Sound panels are the solution to many acoustic problems. As a musician I’ve had the great misfortune of playing in rooms where the acoustics are shall I say less than desirable. Bad acoustics can ruin a good show. This article is about how you can solve these problems using studio foam or sound panels.
When you create a sound in a room the sound waves bounce like a wave off of every surface they encounter and then bounce back into new sounds and effect how they sound by canceling out various frequencies. We have all experienced being in an auditorium where the echos of the speaker are so rampant that it becomes difficult to understand what the speaker is saying. One way this is “fixed” is to lower the volume on the microphone. The result is no one in the back of the room can hear Ceiling Rafts anything. A great way to solve this problem is to add sound panels and bass traps to the room. Eliminating echos enables the sound to be set at a higher volume without getting convoluted.
A sound panel is a panel on the wall that disintegrates the sound waves on impact. The result is that the sound effectively stops there. Recording studios use these by necessity because they prevent interference from sound waves. Bass traps are another form of sound panel designed to stop sound waves also. Studio foam becomes of utmost importance in the mixing room. When the sound engineer is mixing audio tracks it is impossible to get a good mix when certain frequencies are cut out due to the poor room acoustics. Often the mix will sound great until they are played in another room. Many home studios owners spend thousands of dollars on gear and equipment only to neglect the room acoustic treatment.
It is not necessary to cover every surface with studio foam, and you don’t have to choose between a beautiful space and a practical space. Sound panels are often worked into the design of a room. Sometime even furniture is made to help with the acoustics. Acoustic panels are available in many shapes and sizes. Many people choose to make their own sound panels. The result is a plethora of options for those in need of