You’re not going to be able to soundproof your room the way a professional is done, so our goal is to minimize the damage and try to get audio we can use with some editing.
To “soundproof “ your studio somewhat from external noise, the first step is eliminating air gaps. If air can get through, sound can as well. For the (interior) door, the cheap and easy solution is to get a winterizing gasket kit made for exterior doors. A weighted winterizing thingie will close the gap at the bottom. A thin hollow door can have acoustic tiles glued to it or just hang a blanket from it. Tape or foam insulate window gaps.
I read somewhere recently to fill your door with sand. Then I guess buy a new door.
Really the problem you want to minimize is reflected sound in your room. It causes a horrifying reverb sound that is very difficult, and sometimes impossible to edit out.
Start with blankets or mattresses against the walls. A perfectionist will say that these types of things aren’t designed for acoustic applications, and absorb some frequencies more than others. Don’t worry about it.
You can buy a cone or box shaped acoustic enclosure to go around your mic to block reflections but you will still want to do something to minimize them. You can make one as well, but again your materials will add some ambiance.
My theory is to get some voiceovers, podcasts or videos recorded and “in the can” starting ASAP, then prioritize and refine your to do list.
Most podcasting and youtube video is going to be way above the rest. if you want to do commercial voiceovers or audiobook reading you still need to get immersed in it and have done some recording before you spend a lot of money.
You of course know by now that you want to maximize your signal to noise ratio. You’ll be practicing recording with your microphone above and slightly to the side but fairly close to your mouth, with the correct side facing your mouth. practice eliminating mouth noise, pops, and essing. Project to the mic, record with your gain low, minimizing the recording of other sounds than your voice.. You’ll learn how low you can go with the gain and how close you can be to the mic.
