How to treat a tracking room for guitar and vocal

A

armansrsa

New member
Hi all! I am trying to record guitar and vocals in a 16 X 10 X 8ft space but the results are not what I am looking for.... yet. I want to invest some cash into the room to make it professional sounding but not sure what it needs. Given the dimensions, I am not really thinking a "live" space is worth going for but perhaps a dead booth type room will sound good. I actually prefer the sound of dry acoustic guitar recordings and vocals too so I think absorption is the best way to go.

The room was a control room so it has a cloud installed which covers the 1st half of the room hanging from the ceiling so I could track beneath the cloud which would help with reflections from the ceiling. When it comes to the walls though, I am not sure what to do. I was thinking 2 sheets of rigid fiberglass all around but would really appreciate any advice. I have a laminate wooden floor so I guess that is fine if the walls and ceiling is treated? I kind of see this space as a dead booth but slightly bigger which is always a good thing.

So can you guys help me out? What can I do? What would you do?

I have attached pics of the space so you can see it so far. Basically was wanting to mix but I won't be mixing my own stuff and just need it recorded well.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1048.jpg
    IMG_1048.jpg
    72.7 KB · Views: 105
  • IMG_1085.jpg
    IMG_1085.jpg
    128.4 KB · Views: 712
It looks like you already have some acoustic treatment in that room that will work for you - if you post your stuff over in the MP3 Clinic, others can give advice on how your tracks sound. If you are unable to record decent vocal or acoustic guitar sound in that room now, you should try different miking techniques (or mics themselves).
 
to me those bass traps don't seem anywhere near large enough to absorb serious bass, how exactly did you build them? what materials did you use e.t.c? because that's important.

Personally I'd have to have a desk that doesn't have that left side longer than the right, it's bound to give you some flutter echo/imaging issues, I would also have a rug of some kind in the centre of the floor, looks like there's room for at least another 2 traps in the first photo where the mic is.
 
mjbphotos said:
It looks like you already have some acoustic treatment in that room that will work for you - if you post your stuff over in the MP3 Clinic, others can give advice on how your tracks sound. If you are unable to record decent vocal or acoustic guitar sound in that room now, you should try different miking techniques (or mics themselves).
Click to expand...

THanks! I will try that MP3 Clinic. Sounds great.

I have spent months on micing my acoustic guitar and it is ok but this room is intended for listening not for tracking. So since they are different, they would require different treatment. Most studios I have worked in have rooms this size or a bit bigger with soft walls, soft ceiling and laminate floors. I want a dry sound as I mentioned in my OP and was thinking that this is the set up I should go for given that my room dimensions are hardly good for reflections of any kind.
 
Yes I know they don't but the material I used is much more dense than normal rigid fiberglass. It is called "Copopren" and in Spain it is an acoustic absorption material that is superior to Rockwool or rigid fiberglass. I only had that quantity so I used it as best I could. For listening, I really was happy with the results. Problem is I never liked how my guitars sound in this space.

Your desk tip is good but the least of my worries right now. Perhaps I will get rid of it or put something soft over it after am finished with treatments

Oh and lastly, I do have a rug now... :) these pics are oldish

so now, for tracking, what can I do to get a better sound. Please help me out. I am willing to spend cash here on materials so long as it is not going to kill me financially
 
Oh and perhaps I should mention

The treatments on the walls and in the cloud are double sheets of rigid fiberglass (8 - 9cm in total). The only place I am not using rigid fiberglass is in the superchunk bass traps in the corners as I mentioned above. That is a denser material
 
What are you using for mic(s) and technique for recording the acoustic? A SDC or two not too far from the guitar/neck would be your best bet.
 
Above all, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY LAVA LAMPS WTF!!!!!!??????




You need more mass in those corners. Super chunks in the floor to ceiling corners, with an air gap between the chunks and the wall. You can use rockwool or mineral wool in the 8 pounds per square foot range for those and save some money on OC703. Get the wall-ceiling corners covered too, and you may want to expand your cloud as well. I can't really tell from the pictures, but if you're right up on it, move away from that front wall and get some fiberglass on it. The symmetry of your mixing position is compromised by that desk. The back wall could use a couch; it's broadband absorption you can sit on. No matter what you do, you will need to take some time to figure out what idiosyncrasies the room has so you can make mixing decisions that work outside your room. You literally cannot have too much broadband absorption in that room.

If you can find a way to get those wall panels off the wall even a little they would be more effective.

It's a small room. No matter what, you're not going to want to put a ribbon mic in it. On vocal, try a wonderful high quality dynamic like the EV RE-20 or the Shvre SM7. They will ignore much of the room's acoustics and give you a nice rich detailed sound, so long as you can push enough gain, and looking over what gear I can see you have that covered. For guitar, besides the treatment I recommend above, I would make a couple of gobos on wheels you can move here and there to find the sweet spot.

Nice room, nice clean setup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top