How to Soundproof a Recording Studio

Doors are one of the most important points in a studio. A standard interior door won’t cut it. They will allow sound to pass easily through them and around them. For a professional studio, you need a recording studio door. These doors are engineered with heavy cores, airtight seals, and specialized frames to achieve high STC 56 ratings. Take the time to ensure you have a perfect install so you can ensure your entryways are for people only, and not for sound.

If extra soundproofing measures are required, using two studio doors in a vestibule will take your soundproofing to the max.

Standard windows cannot be used in a studio. Our recording studio window is designed to fully isolate recording spaces while maintaining the visibility you need. These windows can come in 4 STC ratings: 45, 49, 56, and 58, though the former two are not recommended for professional recording spaces. Each window (besides the STC 49) can be made with angled glass to ensure sound is not reflected straight back into microphones.

Similar to the soundproof windows, take the time to install these windows with care and precision to ensure you are not compromising your recordings.

The walls, ceiling, and floor form the structural box that contains sound within the recording studio. Effective soundproofing requires a combination of mass, decoupling, and airtight sealing to keep sound from transferring between spaces.

Walls and Ceiling

Structural isolation is critical for studio walls and ceilings. One of the most effective systems uses RSIC-1 clips, decoupling hardware that isolates the drywall from the framing structure, reducing structural sound transfer. Our guides on how to soundproof a wall and how to soundproof a ceiling explain the full installation processes.

To further improve STC performance, applying Green Glue between layers of drywall can eek out some additional sound reduction.

Floor

The floor is not generally thought of as much, but making sure to prevent hard contact with the walls with the use of non-hardening acoustical sealant is very important. Many studios will also install a rubber isolation layer such as sound absorbing underlayment to decouple the finished flooring from the rest of the structure to reduce structural sound generated by instruments, monitors, and foot traffic.

More details on floor assemblies can be found in our guide on how to soundproof a floor.

Mechanical systems are one of the most common hidden sources of sound leakage in a recording studio. HVAC ducts, electrical penetrations, and ventilation pathways can allow sound to travel through the building if they are not treated properly. Any openings in the wall assembly—such as HVAC ducts, cable penetrations, or outlets—must be treated carefully. Start by making sure all wall penetrations are sealed with acoustic sealant.

Duct treatment is essential in professional studio builds, and this guide on soundproof HVAC vents explains how ventilation systems can be designed to prevent sound leakage. At the very least, using acoustic duct liner inside the vents is a must. This keeps sound from reflecting off the walls of the ducts. For more detailed systems, an acoustic baffle box can also be used to force sound waves to travel through multiple absorptive surfaces before exiting the ventilation system.

Before placing acoustic materials, it's important to understand reverberation time (RT60). RT60 measures how long it takes for sound to decay by 60 dB after the source stops. Each room in a recording studio requires a different target RT60 depending on how it is used.

Live rooms require a slightly longer decay to preserve natural sound, while control rooms and vocal booths require tighter control so engineers can hear recordings accurately. Designing each room around these targets helps ensure consistent and professional sound quality throughout the studio for an optimal recording space.

Here is a table to breakdown each room’s target RT60:

The live room is where musicians perform together, so the goal is to maintain a natural and balanced sound while controlling reflections. Your optimal RT60 is between 0.8s-0.9s.

Acoustic Panels

Rather than focusing only on specific reflection points, acoustic panels should be distributed evenly throughout the room to reduce reverberation without eliminating the natural sound of the room. Acoustic Pro Fabric Wrapped Panels are going to be your most popular pick for their design capabilities and quality of absorption, but Second Skin’s selection of acoustic panels doesn’t stop there.

Some studios prefer acoustic foam because they are lightweight and easy to install. Our high-quality acoustic foam is class A fire rated melamine foam to prioritize safety and performance.

Bass Traps

Bass traps should be installed in corners to help control low-frequency buildup that can otherwise make recordings sound muddy or undefined. In many professional studio builds, engineers rely on products such as our foam corner bass traps to absorb these problematic frequencies and improve the overall balance of the room.

Diffusers

Diffusers can also be introduced to scatter sound in all different directions and create a sense of spaciousness to the room. Our 3D diffuser is a popular pick among our studio clients.

The control room is where critical listening and mixing occur, so balance is everything. Your target RT60 is between 0.6s-0.8s, but it’s not as simple as just reducing the reverb time.

Acoustic Panels

There are three must-have locations for your acoustic panels:

• Monitor Coverage: Place acoustic panels behind and beside studio monitors
• Engineer Coverage: First reflection points from your near field monitors on the side walls and back wall relative to the audio engineer
• Client/Guest Coverage: For large playback monitors used for clients and guests, you will also need to cover the first reflections on the side walls and back wall relative to where they would sit in addition to where the mixer sits

Acoustic Clouds

There is one must location for an acoustic cloud and that’s above the mixing console to reduce the overhead reflections. That acoustic cloud should be the size of the board or bigger. You can also add acoustic clouds to the rest of the room. Check out our top-quality acoustic cloud options.

Diffusers

Diffusers enhance the spaciousness of the room, which is particularly important when running large playback monitors with additional guest seating. Diffusers should be added to the rear wall.

Vocal booths should be as dead as possible so the microphone is capturing just the performer. Your RT60 should be 0.5s or less. This involves covering all the walls and the ceiling with thick absorptive materials. A highly absorptive booth creates flexibility for the engineers in shaping the final sound of the recording with added reverb or other effects.

Our EcoVerb™ cotton panels are the most absorptive products out there and you can get our budget-friendly, 2" thick EcoVerb™ Roll for budget-conscious coverage. Cotton fiber materials also come in 4” thick EcoBass™ bass traps for max absorption.

If this vocal booth doubles as a booth for small instruments, add diffusers in there to help make it feel like a bigger space.

For your drum booth, you’ll be dealing with a wide range of frequencies, particularly tricky low frequencies. You want to keep the low frequency RT60 in the 0.4s-0.6s range. To do so, use thicker absorption, like 3” or 4” thick panels on the ceiling and walls, and bass traps in the corners.

You still want it to feel slightly alive in there to avoid drummer fatigue. Adding diffusers can help with that, and they will also help scatter the high-end frequencies you’ll get from the cymbals.