Tiny room floor

[Fizzyhair]

I'm converting a room for recording a small acoustic band usually multitrack. Sometimes have a drummer in there with a small kit.

The control room is upstairs. The room is only 8' x 10' and Is 8' high.
It has a dead ceiling because I could hear the damned thing in every take I did. The Walls are covered 70% in various acoustic panels. And there are bass traps.

Here Lies my dilemma. My floor is carpeted. It's in need of replacement. Do I re-carpet it or do I put down a laminate floor? Or is a reflective floor a no go in tiny rooms like this one? Am I better with a mix? Currently using a sheet of Lino under guitars.

[SörenHjalmarsson]

Hey Fizzy,

I'm gonna quote Ethan Winer:

"If you've ever seen photos of high-end recording studios in magazines, you probably noticed that the studio room floors almost always use a reflective material like wood or linoleum. A hard floor gives a nice ambience when miking drums, guitar amps, and acoustic instruments. Likewise, auditorium stages and school band rooms always have a reflective floor surface too. As mentioned earlier, "live" in this context refers only to mid and high frequencies. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a reflective floor for achieving a natural sound when recording acoustic instruments. If you record in your living room and your spouse refuses to let you remove the carpet, get a 4- by 8-foot sheet of 1/4-inch plywood to put over the carpet when recording. You can cut it in half for easier storage and put the halves next to each other on the floor when needed."

Also check out the following article: Acoustic Treatment and Design for Recording Studios and Listening Rooms especially the chapter/sidebar: "HARD FLOOR, SOFT CEILING"


Cheers,

[jhbrandt]

+1 to Sören & Ethan.

Also note that you should check your individual situation -- Your room is very small so before you rip out the carpet, place a sheet of plywood over the carpet for a session and see how it goes. - If it works, out goes the carpet.

Cheers,
John

[Jens Eklund]

I also agree with Sören and Ethan in general (and if you have read some other threads, you know that I’m actively fighting the usage of carpets).

However; your room is very small (especially as a “live” room), so in this case the “ultimate” solution might be the opposite; to kill the room completely. Unfortunately, a carpet only absorbs the highest range and usually creates problems with an uneven decay time (since the carpet absorbs only highs and lost of it). One could experiment with wool, wooden slats and then a carpet on top to make the floor more broadband absorptive. Maybe overkill but either way; avoid the carpet unless measurement results call for it.

[DanDan]

Carpet under drums and acoustic guitars is horrible. Under vocals it may be welcome. Given existing carpet, plywood is the most flexible answer. However, you can't really get away with a live floor and live ceiling. Do you have a really 'dead' ceiling or cloud? If not, I recommend it, at least 4 inch panels with a four inch airgap above, FRK on the airgap side is helpful too. This will allow the plywood to work. It will also prevent very early reflections ruining standing vocals or drum overheads.

DD

[jhbrandt]

+1

- John