Making the most of My Room ACOUSTICALLY!

[beau_mckee]

These are pictures of my bungalow. I know its probably not the best environment acoustically (and so much mess! Sorry, i will clean it up don't hurt me) but i need to make THIS room sound the best it can, for vocals tracking, loud guitar amps and mixing. Now here comes the catch!

The bed has to stay, and the computer desk, but all the other junk can go!
My budget is roughly $600 USD, but im willing to put more in long term if it really makes a difference (can only do so much with a room like this). I would prefer to start buying piece by piece, I want it to sound AMAZING! So, any advice will be hugely appreciated. what you got for me??

[tINY]

Buy a nice set of headphones and a good headphone amp with cross-feed.

Track stuff in another room (or outside).

That room is too small. Even with an unlimited budget, it'd be tough to make anything workable out of that room for mixing.

You might get away with it for tracking, but you'll have to experiment a lot with placement and mic position.




-tINY

[beau_mckee]

another catch... Its a rental property! Any advice will be hugely appreciated, tankyou in advance

[beau_mckee]

hmmmm okay Tiny. Do you suggest i consider purchasing a good guitar cab emulator, such as the SPL transducer? or maybe a guitar iso booth? Im using a pair of Beyer DT770PRO's.

Either way i have to make this room work for vocals, guitar and mixing to the best it can. anyone have an opnion on my 'dodgy sized' room?

[Rowdy]

Hey dude totally possible to fix that up

i'd just reposition your furniture if possible

biggest no no i see right now is that one speaker in a corner

if you can re arrange like in the pic

look into acoustic treatment.... tons of post out htere

this is a good link to get started
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb0.../studiosos.htm

i think the picture in the link is your room lol

a good book to go out and grab is "Acoustic Design For The Home Studio"
really good starting reference it has DIY solutions along with suggestions for manufacturers

for 600 hundred i think you can build your self some great absorption and bass traps for your room or buy some ready made stuff from ats or auralex or something

just my 2 cents

[adam_asr10]

Visit this site for acoustic treatment and design information Acoustic Treatment and Design for Recording Studios and Listening Rooms

Also here is the forum link http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthr...oard/24/page/1

hope it can help !!!

[Glenn Kuras]

1)First I would flip the mix spot so you are facing the short wall and running the speakers down the longest wall. You want to sit so you are 38% of room length, from the front wall
2) Add as many bass traps you can, made of mineral wool or rigid fiberglass, to as many corners possible
3) Treat first reflections within the room.

That should get you started.

Glenn

[beau_mckee]

Thankyou for the excellent feedback guys. really awesome to get this help. How about if i had my DAW desk next to the door, speakers running parallel with longest walls? I feel if i reposition the bed next to the door, my room will too cramped for recording. (yeah it is my bedroom unfortunately.. how embarrassing..) i still need to mic up cabs in here.

Originally Posted by myfipie

1)First I would flip the mix spot so you are facing the short wall and running the speakers down the longest wall. You want to sit so you are 38% of room length, from the front wall
2) Add as many bass traps you can, made of mineral wool or rigid fiberglass, to as many corners possible
3) Treat first reflections within the room.

That should get you started.

Glenn

Dos GIK have a distributor in Australia or have a store i can get stuff from? Australian acoustic sound proofing is definitely overpriced here.


What should i do about the windows? I was thinking of just hunting down some real thick curtains to diffuse any reflections?
Thankssssss

[Unclenny]

Good headphones will be crucial.

Get some bookcases up on those walls.

Use your guit cases as gobos for your amps(s).

["No"]

Contravertial as it may be...

Make the most of your room by making it sound like you recorded the stuff in your room. If you see what I mean. Find the spot where the room noise sounds best (or worse, depending on the situation).

It won't sound like a pop record, but it'll sound alive if you get it right.

[Unclenny]

Originally Posted by GodDamn

Contravertial as it may be...

Make the most of your room by making it sound like you recorded the stuff in your room. If you see what I mean. Find the spot where the room noise sounds best (or worse, depending on the situation).

It won't sound like a pop record, but it'll sound alive if you get it right.

[tINY]

Yeah, I think you'll be better off running the guitar direct in there and using some sort of emulation.

Tracking vocals in there will be a trial and error deal. keep moving around and moving mics until something works. A tight pattern mic is your friend here, as well as some room treatment (move this around too).

Learning to mix on headphones and check them out in better listening environments will pay big dividends if you plan on doing a lot of mixing in there. You can improve the room, but only so much (besides, you'll need cans for tracking vocals anyway).




-tINY

[beau_mckee]

Unclenny, do you approve of DT770's? i have a pair and use them a fair bit.
Interesting concept GodDamn...

I think the acoustics are a contributing factor to my crappy / crowded mixes.
Do you guys think that i would benefit by buying one of those reflexion shields for vox or guitar cabs, as well as bass traps? Cheaper than SPL and im still getting practice in. If you would like me to upload some stuff ive tracked in this room?

[Binturong]

You can get some good ideas from John Sayers forums, and also talk to the guys at GIK they helped me out. They are definitely on top of their game.

[bpape]

Unfortunately, we do not have a distributor down under. We can certainly ship but the cost will likely be high. I'm sure Glenn would be happy to get you a quote if you're interested. Have a good idea of what you want as the rate/box changes a lot depending on how much is being shipped.

Bryan