Room Acoustics - Walls Good Enough?

Matthew Murray · 8th August 2006, 01:37 PM

Hey all. I've been putting off picking up some acoustic treatment from GIK acoustics for a few months now, as I needed to finish building my room, and also for financial reasons.

Now I'm questioning if I really need to go all out in certain parts of the studio. I know the back and sides of the control room will still need panels, as the walls are bare still and will remain tha tway. However, the entire front of the control room (and in most of the tracking room), I have built a floating wall, with three inches of space between the original wall and the new wall. The wall I built is simply 2x2 studs, with this stuff across the whole wall:

http://www.roxul.com/sw47802.asp

The specs of this particular insulation are:

24"on centre for wood studs
Covers: 60.1ft2 (5.58m2 ) 8 PIECES
Width: 23" (584mm)
Length: 47" (1194mm)
Thickness: 3" (76mm)

Now, my question. Do you think I need to still put acoustical traps on top of the walls, or wherever I've put my floating wall, will that serve as a sort of "acoustical trap" on it's own? The insulation at least seemed similar to the type of stuff you'd be stuffing into a ready acoustic bag or something, so I thought maybe I could get away with just focusing on ceilings and walls that weren't covered with this stuff, and save some money.

The room has *definitely* tightened up since I've installed the floating wall. I know it still needs a bit of tightening, both in the control and the tracking areas, but that could be due to nothing on the ceilings or the back/sides of the control room.

Any thoughts?

Glenn Kuras · 8th August 2006, 03:17 PM

Hey Matt:

Not sure everything about your room, but if you would like send me photes and layout of your room and let me have Bryan, our room set up person, take a look. There may be certain things you do need to do, but there might be other things that you don't. Just depends on what you are going for.

Thanks,
Glenn

nathanvacha · 8th August 2006, 05:08 PM

wait, your floating wall is filled with roxul... what's over the roxul? Is there drywall covering it? or fabric? or what's goin' on w/ that? If you have one whole wall spaced away from another wall which is actually only framing and roxul covered in something soft, it seems you've got yourself a whole wall which is one big trap...

Matthew Murray · 8th August 2006, 05:13 PM

The roxul is covered in a thick fabric, not drywall. So yes, that's what I was hoping, was that basically it was one big-ass trap! This would be good news if it were the case...

nathanvacha · 8th August 2006, 08:19 PM

Pretty much. The exact band of absorbtion depends on exactly what's covering it, but most any fabric should do the trick, so you're in decent shape. Just pay attention to the rest of the flat surfaces! You'll get better suggestions from the experts though. To re-state what glenn said though, pictures are indeed worth a butt-load of words...

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8th August 2006, 01:37 PM	#1
Matthew Murray Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 1,404	Room Acoustics - Walls Good Enough? Hey all. I've been putting off picking up some acoustic treatment from GIK acoustics for a few months now, as I needed to finish building my room, and also for financial reasons. Now I'm questioning if I really need to go all out in certain parts of the studio. I know the back and sides of the control room will still need panels, as the walls are bare still and will remain tha tway. However, the entire front of the control room (and in most of the tracking room), I have built a floating wall, with three inches of space between the original wall and the new wall. The wall I built is simply 2x2 studs, with this stuff across the whole wall: http://www.roxul.com/sw47802.asp The specs of this particular insulation are: 24"on centre for wood studs Covers: 60.1ft2 (5.58m2 ) 8 PIECES Width: 23" (584mm) Length: 47" (1194mm) Thickness: 3" (76mm) Now, my question. Do you think I need to still put acoustical traps on top of the walls, or wherever I've put my floating wall, will that serve as a sort of "acoustical trap" on it's own? The insulation at least seemed similar to the type of stuff you'd be stuffing into a ready acoustic bag or something, so I thought maybe I could get away with just focusing on ceilings and walls that weren't covered with this stuff, and save some money. The room has definitely tightened up since I've installed the floating wall. I know it still needs a bit of tightening, both in the control and the tracking areas, but that could be due to nothing on the ceilings or the back/sides of the control room. Any thoughts? __________________ -Matthew

8th August 2006, 03:17 PM	#2
Glenn Kuras Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 3,796	Hey Matt: Not sure everything about your room, but if you would like send me photes and layout of your room and let me have Bryan, our room set up person, take a look. There may be certain things you do need to do, but there might be other things that you don't. Just depends on what you are going for. Thanks, Glenn __________________ Glenn Kuras - GIK Acoustics www.GIKAcoustics.com Need help with your room? click here

8th August 2006, 05:13 PM	#4
Matthew Murray Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 1,404	The roxul is covered in a thick fabric, not drywall. So yes, that's what I was hoping, was that basically it was one big-ass trap! This would be good news if it were the case... __________________ -Matthew

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8th August 2006, 05:08 PM	#3
nathanvacha Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,191	wait, your floating wall is filled with roxul... what's over the roxul? Is there drywall covering it? or fabric? or what's goin' on w/ that? If you have one whole wall spaced away from another wall which is actually only framing and roxul covered in something soft, it seems you've got yourself a whole wall which is one big trap...

8th August 2006, 08:19 PM	#5
nathanvacha Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,191	Pretty much. The exact band of absorbtion depends on exactly what's covering it, but most any fabric should do the trick, so you're in decent shape. Just pay attention to the rest of the flat surfaces! You'll get better suggestions from the experts though. To re-state what glenn said though, pictures are indeed worth a butt-load of words...