Room Tuning

[dongle]

Hi guys, probably the most important misunderstood issue, how to treat a room.
Any body no how to do this, or have any cool tips.
Dont give us crap like each room is different cause i think we might know that much.
But seriously if there some experts out there in this feild on building traps or whatever some tips would be loved.
Thanks guys

[Ethan Winer]

Dongle,

> Any body no how to do this, or have any cool tips. <

I do this every day, all day long. Start here:

www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

It's a lot to read, but when you're done you'll know an awful lot about acoustic treatment.

> Dont give us crap like each room is different <

I agree. That's the old school method - you measure the room, then build custom tuned traps to target specific frequencies. More modern thinking recognizes that all rooms have problems at all frequencies. So the preferred approach is broadband absorption that works well to as low a frequency as possible.

--Ethan

[dim light]

My studio is tuned to droped D - I record mostly rock music.

[dongle]

Originally Posted by Ethan Winer

Dongle,

> Any body no how to do this, or have any cool tips. <

I do this every day, all day long. Start here:

www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

It's a lot to read, but when you're done you'll know an awful lot about acoustic treatment.

> Dont give us crap like each room is different <

I agree. That's the old school method - you measure the room, then build custom tuned traps to target specific frequencies. More modern thinking recognizes that all rooms have problems at all frequencies. So the preferred approach is broadband absorption that works well to as low a frequency as possible.

--Ethan

Thanks man. Ill get on to it. The more in fo the better, cheers.

[AAsa]

Originally Posted by dim light

My studio is tuned to droped D - I record mostly rock music.

ok that's funny.

I can't tell if my room is sharp or flat....Ethan?

[tunasafedolphin]

Ethan:

I think I know the answer already, but just to double check, here are two related questions for you:

1. Do, say, two 2x4 bass traps absorb the same way as one 2x8 bass trap covering the same area?

2. (if you can even answer this one) In general, what do acoustic designers conder small, medium, and large mixing rooms (sq. footage wise). Trying to figure out what my mixing room would need as far as surface area is consder regarding trapping. I've been considering roughly 6-8 traps covering approx 60-70 sq. feet of space.

Thanks,
C

p.s. - Read your page last week. I love it simply for the fact that so much relevent info is included in such a small space, very cool for us do it yourselfers or those interested in purchasing RealTraps!

[Ethan Winer]

C,

> Do, say, two 2x4 bass traps absorb the same way as one 2x8 bass trap covering the same area? <

Usually. (The exception is too complicated to explain in a few words, and probably is not relevent anyway.)

> what do acoustic designers conder small, medium, and large mixing rooms <

Beats me. To me, off the top of my head, small is maybe 10 by 12 feet or less, large is 25 by 35 or bigger, and medium is everything else in between. Or thereabouts.

> I've been considering roughly 6-8 traps covering approx 60-70 sq. feet of space. <

That sounds like 8 by 8 feet which is very small. The smaller the room, the more bass trapping is needed proportionally. So I'd aim to over as many corners as you possibly can.

--Ethan

[tunasafedolphin]

Ethan, to expand a bit on my earlier question:

I'm trying to talk our studio owner into investing in some room treatment for our main mixing room. When he built the facility several years ago, he used some basic foam bass traps, and I can certainly notice mud in the lower frequencies.

Long story short, he put me in charge of designing a layout for the room, and I'm baffled a bit at the moment on where I should put the traps - (other than the obvious rear corners).

The room is an 16.5 x 11 ft rectangle (bummer), w/ the monitors about 2 ft off of the wall facing the 16.5 ft dimension. Floor to ceiling is approx 10 ft.

The good new is tha the front wall has a few angles, and is covered with purple felt! I'll try and attach a picture. The back wall is untreated. The floor is wood, celing is acoustic tiles, walls are drywall filled with insulation.

Sorry for the lengthy message, but I figured I made sure you knew the variables I was working with. I'm hoping to get the funds to invest in realtraps, but we'll see what the penny pincher says!

Thanks a bunch for any info - you rock!

Here's a photo of the front wall:

Christian

[Ethan Winer]

Christian,

> he put me in charge of designing a layout for the room <

By "layout" do you mean a new room that will be built or modified, or just to come up with a plan for treating the current room to get a better low end and more accurate monitoring?

> The room is an 16.5 x 11 ft rectangle (bummer) <

Not nearly as big a bummer as 10 by 7 which I've treated many times.

> celing is acoustic tiles <

Is there any insulation above the tiles? If not, that's a good first step. If you have room to lay 12 inch thick fluffy fiberglass on top of the tiles, that will help. Otherwise put up fiberglass as thick as will fit.

> Here's a photo of the front wall <

Unfortunately, I can't see enough of the room to offer any real advice. But all of the general advice in my Acoustics FAQ and on my company's web site applies to your room as well.

--Ethan

[tunasafedolphin]

Coming up with a plan for treating our current room. The goal is better monitoring/tightening the low end.

Thanks for the help Ethan. I'll be checking the FAQ directly.

-Christian

[pigpen]

God knows I am not Nathan, but as far as the ceiling tiles go, you can purchase what is called insulation ceiling tiles. They are actually an absorber and to me make the room sound better. They a harder yellow insulation on th back faced with a porous plastic...I dunno, just a thought. I own 19 rehearsal rooms and chose them after hearing them over normal tiles.
Good luck