How I Built My Dream Home Studio (and How You Can Too)

A Riff With Cliff Guide to the Mojo Dojo

Quick Heads Up Before We Dive In

I actually filmed a full walkthrough of this entire Mojo Dojo studio build from the Tuff Shed delivery to insulation, wiring, flooring, and final setup. If you want to watch the whole process unfold (and see the chaos behind the scenes), you can check out the video here:

👉 Watch the full studio build video

If you’ve been following me for a while, you already know one thing about me: I love creating stuff. Lessons, riffs, tone tests, goofy shorts, full demos, podcasts or whatever lets me help people play better guitar or just escape life for a couple minutes. Hell, even selling millions of dollars worth of guitars and related gear by creating videos. I always want to be the guy who solves problems for players, teaches something useful, or at least gives you a laugh while I bash on a fuzz pedal.

But once my son was born… yeah, buddy, life got crazy.

Being a dad is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But trying to film content or record anything at 9PM while your wife and baby are sleeping? Absolutely not happening. Not without getting the look.

I needed a real space. A space where I could work, record, teach, stay consistent, and actually grow everything I’m building without disrupting my family or balancing a mic on top of a baby toy.

Problem was… I can’t build onto my house.

So I did what any determined, slightly unhinged content creator would do:

I converted a Tuff Shed into a full-blown creative studio.

And that’s how The Mojo Dojo was born. My little sanctuary of riffs, shooting area, tarantulas, and large amounts of coffee.

This studio isn’t just for me, it’s for YOU. Every lesson, every demo, every video that helps someone get better or get inspired starts in that room now. It’s also where future podcasts will be filmed (yes, that’s happening). It’s where I can sit down after a long day, turn on a couple lights, and make something cool without worrying about waking up the whole house.

Building a home studio changed everything for my workflow, my creativity, and my sanity. And if you’re someone who wants to create more guitar content, lessons, music, anything, I’m gonna walk you through exactly how I built it so you can start building your own.

The Permitting Process: AKA The Boss Fight Nobody Warned Me About

Alright, so here’s the part nobody on YouTube ever tells you when they’re like, “Just build your dream home studio!”

Yeah… you can’t just plop a shed down and call it a day. Especially in Florida, where apparently everything requires a permit.

If your building is over a certain size (mine definitely was), you have to go through an official permitting process. And I’m gonna be honest with you, my Riff Family… the permitting process for me was a nightmare stuck in local government hell.

I was told it would take a couple weeks.

It took six months.

Not an exaggeration. Six. Whole. Months.

Now, to be fair… Florida got slammed by hurricanes last year, and the permitting office was backed up like you wouldn’t believe. That part I understand. People needed help, homes needed repair, priorities shifted.

But some of the delays?

Yeah, we can chalk that one up to a deadly combo of government confusion and Tuff Shed incompetence. I genuinely think at one point my permit was sitting under someone’s lunch.

I had unknowingly cut down a protected tree on my property. Yep. A sacred sycamore which I actually loved and didn't want to cut down at all but if it meant the difference between having to get rid of all my guitar gear or not, yeah that tree has to go. And because of that, the entire Mojo Dojo project got put on hold until I paid for it and resolved the violation. Which was also $1500 on top of the $1500 that I paid to have it cut down. So if you need to cut a tree, make sure it is not protected.

But eventually, after six months of waiting, paying fines, and gently (okay, not gently) nudging every human involved, we finally got approved. The clouds parted.

And just like that, construction could finally begin.

My advice when having to pull a permit:

1. Start the permit process WAY earlier than you think.

If you think it’ll take a month? Nah. Start six months before your build date. Hurricanes, holidays, paperwork getting lost in the void—anything can slow it down.

2. Ask every question. Twice.

Don’t assume Tuff Shed or the permitting office will give you the full picture up front. Make them spell out every step, every form, every inspection, every fee. Clarity now saves misery later.

3. Keep your own records.

Scan everything. Save everything. Screenshot every email. It takes one misplaced document to stall your project.

4. Check your property for protected trees. Seriously.

If someone had told me this, I would’ve avoided a giant delay and an unexpected bill. Florida does NOT mess around with its trees.

5. Be patient, but persistent.

A polite follow-up email every week can work miracles. Some of this process moves at the speed of cold molasses.

6. Celebrate when that permit finally comes through.

You’ll feel like you beat the final boss. And honestly… you kind of did.

After the Shed Goes Up: Wiring the Mojo Dojo (AKA The Part Where I Became a Real Man™)

Once the Tuff Shed crew finished putting up the shell, I had about three seconds of excitement before reality hit:

“Cool. Now we actually have to make this thing work.”

This is where the electrical journey begins. And thank God my father-in-law is an electrician, because without him this studio would probably be powered by prayer and extension cords.

Digging the Trench From Hell

Before we could run anything, we had to get power to the building. And in Florida, that means digging a trench at least 16 inches deep and about 40 feet long from the house to the shed.

Let me tell you… that dig was brutal.Florida dirt somehow manages to be:

• Concrete

• Mud

• Sand

All at the same time. But we got through it. Sweat, dirt, and blistered hands. We laid PVC pipe the entire way, which became the underground highway for all the wiring the studio would eventually run on.

Running the Wiring Inside

Once power was routed, the inside work began. We ran all the electrical wiring up the studs, keeping everything super clean, super organized, and totally to code. Every wire was stapled neatly across the framing so that when the insulation went in, nothing would get pinched, buried wrong, or turned into a future headache. My father-in-law handled the code, the safety, and the “don’t burn down your studio” part. I handled the “hold this, pull this, don’t get shocked” part.

Why Doing It Right Matters

• Clean power for amps

• Enough outlets for gear (and then more gear you buy later… because you will)

• Stable circuits for lighting and recording

• Proper grounding

• Proper routing for future expansions

And since my goal is filming, recording, teaching, editing, podcasting, getting the wiring perfect was one of the most important steps of the whole build.

Doing it right now means no hum, no random power issues, and no future “why does my amp sound like that” moments.

My Advice for Anyone Doing Electrical in Their Home Studio

1. If you know an electrician… hug them. Then hire them.

I cannot stress this enough. YouTube University is not a substitute for someone who actually knows what “to code” means. My father-in-law saved me from at least twelve future disasters.

2. That trench? Yeah… start early.

Digging a 40-foot, 16-inch-deep trench in Florida dirt is not for the faint of heart. It’s hot, it’s heavy, and it’s humbling. Do it before the weather tries to kill you.

3. Use PVC conduit underground.

Not only is it required in most places, but it makes life soooo much easier when running wires later. Also keeps everything protected from moisture, bugs, and Florida being Florida.

4. Plan your circuits like you’re preparing for Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

Do not design your room for the gear you own today. Design it for the gear Future You buys at 2AM when you “just want to browse Reverb.”

5. Keep your wiring clean and organized.

Running everything neatly up the studs and stapling it properly makes insulation smoother, inspections easier, and future changes possible without ripping your hair out.

6. Get more outlets than you think. Then add more.

You will never say, “Wow, I have too many outlets!”But you will say, “Why did I do this to myself?” if you skimp.

7. Don’t rush this step.

Electrical isn’t the sexy part of studio building, but it’s the foundation of everything: your lights, your amps, your cameras, your computer, your audio interface. Everything that makes your content possible.

Do it right once, and you never have to think about it again.

Insulation: What I Used, What It Actually Does, and the Truth About “Soundproofing”

Alright, let’s talk insulation. One of those topics that YouTube makes sound way more magical than it really is.

So first off, I didn’t go with Rockwool and I know every forum warrior recommends it like it’s the holy grail of home studios. But here’s the truth: I used regular R-13 insulation, and it works totally fine for what I needed.

Why? Because I was looking at insulation mostly for thermal control, not sound isolation.

Insulation ≠ Soundproofing

This is the part that trips people up. You can stuff as much insulation in your walls as you want like R13, R30, Rockwool, denim insulation and it still won’t soundproof your room.

Will it help a bit with high-frequency reflections inside the room? Sure.

Will it stop your guitar amp from shaking the neighbors’ souls? Absolutely not.

If You Want REAL Soundproofing…

You need to do the one thing I didn’t do: decouple your walls.

That means:

• RSIC clips

• Hat channels

• Building a “room within a room”

• Completely separating the drywall from the studs

It’s a whole different level of construction.

And honestly? For my use case with YouTube lessons, demos, late-night riffing, content creation, I didn’t need full isolation. I just needed the Mojo Dojo to stay cool in the Florida heat and keep the AC from working overtime.

What I Did Instead

I stuffed R-13 into the walls and R32 in the ceiling. Nice, thick, clean faced layers. The real goal was:

• Temperature control

• Humidity control

• Making the room comfortable

• Giving the AC a fighting chance

It also helps tame the internal sound a bit, but the heavy lifting for acoustics comes later with treatment and not insulation.

If you’re building a home studio and you’re not trying to record a metal album at 3AM while your baby sleeps next door, R-13 or Rockwool is fine. If you’re trying to truly stop sound from leaking then make sure you add air isolation via RSIC clips.

Drywall: The Stage Where You Question Your Life Choices

Once the insulation was in, it was time for the next big chapter: drywall.

This is the part where the inside of your shed finally starts looking like a real room… and also the part where you start praying for strength, patience, and maybe a second lower back.

Drywall is heavy. Awkward. Dusty. And if you’ve never done it before, it’s basically like wrestling a giant floppy board.

Use. A. Drywall. Hoist.

Let me tell you something that will save your back, your shoulders, your sanity, and your will to live:

GET A DRYWALL HOIST.

Don’t try to be a hero.Don’t try to hold a 12-foot sheet over your head.

A drywall hoist will hold it up for you, keep it level, and basically do half the job while you pretend you’re a professional.

I’m telling you right now — the hoist is the MVP of the drywall process.

Take Your Time With the Cuts

Measure twice, cut once.Because if you cut wrong?That’s a whole new sheet.And new sheets aren’t cheap.

Especially when you’re doing a whole studio.

The Mud: LESS Is More

Here’s the rookie mistake: loading up the seams with way too much joint compound and then spending the next two days sanding like you're trying to uncover dinosaur bones.

Don’t do that.

Use thin layers. Build it up slowly. Feather your edges. Smooth it out as best you can before it dries.

Otherwise you’re gonna spend your entire weekend in a cloud of drywall dust, wondering where everything went wrong.

Accept That You Will Be Covered in Dust

But Here's the Good News…

Once it’s all sanded, wiped, and ready for paint? The Mojo Dojo suddenly felt like a real studio. Like something was actually coming to life.That moment where you look around and go, “Oh yeah… this is gonna be sick.”

Painting the Mojo Dojo (Primer, Sweat, and the Magic of Two Coats)

Once the drywall chaos was over and the room finally looked like something other than a dusty warzone, it was time for the fun part: paint.

This is where the Mojo Dojo really started to show its personality.

But before you grab a roller and start slapping color everywhere, you need to do this right.

Primer First — Always.

Primer is the unsung hero of a clean finished room. Drywall soaks up paint like crazy, and if you skip primer, your color is going to look blotchy, uneven, and just… sad.

I rolled on a nice, even coat of primer across the whole room, and instantly the space felt brighter and way more “real.”

Mini Split Install (Perfect Timing)

This is the part where you want to think ahead.

After priming but before the final coat, I installed the mini split AC system.

Why now?

Because:

• You don’t want to cut into your fresh final coat

• You can patch and touch up easily before finishing

• The room stays cool while you paint, sand, and sweat your face off

• Florida heat + no AC = suffering

But mostly because I was so sick of that Florida heat.

Final Color Coat: Make It Clean, Make It Even

Once the mini split was up and the primer was dry, it was go time.

Here’s the biggest piece of advice I can give you:

Use TWO coats of paint. Always. Especially with brighter or bolder colors.

One coat looks patchy. One coat looks lazy. One coat will make you angry every time a light hits the wall.

Two coats =

• Crisp color

• Smooth finish

• No weird shadows

• Professional-looking walls

• Mojo Dojo vibes activated

And if you’re doing something bright or bold, that second coat makes a massive difference. It smooths everything out and makes the color pop evenly across the entire room.

The Transformation Moment

Nothing hits quite like standing in a freshly painted room with AC blowing, the walls clean, the smell of new paint in the air, and realizing:

“Damn… this is actually turning into a real studio.”

This was the moment the Mojo Dojo stopped feeling like “a shed I’m fixing up” and started feeling like a place I could create in forever.

Flooring: Vinyl Planks, Moisture Protection, and Keeping It All From Warping on You

Once the walls were painted and the mini split was humming, it was time to put in the flooring. The part that really ties the whole room together and makes it feel like an actual studio instead of “the shed.”

I went with wood vinyl planks, and honestly? Great choice. They look clean, they’re durable, they’re easy to install, and they’re perfect for a studio where amps, chairs, wheels, and camera tripods are constantly dragging around.

But here’s the part everyone glosses over…

Use the Blue Moisture Barrier Sheet. Seriously.

Florida = humidity.

Concrete slab = moisture.

Vinyl planks = not friends with moisture.

Putting down that thin blue plastic sheet underneath your flooring is the #1 thing that will protect your planks from:

• Moisture creeping up

• Warping

• Weird buckling

• Edges lifting

• Future headaches

  
  

It's cheap, it’s easy, and it’s basically non-negotiable. Don’t skip it.

Leave a Gap Around the Edges (This One Matters)

When you’re installing vinyl planks, you don’t jam them tight against the drywall. They need room to expand and contract as temperatures and humidity shift.

Leave about a half-inch gap around all the walls.

Your baseboards will cover it, and it’ll keep your flooring from:

• Buckling

• Shifting

• Making weird popping noises every time you walk

If you skip this step, your floor will let you know and usually when it’s too late.

Bigger Planks = Less Work, Less Money

Pro tip from experience:

Go with the bigger planks.

Why?

• Fewer seams

• Fewer cuts

• Fewer pieces to buy

• Faster installation

• Less “I hate this” moments

The Final Look

Once the flooring went down, the Mojo Dojo instantly leveled up. The reflection off the floor softened the room, the space felt warmer, and the whole vibe just shifted into “oh yeah, this is a legit place to create.”

Sound Treatment: Making the Mojo Dojo Actually Sound Like a Studio

Okay, so here’s where the real studio magic begins. Up to this point, you’ve basically been building a very nice, insulated box. But once you start treating the room? That’s when it stops sounding like a bathroom and starts sounding like a proper recording space.

Wall Panels: Taming the High End Without Killing the Room

The first thing I put up were acoustic wall panels that are simple, clean, and super effective at dealing with all those harsh high-end reflections you get in a small room. Strums, picking, palm mutes, claps… all that high-frequency stuff bounces around like crazy.

Panels on the:

• Left and right walls

• Behind the desk

• Behind the amps

…instantly smoothed the room out.

These don’t soundproof anything but they make what’s inside the room sound way better on camera and mic.

Bass Traps: For the Low-End Gremlins

Bass frequencies are the troublemakers. They like to hide in corners, build up, and make your mixes sound muddy or boomy.

Bass traps in the corners tame that low-end buildup and make everything tighter and clearer.

Not required… but highly recommended if you’re recording guitars, bass, or mixing.

The Studio Cloud (COMING SOON at the Mojo Dojo)

I’m also building a ceiling cloud which is basically a big acoustic panel that hangs above your recording or mixing area.

Why? Because sound hits the ceiling way faster than you think, and your mic hears it. A cloud:

• Reduces reflections

• Makes vocals cleaner

• Makes guitar mics more focused

• Makes the room feel “tighter”

Plus it looks sick in videos.

Curtains & Rugs: The Underrated Heroes

A lot of people underestimate how much soft stuff helps.

My room has big curtains and a thick rug, and both make a huge difference.

Curtains:

• Help control echo from windows

• Add vibe

• Look dope on camera

• Reduce flutter echo

Rugs:

• Kill floor reflections

• Stop that “hollow” sound under your feet

• Keep the room from feeling like an empty rental apartment

  
  

It’s honestly one of the easiest aesthetic + acoustic upgrades you can do.

Treat the Room but Don’t Kill It

The goal here isn’t to make your room dead and lifeless. You just want it controlled.

Enough absorption to get rid of harshness.Enough openness to keep things natural. A vibe that makes you WANT to create.

The Mojo Dojo is a mix of panels, curtains, rugs, and (soon) a cloud and that combo keeps it balanced, punchy, and ready for any lesson, demo, or podcast I throw at it.

Conclusion: The Mojo Dojo Is More Than a Studio. It’s a Creative Home

Building this studio wasn’t just a project for me. It was a full-on journey. From fighting through permits, to digging trenches in the Florida sun, to hanging drywall, running wires, laying floors, painting walls, and dialing in the sound… every step took work, patience, and a whole lot of stubbornness.

But now?The Mojo Dojo is the heart of everything I create.

It’s where I teach. It’s where I record. It’s where I film Riff With Cliff videos, test pedals, jam riffs, make podcasts, and dream up new ideas while my son naps and my wife gets some peace inside the house.

It’s a place built out of necessity because I couldn’t add onto my home but it turned into something way bigger than that. It’s the kind of room that makes you WANT to create. The kind that feels like yours the second you step inside.

And if you’re thinking about building your own home studio, whether it’s a full Tuff Shed conversion or just a corner of your spare room, I hope this gave you a real look at what goes into it. The good, the bad, the exhausting, and the incredibly rewarding.

My whole goal is to keep creating helpful, inspiring, fun content for you and this studio makes that possible every single day.

So build your space.Claim it.Shape it.Make it feel like you.

And when it’s done?Turn the lights on, plug in your guitar, and make something cool.

The world always needs more music.

If you want to actually see this whole build come to life from every step, every upgrade, every “what was I thinking?” moment, I just dropped a full video walking through the entire Mojo Dojo studio transformation.

👉 Watch the full studio build video here — it’ll give you the full tour, the visuals, and all the little details I couldn’t fit into this blog.