Studio flooring

[mikethedrummer]

Currently I have concrete floors covered with foam and carpet. What have you guys experimented with in the past? Specific types of carpeting? Acoustic rugs? Do those even exist? I'm trying to avoid the auralex clause of looks pretty sounds shitty.
Another idea would be to make a drum riser filled with roxul. But then how would I make it stable without sacrificing its acoustic benefits?
The walls and ceilings have decent treatment already.
21 questions I know, but your 2 cents are welcome =p
thumbsup

[Ethan Winer]

I've never seen an acoustic rug, but thick deep-pile carpet absorbs more than thin Burber. I'd say your basic options are to record with the carpet you have now, or lay down 1/4 plywood sheets to make the floor reflective. Then see which you prefer for any given situation.

--Ethan

[mikethedrummer]

So in general, it would be safe to assume that i should focus my treatment on the ceiling of the room as opposed to the floor? I'll be getting more treatment soon, I'll start researching ways to mount everything.

[audiovisceral]

i'd go with a hardwood floor if you can afford it. they always sound best to me.

[Bodoc]

As I have a basement studio and didn't want to deal with wood floor/moisture issues (although I do occasionally run dehumidifiers), I simply polished and tinted the slab.
Then I use area rugs to taste.

Ceiling is fiberglass covered with fabric. Generous acoustic treatment/ bass trapping on the walls and corners.

Works great. Looks great. (I even get nice sounding recordings with my Zoom h4 during practice sessions).

[xaMdaM]

Originally Posted by mikethedrummer

So in general, it would be safe to assume that i should focus my treatment on the ceiling of the room as opposed to the floor? I'll be getting more treatment soon, I'll start researching ways to mount everything.

Mike,

I caught a coupla' really interesting psycho-acoustic discussions several years ago, across a couple of different forums. It was extremely detailed... almost anally detailed, ad nauseum. (Ethan or Rod might be willing to shed so light on it, if they recall the discussions.)

The end result of weeks of data and debate was that the average pair of ears, and typical human brain attached to em', can discern to an amazing degree of accuracy, the subtle nuances of the performance space.

It seems that most people "prefer" a performance space that has essentially a hard floor and soft ceiling orientation, in that it sounds more natural... especially with acoustic instruments such as drums and classical stringed instruments.

Just some food for thought...