Small drum room dimensions

[rhythminmind]

A friend of mine thats building out a studio as we speak asked me what would be my optimal drum room dimensions. This will be a small room. What are some good resources for information? What have been your room building experiences? Also with such a small room what would you suggest to kill the slapback? Best absorption solution?

[mrbrown49]

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

 

Great resource for this type of stuff. Read through some of his other articles as well.

[Majoria]

Are you saying that you prefer a small room or that it's already determined the room will be small and what dimensions are best for a known small room? Smaller rooms of course cause more limitations on sound and sound quality, drums just need their space. Main thing to avoid is a square room (12x12), or worse yet a cube room (10x10x10). Have dimensions that do not divide into each other evenly, say 16x27x11. Remember that treatment will eat up some of your room's available space.

 

But to put things in perspective, what exactly do mean by "small"? 10x12?

 

For any treatment, check out Ethan Winer's web site. I've used some 703 panels for my recording and it works well.

[rhythminmind]

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't saying i preferred a small room. This is just an actuality do to space limitations.

[Majoria]

No problem, my drum room is about 13x15x8. Not even close to ideal but I've got it to work well.

[varakeef]

You might want to consider a larger room that doesn't have a separate closet for drums. Drum closets are a so 80's... and if you're afraid of leakage I would rather put amps to closets or iso boxes than drums.

[myfipie]

 

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't saying i preferred a small room. This is just an actuality do to space limitations.

 

Balance is going to be the hardest part in a small drum room. Look at bass trapping for as many corners as you can. You then can use panels for the over all reflections within the room. The number of those depends on size of room and how much over all flutter you are getting. Also if the ceiling is low then it is always best to cover the ceiling with 2" panels with them spaced off the ceiling by 2".

You did not say anything about the floor, but I would avoid carpet and go with either wood or cement.

 

Glenn

[UstadKhanAli]

 

You might want to consider a larger room that doesn't have a separate closet for drums. Drum closets are a so 80's... and if you're afraid of leakage I would rather put amps to closets or iso boxes than drums.

 

 

Or simply place them far away, behind couches, gobos, etc., as you can get a surprising amount of isolation even in the same room (and let's face it, a bit of leakage can be a wonderful thing, making the sound even larger and capturing more of that live energy in the room feel).

[Lee Knight]

Will there be room for a tracking room in addition to the drum room or is the drum room it? Get the drums in a larger space if possible. What others mentioned already about gobos or amp closets is preferable. An amp can sound pretty good with a 57 on the grill in a small room. Drums don't. But, if it's got to be in a small space... Google Golden Room Ratios.

[Phil O'Keefe]

You might want to consider a larger room that doesn't have a separate closet for drums. Drum closets are a so 80's... and if you're afraid of leakage I would rather put amps to closets or iso boxes than drums.

 

 

That's pretty much what I do and recommend that approach. :phil:

 

Go as big as you can with the drum room, and build a smaller iso or two for amps, etc. Once you're done drum tracking, the larger room can be put into service for recording overdubs, vocals, etc.

 

What's the maximum available space for the room?

[Antman261]

Main thing to avoid is a square room (12x12),

 

Yeah, you'll have a lot of trouble just getting drums INTO a room with those dimensions!