A Sound Studio

The space where a recording engineer captures audio could be referred to as a sound studio, but there’s another meaning to the word “sound”—healthy or sturdy. We talk about being of sound mind and body, or of a building that’s structurally sound. While most folks wouldn’t usually apply these definitions of “sound” to a studio, they’re actually quite relevant.

There are lots of unsound studios and unsound studio practices out there. They make for great stories to tell over a beer—the session lasting long into the night while struggling to get the perfect take, the excesses in food / drink / chemicals that turned into a totally-off-the-chain party, the slapped- together chain of adapters to simulate the one cable the studio didn’t have—but in the end, that’s about all they’re good for. Great music isn’t made because studios aren’t set up properly or the engineer isn’t taking care of himself or there are missing pieces that require frantic DIY workarounds. Great music is made despite those things, and taking steps beforehand to minimize them is a sound decision.

A sound studio should be based on sound practices. That goes counter to the expectation of the crazy music lifestyle and the mad-genius mess of the stereotypical studio, but when your sessions go smoothly and your clients (and you!) come away happy, you’ll be able to forgive yourself for not doing things the picturesque way.

Here, in no particular order, are ten crucial elements of a sound studio.