Things to keep in mind when buying acoustic panels for home recording

If you want to ensure that you get good sound recording you would need to create your room with acoustic panels. However for a newbie it can be difficult to track how many panels would be required and how they are supposed to put them up.

Often people think that they would be able to build their own acoustic panels however it requires a great deal of skills. While you would definitely be saving money, you would need to put in a great deal of effort. If carpentry comes easily to you can choose to build your own acoustic panels and have them line up your recording room. If you think that you will not be able to build your own soundproof recording room you should definitely purchase acoustic panels.

Shopping for acoustic panels

When you are about to buy acoustic panels there are four things which need to be kept in mind

• The thickness of the panels
• The surface patterns present on the panel
• Dimensions of the panels
• NRC rating

You can choose to buy acoustic panels which come in a thickness of either 2 inches or 4 inches. It should be kept in mind that the thinner panels while standard size may not be able to absorb the sound as well as the thicker panels.

Usually panel have 3D pattern on their outer surface. The most common types are pyramid and wedges. However there are other patterns available too.

In order to decide upon the dimensions of the acoustic panels you would need to measure the recording room. Having the dimensions of the room in hand would allow you to make the right purchase. If you want to be sure about it you can always get help from professionals to help you understand how much or how many panels you would be needing.

If the walls of your rooms are badly damaged you may want to use smaller panels because they are generally lighter. They would also be easy to mount and can be fixed using non permanent adhesive.

Another thing which you have to consider is NRC rating or the noise reduction coefficient rating. The rating is usually between 0 to 1 and it displays the effectiveness of the panels and absorbing the sound.

You also need to be pretty careful when you are positioning the panels in your recording room. You have to take care that the area which is directly behind the studio monitor should be completely covered with acoustic panels. The ideal wall coverage for the acoustic panels can be anywhere between 20 to 80% it all depends upon the acoustic problems in a room. Every time you set up a new panel you need to retest the acoustics. You would need to use the clap test to do so. You might only require a few panels to achieve the sound that you are looking for.

Do keep the above mentioned tips in mind while looking for acoustic sound absorbing panels for your recording room.