Noob Needs Help: Portable Acoustic Treatment

[NickPampani]

Hello All,

My name is Nick. I am new to this site but not to recording. Here is my little back story.

I am currently 23 and have been playing music for the last 10 years (kind of). I am a bassist however I put my bass down about 3 years ago when I had an unfortunate/fortunate work accident where i falayed 3 of my finger on my fretting hand using sheet mettle. Fun, i lost movement in 2 finger feeling in all 3 with my index finger loosing about 50% feeling. All in all i lost about 45% usage in my hand.

With the extra time on my hands(no pun intended) and with the extra money I started my recording hobby. I have been wanting to get into recording for many many years however it is too expensive and with my settlement it was finally possible. And now I'm broke.

So that was my little back story. Now my question.

I have been doing (as a hobby) potable recording using a Logic Pro (now 9) recording through a firestudio onto a macbook pro. Well all of the sudden my little hobby started growing faster than I expected and now that I'm actually working with more bands I want my work to be as good and professional as possible, however since I am, like I said before, portable i have a small problem with acoustics. This problem not only makes a difference in the recording (however small or large it may be) but also in the appearance. People want to know how I deal with acoustics, and telling them not much isn't a good answer.

I was thinking for vocals I would go with an acoustic vocal shield like at Editors Key, however tat is just too expensive for just a vocal shield and nothing else.

Do you guys have any suggestions for portable acoustic treatment?

or

Does anyone know where i could get maybe a do it yourself for a cheaper solution to that vocal shield?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
NP

[mobius.media]

Your best option is probably to buy some 4" Ready Acoustics bags. You can stuff them with acoustic insulation of your choice. I've found the ideal stuffing is Ultratouch R21 cotton. Each unit of R21 can be bought containing 4 bats of 2'x8'x5.5". Cut each bat in half (to 2'x4') and squish it down to fit in the 2'x4'x4" Ready bags using 2'x4' cardboard sheets sandwiched on either side. Slide the bags over the cotton and remove the cardboard when done.

Total cost for 8 portable traps:

$100 1 unit Ultratouch R21 (4 bats of 2'x8'x5.5")
$240 8 Ready Acoustics 4" bags
$340

The great thing about Ultratouch is unlike mineral wool or fiberglass it doesn't stink or put off irritating fumes. Just try not to breathe too much of the loose cotton in while assembling. The loose fibers aren't good for you. But the bags do a fairly good job of holding it all in though once finished. I would add a plastic wrap between the bag and insulation to it to be sure.

You can fit 8 assembled traps of this type easily in the back of a minivan. For use, you can just lean them against walls/corners or hang on any nails in the wall. They are very light. I've built a fair number of traps with different materials and found this the most efficient method.

To find Ultratouch in your region, call or e-mail these guys: Bonded Logic - Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation

For Ready bags: Ready Bags™ Broadband Bass Trap

Good luck.

[Glenn Kuras]

See the PVB by Real Traps or we have a Screen Panel. Also you could build panels out of rigid fiberglass or mineral wool.