The podcast studio has had several updates over the past year. I have tried to keep my listeners informed about these changes so that you can see the progress and know that I feel like you are very much a part of the success this show has enjoyed.
Recently, my wife surprised me with a brand new studio/office. During the first year of the podcast, I was recording out of a renovated bedroom closet that I turned into a vocal recording booth. It was small, hard to stay organized and I really couldn’t work out of that space to do anything other than record. Most of my prep work was done from an arm chair in the living room.
Sarah came up with the idea that if we downsized the guest bed to a trundle/day bed that she wanted me to have the remainder of the space as a studio for recording the podcast but also a place to study and prepare messages from the word of God for my preaching and teaching efforts.
In a larger room, while I had more space, the new challenge I faced was, how do I get that studio quality sound without covering the walls in foam tiles again to absorb unwanted noise. This is not an appealing look for a guest room to have acoustic tiles everywhere. The first step toward this sound quality was putting new carpet and pad on the hard wood floors. This helped to remedy the issue on some level but there was still too much resonance and echo off of the walls. I told Sarah that I found a vocal booth called a Troy Studio that sits on the desk and houses the recording mic. When you speak directly into the box it is designed to capture only the recording and eliminate background noises. The foam tiles that were made and shipped in the box were cheap and while they worked (for example listen to Season 4 Episode 24) there was still some feedback and unnecessary outside noise. I decided to upgrade the interior foam tiles by using the ones that were on the wall in the old studio and it made a world of difference in the recording quality.
For those of you out there that support the podcast with monthly monetary gifts, your help is very much appreciate. Thank you. You make upgrades like this much easier to pull the trigger on. Not only do I have a new home for the podcast, this included a freshly painted and carpeted room, a new desk, a new office chair, and plenty of space for organizing between episodes.
I wanted to capture a snapshot of the space so you could see my new headquarters. I would like to hear your input on the recording quality in this new working environment. It is important to me as we take steps forward that each move is headed in a more positive direction.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about the transition. Do I need to do more? Have you even noticed a difference? Your feedback and ideas are welcomed.
While I did mention how much I appreciate my wife for this gift in my latest episode (Season 4 Episode 26) I will say it here for emphasis: Thank you my love for being so sweet to me in my endeavors to share the word of God with others. You are an Angel!
Note: The decoration on the wall of the picture of a light bulb is a good addition. It turns off and on like a light and it appears that the bulb is on. Maybe I can use that like an, “on the air” indicator. It was a neat find at Hobby Lobby.