Carpeted Floor + Popcorn Ceiling = treatment?

[RockManDan]

ok, so my wife and I are moving into our first house (yay!) and I have been allotted one of our 3 bedrooms (about 11x 10 x 8) to use for a music room (yes dear). It will be used for mixing of location recordings and small overdubs like vocals, acoustics, maybe some amps (im planning on building an iso-box but thats another discussion). Anyway, ive got my bass traps and mid/high absorbers all pretty well planned out based on lots of research, but im a little not sure what to do about the ceiling. conventional wisdom around here is to use a floating cloud to eliminate first reflections from above and leave the floor untreated. However, in my case i have carpet on the floor and thus its already absorbing the highs down there..should I bother doing anythign between my head and the ceiling, or will that make it too dead? Its your typical uneven popcorn ceiling. I know many will say 'get rid of it - popcorn ceilings suck!' but im not really having the time/ability to do any major changes like that to the room. Just external stuff. Since the floor is already absorbing some highs due to carpet, should i just leave the ceiling alone and let them each have their little bit of livliness or should I still put something on the ceiling? I only ask because there are many threads about small rooms but most dont have the carpet + popcorn ceiling combination that mine does.

thanks for any info.
-Dan

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by RockManDan

should I bother doing anythign between my head and the ceiling

Yes!

[Glenn Kuras]

should I bother doing anythign between my head and the ceiling, or will that make it too dead?

If nothing else you do want to treat the first reflection point between where you sit and the monitors.
What Are Early Reflection Points. SPOTLIGHT:Bob Ebeling - Revolution Studio
Other then that you may find above where the vocals are being done may be in order.
BTW popcorn ceiling is not really any better then a flat ceiling.

[RockManDan]

ah ok i wasnt quite sure. i knew there wasnt any significant reflective difference. i guess i was just wondering if trying to treat the first reflection points was worth potentially taking the rooms overall lack-of-live-ness past the point of 'too dead'. i think ill still mount a thick blanket or something up there, unless i have some foam or fiberglass left over from my other treatments.

sub-question... should i leave the carpet on the floor as-is? or would the room benefitted by a harder, more reflective surface such as an office-depot-style antic static mat like they use in offices?

[Glenn Kuras]

sub-question... should i leave the carpet on the floor as-is? or would the room benefitted by a harder, more reflective surface such as an office-depot-style antic static mat like they use in offices?

I would leave it how it is.

BTW I understand about you not wanting to make the room to dead, but hitting the key areas is pretty important and the first reflection point on the ceiling is one of them.

[RockManDan]

gotcha...i agree. ive never been one of those folks who is afraid of a too-dead room. i know a little ambience can be good, but in a room that small, any ambience i get will most likely be terrible sounding, so id rather just be done with it and add my own.

thanks for the info, guys

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by RockManDan

in a room that small, any ambience i get will most likely be terrible sounding, so id rather just be done with it and add my own.

Exactly.

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by RockManDan

gotcha...i agree. ive never been one of those folks who is afraid of a too-dead room. i know a little ambience can be good, but in a room that small, any ambience i get will most likely be terrible sounding, so id rather just be done with it and add my own.

thanks for the info, guys

Honestly I think when people post things like "MY ROOM IS WAY TO DEAD" I can pretty much bet that it is because they are absorbing all the high end but the low end (and mids) are swimming in the room. It gives a very muddy sound that some people (I THINK) think is dead.

[wesarvin]

Tight, dry rooms are cool. I think that "dead" has a connotation of lifeless. It seems like it's just peoples' bad experience with bass buildup. My whole house has hard floors and is pretty live. If I want more ambience in the CR (aka 10x12x8 spare bedroom allowed by my wife), all I need to do is open up the door. Foxfyr would call it a large aperture phase grate coupling system*...The room is "dead" or dry by common definitions, but due to ample bass trapping is no way stuffy, muddy, or lifeless.

Go ahead and put some kind of cloud above your head. Fiberglass, foam, whatever. Those first reflection points make worlds of difference for imaging and separation.

*btw, where did Foxfyr go? I liked his edginess. A little rude, but he did make us consider some new treatment ideas!

[Glenn Kuras]

*btw, where did Foxfyr go? I liked his edginess. A little rude, but he did make us consider some new treatment ideas!

I am sure he will be back. They always are!!

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by guitarwes

*btw, where did Foxfyr go? I liked his edginess. A little rude, but he did make us consider some new treatment ideas!

I hope he comes back too. He's a heck of a smart guy.

Frank