Ah college life, you live across the country for most of the year, and when you get back your room is gone.

My family lives in the old family home and all my siblings are still around. I am not surprised my much larger than me, 6 foot 5, younger brother wants his own room now.

So now I have an 8 foot long, 3 foot wide, 3 1/2 foot tall space, floored with a mattress right by the furnace, washing machine and dryer.

What can I do with it?

Make it a recording studio!

Or at least soundproof against the furnace!

First things first what is my budget? I want to make the biggest impact for $50.

So the most important thing is sound isolation. So that means I will be using the built in desk as the main place to record audio.

Also acoustic panels get good at two inches deep in my experience. Which can make my already small living space smaller than I would like.

So here is my plan.

Get a pack of foam acoustic panels, make a soft surface of my desk, and finish it with curtain door to seal in the sound as much as possible.

Since I already have a good microphone, the Blue Snowball Mic, I just have to worry about sound dampening.

It is hard to find good Acoustic foam, not because it is not there, but even if you get good foam the reviewers are usually terrible

They either don’t follow instructions or don’t understand what the product is supposed to do. It is not magic it is a piece of foam.

Temper your expectations, what we are making is a pillow fort for professionals. Better microphones can help but the biggest change in sound will be in making a quiet environment to record in.

It is much easier, and cheaper, to make a recording booth than it is to make a recording room.

When you get the foam all you need is to measure them and cut where you need to get them to fit and just attach them to the wall.

I suggest double sided tape and a little bit of luck, or if you are feeling worried for you walls some Command Strips. Then Bam! you got yourself a recording area that at least stops the echo of your own voice.

That all you really need. Especially for under $50.

I can now voice over in peace. Or at least sit somewhere I wont hear the furnace turn on.