Metal Garages

If you plan on becoming a professional music producer or are a musician who would like to record your own music, converting your garage into a recording studio is a worthwhile investment in your music career. You’ll have control over where the studio is located, what hours you record and produce in it, and even how you want it designed and built.

Here are some steps to follow when converting your VersaTube garage into a music recording studio.

Budget and cost

The first step is to budget the cost of what it’s going to take to convert your garage into a music studio. Along with the cost of building a VersaTube garage, what kind of music recording equipment will you need to buy? What kind of electrical power will you need?

If you already have the equipment, and only need a place to put it, just factor in the cost of the garage build. Or maybe it’s vice versa; maybe you already have the garage and space, but now need to buy music recording equipment. Either way, do diligent research on what you need and come up with a budget. Then start saving!

Planning

Once you have enough money saved up for your project, it’s time to start planning the build. How much room do you need? What shape roof should it have to produce the best acoustics? Of course, when it comes to recording studios, the bigger, the better. But maybe you only have a limited amount of space on your property. How big of a studio can you build with the room you have?

With the VersaTube custom Design-Your-Own tool, you can design your dream garage to the size and layout you will need for your music studio. This easy-to-use tool takes the stress out of planning the layout of your garage/music studio.

Building

When it comes time to build your garage, there are a few things to do to ensure that the garage/music studio’s environment produces the best sound possible.

Be sure to thoroughly insulate the space for soundproofing (more on that later) and to add electricity to your building for your equipment. Ventilation is also key. No one wants to record in a hot and sweaty space, and humidity in the room can actually damage your microphones and other electrical equipment. Don’t ventilate with windows, however; in fact, the best recording studios don’t have any windows at all. Sound travels too easily through windows, and if a vehicle or people talking loudly pass by while you’re recording, it might be difficult to edit that sound out. So make sure that, in the area you have set up for the recording studio, that there are no windows.

If you already have a VersaTube garage that you’re thinking of converting, here are ways you can soundproof it:

• Spray-on cellulose insulation

• Wooden cleats

• Audimute tiles

Furnishing for acoustic absorption

Once the build is complete, add furnishings to the space that optimizes acoustic absorption, or sound absorption. This is also a vital part of preparing a garage space for the best music recording possible. The Chartered Institute of Building defines sound absorption as, “the loss of sound energy when sound waves come into contact with an absorbent material such as ceilings, walls, floors and other objects, as a result of which the sound is not reflected back into the space.”

Furnishings such as bookcases, couches, rugs, draperies, and wall hangings are great for acoustic absorption. Also considering investing in acoustic fabric panels and partitions, and hanging baffles in the space.

The final step

Once you’ve completed building your new VersaTube garage and soundproofed it with insulation and furnishings, the final step in your garage conversion is to plug everything in and start recording music! 

We’d love to help you plan converting your garage into a music recording studio. Use the VersaTube Design-Your-Own tool and get a custom quote today.