Ceiling Absorption

ghetto3jon · 28th December 2007, 10:54 PM

i'm pursuing the "hard floor, soft ceiling" approach to my tracking room. i used to have a bunch of oriental carpets on the floor. so as a test, i pulled the carpets to reveal the bare plywood underneath, and hung a large cloud of dual-ply moving blankets from the ceiling. the room seems to sound better, i tracked some acoustic guitar and i noticed the difference that the bare floor makes.

now that it seems like a good idea, i'd like to improve upon the ceiling absorption. but of course, on the cheap. i know rigid fiberglass works well, i've used it to make corner bass traps in my tracking and control room. but i have a TON of moving blankets and oriental carpeting, so my question is: will any amount of carpeting and moving blankets on the ceiling be (almost?) as effective as rigid fiberglass? or perhaps i could purchase a small amount of rigid fiberglass to use in conjunction with the moving blankets and/or oriental carpeting somehow?

(obviously, appearance doesn't matter)

Ethan Winer · 28th December 2007, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghetto3jon

will any amount of carpeting and moving blankets on the ceiling be (almost?) as effective as rigid fiberglass?

Yes, if it's very thick and very floppy - think of waves hanging down sort of like pleats in a curtain:

UUUU

You could also use fluffy fiberglass above the rolls to fil the space above.

--Ethan

Glenn Kuras · 28th December 2007, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ethan Winer

Yes, if it's very thick and very floppy - think of waves hanging down sort of like pleats in a curtain:

UUUU

You could also use fluffy fiberglass above the rolls to fil the space above.

--Ethan

I think I would go with the fluffy stuff above the UUUU idea.

Glenn

ghetto3jon · 29th December 2007, 12:40 AM

yeah, that's a great idea. thanks guys.

ghetto3jon · 30th December 2007, 04:41 AM

so i hung moving blankets from the corners, so the center of each droops down about 10" (two-ply). then i stuffed the space between the ceiling and the blankets with fiberglass (6.5" inches thick. not rigid fiberglass like my bass traps...the paperless stuff that comes in a roll cut into 15" x 66" x 6.5" pieces).

just talking and clapping, it sounds about the same as the two-ply moving blankets by themselves...but i imagine when i track drums or guitars (something with some low end), i'll notice a difference. thanks again for the suggestion...since i had the moving blankets already, the whole thing costed me less then $45...and i feel like my ceiling is pretty absorbent across the frequency spectrum (reasonably).

so in an attempt to improve the sound of my tracking room, i've: pulled the oriental carpets to reveal the plywood floor, bass trapped most of the corners with rigid fiberglass, killed the only two parallel walls with two large bookshelves and a love seat, and made the moving blankets & fiberglass ceiling contraption described above. i haven't recorded much music yet (still in the writing phase), so i don't know the actual outcome of my labor...but does it all make sense on paper?

EDIT: here is a pic and graphic of the tracking room (the camera icon the in graphic shows the perspective of the picture). the pic is before the work i described above, but i'm just including them so you can get an idea of what the room looks like (ethan, i think i've shown you these pics before...so they're just a reminder if you needed one. thanks again!):

http://www.thebrotherkite.com/stuff/studio1.jpg
http://www.thebrotherkite.com/stuff/studio_diagram.jpg

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28th December 2007, 10:54 PM	#1
ghetto3jon Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pawtucket, RI Posts: 324	Ceiling Absorption i'm pursuing the "hard floor, soft ceiling" approach to my tracking room. i used to have a bunch of oriental carpets on the floor. so as a test, i pulled the carpets to reveal the bare plywood underneath, and hung a large cloud of dual-ply moving blankets from the ceiling. the room seems to sound better, i tracked some acoustic guitar and i noticed the difference that the bare floor makes. now that it seems like a good idea, i'd like to improve upon the ceiling absorption. but of course, on the cheap. i know rigid fiberglass works well, i've used it to make corner bass traps in my tracking and control room. but i have a TON of moving blankets and oriental carpeting, so my question is: will any amount of carpeting and moving blankets on the ceiling be (almost?) as effective as rigid fiberglass? or perhaps i could purchase a small amount of rigid fiberglass to use in conjunction with the moving blankets and/or oriental carpeting somehow? (obviously, appearance doesn't matter)

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29th December 2007, 12:40 AM	#4
ghetto3jon Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pawtucket, RI Posts: 324	yeah, that's a great idea. thanks guys.

30th December 2007, 04:41 AM	#5
ghetto3jon Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pawtucket, RI Posts: 324	so i hung moving blankets from the corners, so the center of each droops down about 10" (two-ply). then i stuffed the space between the ceiling and the blankets with fiberglass (6.5" inches thick. not rigid fiberglass like my bass traps...the paperless stuff that comes in a roll cut into 15" x 66" x 6.5" pieces). just talking and clapping, it sounds about the same as the two-ply moving blankets by themselves...but i imagine when i track drums or guitars (something with some low end), i'll notice a difference. thanks again for the suggestion...since i had the moving blankets already, the whole thing costed me less then $45...and i feel like my ceiling is pretty absorbent across the frequency spectrum (reasonably). so in an attempt to improve the sound of my tracking room, i've: pulled the oriental carpets to reveal the plywood floor, bass trapped most of the corners with rigid fiberglass, killed the only two parallel walls with two large bookshelves and a love seat, and made the moving blankets & fiberglass ceiling contraption described above. i haven't recorded much music yet (still in the writing phase), so i don't know the actual outcome of my labor...but does it all make sense on paper? EDIT: here is a pic and graphic of the tracking room (the camera icon the in graphic shows the perspective of the picture). the pic is before the work i described above, but i'm just including them so you can get an idea of what the room looks like (ethan, i think i've shown you these pics before...so they're just a reminder if you needed one. thanks again!): http://www.thebrotherkite.com/stuff/studio1.jpg http://www.thebrotherkite.com/stuff/studio_diagram.jpg