Room Treatment for recording drums (basement)

heisleyamor · 13th June 2007, 06:27 PM

I'm putting a very large blanket behind the drums and around the corner of the room to deaden the "bad" reflections and I have some large items where there are empty walls. But I was wondering, for getting a poppy/modern sound, would you guys suggest I play on top of my lil carpet for the drums? or on top of concrete/wood? I hear the wood helps the reflections for the snare and overheads a bit. What do you think? PS...I have a 20x10 section of the basement that I'm recording in and I have concrete walls and about an 8' high ceiling (rafters). Let me know, thanks!

Janesaid2me · 13th June 2007, 08:07 PM

In my opinion i think in any home studio playing on a carpet is probably better then on wood floors unless you have the rest of your room treated properly...since that is not the case id stick with the carpet...find as many blankets as you can and hang them all around...and find a nice cushy ottoman to stick in front of your kick hole a few feet out to grab up some of that bass...or go buy some real bass traps and acoustic panels...but anything is a start right....right!

Glenn Kuras · 13th June 2007, 08:17 PM

You really are going to need to treat that room properly if you want to get any kind of good recordings. But to answer your question I would get some fluffy fiberglass from home depot and stuff the rafters (or get some panels) above the drums to stop comb filtering you are going to get off the ceiling. As far as the floor you may try it both ways at that point to see how it sounds.

Glenn

heisleyamor · 14th June 2007, 06:44 AM

well I'm using a firepod for drums, so I can't get the "best" drum sound to begin with. Also, I am using Samson C02s as overheads. That is basically what I'm worried about with the room treatment because I have good sounding drum samples that I'm going to use because the pres I have are never going to be as good as the pres used for these samples I have. I'm using samples on snare, bass drum, and both toms. So basically I just need the overheads for cymbals and to add some space to the drums...I may even add a room mic...but it might be pointless because I only have 1 other condenser and it only can be set to cardioid...and my room is completely treated...I'm trying to get the best result with what I have.

Glenn Kuras · 14th June 2007, 12:41 PM

sorry I thought you said the room only had blankets hanging in it, so if it is treated then GOOD JOB.

Even if you are only recording the cymbals I still would think about putting either panels or fluffy fiberglass in the rafters to help with the sound coming back down on the mic.

Glenn

Protools Guy · 14th June 2007, 02:28 PM

Small rooms need to be as dead as possible, otherwise, they sound like a bathroom.

Having said that, you should probably have the drums set up on a rug, but have the rest of the wood floor exposed.

The walls and ceiling should not be reflective. I use this stuff:
Welcome to Markertek.com | Call Us @ 800 522 2025

All the best...

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13th June 2007, 06:27 PM	#1
heisleyamor Lives for gear Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1,042	Room Treatment for recording drums (basement) I'm putting a very large blanket behind the drums and around the corner of the room to deaden the "bad" reflections and I have some large items where there are empty walls. But I was wondering, for getting a poppy/modern sound, would you guys suggest I play on top of my lil carpet for the drums? or on top of concrete/wood? I hear the wood helps the reflections for the snare and overheads a bit. What do you think? PS...I have a 20x10 section of the basement that I'm recording in and I have concrete walls and about an 8' high ceiling (rafters). Let me know, thanks!

13th June 2007, 08:07 PM	#2
Janesaid2me Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 401	In my opinion i think in any home studio playing on a carpet is probably better then on wood floors unless you have the rest of your room treated properly...since that is not the case id stick with the carpet...find as many blankets as you can and hang them all around...and find a nice cushy ottoman to stick in front of your kick hole a few feet out to grab up some of that bass...or go buy some real bass traps and acoustic panels...but anything is a start right....right! __________________ www.myspace.com/meteorstudios (studio) www.myspace.com/insecrecy (band) www.myspace.com/gerrycorsi (myself) Gerry

13th June 2007, 08:17 PM	#3
Glenn Kuras Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 3,902	You really are going to need to treat that room properly if you want to get any kind of good recordings. But to answer your question I would get some fluffy fiberglass from home depot and stuff the rafters (or get some panels) above the drums to stop comb filtering you are going to get off the ceiling. As far as the floor you may try it both ways at that point to see how it sounds. Glenn __________________ Glenn Kuras - GIK Acoustics www.GIKAcoustics.com Need help with your room? click here

14th June 2007, 12:41 PM	#5
Glenn Kuras Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 3,902	sorry I thought you said the room only had blankets hanging in it, so if it is treated then GOOD JOB. Even if you are only recording the cymbals I still would think about putting either panels or fluffy fiberglass in the rafters to help with the sound coming back down on the mic. Glenn __________________ Glenn Kuras - GIK Acoustics www.GIKAcoustics.com Need help with your room? click here

14th June 2007, 06:44 AM	#4
heisleyamor Lives for gear Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1,042	well I'm using a firepod for drums, so I can't get the "best" drum sound to begin with. Also, I am using Samson C02s as overheads. That is basically what I'm worried about with the room treatment because I have good sounding drum samples that I'm going to use because the pres I have are never going to be as good as the pres used for these samples I have. I'm using samples on snare, bass drum, and both toms. So basically I just need the overheads for cymbals and to add some space to the drums...I may even add a room mic...but it might be pointless because I only have 1 other condenser and it only can be set to cardioid...and my room is completely treated...I'm trying to get the best result with what I have.

14th June 2007, 02:28 PM	#6
Protools Guy Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: US of A Posts: 1,014	Small rooms need to be as dead as possible, otherwise, they sound like a bathroom. Having said that, you should probably have the drums set up on a rug, but have the rest of the wood floor exposed. The walls and ceiling should not be reflective. I use this stuff: Welcome to Markertek.com \| Call Us @ 800 522 2025 All the best... __________________ I only need one more piece of gear...

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