o a lon time. Lea n ho the sound. 

It s also o th in estin in a set o monito stands o monito pads. 

You need to e a e ul ho ou set ou monito s up – e a e oin to look into 

this in mu h mo e depth late in this uide. 

  

E te nal HDD 
I ou sta t e o din lots o musi , ou a e oin to un out o ha d d i e spa e 
p ett ui kl . 

Pu hase a dedi ated e te nal HDD and a kup ou p oje ts the e.  

You DAW ill p o a l un smoothe i ou e o d st ai ht to the e te nal disk 

too. 

That’s all o the asi e o din e uipment you need to uild a home studio! 
No e an mo e onto e o din studio desi n. 

  

   

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Home Studio Design: The Pe fect Room Setup 

You mi ht ha e the est e uipment in the o ld… 

But i ou don t set it up p ope l , ou e mi es ill ne e imp o e. 

You don t NEED to do an o this. But hoosin the i ht oom, settin it up 
p ope l and addin some a o da le a ousti t eatment ill make ou jo X 
easie . 

I an emem e the i st time I e-o anized m oom and added a ousti  

t eatment. It as a ​ eakth ou h​ o me. 

Suddenl I ould hea e e detail o the mi , e e su tle EQ mo e and all o the 

lo end. 

In this uide, I ant to sho ou ho to do the same. 

But don t et o sessed ith this stu . No oom is pe e t.  

It s hi hl unlikel that ou ill e a le to ind the pe e t oom, put the speake s 

in the pe e t position and t eat the oom pe e tl . 

E en p o essional desi ned and uilt studios make a ious omp omises. 

Just t to meet as man o the ollo in su estions as possi le. 

I ou an t, ou ill still e a le to p odu e ood mi es. 

M oom is FAR om ideal. But I an still mi in it.  

Don t et too au ht up in the s ien e. Do ou est, and then lea n to mi ith 

hat ou ha e. 

No , let s di in… 

  

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Choose the Ri ht Room 

The e a e ital thin s ou must onside hen hoosin a oom: 

1. The size o the oom 

2. The dimensions o the oom 
3. The su a es ithin the oom 
4. The hei ht o the eilin  
5. Noise le el ithin the oom 

Room Size 
A oid small ooms. The e an a ousti al ni htma e. 

The i e the oom, the ette . Plus, that means mo e spa e o e o din and 
possi l a d um kit . 

Room Dimensions 
A oid ooms ith e ual idth and len th dimensions. 

I the oom is an e a t s ua e, a oid it like the pla ue. 

This eates an immense uildup o standin a es hi h a e ad . 

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Room Su a es 
T to a oid ooms ith too man e le ti e, ha d su a es. 

A kit hen ould e the o st pla e o a home studio. But h ould ou ant to 
do that, an a ? 

A oom ith a loo len th indo o mi o alon a hole all ould e a ad 
hoi e. 

A on ete asement ould e a VERY ad hoi e. 

Wooden loo s a e desi a le as a pet onl a so s hi h e uen ies, hi h an 

make the oom sound mu led.  

But indo s, mi o s, a e on ete, ma le et . a e hi hl undesi a le. 

  

Ceilin Hei ht 

I the eilin is too lo , e ti al e le tions a e oin to e ome mu h mo e o an 
issue. 

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When ou e o d o als, o e ample, a st on e le tion om the eilin an 

ause om ilte in – hi h is e ad. 

As o mi in , a lo eilin an e e uall dest u ti e. 

  

Noise Le el 
Can ou hea passin t a i in the oom? Is it ne t to an A/C unit? O a oile ?  

You ant the oom to e as uiet as possi le. 

  

Don t Ha e a Choi e? 

Quite o ten ou ill onl ha e one oom a aila le to ou. O ma e ou ha e a 
tempo a setup in a ed oom o li in oom. 

This is he e a ousti t eatment e omes ital. 

I ou su e om an o the p o lems mentioned a o e, the e a e a s to edu e 

the ne ati e e e ts ith a ousti t eatment. This ill e dis ussed late in the 
uide. 

​Room Setup and Speaker Placement 

Be o e ou onside a ousti t eatment, ou need to make su e o anize ou  
oom in the i ht a . 

It s easie to sta t ith an empt oom. This i es ou a lank an as to o k ith. 

The main thin to onside hen desi nin the la out o ou oom is the 
position o the speake s. 

When e o din , ou a e mo ile in most ases . You an mo e the mi ophone 

a ound the oom. 

But on e ou set up ou speake s, the e onna sta the e. 

He e s the ideal a to set up ou oom… 

  

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Position the Speake s A a F om the Wall 

Man monito speake s ha e ass po ts on the a k. I ou position them i ht up 
a ainst a all, the on t o k p ope l . 

Che k the manu a tu e s uidelines o the minimum distan e et een the 

speake and the all. 

Cont a to popula elie , positionin ou speake s a oot o t o - m 

a a om the all ​doesn t al a s esult in a mo e e en ass esponse. 

In a t, sometimes it an e en e det imental. The e le tion om the all an 

ause mo e issues than the ass uildup that omes om ha in ou speake s 
nea a all. 

The solution? 

Position ou speake s the minimum distan e om the all a o din to the 

manual . Then, i ou an, edu e the ass on ou speake s. 

  

Distan e to the Rea Wall and Side Walls Should Be Une ual 
I the speake s a e the same distan e om the a k all as the side alls, mo e 
them. 

This an esult in a ​ uildup o standin a es. 

Fo e ample, i ea h speake is ″ om the ea all AND ″ o m the side all, 

the should e mo ed. 

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Position the Speake s Alon the Lon est Wall 

This ONLY applies i ou ha e a la e oom. 

You aim he e is to edu e the olume o the i st e le tions om the speake s 

into ou ea s. 

St on e le tions om an ause om ilte in and a an e o othe issues. 

These ome om the nea est alls to the le t and i ht o the speake s. 

You don t need to kno ​all​ the details – just kno that the i st e le tions a e 
hi hl p o lemati . 

B positionin the speake s alon the lon est all, ou a e mo in that e le tion 
point u the a a om the speake s. This edu es thei olume, as the must 
no t a el u the e o e ea hin ou ea s. 

To maintain a s mmet i al ste eo ima e, it s est to position the speake s in the 

middle o the all. 

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BUT, i ou ha e a small oom, this ould e a ad idea.  

I positionin the speake s alon the lon est all auses the listenin position to 
e o e hal a a oss the idth o the oom… don t do it. 

This leads ni el onto m ne t tip… 

  

   

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A oid Ha in You Listenin Position Hal a A oss the Len th 

o the Room 
This onl applies to the len th o the oom AND the distan e et een the loo  
and eilin . 

I ou head is hal a et een t o the ont all and a k all, OR hal a  

et een the loo and eilin – ou ill hea a distin t loss in ass. 

Conside the loo and eilin as ell as the alls. 

  

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C eate an E uilate al T ian le Bet een You Head and the 

Speake s 
The distan e et een the speake s should e the same as the distan e om ou  
head to ea h speake . 

This is the listenin s eet spot. 

  

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Position the Speake s at Ea Le el 

Most a o da le monito speake s a e nea - ield as the a e desi ned o smalle  
ooms. This means the a e di e tional and ha e a desi nated s eet spot on the 
e ti al plane as ell as the ho izontal plane. 

T to et the t eete the smalle speake a o e the la e one le el ith ou  

ea s. 

  

Don t Put You Speake s on Thei Sides 

Unless ou monito s a e spe i i all desi ned to e mounted on thei sides, 
position them up i ht. 

I ou don t ou ill ompletel th o o the s eet spot. 

  

Point the Speake s To a ds You Ea s 

Most speake s a e desi ned to e an led in a ds pointin at ou ea s- not 
pointin st ai ht ahead. 

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That s it o speake pla ement. 

I ealize that s a lot to onside , so don t o too mu h i ou an t meet e e  

e ui ement.  

To e pe e tl honest ith ou, m listenin en i onment onl meets %o 

these needs. You ha e to make omp omises. 

No that ou speake s a e in the ideal lo ation, ou an onside t eatin the 

oom a ousti all . 

   

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Home Studio ​ y Ro Mayzes 

Home Studio Acoustic T eatment 

A ousti t eatment has t o main aims: 

1. Co e t an p o lems ith the oom 

2. C eate an ideal en i onment o e o din /mi in  

Be o e e o into mo e detail, I just ant to lea somethin up: 

Don t let a ousti t eatment s a e ou. 

It doesn t need to e ompli ated, and ou don t need to e a s ientist. 

The stud o a ousti s is an enti e ield o ph si s. But ou don t eall need to 
kno ​any o that​ in o de to t eat ou oom to a ood standa d. 

  

Whi h T pe o T eatment? 
A ousti t eatment doesn t ha e to e e pensi e. You an uild ou o n 
a ousti panels i ou ha e the time ​he e s ho ​ . 

A oid oam a ousti t eatment. It seems like this is the est option, ut it s all 
ma ketin . 

Foam t eatment onl a e ts hi h e uen ies. In a home studio, it s the lo  

e uen ies that a e the most p o lemati . 

Build ou o n o k ool/ i e lass panels o pu hase p

​ e-made a so e  
panels. 

  

Gue illa A ousti T eatment 

I ou ha e a omplete la k o unds, ou an imp o ise ith household items. T  
usin the ollo in in pla e o a so e panels: 

● Matt esses 
● Thi k Du ets 
● Thi k D apes and Cu tains 

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Ideal Acoustic T eatment Placement 

These a e the p ima lo ations to pla e a ousti t eatment in a home studio o  
MIXING, in o de o p io it … 

– Fi st Re le tion Points on Side Walls 

The alls to the le t and i ht o the speake s. Ima ine the alls a e a mi o . 
Whe e e ou ould see the speake s is he e ou should pla e the t eatment. 
Also onside the eilin i it s lo . 

I ou a e usin o k ool panels, t to make the panels at least ″ m thi k. 

You an also add an ai ap ehind the panel to in ease the e i ien . In m  

oom, I opted o ″ panels ith a ″ ai ap at the i st e le tion points. 

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– Room Co ne s 
This is he e ass uilds up the most.  

You an use pu pose made ass t aps… 

O ou an a so e panels at an an le a oss the o ne . This has the added 

ene it o eatin an ai ap that in eases the e i ien o the panel. 

Also o o thi kness he e ith panels ideall thi ke than ″ m . 

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– Wall Behind Speake s 

A te t eatin the side alls and o ne s, ou an pla e t eatment ​ ehind​ ou  
monito speake s. 

This ill allo ou to mo e them a it u the a a om the all o eet  

ithout su e in the ill e e ts o om ilte in om the e le tions. This ill 
esult in a mo e onsistent lo end and no need to ut the lo s om ou  
speake s an mo e . 

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Fi in Room Issues 
I ou ha e a less than ideal oom, ou an also t eat those issues. 

Fo e ample, i the all has a lot o ha d, e le ti e su a es, add mo e a so ption.  

I the eilin is pa ti ula l lo , add a so ption the e. 

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Acoustic T eatment fo Reco ding 

So a e ha e onl dis ussed oom setup and t eatment o mi in . A oom that 
is ideal o e o din has a di e ent set o e ui ements.  

Fo us, thou h, o kin in a one oom home studio e ui es some omp omises. 

He e a e a e tips o eatin a h id e o din /mi in oom… 

  

Don t make the oom too dead 

In ene al, ou ant a li e oom o e o din .  

This means a oom that has mo e di usi e o e le ti e su a es, athe than a 

oom ith a lot o a so ption. 

To ind the alan e, just ​ e a e ul not to o e t eat you oom.  

But, that ould e a e ha d thin to do.  

Unless ou in ested onside a le time and e o t into uildin o pu hasin a 

hi h num e o a so e panels, the oom ill e app op iate o e o din . 

Just don t o e the eilin s and alls in a pet. That s the o st thin ou ould 
do, om oth a mi in AND e o din pe spe ti e. 

  

Use mo ea le panels 
I the panels that ou uild o pu hase a e mo ea le, ou an set them up o  
spe i i e o din e ui ements. 

Fo e ample, ou ould make a o al ooth out o panels positioned into a 

t ian le. 

O ou ould pla e a panel in ont o a uita a to edu e e le tions om the 

opposin all. 

  

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Split the oom into t o hal es 

Dedi ate one side to mi in . Add a so e panels at the i st e le tion points, 
o ne s and alls nea est the speake s. 

Then lea e the othe end o the oom li e ith no a so ption o t eatment. 

  

Conclusion 
Settin up a home studio that an p odu e studio-le el mi es isn t eas … 

But it doesn t ha e to ost a lot eithe . 

Pla in the speake s in the est position o the oom ill ha e a d asti impa t, 
and on t ost ou a thin . 

And i ou an spa e the time to uild a ousti panels, ou ill noti e ho easie  
mi in e omes. 

At the same time, it s pe e tl oka i ou don t ha e the time o

​ ​ mone o  
a ousti t eatment… o e en monito speake s. 

You an still et eat esults ith a sin le mi ophone and a pai o headphones 
– it mi ht just take ou a little lon e . 

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