Where to place foam

Nate Oliver

New member
I am about to order some microphones so I can record drums in my attic. I have pictures attached below (not sure why they posted sideways?), and the dimensions are as follows:

Length: 28 ft
Width: 12 ft
Ceiling: 4 ft
Slanted parts of ceiling: 5 ft

The walls and slanted parts of ceiling are wood tiled.

I have many questions about this room, but my main question here is where should I put foam? And is my drum set located in an ideal spot in the room, or should I move it somewhere else? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 

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Nowhere whatsoever would be my recommendation. You would be way better off with broadband absorption with rockwool or OC703 in there. Much cheaper and way better at the job.

Strange room that could be great or shit, depending on how you treat it. But I would start with a bunch of 2" thick 2'x4' panels (staggered 2' apart) on the side walls to keep the flutter echo down. Definitely get that kit in the center of the ceiling vaults and hang as thick of panels as possible directly above the kit. The toughest part of drum recording in a low ceiling is the reflections back from the ceiling into overhead condenser mics.

That looks like a dropped ceiling. I would suggest getting rid of that and see what is up there. May be cheaper/easier/better to fill that space with pink fluffy stuff and cover with cloth.

My opinion based on my personal experience. Sure others will have ideas also.

Best to ya!

Again, screw foam.
 
Yup, foam in the garbage. 2" rockwool panels all over the walls, 4" rockwool in every corner/wall angle you can fit them in.
 
I use foam inside roadcases to protect the equipment.

Jokes aside, I do have a small amount of acoustic foam in the recording room to tame some splash slap, but very little, most of the acoustic treatment is as the guys above described. Foam is not the big fixer of acoustics.

Just a side note, Sound on Sound magazine UK, always talk up using foam in the Studio SOS section, I wish they would stop doing this.

Alan.
 
"Just a side note, Sound on Sound magazine UK, always talk up using foam in the Studio SOS section, I wish they would stop doing this.

Alan. "
To put the record a bit straight Al' they speak of using foam at the 'mirror points' to improve stereo imaging. The vast majority of the rooms featured in 'Studio SoS' are small and I think they recognize that there is very little, in a practical way that one can do about the LF performance?

I have read many times of them suggesting rockwool or GF on panels spaced off the wall or stuffing bags of GF into redundant spaces.

Dave.
 
"Just a side note, Sound on Sound magazine UK, always talk up using foam in the Studio SOS section, I wish they would stop doing this.

Alan. "
To put the record a bit straight Al' they speak of using foam at the 'mirror points' to improve stereo imaging. The vast majority of the rooms featured in 'Studio SoS' are small and I think they recognize that there is very little, in a practical way that one can do about the LF performance?

I have read many times of them suggesting rockwool or GF on panels spaced off the wall or stuffing bags of GF into redundant spaces.

Dave.


I don't agree, some decent sound treatment goes a long way to improve small room acoustics. I know what you are saying about the sound on sound imaging with foam, but I wish they would make a stronger case for decent acoustic panels and not just foam. A lot of home studio people read the mag and they could get the impression that foam is a fix it all solution.

Alan.
 
I don't agree, some decent sound treatment goes a long way to improve small room acoustics. I know what you are saying about the sound on sound imaging with foam, but I wish they would make a stronger case for decent acoustic panels and not just foam. A lot of home studio people read the mag and they could get the impression that foam is a fix it all solution.

Alan.

Ok Alan...Hearing you and I shall plough through a few old mags and see what impression I gain. Once formed I shall post a question related to that impression. I dare say I shall get shunted to a link to a very in depth article from way back that deals with the matter!

Still! They have in the past few weeks agreed that some things need repeating to drive home the message and if new people ARE getting the wrong idea I am sure they would consider another bash at the subject?

Dave.
 
Here's a video about thoroughly done home studio, using rockboard, which is a slightly more rigid form of the rockwool product I and others use/recommend. I was unable to find/source rockboard, but did find rockwool insulation in a local Lowe's for the panels and traps in my little room, and you can order it for pickup even if they (or Home Depot) don't carry it in your area I believe.

Anyway, this guy makes *great* (sounding) videos, so worth seeing what he did. (My wife would never let me do this to what used to be one of the kids' bedroom!)

 
Great video and I love the fact that he talks fast and gets directly to the points.

I am not a fan of the corner desk placement but you gotta do what you have to in a small space. And plus he has two layers of absorption there. One of those hard things to judge without doing and trying.

Thanks for posting this Keith!
 
Ok Alan...Hearing you and I shall plough through a few old mags and see what impression I gain. Once formed I shall post a question related to that impression. I dare say I shall get shunted to a link to a very in depth article from way back that deals with the matter!

Still! They have in the past few weeks agreed that some things need repeating to drive home the message and if new people ARE getting the wrong idea I am sure they would consider another bash at the subject?

Dave.

I am not trying to bash the mag, I actually subscribe to it, it's just that they do tend to go to foam a lot where all the recommendations elsewhere are rockwool. I wonder if all the "where shell I put my foam", people that come here (lets call them Foamies) read articles in studio rescue and get the wrong idea?

Alan.
 
I am not trying to bash the mag, I actually subscribe to it, it's just that they do tend to go to foam a lot where all the recommendations elsewhere are rockwool. I wonder if all the "where shell I put my foam", people that come here (lets call them Foamies) read articles in studio rescue and get the wrong idea?

Alan.

And I am not trying to defend them! "Just the fact ma'm" (or are you too young for that!) . I am however on the case. Pulled about 10 mags at random (no other choice in my place!) and only 3 iirc actually have a Studio SoS article. One does in fact deal with bass traps (guy had already got them*). Another couple said the LF response was pretty good anyway (weird room shape!).

But a lot of their time seems to be eaten up fixing non-acoustic problems? Guitar wiring, earthing regimes, installing software and sorting PC problems. FORK! They even had an out of phase Genlec monitor to diagnose! No time or space to do everything but I am certain that they NEVER suggest that 'foam' will fix LF room problems?

*AFAIK they rock up in a car, not a Transit? Therefore the amount of 'stuff' they can carry must be limited. Great slabs of rockwool are probably out of the question.
But I shall try to find more articles and post a conclusion.

Dave.
 
Err, Alan? You typed 'studio RESCUE'. I am sure you mean Studio SoS?

There is a series call 'Mix Rescue'. I rarely read it because I am NO mixer and in any case why would I punish myself with Today's music if I did not have to make a living doing so?

Dave.
 
Err, Alan? You typed 'studio RESCUE'. I am sure you mean Studio SoS?

There is a series call 'Mix Rescue'. I rarely read it because I am NO mixer and in any case why would I punish myself with Today's music if I did not have to make a living doing so?

Dave.

Yes Studio SoS LOL.

I don't read it for todays music as it's not a music mag it's a recording mag. It is not a music review mag? However there is a lot of todays music that does not punish you, you have to look for it as you won't find it on commercial networks.

I read the mag for:
recording techniques, good article on recording drums in a small room this month,
inside track: Remixing Sargent Peppers this month,
Session Notes,
And the articles about old tracks and how they were done.

I probably know 99% through experience, but you learn new things every day. I don't like the interviews with the the producers that just big note themselves and 90% of what they say is rubbish.

Alan.
 
Yes Studio SoS LOL.

I don't read it for todays music as it's not a music mag it's a recording mag. It is not a music review mag? However there is a lot of todays music that does not punish you, you have to look for it as you won't find it on commercial networks.

I read the mag for:
recording techniques, good article on recording drums in a small room this month,
inside track: Remixing Sargent Peppers this month,
Session Notes,
And the articles about old tracks and how they were done.

I probably know 99% through experience, but you learn new things every day. I don't like the interviews with the the producers that just big note themselves and 90% of what they say is rubbish.

Alan.

Not a music review mag? No, Mix Rescue is about mixing! I don't think there is any artistic critique?
I hardly ever read the 'prohuduca' articles either, I am more interested in the hardware and technical stuff. The piece about Ethernet Audio was most interesting, I only 'got' maybe 10% of it but fascinating just the same.

Seek out new music? I got enough to do Al' working my way through several centuries of Bach, Mozart etc with diversions into jazz and SOME rock. Beatles of course but I enjoy a good headbanger now and again.

One day, when ****g LIFE stops intruding I hope to get back to some serious, fun listening!

Dave.
 
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