Acoustic treatment suggestions for my room - floor plan attached

[Ethan Winer]

1) Yes, of course it will help. Sheesh!

2) Corners.

3) See this:

How to set up a room

And this:

Acoustic Basics

--Ethan

The Acoustic Treatment Experts

[jwl]

Because you are working in a long but square (2 dimensions are 7.5) I'd also try to use nice thick absorbers at the reflection points on both the side walls and the ceiling. A 4" absorber spaced out 4" from the wall/ceiling could be very helpful to you in that room.

[Rockenberry]

Originally Posted by Pyxis360

Hi all, I've attached pics of my room which is probably a terrible shape to mix in but I do it anyway! The room is about 20 feet long, 7.5 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall.

I'm building 5 bass traps next week (rockwool slabs at 4 ft by 4 ft like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=***********) and have bought an Auralex roominator kit with 36 panels and 4 additonal bass traps as well as the ARC system. Really all this is to just go for it and try it and see if it makes a difference. I was going to double stack this stuff: "Rockwool" Rockwool RW3 (8 Pack) at Studiospares

My 3 questions are 1) Do you think it will make any difference or is the room just beyond help?

No, the room is not a total loss. There are more ideal room sizes and dimensions, but you wouldn't be arrested by the music police for mixing there! Just make sure you have plenty of reference tracks to mix with.

2) Where is the best spots for my bass traps?

Anywhere where there are corners! And that means anywhere!

3) What's the best position to sit?

Every room is different my friend and the best listening position will have to be calculated. Where your diagram shows the listening position to be is not a bad start!

From what I've read from Ethan Winer's very helpful website and other posts is the best spots for the bass traps would be the front two corners and where the front wall meets the ceiling as well as the back in similar fashion. All hanging from the top.

Please note that an additional bit of wall comes out near the end, it's about a foot. Not ideal!

The whole room is made of brick, the floor concrete with rugs on top and the ceiling is plasterboard.

Thanks in advance for suggestions and taking the time to read this.

All the best,

Pyxis

If you want more info, bump again and I will delve on and provide some good further reading!

Good luck!

[Pyxis360]

Thanks everyone very much appreciated, I'm on it!

[Pyxis360]

Hi again, I've nearly finished my bass traps and getting ready to hang them in each corner from the top of the ceiling down.

Few questions, really appreciate the help!

1. Does the trap have to be flush with the ceiling? Can it be an inch lower or does that matter? I ask because I'm hanging them although I could find a way to nudge up to the top.

2. I have RW3 Rockwool, this stuff is definitely itchy. I've got a facemask, goggles, gloves, etc but the fabric I'm using tp hold it in is cotton, like cotton sheet for a bed, you can just feel your breath when you blow through it, is this going to be enough to keep those fibers in? I don't want to be breathing that junk in. I'm in that room all day nearly everyday, etc.

3. Do you think 4 inch thick RW3 is better than a Lernd bass trap? I sorta realize that after buying all the stuff to build the bass trap I've nearly spent about £200 which for a bit more you can buy 8 Lernd bass traps! Damn!

4. I have about 8 office dividers, they're like particle board covered with a red porous fabric, could these serve any use? Diffusors maybe?

5. Lastly, 5 of the traps are the RW3 homemade type, so 4 of those we're going to go in the corners starting at the top of the ceiling. But I also have 4 Lernd bass traps. Where do you think the best spot is for the 5th RW3 bass trap and the other 4 Lernd bass traps?

I know that's a lot of questions so many thanks in advance.

[Pyxis360]

oh shit

Why Your Bass Traps Don't Work

hope all this time and money wasn't a complete waste

[Ethan Winer]

I like Brandon Drury a lot, and he's usually right on the mark. But it's simply wrong that rigid fiberglass is ineffective below 100 Hz. My company's Hearing is Believing video shows a real improvement down to below 50 Hz.

--Ethan

[Ethan Winer]

I got your PM.

1) Panels hanging down a few inches work better than when flush.

2) You'll be safe with cotton.

3) Yes, mostly because a 24-iinch wide panel covers more surface area.

4) It's unlikely office dividers will do much, though maybe you could use them as gobos?

5) Rectangle rooms have 12 corners, not just four where walls meet walls.

--Ethan

[Pyxis360]

Thanks a million Ethan.

It's all up now, I had a listen, not sure what I'm listening out for really.

To me it sounded really different than my previous setup, I noticed a large difference in the depth of the sound, things with reverb sounded truly faraway. The stereo image was perhaps more defined.

Has anybody else felt strange listening when all their acoustic stuff is up?

[Tom Higgins]

Originally Posted by Pyxis360

Thanks a million Ethan.

It's all up now, I had a listen, not sure what I'm listening out for really.

To me it sounded really different than my previous setup, I noticed a large difference in the depth of the sound, things with reverb sounded truly faraway. The stereo image was perhaps more defined.

Has anybody else felt strange listening when all their acoustic stuff is up?

Use REW to test your room.

Otherwise, that's not strange. It's normal to have a better stereo imaging and a sense of depth.

How many traps did you build?

[Pyxis360]

Hi Tom, thanks I will def check out REW.

Actually I ended up swapping the room to a bigger one with dimensions of 21 feet long by 18 feet wide so it's much more spacious which is nicer to work in.

I built 5 traps, 4 in the top corners and one in the back for that reflection point. Then with the 4 Lernd bass traps I stuck one in the front ceiling and 3 in the back. I put the Auralex absorption panels in all the places suggested, above my head, on the front wall and tons on the side walls wherever I could see a speaker in a mirror. I have leftover rockwool slabs that so I think a few more bass traps would be cool. I used ARC to finish it off.

It's sounding far more accurate, my first mix came out without any real issues or muddiness which I was suffering from before.

What will REW tell me that I can implement to take it further?

[Pyxis360]

I just realized I've read everything but the left to right symmetry I'm unsure about still, my listening position is 38% from the front wall as suggested by Ethan's site but should I be right in the middle from left to right or a bit off to the side? I'm currently a bit off to one side but I could easily be in the middle if that would be better.

thanks!

[Tom Higgins]

Originally Posted by Pyxis360

What will REW tell me that I can implement to take it further?

It will help you identify which frequencies are problems (large peaks or large dips) as well as decay time and ETC (Envelope Time Curve, used to check for first reflections).
It will also help you track your progress as you add more treatment.

Originally Posted by Pyxis360

I just realized I've read everything but the left to right symmetry I'm unsure about still, my listening position is 38% from the front wall as suggested by Ethan's site but should I be right in the middle from left to right or a bit off to the side? I'm currently a bit off to one side but I could easily be in the middle if that would be better.

thanks!

It should be centre to improve stereo imaging. Using absorption at first reflection points also improves it.

Do you have any absorption above you (a cloud)?

[Glenn Kuras]

What will REW tell me that I can implement to take it further?

It can help you with set up to make sure you have the mix spot in the right place and the monitors set correctly. Also tell you how well the treatment is working. Over all though the real test (as you did) is to sit down and mix something. If it translates well then you are on the right track.
This video will help you with the set up of REW
GIK Acoustics. REW Room EQ Wizard Room Measurement Tutorial video.

[Pyxis360]

Thanks all! Great advice from everyone, I'll be testing REW sometime this month, I have to get a single out of the way first but the room is FAR superior already. I've mixed two tracks and they were so much more accurate I don't even have to remix, everything I was hearing was right the first time. I wish I had done this years ago, it would have saved a lot time. I usually have to check on 5 different speakers and that was a pain. Also I picked up a pair of the Avant mix cubes and they've been a big help just switching between those and the Gens.

I put the Auralex tiles above my head as suggested by Ethan's site, halfway between myself and the speakers, plus a bit more on either side just to make sure. I'm thinking about getting some more GIK treatment sometime this year and using the 242's to float a cloud over me instead, do you think that would be better? Mind the ceiling is only 7.5 feet so I'd have to duck into my mixing chair! No biggie really if it sounds better.

Also I've read the results of the Auralex tiles but how far down the spectrum do you think they go in a meaningful way?