Setting up a recording studio from scratch is rarely a cheap undertaking and can take a long time to get to a point in which you feel it’s suitable for use. Regardless of studio size and gear, spending often becomes quite alarming when factoring in the costs of other studio essentials such as acoustic treatment, furniture, cabling and room isolation. Luckily, there are many ways to get all of the above on modest budgets simply by constructing them yourself by hand.

With some ingenuity, commitment, creativity and planning you can tackle some DIY studio build projects that you may also find very satisfying. The rewards of your hard work will not only represent a cash saving compared to buying off-the-shelf alternatives but will also enable you to get your studio tailor-made to your requirements.

In this article we suggest several achievable studio DIY projects you can tackle yourself on modest budgets. The following ideas do require basic skill and confidence with hand tools, woodwork and electronics.

Disclaimer: While we encourage you to consider these options do seek assistance from skilled tradespeople or friends to help you if you feel you are not competent enough to complete these projects safely.

The following studio DIY projects are ordered in complexity level, starting with the simplest suggestion to try for yourself…

Making Your Own Cables

Studio cabling can get very expensive, especially if you have lots of outboard gear that needs connecting to a mixer or patch bay. Buying pre-made cables in bulk is the easiest way to get your hands on a bunch of cables fast, but the cost will add up fast.

A smarter, more affordable way is is to make your own. Of course, this will take time and, if you are new to soldering, demand a lot of patience while you burn your fingers but the rewards are well worth the effort. Soldering is a simple skill to master, which is quick enough to achieve if you need to make lots of cables in one go.

Connectors and cables are relatively inexpensive, but by making your own cables you have the option to make them to the exact lengths you need. An added benefit to making your own cables is that you will know how to repair them if they break in the future, which also represents a cost-saving over buying replacements.

Watch the free pureMix tutorial below showing how to solder your own studio cables.

If you do want to build your own cables, then you are going to need good quality cable, jacks and XLR plugs to connect your studio gear together. If you are based in Europe our partners at Studio Spares have everything you need to enable you to build custom cables for your studio.

Building Your Own Broadband Acoustic Treatment Panels

A key component in any recording and mixing environment is acoustic treatment. Without some level of absorption positioned at first reflection points, a studio will generally sound too reverberant, making it a challenging place to record and mix in.

Those starting out setting up their first studio often opt for cheap, generic studio foam readily available online from sites such as Amazon and ebay. While a foam only approach isn’t always ideal, it can help tame flutter echoes and dull down overly bright sounding rooms.

Generic foam shouldn't be considered as the only line of defence against poor room acoustics. Thin foam, which isn't usually that dense either, generally performs poorly in critical mid to low frequency areas within a room. This is where acoustic panels do much better, but many off the shelf options can cost upwards of $100 per panel. Factor in multiple panels for treating an entire studio sufficiently and you’ll end up with quite a sizeable bill.

Luckily, broadband acoustic panels can be made by hand for a fraction of the cost with some basic materials and hand tools as you can see in our article Acoustic Panels - Learn How To Build Your Own For Under £50

Building Your Own Bespoke Studio Racks

If you have some rack-mountable studio gear in your collection, it’s smart to house it all safely and securely within a unit. Not only do studio racks help to maintain organised cable runs, they also ensure your gear is arranged neatly all within one accessible space. Like acoustic panels, off the shelf studio racks can be costly, especially if you go for a design built from a fancy wood.

A studio rack doesn't need to cost a lot to serve its purpose and look good in the process. The only materials you will need are sheets of timber which many hardware stores offer to cut to size for you, some wood screws and rack strips.

Watch our free video tutorial Watch How You Can Easily Modify A Studio Rack To Face Gear Upwards to get a sense of how easy it is to not only build yourself a studio rack but to also customise one as well.

Building A Sound Isolation Box For Your Studio Computer

Many of us who record and mix in one room often have studio computers within that space as well. At times this can be a problem as computer fan noise can end up down a microphone during critical recordings. What’s the solution to this?

Apart from buying a new expensive computer explicitly designed to be as quiet as possible, there isn’t a lot we can do. We could either relocate our noisy computers to another room or construct some kind of isolation solution using some basic hand tools and off-the-shelf materials.

Check out our article Learn How To Build Your Own Soundproof Isolation Computer Case to watch a step-by-step video showing you how to construct one for yourself.

Building Your Own Outboard Gear From Kits

Building your own studio gear can be both very rewarding and can save you a stack of cash. There are plenty of companies out there online who will sell you the parts for simple guitar pedals, 500 series modules and even reproductions of studio classics. If you are new to using soldering irons, wire strippers, side and end cutters I would probably steer clear of some of the more complex 500 series and rack-based units but guitar pedals can be very easy to build as the vast majority do not contain many components and can be put together quite quickly. These are a great way into building your own gear.

DIY Recording Equipment are a US company who specialise in their 500 series Colour range of EQs, mic pres and tone processors. The kits come complete with everything you need to build your very own 500 series module and the Colour range of swappable tone boards make these a very versatile addition to your studio rack.

Capi-Gear used to be known as Classic Audio Products Illinois (Classic API), I really can’t see why they changed the name. However, if you are a little more advanced and want to build some amazing sounding API based EQs, mics pres and dynamics processors in the 500 series framework this is a great place to come. A 312 style mic pre kit will set you back around $270 USD and a 553 style EQ around $310 USD, vast savings of the official API alternatives.

Analog Vibes are a small Germany company who create the chassis for the hardware and provide you with a shopping list of components for you to go off buy separately. They also are starting to branch out into selling full kits of their version of the LA-2A and Pultec style EQs. Again these are cheaper than the “originals” but far from cheap-looking, feeling or sounding units. They are also some of the more complex to build but Analog Vibes to do provide you will full step by step build notes and are available online if you need help. James is currently building an Analog Vibes LA-2A style processor. We will let you know how he gets on.

Building A Dedicated Cupboard With Ventilation Within A Studio To House Gear

Earlier in this article, we suggested a neat solution for reducing the sound of computer fan noise in a studio. If you have a decent amount of space in your studio and need somewhere to house noisy computers, hard drives and rack gear then why not consider using a portion of your room by building a dedicated cupboard with ventilation?

Not only will this solution reduce machine noise levels, but you’ll also get some additional storage for other studio gear such as microphones, cables and headphones.

In Mike’s series on Studio and Acoustic Design, in the second part Studio And Acoustic Design. Acoustic Treatment - What To Use And How Much he covered why he built a dedicated cupboard in his studio.

As my room had a traditional fireplace with a chimney breast and two alcoves I used the depth of the alcoves to accommodate a computer cupboard on one side, which had the squeakiest door until I oiled it and on the other side a 19" rack from floor to ceiling to take most of my equipment. On both sides, I used the remaining space to create bass traps by packing them with mineral wool and finishing them with foam tiles. In the article is a video that shows the cupboard and how it keeps the noise out as well as how the ventilation system is configured. You can also learn more about the ventilation system Mike uses in his article Studio And Acoustic Design. Ventilation And Cooling.

Building Your Own Soundproof Recording Studio

A dream come true for the aspiring audio engineer is building either a recording studio from the ground up or converting an existing space into a soundproof studio. However, material and labour costs can quickly become a nightmare and are projects not for the faint-hearted. Always plan a studio build carefully to limit costly mistakes and oversights.

Constructing a soundproof recording studio in principle is a relatively simple concept to get your head around. A room within a room is the tried and tested approach to achieve a decent amount of isolation between the resulting studio within and the outside world. There are many specialist sound isolation materials on the market which cost a premium. However, the gains of such components are arguably small compared to using general-purpose drywall (plasterboard) and other off-the-shelf materials from your local hardware store.

It is possible to for you to construct your own room within a room, but you will need a lot of prior building experience to complete the job to brief while working safely. We do not recommend you take on a project of this magnitude if you do not have the time or money to invest but if you do have the skill, the budget, the plan and the commitment then building your own soundproof studio is a smart choice as you’ll save a small fortune compared to hiring in professional tradespeople.

Watch our video and read our detailed report in our article How We Took A Timber Garden Shed And Converted It Into A High Quality Recording Studio to learn the process behind building a room within a room.

We would love to hear of your Studio DIY projects. Please share in the comments below what you’ve made for your studio, the methods you took and the reasons why to chose to build your own studio essentials instead of buying off-the-shelf alternatives.