Treating small room

[johnwayne]

I've done a search and read lots of great information. This is an excellent forum. So here's my situation.

My room is 12 X12 with 10' ceilings. Not ideal but I think I can make it work. So far I have put 2' X4' SAFB wool placed in wooden frames and placed them in all three corners. 1 on the floor and 1 on top of that one.

I have built a gobo that is 4' X 6'tall with Auralex 2" foam covering the front side.

The wall parallel to the back wall is half the size of that wall. There is a 6' entrance way leading into another room. I can use the gobo to kill that corner.

I put 2' X 4' 2" bass traps covering the wall to ceilingcorner in the middle of the wall. I have 12 more panels coming and I think I will make a 4" cloud to let hang above the overheads consisting of 2 2' X 4' bass traps.

Any suggestions as to where to put the remaining traps?

Also would I need a carpet under the drums or would my wooden floor add a nice punch If the cloud is hung properly?

[Glenn Kuras]

I would take down the 2" panels that you have in the upper corners and use those for the first reflections or maybe the cloud. Not sure what 12 traps you have coming but if they are 4" or more those would be the ones to straddle corners with. The goal is to cover as many floor to wall, wall to ceiling the wall to wall corners you can.
Is this a control room also?

Glenn

Glenn

[Acoustic Cloud]

Originally Posted by myfipie

Glenn

Glenn

HEY GLENN GLENN!!!!

When are you going on tour?

[johnwayne]

Thanks for the reply Glenn. I have 2" Mineral wool coming in 2' X 4'. I'm planning on doubling up to make some 4". So the 3 corners should all be 4"? I have two in every corner, the gobo is covering the other corner, one stacked on another.

I was planning on making the cloud 4" or should 2" suffice?

This is not the control room. I have another room which I'm also working on. I'm trying to make it work with 18 2" 2' X 4' panels covered in Burlap around a wooden frame.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Protools Guy]

I've always heard this:
Small rooms should be dead everywhere except for the floor.
Try to get rid of all corners and parallel walls.

[johnwayne]

thanks It looks like I have a simple answer. Treat everything except the floor!

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by johnwayne

thanks It looks like I have a simple answer. Treat everything except the floor!

In some cases it is better to keep a little of the room sound in, but a room that is 12x12 I would NOT. I think the best thing to do is cover the ceiling with 2" panels, cover all corners with 4" panels (6 to 8 of them straddled should be plenty) and make the remaining panels 2" for the walls. I would then set up the drum set and record to see what kind of sound you are getting. If it sounds good you are set, if it sounds like ass then MAKE MORE PANELS.

Glenn

[johnwayne]

Thanks again I will be doing this in the next week. I still have a mixing room to contend with but I think I'll go with the same kind of plan and also put 2" behind the speakers and put the mixing position around 38% into the center of the room.

See ya and have a great holiday!

[Todd24]

In a small room....after treating the crud out of it.....how do the experts feel about putting diffuson strategicaly around the drum kit to give it some "room" to breath?

[johnwayne]

Thanks for the great info. I have one other option which would be to move the live room into another room that is 18' X 12' with 8' ceilings. Would this make much of a difference? It just occurred to me about switching the rooms.

[Todd24]

My hope is that diffusion behind the kit, as it relates to the mic positions would reflect the kit back in a way that makes it seem like space. As opposed to just really dry tracks.

I think I will just try it.

[johnwayne]

What are you using for diffusion and are you trying to relate it to the overheads?

[Todd24]

Originally Posted by johnwayne

What are you using for diffusion and are you trying to relate it to the overheads?

Unfortunatly my room is tiny and has carpet. I am not using overheads above the kit, but rather have them infront of the kit. I have to try to reject as much of the bleed from the other instruments (live tracking) as possible. I havent decided on the difussion yet. but will probably do skylines directly behind the kit, around the bass trap in the corner. The room now is pretty dead.

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by Todd24

In a small room....after treating the crud out of it.....how do the experts feel about putting diffuson strategicaly around the drum kit to give it some "room" to breath?

Diffusion can be a cool thing, but I would not get it any closer then 8 feet from a drum kit. You got to remember that with diffusion you are keeping the room sound in (kind of) and this may or may not be a good thing. Myself, unless the room is really BIG I would rather balance the room with treatment and use plugins for the reverb. One thing we have done in some rooms is make panels that are 6 inches by 4 feet and space them on one wall 4 inches apart. This gives absorption, but also a little diffusion in the room. As someone else said above, it does get pretty expensive to do it this way and may or may not be worth it for you.

Glenn