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Homemade Sound Diffuser

Having the right recording equipment in your studio is not enough to get a great sound. You need strategically positioned sound diffuser boards to help spread the sound uniformly about the room. Diffusers are panels with an uneven surface. When a sound wave hits the board, it is broken up into smaller sound waves that are reflected at various angles around the room. You can make diffusers out of almost any materials, but the cheapest homemade sound diffusers are made from wood.

Things You'll Need

  • Wooden board, 2 feet square
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • 7 wooden blocks, 2 inches x 2 inches x 8 feet
  • Saw
  • Wood glue
  • Paint
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure and mark out a grid of 2-inch squares on the board. Do this by drawing vertical lines, using a pencil and ruler, 2 inches apart, down the length of the board. Repeat along the horizontal. You will finish with a grid of 144 squares.

    • 2

      Mark the following lengths along your seven wooden blocks using your pencil and ruler: 38 sections 1 7/8 inches in length, 38 sections 3 3/4 inches in length, 40 sections 5 5/8 inches in length and 15 sections 7 1/2 inches in length. Saw along your marks to create 131 pieces, of four different lengths.

    • 3

      Attach the lengths of block to the board. Use wood glue to do this. The base of each block should fit neatly into a 2-inch square on your grid. You do not have to follow a set pattern when attaching the blocks, but it is important to create an uneven surface. Make sure to divide blocks of the same length uniformly over the whole area of the board. The same applies to the 13 squares that have no block attached--make sure these are not grouped together in one area.

    • 4

      Leave the board overnight, or for four to five hours, to let the glue dry. Paint the sound diffuser any color you choose and hang it on a flat wall in your sound studio. It is best to hang the sound diffuser board on the first wall that sound will hit after leaving your speaker (the wall your speaker is facing).

Recording Music

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