Setting up a Basement studio

[Bootis]

Greetings everyone, this is my first post after lurking for months!
I have a basement practice space for my band, which I'd like to treat a bit to make better recordings, and give it better accoustics in general. I just bought a whole bunch of mineral wool to make traps, but would like some advice on how to maximize their effectiveness. Here's the layout of the space:



the ceiling is 8', open rafter/typical basement ceiling with large round tin vent pipes snaking around. The concrete floor is covered with carpet,The 2 partition walls within the room are just plywood, floor to ceiling, and the one next to the computer can come down if necessary. The mineral wool I got is 2" thick, 8lb density, which ill double up for bass traps, but am I right to figure it also could be useful here and there for general deadening? Should I cover the ceiling pipes with anything? I don't need this to be perfect, just generally improved. My mixing area- I don't even have monitors yet, mixing wth headphones for now, though i know this is not ideal. I can't afford monitors yet... so for now I'm just looking to improve sound for recording and playing. Thanks for any tips you guys can provide!

[Ethan Winer]

It sounds like you have the right idea, and you'll probably find some useful info here:

Acoustic Treatment and Design for Recording Studios and Listening Rooms

[jwl]

Standard rules will apply, ie, bass traps in as many corners as you can. Just remember that from an acoustics point of view, if I understand your drawing correctly then the entire basement is the room. The plywood wall partitions won't have much effect on the low end.

How is the ceiling treated? If it's unfinished (ie, joists with the floor above), I'd recommend getting insulation in the ceilings above the practice space. You can use fluffy fiberglass for that, though my favorite option for this is Ultratouch cotton since it's easily removeable.

In terms of your rockwool, use 4" thick panels for the bass traps and straddle the corners. I'd also make quite a few moveable panels on stands so you can move them around in appropriate places while tracking.