Need help figuring out the best/cheapest (DIY?) room acoustics treatment for me...

[jasonbmerrill]

Hello all. Please excuse my total noobness -- but...

The final steps in my studio building (for now) are a second "brick" preamp (if i like the first one) and acoustic room treatment for my small studio room.

My main concern is recording.

I want to record as dry as possible, without the sound of my room affecting vocal and acoustic guitar recordings. I am backed into 2 corners as my space for recording, and although its spacious for one person, it can fit 2 ok.

There is a mattress propped up against one wall (this can be moved)

i basically know what should i do to treat this room, at least for recording. If i have stuff left over, maybe some monitoring treatment too, but to me, that is not important. The source is more important, for now.

heres a layout of the room:



its not really to scale (obviously)

the grey area is the "performance area" which is quite empty. Since this is mostly for my own personal use and the occasional solo act (which ive already recorded in this room quite decently)
I dont need alot of room yet.

Clockwise:

The green faded area is the soft chair, and around that, a place to store instruments. Recording here really isnt too much of an option because of the door, etc.

Then we see the purple rectangle: thats the mattress up against the wall.

The red rectangle with the blue circles around it are the monitors and desk.

the red line is the keystation 88 pro.

theres a small closet in the upper left hand corner and the entrance is in the upper right.

What should i do?

I was going to get some rockwool and burlap, and make some panels i guess...

I basically want to kill reflections here, and make them easily movable so that i can make my own isolation areas wherever i want them

and i guess ill need bass traps too?

I want to figure this all out in 36 hours, so any help would be great

I already have this point of reference:

http://www.runet.edu/~shelm/acoustic...html#BassTraps

what about this

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Acoustic-Studi...QQcmdZViewItem

or this

http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedi...l-booth-1.html

for additional stuff?

[timmcallister]

Originally Posted by jasonbmerrill

Hello all. Please excuse my total noobness -- but...

I already have this point of reference:

http://www.runet.edu/~shelm/acoustic...html#BassTraps

Follow the advice and plans given there. He doesn't go into theory, but the content is pretty much right on.

Start with bass traps in every corner possible.

Then hit first reflection points with panels.

With that, you'll be 80% as far as a home project can get. You'll learn alot, and come back and learn more.

If you are short on time, you can address the corner bass problems by buying the intended insulating material (your choice, OC703/705, rockwool or cotton) and stacking it in the corners. You can even leave it wrapped in the plastic material in comes in. Drape some blankets over it. It won't look good, but it will work on bass as well as any fancy looking panel. Then when you have time, make frames, etc.

Originally Posted by jasonbmerrill

what about this

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Acoustic-Studi...QQcmdZViewItem

1" foam will only help with fairly high frequencies. Frankly - I think it's a waste of money. Buy it if you think it looks cool.

By the time you treat the room to address lower frequencies (< 100Hz) you'll probably have all the mid/high freq control you want.

[timmcallister]

Originally Posted by jasonbmerrill

what about this

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Acoustic-Studi...QQcmdZViewItem

From the ebay auction description:
Acoustic Foam Questions
What do I need to stop sound from traveling through a wall (or walls)?
Acoustic foam can be used to stop sound from traveling through a wall, but it is recommended for improving the clarity of sound in a room. How much acoustic foam do I need?
Typical applications call for 25% to 75% coverage, with the average being 50%. We suggest 50% to 75% for rock, pop, techno, etc.. For jazz, classical, etc. 25% to 50% coverage is suggested.

this information is pure hogwash. First - 1" foam will do NOTHING to prevent sound from "traveling through walls", second - if you covered a room 50% with this crap, the room would sound dull, dead and still be BOOMING with bass.


Good luck on the room !!

[jasonbmerrill]

Originally Posted by timmcallister

From the ebay auction description:
Acoustic Foam Questions
What do I need to stop sound from traveling through a wall (or walls)?
Acoustic foam can be used to stop sound from traveling through a wall, but it is recommended for improving the clarity of sound in a room. How much acoustic foam do I need?
Typical applications call for 25% to 75% coverage, with the average being 50%. We suggest 50% to 75% for rock, pop, techno, etc.. For jazz, classical, etc. 25% to 50% coverage is suggested.

this information is pure hogwash. First - 1" foam will do NOTHING to prevent sound from "traveling through walls", second - if you covered a room 50% with this crap, the room would sound dull, dead and still be BOOMING with bass.


Good luck on the room !!

thanks, that stuff looked to good to be true, and someone alerted me to its crappiness anyway.

[guitarwes]

If you want to go the cheap route, Fluffify! THICK fluffy fiberglass in all corners, then you can build RFZ panels to tame reflections. This is a great forum and everyone is great in helping each other out. Check out/ do a search for Ethan Winer's articles.

[jasonbmerrill]

Originally Posted by guitarwes

If you want to go the cheap route, Fluffify! THICK fluffy fiberglass in all corners, then you can build RFZ panels to tame reflections. This is a great forum and everyone is great in helping each other out. Check out/ do a search for Ethan Winer's articles.

thank you, but doesn't fiberglass pose more of a health risk than mineral wool?

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by jasonbmerrill

thank you, but doesn't fiberglass pose more of a health risk than mineral wool?

No nether do.. See the following page
RECORDING Exposing the Myths of Fiberglass - Folks, People have heard all kinds of stories about fiberglass and it's hazzards. It has been stated: [quote:2c917e7e71] I mean that cutting fiberglass can be a bit of a health hazard because the fibers, w

Glenn