Help with deciding where to put treatment???

minerman

Tonetard
Hey guys, I've been reading up on room treatment, & of course, my room is less than ideal...I just bought this house, & I could knock out some walls/re-model someday, but I got laid off last week, so $$$ is gonna be pretty tight until I get back on my feet...

The good news is I already have enough Roxul Safe-N-Sound to make a few panels panels (IIRC, it's 2' W x 4' L x 3" thick...can't remember right off my head) right now, & will definitely buy more Roxul once I get back on my feet...

So, the big question I have is where do I put these panels I'm gonna make now??? I've read the first reflection points are the best place to put 'em, but, right now, I don't think there's any way I can do that. I have a double-door walk in closet to the right of my desk, & a window on the other wall to my left...

I'm sure any treatment in here would be better than no treatment (I can tell a difference in my recorded guitar tones from the last place I was in, it's got more "room" sound to it, & not the good kind...lol), but would it benefit me to place a couple panels behind my speakers/desk, a couple on the back wall (behind where I sit), then have a cloud over my desk/mixing station???

Here's a little diagram of my room:



While I know I need bass-traps, the way the room is currently, there's really no way I can trap all 4 corners, probably the 2 corners on the side where the window is would be all I could do, until I do some major carpentry work here...The corner where the closet is has an offset that's about 8" from the wall to the closet door, I could possibly put a small bass trap there, but where the door coming into the room is, there's no way possible to put any kind of bass trap there...

Any help/suggestions are welcome!!!
 
I think you can start with the back wall, behind your mix position. That's where the speakers will be aiming at, so that's where your biggest reflection will occur.
Of course, your side walls near the speakers will have some reflections too....but hit that back wall and as much as you can the corners, or where the ceiling and walls meet.

Maybe toss up a cloud over your head....then see how it all sounds and add as needed.

If you really plan on opening up walls at some point....then try do make the bass traps easily removable, as you will most likely want to reconfigure things once your space is bigger.
 
Thanks Miro, I can tell a pretty big difference between this room & the last one I was recording/mixing in...Sheetrock all through the house, every wall....

I plan on turning 2 rooms into 1 eventually, but that'll be on down the road a ways...I've gotta make do with what I have right now, so probably in the next couple days, I'm gonna make as many panels as I can out of what Roxul I have left from the ISO cab build....

I'm sure any treatment I put up in here will be better than none at all....


Thanks again!!!
 
Yeah...hit the back wall with the big/main traps, and for your side walls, try to put up something in a few spots....doesn't have to be wall-to-wall traps.

Like you say...anything will help. :)
 
Just make traps that you can stack/hang and move out of the way when not mixing. A few eyebolts into door/window frames, and hooks (and wire if needed) to hang the traps in the right places like over the window and closet door. 3" Roxul S+S is ok for cloud and first reflection points but is not thick enough for corner bass traps - double it up to 6" for good traps., or cut it into triangles and stack in the corners to make superchunk traps.
 
Ok guys, I finally got around to getting my leftover Roxul out of storage today...and I had more left over than I thought, almost the whole bundle...IIRC, it came in 8 - 24" x 48" x 3" sheets...I have whacked a couple of the pieces into smaller ones, but I'm pretty sure I can put a cloth backing on one or two of the panels & have enough to make roughly 6 (maybe 7) 24" x 48" panels...

But, I'm thinking about just making the panels 24" x 24" & spread it out over the whole room...If I did it this way, I'd have 2 full size (2' x 4')panels for a cloud, & use the rest for the smaller (2' x 2') panels for now....Then later on, when I do re-model the room(s), I could make super chunks for the corners, & finish it up with either the full size (2' x 4') panels, or the smaller ones either one...

Right now, I'm just wanting to kill the nasty reflections I've got in here, & really, it's senseless to treat the whole room, as I'll be knocking out the wall between this room & the next eventually...But, I know the more I do now, the less I'll have to do later, but the $$$ thing comes into play right now too...

Kinda like this:



Whaddya think guys???
 
Miner
Was looking at your room and had a few ideas you can consider.

Moving the desk over towards the window side of the room might help in a few ways. Since the room is small, low frequencies should be a problem with mixes, but the opposite end of the room does have the closet and entry door opening which could be used to help in your favor.

You could put roxul in the closet to make it work like a bass trap; maybe even put your amp rig in there too. Not only would that possibly help room acoustics, but it would open up room space too.

This type of layout could also provide you with some room for some bass trapping in the front corners and side walls. You can also make a removable bass trap to go in front of the window, if needed.

There’s not a lot of stuff you can do with the entry door to absorb much bass, but just leaving it open would let any bass frequencies that build-up run out of the room.

Anyway, here’s a quick drawing of what might be a good option for you, the scale might be off but hope it helps.

Miners room ideas ww.jpg
 
wavewarrior's idea is good. The room will feel less cramped with the door farther away from your desk.

My favorite room sound for listening and mixing has had most of the bass trapping and absorbtion (all 703) towards the front half of the room with the back half more bookshelves and diffusion... this may not be the scientific ideal, but in my larger and deeper room, it has worked for me. :)

The "room sound" you're hearing is the squareness of it... this emphasizes frequencies even more than a deeper rectangle would. Watch out for dampening high mids and treble and leaving low bass mud from interference.
 
Thanks guys, I may re-arrange my room, but I've got a couple/few things to consider, one being I dunno what I'd do with the stuff in the closet....I'm sure I could move it around to make room for the half-stack....The other thing is I have a 10 year old cat (she may be older), & she sits in the window of my music room....Now, I know she's just a cat, but she's my baby...The big thing with her is I'm afraid she'll get up on my desk while I'm not in there, & fuck everything I have up.....Lemme do some pondering about it, & I may just move it all around tonight....
 
Thanks guys, I may re-arrange my room, but I've got a couple/few things to consider, one being I dunno what I'd do with the stuff in the closet....I'm sure I could move it around to make room for the half-stack....The other thing is I have a 10 year old cat (she may be older), & she sits in the window of my music room....Now, I know she's just a cat, but she's my baby...The big thing with her is I'm afraid she'll get up on my desk while I'm not in there, & fuck everything I have up.....Lemme do some pondering about it, & I may just move it all around tonight....

It's all plastic stuff -- I don't think your cat can mess things up too much. Having had a mouse eat through some wires in a Hammond organ, I'd much rather have a cat around!
 
It's all plastic stuff -- I don't think your cat can mess things up too much. Having had a mouse eat through some wires in a Hammond organ, I'd much rather have a cat around!
Yeah, I don't think she'd chew anything up, but she's pretty clumsy (a dog attacked her about 7-8 years ago, & fucked her up pretty bad...the vet said it actually shook her so hard, her brain had came dislodged from her skull...she walked in circles for months, but does pretty good now, considering, but again, she's clumsy...lucky to be alive too...), & I'd be afraid she'd knock shit off more than anything ) like my monitor/screen, or maybe even my speakers/monitors...She's been sitting in windows like this for years, & I don't think I could break her...She actually sits in this particular window for hours on end....Yep, she's my baby too...lol...

While WW's idea was great, I think I'm just gonna leave the room as-is, & throw up some panels when I get 'em made, probably one day this week, & take it from there....I know there's not gonna be a lot I can do for the low-end without bass traps, but if I could kill the flutter echo for now, I'd be satisfied until I re-model these 2 rooms (making 2 small rooms into one big 'en....)...

Thanks again, & if there are any more ideas/advice, please post!!!
 
I understand the issue with the cat’s window, was just trying to offer you pretty much your best and very possibly the only real decent acoustical option you’ve got for that particular room you’re working in right now.

We have two cats here, but they’re pretty much totally forbidden in my studio after one threw up a nasty looking hairball on a keyboard. They’re lovable, relatively clean animals and all, but when ours “up-chucked” nasty stuff on my equipment, all bets were off. Lol So, I feel your pain dude! Lol

Good luck, hope ya figure something out that works better for ya.
 
Thanks WW, I'm really torn between my room & the cat's space dude...lol....I know a lot of people would just push her to the curb, but she's my baby (I know...I know..), maybe I'll be able to work something out though....Your idea is great though dude, & I'm still considering doing it...

If the weather permits tomorrow, I'm gonna get off my ass & make those panels...I have a hardware store about a 5 min drive from here, so I should be able to make 'em all in a day...If nothing pops up, I've been on the job hunt, & of course if I get a call, I'll have to do what I gotta....

Thanks again dude!!!
 
Finally got around to making some of these panels out of the Roxul I had left over...I didn't have as much as I first thought, so I'll have 6 - 2' x 2' panels, 2 - 2' x 4' panels, & maybe 4 - 1'x1' small panels...I'm gonna use the big (2' x 4') over my desk for a cloud, & put 3 on the back wall (like in the pic...:D), 3 behind my speakers/desk, & depending on how many 1' x 1' panels I make, on the sides here/there...I thought these things would look like utter shit, but they actually turned out pretty decent...A lot cheaper than buying pre-made, or Auralex....Dunno how these will compare to the commercially made treatment, but I did a before/after hand clap in here, & these 3 panels that I've got hanging have already made a little difference in the flutter echo....




I'm gonna finish it up tomorrow, the new girlfriend is gonna help me hang the cloud, so I'll have some more pics tomorrow evening...
 
I've got 2 2'x4' traps as my cloud, not sure 1 would be enough - positioning would have to be 'just so' I guess. It is amazing how a few traps can improve the sound immediately - as eveyrone here preaches on a regular basis! :)
 
I've got 2 2'x4' traps as my cloud, not sure 1 would be enough - positioning would have to be 'just so' I guess.
I'm doing the same dude, I made 2 of the 2'x4' panels just for my cloud, getting ready to hang 'em here in just a few minutes...
 
Ok, finished up about all I"m gonna do as far as room treament, I might make some 1'x1' panels, but it's gonna have to warm up a hell of a lot before I do...I picked the perfect day yesterday for it, but today, no fuckin' way, too cold....Here's a couple pics of the room now:





I don't know about the low end (it probably didn't help much to be honest), but the flutter echo I had is gone, pretty much completely...and I'm actually pretty anxious & curious about my guitar tracks now, to see if they're gonna have that terrible room sound on 'em I've had since I moved here...Honestly, I'd say anything I did to this room had to help....We'll see tomorrow though, as it's too late for any guitar tracks....
 
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