Turn Your HOME STUDIO into a PRO STUDIO 

These are the differences that stick out to me the most after working out of dozens of commercial studios, and having six different studios of my own. Hope you found some value in it!

One thing Pro Studios have that home studio doesn't - a production engineer with 25+ years of experience. Drop Steve Albini into any home studio and his recording will sound better than yours with the same gear.

one little thing i would add - air refreshing thingies! oils, candles, fragrance sprays, outlet refreshers with different scents, maybe even some air purifiers... most project studios have windows shut, and little to no air circulation, plus the mineral wool... with good lighting it does create a vibe that an artist emotionally and creatively connects with

Your videos are the BEST EVER !!! Can't THANK YOU enough for all that you share with us

I still remember your apartment studio setup, and been following you since then. Keep up the awesome content and informative videos about anything and every thing music related! Greg

Thank you for this. i've been here since the bedroom studio. Im from the Caribbean and been watching your vids for years.

Hey man, im an electrician . Great point about cleaner power coming into professional studios . Thats something that ive never heard talked about in mixing videos but its a great point

I appreciate every bit of this. While a lot of it will be massively challenging where I'm living atm, at least with having my attention on what's really important can help me get thinking about how to mitigate some of the issues I have with my space

I had the owens corning basement finishing system put in. Great for early reflections. Love your videos, Colt. You are a great teacher and you get to so many important subjects that I find very interesting and super helpful that no one else seems to cover. Molti grazie.

Because of your professionalism, the quality of your presentation and the fact that you did an awesome job on the Rig Builders Ep.2, I'm now Subscribed to your channel. Keep up the great work, Colt!

The most basic, affordable acoustic treatment can help a lot. Get a friend and do the mirror trick. Sit at your desk in your ideal position, then your friend drags a mirror along the wall at your ear level until you can see the driver of the opposite monitor (left monitor, right wall), put an acoustic panel there. Do this on both sides, and you've already greatly reduced reflections. Between that and some bass traps, you can get a very passable room.

Storage. First on my wish list.

great place to work and produce - and yes ambience and feeling is so important - great job!

Love the lighting on this one. Great video!

Excellent video! Thank you. I live in a very small studio apartment in New York City, and my studio occupies one corner of my humble little Manhattan crackerbox. sound treatment is a logistical nightmare. One of the big problems I have is financial. I'm constantly trying to figure out how to upgrade to make better recordings, and have it be cost effective and generate some kind of profit. I'm primarily a musician and composer, but while I'm' not a world-class pro engineer I know my way around the engineering side of things acceptably well. Every recording studio I ever worked in ate money like a sonofabitch, and it was an uphill battle making it work economically. As for looks, way back in 1969, Jimi Hendrix decided to build a studio that was not only cutting edge tech, but looked cool and was comfortable and inspirational to musicians. A year later, Electric Lady became operational (tragically, Hendrix didn't life to use it more than a handful of times). I've been there, and it's really quite beautiful. It set the standard for recording studios to come. We have him to thank for that innovation.

Your studio really looks fantastic!

Great advice Colt, regardless of the size of the studio some really really good tips for studio management and improvement. Love it, keep em coming.

Dope studio man ! I love the light with umbrellas + color of lighting. Beautiful !

This is a great video! Lots of great information here. I’m getting close to finishing my home studio in my basement and I’m definitely going to be implementing as much of these tips as I can!

So awesome I wish I could work in a studio like that

About to move my home studio to our new home and have been blessed to have a way bigger space with its own seperate hvac and bathroom and shower. It's so great lol Thanks for the tips! This is great advice Mr. Colt🙏🏼🔥🙏🏼 been following for a few years and will continue to do so.

Leon Lush! You look great, bro.

Awesome content. Very professional. Thank you.

I think your studio is over-acoustically treated sorry, racks and and u organised r solid

Love the video Colt! Thanks so much for including acoustic treatments. Treating the acoustics in a studio may not be the most exciting thing but it is so important!

The way you say "i don't care if you have a laptop with a pair of monitors and an Apollo twin" Dude! The apollo twin ain't cheap

That was super helpful

GOod stuff as always man. I need to get on my ceiling cloud and desk upgrade!

Great insights!

Very cool, great info

I think the biggest lesson for me in terms of how to fix my home and make it more professional was - go to a pro studio once or twice and do a couple of great mixes there and then bring those back home and listen to what’s wrong with it in your home environment and then fix the environment without touching the mixes. It’s like mixing with space and objects and reality itself.

A dedicated HVAC is huge. Put a mini split in my place and it is so worth it.

U rock! Of sincerity

Killer Vid. I’m inspired to up my game even further!

Thanks for your help:)

I live in a brickwall apartment so I don't need acoustic treatment, no echo in here, no static nothing so it's perfect...

Dude, great channel

Thank you colt

Colt see if you can check out some of Paul McGowan's of PS Audio's videos on Power Regenerator's and impedance. You'll be blown away learning about how crucial perfect power is and just how bad and life sucking most conditioners are worse off than plugging straight into the wall since they raise so much impedance and strip dynamics. The real key is regenerating that power to be a perfect sine wave rather than abrasively "washing it" taking all dynamics away like most power conditioners do

Please make a Video on how to match a Mic to a Singer!

Can you do a video on cheap and effective acoustic treatment

I like this list. Great video bro

looks wr the first thing i understood before sound or anything als it made me think of sound right after that cause looks puts thing in the right place and led to me understanding better sound

Talking about mics. Could you do a review of options about what mic could be the best for different kind of voices? How to choose wisely the best mic for what?

Hey Colt, thanks for all your videos, the info you give and the way you explain things is just amazing. Can you explain what's a patchbay in a whole video please?

Ur so down to urth! & real

Good advice, Colt. I did a video on how to go pro from a different angle; where the money is in this business. I definitely think your advice about the room was really good.

I like how many of these things are not… the most obvious things. These are very utilitarian things that many people probably don’t first think about when developing one’s own studio

Very helpful! Thank you.

HEY GET THIS MAN TO 100K SUBS PLEASE! HE IS WORTHY!

The day I added my ceiling cloud, the stereo separation improved greatly on my monitors. Phantom center was more obvious. I have a mini kitchen with a fridge, microwave, coffee pod machine, espresso with tea, honey etc. Big hit with the clients! Yes, water is very handy, both cold and room temp. I need to get cleaner power! Thanks for the great content!

Damn the water tip is great, and such a cheap thing to solve! Thanks colt!

A great video Colt..hey i have a silly request..can you please make a video on how to wire the mic correctly on the stand..i see your mics connected so well and i know it's simple but there aren't much video on how to coil the wire around the mic stand and keep it organised..thanks..keep making great videos 🙏

my studio smaller than you by so much but when i sw you and your fiends installing ceiling cloud / made my own and installed it by my self was heavy but i did it thx/ i love it

Hi Colt, really enjoying your channel!! Im currently building a large recording studio and the control room has a 5meter high ceiling, is it necessary to have floating cloud with a ceiling that high? And if so how low would you recommend hanging it?? Its all still in early stages so no equipment in there yet. All the best

Good video. I'd mention parking and smoking sections, but good video.

Great video, Colt! I’m still in my bedroom so a lot of those tips I’ll save for when I move. However adding DIY acoustic panels was a game changer!

Biggest difference from studios and home studios…. There is a huge different between acoustic treatment and soundproofing…. studios have soundproofing then acoustic treatment. That completely changes your ability to hear that in itself will dictate every decision you make and will cascade.

wow I have the bathroom and i installed my self in Manhattan (believe me people wr looking when is doing it /hanging out side on the building) an HVAC made a big difference / lowed the sound better cooling / and no one told me too

Maybe you should do one video on how you run your recording session

Does anyone have a link for information for the differences on how to set up absorption for tracking and mixing? It was mentioned but I’d like resources on how to go about a mixing focused room absorption.

Someone should have a talk with finneas o'connell about the acoustic treatment in his bedroom. You’re never gonna win a Grammy that way!

What Table do you have? Looks rad.

I like your recognition of how important the power is. And the distribution of it, thereof. Yeah man! You see. I am the now retired veteran. Of one of the last, of the great. American, remote audio (and video) recording trucks. In a gigantic, 25,000 pound, diesel box truck. A, Control Room On Wheel or the, CROW. And that incoming power isolation transformer is everything! I have the ability. To switch. My incoming AC lines. From direct connect. To, Transformer Isolation. And yes! It quiets everything down. Though, one of my guys did point out. The direct connect seem to reflect, a tad more clarity. In the perceived incoming signal. But the smoothness. Attained with the transformer. Was just superior sounding, to us all. This isolation transformer also simplifies,, grounding issues. There will be no more buzzing from ground loops. As there will be no more loops.. Thanks to isolated power. It's amazing! It has saved the day, repeatedly for me over the past 30+ years. Mine is a big honkin' 240 volt, 75 amp, beast. That weighs in at, just shy of, 100 pounds. And is about the size of 2 school lunch boxes. Nothing but solid laminated iron. With a copper wire core. And is designed to get quite hot. Because it does. But the difference is phenomenal. But impractical for many. And for that? There are others smaller, 20 amp,, 120-120 volt, isolation transformers available. They are small, compact, lightweight and plug right in. Available through numerous electrical supply houses. By numerous different American manufacturers. Mine is from Signal Transformer of New Jersey. I love the thing! So there is different kinds of power conditioning to be had. My transformer alone, offers up a certain modicum of its own, power conditioning. By virtue of its own, frequency response bandwidth. What other signals can and cannot, get through. Such as, RF, radio interference and such. Most can't make it through those transformers. And become highly attenuated. So as not to issue any problem. Then there are those, filter network, power conditioners. These things available in a myriad of different, AC line filtering configurations. All good, all helpful. All generally offer, zero, no,, nada, isolation characteristics. They don't isolate any, incoming AC. It's purely all direct connect filtering. With no isolation. Except perhaps those with, Toroidal Transformers? But that's a topic for another day. And another method of isolation capabilities. Because of the type of recordings I've made for well over 30 years now. The feeds I am delivered sometimes are rife with, technical ground loops. Normally connections with that source would not have proved usable before. Due to incessant, buzzing. But now. Since the AC of my control room is totally isolated. It shares no ground with anyone. As our ground is from the center tap secondary of the isolation transformer. So it's all internal. It shares no ground with the, external. And therefore prevents all ground loop issues. And no one can get zapped. Because there is no common association with the outside AC power either. Coming off our secondary. It's a marvelous thing! It makes life so much easier! It makes productions so much more professional! There are no problems! You'll have no problems! I highly recommend them! In the studio or smaller lightweight ones on location. Don't leave home without it. I like the American Express of, AC Isolation Transformers. By Signal Transformer of New Jersey Inc. RemyRAD

I have a very small space, I did the walls and ceiling, and had to add a diffuser cloud for better detail in the top end. I was inspired by your build...

I feel like the Neumann tlm 103 is the best universal mic you can have, if you can only afford 1 decent mic.

I'm curious about how to make the AC quiet enough for recording. In my experience it's a common issue. I've also seen situation where it wasn't even noticeable.

is your desk custom? I'd like to see a video talking about studio desks

What do you think about the slate ml-1? I think its the perfect mic for home studios

4:40 - 4:50 you can tell the difference in room treatment.

where are your old Event Opals? are they for sale?

i m from nashville i follow you

How has everyone else’s experience with cieling clouds been? I hear to treat the reflection points, and surely bass traps as well, but I’ve been told cieling clouds don’t make nearly as large of a difference. With the difference my bass traps and reflection point treatment has made I have no qualms about getting one If it does similar stuff!!

Hey Colt- I watched your older video on making panels, with the metal stud tracking. You listed the company for the insolation. I looked them up, but I can’t tell if they are still operating. Any advice there? I need to make a lightweight DIY cloud, badly. Congrats on 90k subs!!

Auratone 5C vs Avantone Cube comparison video?

What was the cost of your fabric wall system?

How about Cable management?

Thought you'd mention patchbays maybe?

hot take: shouldve mentioned how much the goatee helps the pro vs amateur setup

Hmmmm Here's a challenge, Colt. I'd (and likely many others) would LOVE to see you go into a 2 bedroom apartment and set up a workable studio space within a room with a queen sized bed which takes up half of the floor space. I think that it "could" teach up a lot about what can be used to absorb sound, and manipulated to prevent sonic problems which we may likely not be aware of (If that is possible).

As one would say … Amir from the AudioScienceReview would argue about SINAD and „signal cleaners“.

And,.. all good pro studio control room always has symmetrical shape without any parallels surface (walls/ceiling & floor) calculated very carefully in shape, dimensions, size, and all, while, all pro studio tracking room, always never has symmetrical shape, but it also calculated very carefully in shape, dimensions, size, and all. Something that very difficult to have by a home studio

The key to a professional studio is have the temperature way too cold or way too hot

hoy conocí la envidia

What kind of espresso machine are you running? Any current favourite coffees or coffee types?

Actually first? damn. Wish Fabric Wall sent stuff to the Canary Islands.

which market are you located in?

the Radial is a surge supressor but not the same as a real power conditioner....which has torroilal transformers the size of small birthday cakes.

So, I guess we can call now A. Scheps, M. Brauer, Marc Daniel and many others as being amateurs 😂

How does mixing in a FROG style room like that work for u? (Walls at angles like that, I think u know what I mean...)lol

For me, Geometry is the the first step.

Uh, water... basically free? Can't drink tap here. Tastes like pool water. Poland Springs gallon now $2.00 here, and I use a lot of water. And let's not forget the all-important *Lava Lamp.*

eeewww!! Aquafina????

Now I just need to buy a house and stop renting so that I can implement all those changes to my studio.

Excellent! Ha! I wanna see a video of "how to make a desk with just a laptop, pair of monitors and audio interface look "pro" :)

Build a really expensive studio so you can make quality music that most people will listen to on their crappy phones while they are twerking their assess.

mmmh...the only problem is the money

Okay...

I wld say being seperate from your life/home or other people n distractions is a big deal, ok seperate entrance is kinda the same lol

All good tips but some locations are just never going to be a good place for a studio especially is very small apartments in and around London, I have a nabor above My nextdoor nabor, and I regularly hear his very loud music and bass comming through My walls and He can probably here Me to. He does his stuff full blast any time day or night so at 1am 2am 3am 4am and so on, actually does My head in, during the day He disrupts My production because I cant hear My music properly over his or He ruins My recordings.