DIY Room Treatment: Podcasting Basics

Great audio starts with your recording environment. Echoey rooms make your voice sound hollow and amateur—no fancy mic can fully fix that.

The good news? You don't need expensive panels. Start with free or cheap DIY fixes:

• Record in a closet: Hang clothes around you—they absorb sound naturally.

• Build a "blanket fort": Drape thick blankets or moving blankets over a clothing rack to create a mini booth around your setup.

• Add soft furnishings: Pillows, cushions, rugs, and curtains on walls/windows break up reflections.

  
  

My first podcast recording setup was in a spare bedroom closet. I bought 2 moving blankets, and found some leftover acoustic foam panels and put them on the walls to try to reduce the echo in my recordings (You can see the image below for reference). It worked! And at the end of the day, what matters is how it sounds, not what it looks like.

Big tip: Don't forget the walls behind and beside you—these are primary reflection points.

Test it: Clap loudly in your room. If it rings like a bathroom, add more absorption until it sounds deadened.

These tweaks can cut reverb dramatically, giving you cleaner audio to edit later.