soundproofing my drum booth

[PapillonIrl]

Originally Posted by vudoo

Quick question to you acoustic experts out there. My drum booth is 10x12 with a 7 1/2 feet ceiling. Do you guys recommand that i put some sort of absorser on the ceiling right above the kit ??? So far i use a 6 mic config where the overall sound comes from a pair of Shoeps at the corners of the room. It sounds very good only a tad boxy for my taste. I'm just looking for a more open sound ( not as boxy ) and more modern sounding kit and thought of trying the typical OH and close mic but afraid that my ceiling is a tad low. Maybe a different pre ??? I'm using all Daking right now. Thanks

More open sounding = Bigger room/Higher ceiling probably, but there are things you could do. The dimensions you listed aren't so conducive to a tracking room, especially if all walls/ceilings are parallel/perpendicular.

You'd better do some searching on 'acoustic treatment' here...peeps be gettin a bit antsey answering the same questions alot...and this has come up alot.

Cheers,

Nathan

[vudoo]

acoustically, the tone i get out of the kit in the room is actually really nice, so the room sounds good to me, BUT ...just a tad boxy/closed in...is this basically because of the size of the room or is there anything you guys can suggest, Anyways i have six 2x4 acoustic panel on the side walls...these are the type of acoustic panels you find in commercial movie theater ???Thanks

[stevep]

In my last studio i had a small room and i never really tried to get a "room sound" as small rooms like you describe sound boxy or with the proper treatment have no sound at all. or its so short of a reflection it becomes part of the original sound.

vudoo So far i use a 6 mic config where the overall sound comes from a pair of Shoeps at the corners of the room.

What i did was to mic everything close, use overheads and use the Lexicon for the reverb or room sound.

My new booth is still not built and i have been struggling with the size because I dont want to take up to much floor space.
The live room will Get a great drum sound and I will use the booth for a closer sound.

It will probably end up around the size of yours but i will have a taller ceiling so that will give me space to build a HUGE trap.


steve

[stevep]

vudoo sounds good to me, BUT ...just a tad boxy/closed in...is this basically because of the size of the room or is there anything you guys can suggest,

Whats the ceiling construction? and is there enough room to build a trap above?

steve

[cdog]

In a room that small and boxy I think you would want it as dead as possible, carpeting, diffusers, bass trapping etc.

Add ambience in the mix - try reamping into a hallway or bathroom, or something like IR1 or Pristine Space.

[warhead]

That small of a space is probably inherently boxy sounding. Seems like you could do well sort of deadening things as mentioned, but also some bass absorption might be in order. Before you go spending money you may want to grab some heavy blankets and experiment with them hanging in different spots. Also Auralex will do an analysis of the room if you provide them with dimensions, with different scenarios to accomplish different things.

War

[Ethan Winer]

> Do you guys recommand that i put some sort of absorser on the ceiling right above the kit ??? <

Yes. Whenever you have a microphone (or instrument) near to a reflecting boundary, the inevitable result is comb filtering which creates that small-room off-mike boxy sound. Absorption on the ceiling over the microphones will definitely help. If you'd like to learn more about comb filtering, there's a video on my company's web site that explains it in detail.

--Ethan

I have been working with a 15x18x7.5 room for years.
That "slightly" boxy sound you mentioned may not seem like that big of a deal but, it really makes it hard to get a great drum sound.

I did not realize this until I started building my latest room.
It will be 20x20x14. Once the shell was done I drug my drums in there w/o tuning or loving them at all and the drums instantly sounded like what I have had to fight to achieve for years. Cymbals can breath, toms friggin' explode, and a decent kick drum sound is well within sight. No more do I have to move the kick mic out of the nodes...in turn having to keep moving the kit around. Life will be much easier.

If I had to do the small room again, with what I have learned:
1. Do not cover the walls with crappy foam products.
2. Hell, NEVER buy that crap for anything. Foam is for packing boxes!
3. Read everything at John Sayers and Ethan Winers sites.
4. Eliminate the cieling by covering it with 4" rockwool or 703
5. Fill the corners with the same. Cutting them diagonally.
6. Place the drums on 3/4" plywood if the room is carpeted.
7. Then listen to the space.....in fact, listen everytime you make a change and adjust the plan as you go.

OR

Buy a bunch of Ethans "real traps". He can even help you with how many you will need for the application and from what I have read he is a swell guy. he is always more than helpful here.

Just to be clear, this is what I would do.
It could be horribly wrong!!
I am NO acoustician.

Contacting Ethan and Sayers could be money well spent.



D