Hit 100 decibel reading in my backyard studio this morning, kinda shocked

I always thought my little shed studio was pretty quiet until I actually measured the sound level during a recording session. Turns out my mic was picking up more room echo and hum from the fridge than I realized. Anyone else get humbled by an SPL meter or am I the only one treating a shed like a pro booth?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_barnes593d ago

Read a while back that even a cheap SPL meter can really open your eyes to how much noise is actually in a room. Makes sense why my own recordings always sounded a bit off, even when everything seemed quiet to my ears. You are definitely not the only one who got humbled by one of those things, most folks I know had a similar surprise when they first tested their space. It is a good reality check though, now you know exactly what you are dealing with and can figure out where to start fixing it.

webb.stella2d ago

I picked up a cheap UMIK-1 and REW software for like $100 total and found out my room had a nasty 50hz hum from the fridge three rooms away lol. @taylor_barnes59 nailed it that you don't realize how much noise is there until you measure it. That hum was ruining my bass guitar recordings even though I couldn't hear it when I was playing. Once I measured it I moved my desk to the other wall and it dropped the noise floor by like 6dB.