Advice on treating my live room

[dave_w]

From what I've been gathering in my first month on Gearslutz, a lot of people have started off recording on the wrong foot. A lot of stories of people putting down thousands on gear while not looking into the acoustics in their rooms.

I've recently been trying to get into recording live drums with what I have (a reasonable sized basement). I've got my drums tuned really well.. but I know that something more is in order (at the very least, some bass traps).

I'll throw up a pic of the room and write the dimensions at the bottom of this post so you can know what I'm starting out with. Keep in mind that aesthetics aren't the biggest issue. I would be down with rolls of fiberglass in the corners if it saved me a little money and yielded a decent result.

Anyone up for a challenge?

Height is 8 feet. Width is 20 feet. Lenth is 40 feet.

[Ethan Winer]

I don't see any specific questions in there so all I can offer is the general advice in my Acoustics FAQ.

--Ethan

[dave_w]

Good point.
The question that was hidden inside of the ramblings was what kind of mix of bass trapping/diffusion/reflection etc would work well in this kind of a room. Keeping in mind that I don't have much to spend ($1000) and that it will primarily be used for tracking drums.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by dave_w

what kind of mix of bass trapping/diffusion/reflection etc would work well in this kind of a room. Keeping in mind that I don't have much to spend ($1000) and that it will primarily be used for tracking drums.

For $1,000 you can forget diffusion. So focus on corner bass trapping and mid/high frequency absorption on the walls and ceiling. That's a big room, so even if you DIY everything you can plow through a grand pretty quickly just in raw materials.

--Ethan

[JedKeith]

That's a big room, so even if you DIY everything you can plow through a grand pretty quickly just in raw materials.

I respectfully disagree. I built six bass traps and two diffusers for $386 DIY. Get your insulation on eBay (enough to make 3 for $99 minus shipping) and build everything yourself. It will take a lot of time but will save a lot of money.

I've heard about just putting rolls in the corner but I havent read enough to know that much about it.

-Josh

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by dave_w

I'll throw up a pic of the room and write the dimensions at the bottom of this post so you can know what I'm starting out with. Keep in mind that aesthetics aren't the biggest issue. I would be down with rolls of fiberglass in the corners if it saved me a little money and yielded a decent result.

...Height is 8 feet. Width is 20 feet. Lenth is 40 feet.

Rolls of fiberglass in the corners will do a reasonable job at bass trapping. Since you're not so concerned about aesthetics, maybe that's the way to go. The big issue for you is the low ceiling...you might want to hit that with some absorption just to avoid the inevitable comb filtering you'll get in your OH mics. Aside from that you'll have to try the room out to see where the decay times are too long, then place panels appropriately. Who knows? Might sound good the way it is.

Frank

[dave_w]

Is there a special kind of fiberglass I should be buying? If I do try these rolls in the corners how high/wide should they be. I'm willing to guess alot of people will say that it depends on taste.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by dave_w

Is there a special kind of fiberglass I should be buying? If I do try these rolls in the corners how high/wide should they be. I'm willing to guess alot of people will say that it depends on taste.

The fluffy pink stuff will be fine.

Frank

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by JedKeith

I built six bass traps and two diffusers for $386 DIY.

Sure, but a room 20 by 40 feet needs a lot more than that!

--Ethan

[JedKeith]

Sure, but a room 20 by 40 feet needs a lot more than that!

--Ethan

Whoops... I overlooked that... I guess it would come pretty close to $1k...

All heil Ethan Winer, Master of acoustics.