question about ceiling treatment

[Amstel]

Hi,

I'm currently building a small recording studio. I've made a wooden frame for the ceiling in which rockwool (10cm) is to be placed. The height of the room is approximately 2,50 meters. I've used wood for the floor. The walls are treated with rockwool and for one wall I've ordered the Real Traps diffusers. What would be most ideal for the ceiling considering the fact that it's a small room with a fairly low height;

-finishing it of with plaster boards or
-doing it with pieces of fabric


Kind regards,

Amstel

[jwl]

Hi Amstel,

I'd opt for leaving the rockwool exposed, in order to maximize absorption. I think this will give the best sound within the room, though putting plaster/sheetrock panels up would help isolation a bit. So it depends on how much isolation you need.

What you are describing may result in a room that's too dead, though. Not to worry, it's easy to fix. Start with what you are describing and see how well it works. If it's too dead you can get some material that is thin and rigid but has low mass, something like posterboard or cardboard stock, and put it around the room to restore some high-frequency liveness, while preserving the bass trapping you have going on.

If you do this, you'll want to leave full absorption at first-reflection points to maintain your reflection-free zone at the mix position. The cardboard panels can go in other places as needed.

Of course you may like the sound of the room with full absorption. That's cool too.

The diffusors will also obviously help.