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To What Extent Have You Acoustically Treated Your Studio?


Anderton

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Well i actually ran down a half dozen rigid 403 fiberglass panels, covered them in some cloth and place them differently depending on what/where Im tracking- or if im mixing.

 

The reduction in flutter echos from my monitors during mixing was a big deal.

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I put quite a bit of time and effort into making my room sound great. Since I'm a pro, too, I should have voted like Phil did. My room is mainly for mixing, so it was pretty easy to make it sound great. Isolating myself from the outside world would have been more difficult, more expensive, and would have eaten up too much physical space, so I didn't really do that.

 

Steve

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I went simple: I carpetted the walls of my studio. It was cheap, easy to attach to the wall with my staple gun, and it isolates me from outside noises somewhat. It ain't the best solution but it works okay & it doesn't look too bad.

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Pro, no offense, but I think that might have been a mistake. :( Carpet is good at absorbing high frequencies, but won't do a thing for low frequencies, nor is it good for significant isolation. The biggest issue is that you're absorbing the high frequencies, but are doing nothing for the (acoustically more troubling / difficult to deal with) low frequencies. IMO, if you're going to carpet the walls, you at least need to get some compressed fiberglass corner bass traps in there to help balance out the frequencies you're absorbing. With just carpet as acoustical treatment, the room is going to be over absorbed in the highs and uncontrolled in the lows, resulting in a difficult room to work in, and mixes that won't "translate" well to other playback systems. Chances are, due to the room treatment you have, your mixes are overly bright...

 

Let me know if you need some links to some sites that have DIY plans for such absorbers. :)

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I dreamed of my space for a long time before I actually built it. I studied a bit of this at Columbia, and armed with a little knowledge about room ratios, complimenting the absorption curves in Sabines of different materials, etc. built my little sound cave.

 

I've wanted to build Ethan's traps for some time but have too busy. As it sounds now, however, it sounds great. 703 board in nice self fabricated clouds and hanging fixtures...

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Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe

I voted for option #4.
:)
Hey, I'm a professional, right?
;):D

 

Same for me. I'm an acoustics researcher at my day job.

 

As for acoustics in my studio, if you don't have a good sounding room to record in and an accurate sounding room to mix in, you got nothin'.

 

I use a combination of Real Traps and Auralex MegaLENRDs. Both do what they do very well. The MegaLENRDs are the best thing since sliced bread. They kill your under 100 Hz bass modes like nothing else will. If someone knocks a guitar over on one, it won't even get scratched. If one falls from the ceiling during a session you get much laughter instead of much death. Installation (other than on the ceiling) takes about 30 seconds.

 

In a pinch (like when your wife banishes you because you spent too much on gear), you can even lay 'em out flat and get a good night's sleep on them.

 

While you can hear the effect of the MegaLENRDs instantly, I'd recommend to anyone serious about their studio to invest in at least a free RTA for their computer to see the effects of moving around the room when there are room modes. Better still, buy a copy of JBL SMAART (pardon my hypocrisy, I borrow my copy and two B&K measurement mikes from work) and measure everything about your room response. Might learn a few things in the process too.

 

Terry D.

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My studio is for rehearsal & jamming. Recording is fun, but not much more than an afterthought really.

 

My studio has fiberglass insulation covered by cloth which reduces feedback. There's also a sectional couch in a corner that does a remarkable impression of a bass trap :) I only record live, to two-track; despite the primitive conditions, we've managed to get some very good recordings.

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I'm definitely no acoustics expert, but I have read the literature, and this is my fifth small studio, the first with a real budget. I wrote an Excel spreadsheet for doing the sound conditioning and room analysis. We bought the house for the garage to build it in. A bass player I worked with at the time was a building contractor, so we built the room (with a quick resize to correct for my stupidity in the middle) with layered 1/2" and 5/8" sheetrock, walls and ceiling. For sound conditioning, I wound up using mostly Auralex for treatment, both their foam and diffusion products. It just happened that their product absorption specs fit the particular response we wanted, and their diffusers weere the most cost-effective for us. It worked very well, the room tested pretty much flat at the mix position, with an overall RT60 of 0.55 sec. Great for a jazz or small acoustic group room, or vocals.

 

This was before we began adding video gear and 'temporary' storage while we remodel the house - at the moment it kind of sounds like my laundry room... :D

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Okay. :)

 

First of all, you should check out Ethan Winer's forum over on Musicplayer:

 

http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum&f=26&submit=Go

 

Check out his acoustic FAQ's on his website:

 

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

 

You can find the instructions for building his corner bass traps right here.

 

He also has some plans for wall / ceiling mounted mid-bass and low-bass panel traps (membrane absorbers), as well as a mid / high frequency absorption panel (which you probably don't need with all that carpet up, although these would definitely be a better approach than the carpeting). The plans were originally published as an Electronic Musician article. You can read about them here.

 

You also should check out John Sayer's most excellent studio acoustics design / construction site - you can get a lot of great tips and advice over there.

 

http://www.johnlsayers.com/

 

His wall and corner unit designs can be found

 

right here.

 

John and Ethan's forums are great resources for DIY acoustic treatment, and both of them are nice guys who can help you a great deal. And do feel free to ask questions here on SSS, over on my forum, or on either of their sites. :)

 

Your room, and your mixes, will thank you later. ;):D

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But..... why?

.

 

 

Why in a container?

 

well the owner was sick of upsetting his wife and neighbours with his studio noise plus he is renting and wanted something that he could take with him when he has to leave. Now he just calls up a container truck and moves on to the next place.

 

cheers

john

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Originally posted by John Sayers



Why in a container?


well the owner was sick of upsetting his wife and neighbours with his studio noise plus he is renting and wanted something that he could take with him when he has to leave. Now he just calls up a container truck and moves on to the next place.


cheers

john

 

That's amazing! :eek:

 

Thanks for sharing. :)

 

Terry D.

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