Acoustics / Studio Design

If you're serious about cutting noise from your studio, you'll have to explore the mysteries of studding and neoprene rubber. Paul White explains that it's not quite as exciting as it sounds...

No matter how thick and heavy the walls of a studio, it will still leak sound if the doors and windows are not up to scratch. Paul White explains how you can uprate them without breaking the bank.

Waking up the neighbours with the latest turbo folk masterpiece is a major concern for many project studio owners. Paul White explains that monitoring with headphones and moving house are not the only solutions...

Regular maintenance can not only ensure that your analogue recorder gives years of reliable service, but can also immeasurably improve the quality of the recordings you make with it. Hugh Robjohns retires to the test department and meets the challenge head-on...

Getting the best performance from a digital tape recorder such as the DA88 depends largely on conscientious maintenance and cleaning. Tascam's chief service manager, Joe Fialho, tells Paul White what can safely be done by the user — and when it's necessary to call in the professionals.

When it comes to cabling, it pays to have the right connections. Paul White makes the introductions.

Paul White indulges in a spot of woodwork therapy, and comes away with two very cost-effective speaker stands.

Paul White enters Blue Peter mode and puts together a fully working drum pad and pedal trigger system for less than the cost of a pint of lager. If you own an Alesis D4, drumKAT, Akai ME35T or any other drum machine or percussion controller that accepts external pads, you can't afford to miss this.

Paul White explores the outer limits of physical modelling on a budget that wouldn't even buy you a decent pair of shoestrings!

Nothing dampens creativity more than a studio full of 'spaghetti' cabling. This month, Paul White explains the virtues of installing a patchbay to banish cable clutter once and for all.

Not everyone can justify building an acoustically treated, soundproof studio, but with a little effort and ingenuity, you can often make significant improvements to the room you already have at very little cost. Paul White presents a few ideas.

Paul White looks at the multitrack recording console and its role in your multitrack recording system.

The syncing of MIDI sequencers with multitracks is an important part of modern recording and can help you to make the most of a limited equipment budget. In the third part of this series, Paul White looks at the various ways of running multitrack tape and MIDI equipment simultaneously.

When Paul Johnson decided he'd like to teach a Music Technology course at the college where he works, there was one small problem: he had to build the studio himself during the summer holidays, on a shoestring budget with help from just two students. Impossible? Let's find out...

You might think that the layout of your studio is determined purely by where your monitors go and where you sit, but as Paul White explains, there are few areas where you have to exercise a bit of care. • Part 1 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5

Want to set up a home studio but don't know where to start? In the first part of a new series, Paul White guides you through the creation and setting up of a basic home recording system.

Paul White reveals a few of his Blue Peter-style secrets, the general aim being to construct something useful in the studio without spending more than a pound!

Love it or loathe it, the analogue cassette looks set to be the primary medium for the distribution of recorded music for the foreseeable future, and we have to make the best of it. Paul White shows you how...

Having addressed your studio mains wiring, you can now turn your attention to the connections between your equipment. Paul White explains the undoubted benefits of a patchbay system.

Budget speaker simulators make it easy to get a good guitar sound directly from your guitar amplifier to tape, but you'll need a dummy speaker load if you want to work with your speaker cab disconnected. Paul White shows you how to build one with the absolute minimum of time and expense.

When setting up a studio, the temptation is to make do with the existing wiring — but this can lead to problems with hum and interference, as Paul White explains.