5 Tips for Better Home Recordings

Your Bedroom Can Sound Great (Really)

Some of the best records of the last decade were made in bedrooms and spare closets. You don't need a massive studio budget. What you need is good technique and a little awareness of your environment.

Here are five things that'll make the biggest difference.

1. Do Something About Your Room

Even basic acoustic treatment is a huge upgrade. Hang some moving blankets on the walls, use a reflection filter behind your mic, or build some simple panel absorbers if you're feeling handy. The goal is reducing those weird flutter echoes and standing waves that make everything sound like you recorded in a bathroom.

And yes, I've recorded in a bathroom before. It was exactly as bad as you'd expect.

2. Move the Mic Before You Buy a New One

A $200 condenser placed correctly will beat a $2,000 mic in a bad spot. Every. Single. Time. For vocals, try 6 to 12 inches from the singer. Angle it slightly off-axis to cut down on plosives and sibilance. Spend an afternoon experimenting with placement before you spend another dime on gear.

3. Watch Your Levels

Set your input gain so peaks land around -12 to -6 dBFS. I know it looks "too quiet" on the meter, but that headroom is a gift to future-you (and your mixing engineer) when it's time to mix. Clipping at the recording stage is basically unfixable. Don't learn this lesson the hard way like I did on my very first session.

4. Don't Record in a Vacuum

Play back your instrumental while you're tracking. This seems basic, but I've gotten files from artists who recorded vocals completely dry with no reference, and the energy was totally disconnected from the beat. You need to feel the production while you perform.

5. More Takes, Better Results

Record at least 3 to 5 full takes of each part. Then "comp" the best moments from each take into one polished performance. This is what every professional studio does. Nobody nails it in one take. (And if someone tells you they do, they're lying.)

Still Not Sounding Right?

If your raw recordings are solid but the mix isn't coming together, that's where I come in. Let's connect and turn those bedroom tracks into something you're proud to release.