Studio Treatment Day

N

Ninjaza

New member
Hey guys, I posted my first thread here for tips on treating my room DIY style. Ill be using the room for Producing, Mixing & Mastering (Very seldomly recording).

To start with. I was advised to put superchunks in the corners from floor to ceiling, behind my PC and monitors, to tame the bass. With cotton material over it.
So today I'm going to do it. I've been doing loads of researching online and this article said that you should put acoustic foam OVER the bass traps. Is this a good Idea?

Ill then treat my ceiling, back of my room (with more superchunks spread across the length of my room, where the wall meets ceiling, and reflection points)

Would also love your opinions of:
Egg crate
Cotton
(What coating should be sprayed over the panels to protect stray rockwool fibres from entering the air?

Thanks for all the killer help you guys have given me so far!

Peace from Cape Town!
 
Do some reading. Foam over the bass traps won't do anything of value. Eggcrate (foam or cardboard) is useless. Rockwool is dense, unlike the pink fluffy fiberglass, you don't need to spray it with anything. The cloth covering the traps will be sufficient.
 
Just to repeat to make sure the point is made:

Forget foam, it's useless.
Forget egg-crate, it's not even useless, it's beyond useless.

Just make good bass traps using the proper material. This isn't rocket surgery.

Forget about egg-crates, foam, cotton candy, formica, horse feathers, or weasel flesh. :D
 
yeah forget the egg crates, it's a total myth that they do anything. The foam over the traps won't really do much either, you shouldn't need it.

You have got the right idea, get some superchunks in the corners, the first problem to address is bass, then you can start with midrange traps and think about the ceiling as well, first reflections affect imaging, try to address the left and right walls in between you and your speakers.
 
RAMI said:
Just to repeat to make sure the point is made:

Forget foam, it's useless.
Forget egg-crate, it's not even useless, it's beyond useless.

Just make good bass traps using the proper material. This isn't rocket surgery.

Forget about egg-crates, foam, cotton candy, formica, horse feathers, or weasel flesh. :D
Click to expand...

This dude (very reputable) seems to say forget the rockwool/aerolite and that foam is best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2SBmvBbIYI&t=437

hmmm?
 
Ninjaza said:
This dude (very reputable) seems to say forget the rockwool/aerolite and that foam is best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2SBmvBbIYI&t=437

hmmm?
Click to expand...

I like that guy. He usually gives good, practical advice.

But I don't hear him saying foam is better than anything. I hear him saying to get the proper materials...He says "When it comes to foam....make sure you get the stuff that's made for sound absorption...". It's pretty vague. (I also think he has some kind of deal with Auralex, so I wouldn't take everything at face value).

Listen, it's not just a matter of opinion. Do some research and look at SPECS, not just people saying "I use foam and my room sounds awesome", because people like that are usually indulging in "Placebo listening" and "psycho-acoustics".

I like the "RecordingRevolution" dude, but he's not god and he's not always right. In this case, even he admitted that he "doesn't have time for that". His message seems to be along the lines of "Put SOMETHING up. It's better than putting nothing up". That doesn't mean foam is going to tame your lower frequencies, because it won't.

Like I said, with some research, you'll find that it's scientifically proven that foam of any kind , even the stuff that some marketing genius calls "Acoustic foam" does not absorb low frequencies, and low frequencies are 99% of the problem in 99% of rooms. If you use foam, you're going to kill your mids and highs, and now bass frequencies will become 100% of your problem. You'll end up with a room that doesn't echo when you clap your hands, so you might think "Cool. Dead room". But your recordings will send "dead", and not in a good way since you've killed all your nice highs and mids. On top of that, your monitors will keep lying to you.
 
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RAMI said:
I like that guy. He usually gives good, practical advice.

But I don't hear him saying foam is better than anything. I hear him saying to get the proper materials...He says "When it comes to foam....make sure you get the stuff that's made for sound absorption...". It's pretty vague. (I also think he has some kind of deal with Auralex, so I wouldn't take everything at face value).

Listen, it's not just a matter of opinion. Do some research and look at SPECS, not just people saying "I use foam and my room sounds awesome", because people like that are usually indulging in "Placebo listening" and "psycho-acoustics".

I like the "RecordingRevolution" dude, but he's not god and he's not always right. In this case, even he admitted that he "doesn't have time for that". His message seems to be along the lines of "Put SOMETHING up. It's better than putting nothing up". That doesn't mean foam is going to tame your lower frequencies, because it won't.

Like I said, with some research, you'll find that it's scientifically proven that foam of any kind , even the stuff that some marketing genius calls "Acoustic foam" does not absorb low frequencies, and low frequencies are 99% of the problem in 99% of rooms. If you use foam, you're going to kill your mids and highs, and now bass frequencies will become 100% of your problem. You'll end up with a room that doesn't echo when you clap your hands, so you might think "Cool. Dead room". But your recordings will send "dead", and not in a good way since you've killed all your nice highs and mids. On top of that, your monitors will keep lying to you.
Click to expand...

If you watch more he says throw out the rockwool and foam

---------- Update ----------

This is what I've used for my corner superchunks, triangles. And plan to do for my reflection points and corner bass traps
http://www.isover.co.za/pages/prange/glasswool/aerolite.php
 
Ninjaza said:
This dude (very reputable) seems to say forget the rockwool/aerolite and that foam is best.
Click to expand...

Ninjaza said:
If you watch more he says throw out the rockwool and foam
Click to expand...
OK, you're losing me here. I'm not going to go back and watch the whole thing to figure out what he's trying to say.

You first said that he claims "foam is best". Now you're saying that he's telling us to "throw out the foam".

My room's already treated. I have no dog in this race. I've given you my advice. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
RAMI said:
OK, you're losing me here. I'm not going to go back and watch the whole thing to figure out what he's trying to say.

You first said that he claims "foam is best". Now you're saying that he's telling us to "throw out the foam".

My room's already treated. I have no dog in this race. I've given you my advice. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Click to expand...

Im not here to cause bad vibes, simply wanting to know which is right. He is reputable and says "throw out the rockwools"
 
Hey, thanks for your reply, Theyre slightly different. Also Im needing to get my studio done super soon already behind schedule. I have bought loads and planned loads, its all sittting in my garage and my room hangs waiting. Im not getting much response at all so that may be why I've split it up. Im a noob when it comes to acoustics, even though I've built quite a name for my music over the years. Each decision or step I take forward treating my room needs to be the right one, hency the urgency and questions. Each answer will help me move in the right direction, otherwise I'm pretty much sitting wasting the only time I have (weekends) waiting for responses. I apologise if it comes across a bit spammy.

I've bought this stuff Isover Glasswool Aerolite (almost R1000, $100 later and want to know I havent wasted my much needed money at this point) So there's some urgency.

Thanks for your reply man.
 
Ninjaza said:
If you watch more he says throw out the rockwool and foam

---------- Update ----------

This is what I've used for my corner superchunks, triangles. And plan to do for my reflection points and corner bass traps
Isover Glasswool Aerolite
Click to expand...


OK, I watched more and heard no such comment...

Post a link.

Actually, I don't really care to see it because I am sure if it even happened it was out of context.

Just try to keep your posts in one or two places please. Preferably one thread. You are all over the place here dood.
 
I watched the video.
He said if you're going to go with foam, get 'proper' foam that's billed as acoustic treatment rather than using 'egg carton' foam or fibreglass stuff.
I don't think he mentioned rockwool at all, I can tell you it's very good for the purposes he's describing.

A 2'x2'x4" rockwool panel on each first reflection point is going to be every bit as good as auralex panels, if not better!
 
I've used this. Sounding killer! Will post pics. Done a load of work on my studio over the past 2 weeks.

Isover Glasswool Aerolite

Your thoughts on this stuff? Apparently acoustically its the same, just a bit more messy to work with.
 
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What you want, is rockwool slabs, or something similar.
I'm in the UK so I used this stuff (it works):
75mm DFM Acoustic Insulation - Acoustic Insulation

Build a wooden frame around it (very simple DIY), and cover it with a reasonably close weave cloth (nobody wants fibreglass everywhere) - be careful with which cloth/material you use, if the weave is too close it will restrict the movement of air through it and may mitigate the effects of what you just built.
You can double or triple up on the thickness, and put it on a shelf across the corner of the room for bass trapping. OR, just lean it in the corners for the moment while you work out what effect it is having and adjust it.

Edit:
You probably want a density of over 80km/m3, the denser it is, the more sound it will 'absorb' - up to a point.
 
You want a substance that will convert acoustic energy into heat at the frequencies you want controlled (relatively high density rigid fiberglass like Owens Corning 703 or 705). You want it to be at a thickness of at least 1/4 the waveform you want absorbed. Just throwing shit up on the walls is a bad idea. This Ethan Winer guy has all the data you need to make an educated decision.

Acoustic Treatment and Design for Recording Studios and Listening Rooms
 
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