Adding 705 to My Barn Space

[swafford]

Here's a diary of adding 705 to my existing recording space. It's a rough space to begin with and has always sounded pretty good, but I'm attempting to address some weak bass mixing issues, excessive ~100hz when tracking bass and drums and achieving a clearer stereo image when mixing.

Did I say it was rough? Here are some photos before any traps are made. The room is about 28ft long by 11 ft wide, 8ft tall on one side and 10ft tall on the other. Some barn siding for walls, some tar paper, some of it open, ceiling is open. Mostly R19 insulation.

looking towards mix:


looking towards drums:


Here are some audio plots taken when the room was empty and just the speakers, chair, and rack was in the room.

Mix Position:





Room (an average of 6 different positions: far left and right corners, drum position (green rug), client position and left and right of client position)





Reverberation Times:
EDT

T20

T30


Here's a song recorded in the 'old' room (essentially the same as now, but no insulation on far wall or over drum position.

Dusk To Dawn 44/16 | Jeff Scott Roberson

[swafford]

I've completed all the frames. I'm using 1x2 for the back and 10lb burlap for the cover. I salvage some 1x2 from various sources and for the balanceI bought the cheapest 1x4 I could find at the Big Box and ripped it down to 1x2. I scrounged some 2x4's and cut them to triangles for the corners. Some of the bought 1x4's were pretty twisted, but wtf.

Pretty simple construction - 1 screw in each corner holding the 1x2's together; 2 screws in each side of a triangle to square up the corner. 2 more screws for the extra support in the middle. 5 screws per frame.





Here's a shot of some of the completed absorbers. I did the 4"x2'x8' corner one as a test and it worked out great. The rest of the absorbers are 2" thick. 2 each 4'x4' for clouds, one above the mix position, one above the drums. I was going to do 4'x4''s for the first reflection points, but Have a little issue with a door I'm framing that would be blocked. I scored a couple scans of GS classifieds and made 4'x6' that will mount and I can put in position for mixing and use when tracking.

I have the other 4'x6' and 3 corners to finish. Just standing next to the 4'x6' and singing a cappella on either side, I can immediately hear a difference. Pretty stoked.

[swafford]

All done building absrobers for now. I have enough for 5 more 2'x'4 panels. I think I'm going to pick up 2 more 4'x8' sheets t have some more on hand.

I haven't secured anything yet, but shoved the corner traps into the corners and put the 4'x6' where they need to be during mixing to give everything a listen and what can I say but

HOLY SH IT! My stereo field is much more large and precise. I can here a the little annoying amp buzzes and the bass is much more define. Very nice. Very, very nice. Here's a shot.



A question for anyone with answers. This room is very irregular. The walls sit on cinderblocks and are set back about 4" from the floor so when the corner traps are shoved in the corner, they hit the cinderblock, but yield a gap from the edge of the trap frame to the wall. Aesthetically this doesn't matter to me. Is it an issue sonically? Would it be better to close the cap with board and shove some insulation behind it, or attach them to the building frame and leave it open?

[muziekschuur]

Great stuff.....

U need a lavalamp in there man...

[swafford]

Originally Posted by muziekschuur

Great stuff.....

U need a lavalamp in there man...

I do. I'm waiting for one to appear curbside on trash day. That is my decorating motif.

I'm almost done here. I'm hoping to get 2 more sheets of 4'x8' 705FRK to make a decent quantity of 2'x4' to line the open walls and I have a line on some 8' rough cut (not yet planed) Kentucky Cedar at a ridiculously low price (I suppose because it's in the middle of nowhere) to finish the walls with. Next spring, when it's warm again, I'll be getting another 400sq feet of burlap that I'll dye black and then cover the ceiling.

For now, here's some process pictures of making the absorbers:

For the frames, I screwed 1"x2" in each corner, then a corner block to keep it square (sort of!). The larger frames have a cross support.





To stretch the burlap, I relied on my skills as a canvas and screen stretcher. I knew that BFA would pay off one day. By the way, that crappy wood you bought that had a nice twist in it will be straightened by the fabric stretching pulling it against the 705. Didn't know why at the time, but I knew going cheap on wood wouldn't matter.

First position the frame in the middle of your fabric making sure you have enough material to minimally reach the top of the wood. I go for enough fabric to reach inside so I can staple it to the inside of the frame after stretching.

Trim any excess.

Keep a hammer handy to tap in those staples that didn't set all teh way. I use 1/4" staples.



Next staple at the center of each side.



Then work around the frame, stapling at the point that is the center between each proceeding staple, the middle and the corners.



You need to work from side to side to ensure the fabric is streched evenly.



Corners can be tricky. It's best to use as little as fabric as needed, but if your a lazy s.o.b. like me, then fk it.



Pull the fabric at the center of the corner over and staple it in the middle



Pull one side over and staple it.



Pull the other side over and staple it. If your fabric is fairly thin, you'll get a nice, tight fold. If your using burlap, it'll look like this.



To finish, I work around with the staple gun pressed against the 705, stapling into the wood so the fabric covers the wood.

Done!