Recording studio foam or acoustic foam is used heavily throughout the recording industry to effectively acoustically treat a space so artist, engineers, and producers hear accurate sounds at both the performance time and later at editing and mastering. Acoustic foam panels are used to reduce slap and flutter echo as well as to increase the accuracy of low frequencies. recordig studio foam is a sound absorption product which means it stops sound from reflecting off treated surfaces thereby changing the acoustics of a space to a desired effect. There are three main areas where recording studio foam is used in the recording industry; the isolation booth or vocal booth; the live performance room and the main control room.
The acoustics of a vocal booth or isolation booth are very important in order to obtain clean and accurate vocals. Recording studio foam is frequently used to cover the walls of the booth. For most installations 80-100% wall coverage is typical. Isolation booths designed by proSoundFoam.com utilize 2” Pro Sound Foam Studio Wedges, 3” Pro Sound Foam Corner Blocks at the core of the design.c In some cases where the application doesn’t warrant the use of 2” Wedges or due to budget constraints, 1” Pro Sound Foam Studio Wedges are used for the ceiling of the booth. Below is a typical Vocal Booth design:
Live performance rooms are spaces where single or multiple instrument recording session are performed. Such jam spaces often require recording studio foam in order to improve the acoustics of a room before it may be used as a suitable location for recording a master. Each live performance room is different in design, construction and use. Live performance rooms for acoustic instruments can be different in design then for spaces used to accommodate electronic instrument recording. In an acoustic instrument recording space sound levels and the frequencies and often times the ear of the producer or artist warrant a more organic sound so the amount of recording studio foam required is less. The organic sound actually is attributed to leaving behind just the right amount of reflective sound in the room. On the other hand electronic or amplified instruments will require broader sound control due to the volume and frequency range of such instruments. Below is a proSoundFoam.com studio design for a band live performance room:
Recording studio control rooms are often treated with recording studio foam so that engineers and producers can hear an accurate picture of the sound being recorded or edited in the studio. Especially important in today’s age of super reference quality speakers and recording devices, acoustic foam is a critical piece in achieving the precision room acoustics necessary to lay down the cleanest best sounding recordings possible. The space directly behind speakers is a critical location for studio foam placement. Placing acoustic foam directly behind studio monitors works by stopping unwanted sound reflections generated in close proximity to both loudspeakers and the control room operators. Additionally, the wall directly behind and at 90 degrees to the control room operators is a critical area for treatment as well. Eliminating unwanted sound reflections in these areas is very important. See the sample studio control room layouts below:
Recording studios are not the only place where you’ll find acoustic foam panels. There are other interesting applications for sound absorption panels as discussed in the next article “Acoustic Foam Panels as Affordable Sound Control.”