On this blog we talk about pretty much everything there is to talk about when it comes to garage doors. We’ve talked about the different types of garage doors, different types of garage door openers, maintenance tips for garage doors and garage door openers and things of that nature. We also delve into things like home gyms in your garage, why a garage door is a really under appreciated piece of machinery especially during the winter and bunches of other things. Today however we are going to take inspiration from one of the most famous garages out there. While that isn’t saying a lot it is something that is pretty cool if you are into garages and all of the flexibility that they afford. With that in mind this article will touch a little bit on one of the more famous garages out there, Marc Maron’s. And about some things that you and others have done or can do in your garage. If you don’t know Marc Maron hosts an extremely successful podcast from his garage and does all the recording, interviewing, etc in his studio there. You may not think of your garage as the prospective perfect studio for hosting an innovative talk show, but when you don’t really feel like laying out tons of money for a studio space a garage can do pretty well.
In previous articles we have talked about how your garage can be turned into things like an audiophile’s paradise, a sports den for you and your friends, and even a place for your band to practice and perform when you haven’t really got the resources or space for anything other than a garage space. However, there is another creative thing that you can turn your garage into and that is a recording studio. Recording studios are finicky rooms that can really always be improved and made better but the main thing about them is they should be relatively open spaces with good acoustics and be soundproofed. This means that they need sound insulation more than anything. Garages are typically already relatively open and have open ceilings and cemented floors which can allow for a great deal of sound inside. However, the problem comes when things are happening outside of the garage. You can’t always schedule your recording sessions around when the garbage is getting picked up or your neighbors get home for a big trip. These things need to be accounted for in some way.
The best way to help your garage into becoming a recording studio type area is to work on sound proofing the garage door. Despite good insulation in your garage door if you want to do real recording you will need to pick up some after market insulation solutions. things like foam boards and cloth coverings can do wonders for your garage space if you put them onto the inside and outside of your garage door and cover your windows with them. Sound carries through the air incredibly well and stopping it isn’t easy. Equipped with good microphones and some soundproofing though you can really start whatever sort of recording you hope to do in your garage with minimal fuss. As long as you can do some low end sound editing you should be able to handle the task of getting just what you want onto the recording. Whether it’s dramatic readings of a book you love, live puppet theatre, podcasts, or music you should be able to at least start these sorts of projects in your garage. It may not be the best place to do things long term, but if you look at podcaster Marc Maron you can see that he has in face continued to use his garage for this long after it was really necessary for him to save the money.
The garage door is another important aspect of good sound proofing. If you are thinking of doing some recording in your garage and have the opportunity to invest in a new garage door then you should take it. While a garage door will probably not be able to do all of your soundproofing that you need the right garage door with insulation built in to it can really do wonders for the amount of sound that gets through. This will save you money on the after market garage door sound insulation as well as save you from the frustration of having things just not come out how you want them to on the recording. Another thing to do if you are thinking of starting the noise insulation process is get your garage door realigned. Small gaps between your garage door and the walls or floor can allow a great deal of sound through no matter how much insulating you do elsewhere. the weather stripping on your garage door also is a very important piece when it comes to noise insulation. Sound can slip through any of those cracks so it’s best to seal things up tight before you start spending money on egg crates and foam boards to improve your sound insulation.
If you just started recording your albums or dramatic slam poetry in your garage your neighbors might not be overjoyed and they probably wouldn’t really come out to well. That’s why you have to block out the sound from both sides and get some serious noise insulation going on. The garage is a great place to start any sort of side venture or passion project because it can be transformed into the perfect workspace so easily, in this case it can take just a few hundred dollars to really get your garage sounding like a real recording studio. While that may seem like a lot to some, when you look at the alternative of revamping an entire room or paying for private studio time the cost is next to nothing. Your garage doors and windows are the most important things to focus on first and after that you can just focus on the music or whatever it is you’re doing.