Workaround for lack of room treatment

adam79

New member
I have some nice recording hardware/software, but no acoustical treatment for my room. I just can't afford to buy any professional material. This obviously hurts both tracking and mixing aspects.
I'm writing this post to see if there are any cheap alternatives to the expensive pro stuff. Even if it doesn't work as well, it's probably better than nothing.

Thanks,
-Adam
 
I bought enough Roxul 80 to make 6 2'x4'x4" traps, with burlap from Walmart, 1x4 wood from Home Depot, total cost about $260. (Shipping of the rockwool was expensive, otherwise it would have been under $200).
 
Right ^^^ ...if you can't buy ready-made, you do a lot yourself for 2-3 hundred bucks...and it doesn't take master carpenter skills, either.


Another option...check eBay and audio forum classified for guys who are selling theirs for whatever reason...but it will still be cheapest to make your own.
 
Right ^^^ ...if you can't buy ready-made, you do a lot yourself for 2-3 hundred bucks...and it doesn't take master carpenter skills, either.


Another option...check eBay and audio forum classified for guys who are selling theirs for whatever reason...but it will still be cheapest to make your own.

Definitely. That's what I'm looking for.. what the cheapest materials are that will work. I have access to the tools needed to DIY it. All I'm trying to do is the bare essentials. Something so I can hear all the frequencies when mixing and some basic stuff for tracking.

My room dimensions are 21' (L) x 15' (W) x 8.75' (H). Concrete floor, drywall and drop ceiling tiles. The guy in my practice space before me built a wooden shelf that comes out 2.7' and is 6.6' high. It spans the entire back wall and a little over half of one of the side walls (length wise). Would it be a good idea to put the drums directly in-front of the shelf, so the stool is basically right under the end of the overhang? I'm assuming that the drums would sound better with the extra height, vs. putting them directly under the shelf (I doubt the whole kit would even fit under there). The shelf would probably help with reflections from behind the kit, no?

I sent Auralex my room dimensions and they sent me a suggested plan of the materials I need and where they need to go. Here's what they sent me:
auralex_room.jpg


It would be real pricey to buy all that stuff from them. It's nice to have a suggested layout from a pro place like that.. so if I can find cheap materials that mimic their expensive acoustical foam and bass traps I atleast know the best spots to place 'em.
 
Try HERE. There is an SPI near you it seems.

Auralex is expensive and does not perform as well as other materials that are less expensive. Way cheaper if you have DIY skills or know someone who does. And this is quite simple actually.
 
Please don't buy the Auralex foam. It may be better than the other so-called 'acoustic foams', but t still is not dense enough to absorb the lows and low-mids.

How to make them? Just do a youtube search, this one is pretty simple to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5OrNZZBac4 - One thing you'll learn from it - measure the rockwool panels before cutting the wood, that way you won't be cutting the rockwool the way he had to do it!
 
Current cost for 4" thick Roxul 8lb is $2.05 per square foot in Colorado. Cut that in half for 2" if using for reflection points. But I tend to stay with the 4" either way.

I'm about to buy a truckload for my studio rebuild.
 
I second not using Auralex,,, you'd be better off in the long run... Even if you do not go the DYI (which if you can, I would suggest like jimmy69 said) and use say GK Acoustics like I did, you'll be in much better shape and happier with great results,,

You can't really move forward as may like to with auralex,,, But you can with the proper materials and knowledge,,, a little at a time with some planning,,,

This guy has great info, he dos this all around the world,,, He loves this stuff,, you can even send him an email just for suggestions,,,
Resources - John H. Brandt Acoustic Designs
Great Tools and learning,,,

And even if not ready to go the GK Acoustics route, I would at least inquire and see what they suggest,,, estimates are free,, and they actually take the time to work with you, even before purchase,,, Rather bunch of committed people, even after purchase,,

He suggested my 10'5" x 13'8' x 8' 1" room would need about 33%+ area treated,,, this also was the suggestion from GK Acoustics,,, (about $800 custom bundled,,, not there bundles they have as I wanted better quality of their products)
Between all the suggestion of both I have really nice translation mixing and a pretty dang good recording area... I also have another bedroom just carpet and shelves, with some sound blankets from vocalboothtogo allowing some things recorded there also,,, I also use the blankets creatively for recording, both window / door area...

this isn't sound proofing, just really nice sound control, taming frequencies best one can,,, although the things I do are livable for the rest of the house,,, Meaning my Randall rg100es can be cranked a bit, lol,,, and vocals no issue,,,
 
Anyone who spends a good 20 minutes researching the abilities of acoustic absorption products on the internet will find that there are bigger issues than Auralex will help with. Unless your Google is set up to make you spend 10 times what you need. lol

Auralex is cool looking and it is really good for spot treatment. The problem when it comes to low end frequency absorption is not the companies fault, it is what the product is made of and it's inability to do it efficiently. Many miss that fact and assume that Auralex 'bass traps' are good at this. For the cost, absolutely not.
 
Absolutely correct jimmy69 and even the auralex thickness and density tight against a wall isn't really beneficial as frequency control product,,, It's density is just not close to efficient... Better if they didn't carve out the wedges, but eh, they can get almost twice the product look that way... Wedges are for diffusion, and diffusion is not effective with foam,,,

The idea is to flatten while mixing. Or in reality, get as close as possible, with what one can afford... more than likely you don't have the 16 feet to stuff full of treatment to truly try to contain the low end,,, and luckily you don't have to,,,

I spent over 2 years, reading and learning what I could, without stressing the depth of understanding,,, Enough to get to what I need to know. I want to record and mix, not take a stab a sound control contractor...
 
I never planned on buying any Auralex products. I just noticed that they offered free advice on where to place materials in my room. I read a cool article about the Glyn Johns Drum Mic Technique: The Glyn Johns Drum Recording Method - The Recording RevolutionThe Recording Revolution. There are some pictures and the guy had his kit up against a wall (on the hi-hat side) which is exactly where mine's setup, more due to space restrictions. I've got a ton of shit everywhere in my room, and until I clean up my space, it's the only empty spot I've got. Is there any advantage to this "against the wall" setup? The guy also had a blanket up against the wall. He had high ceilings too, which I do not. With this setup, one of the overheads is supposed to go 3-4' above the snare. Since my ceiling (drop ceiling tiles) is a little less than 9' high, do I have to worry about splash back? I probably should have tried recording with the setup first before posting, eh? I'm planning on pinning a blanket above the kit, as well as up against the wall. I noticed in a picture of some Rick Rubin session that he had made a wooden enclosure in-front of the kick (it looked like a skateboarding ramp). I'm probably gonna try this technique. My mic locker is pretty pathetic. I have a pair of MCA SP1 LDC mics, one SM-57 and a crappy $40 Audix mic. If I owned a nice bass mic I probably would have already been messing around with the mic placement. I plan on renting a RE-20 when I record my friend's band and my own demos, for both the kick and bass cab (overdub); I'll DI the bass during tracking. In the meantime, I'll use the Audix as a stand-in kick mic, just to get the placement correct. We can only afford to rent mics for one day, so I'll need to have everything ready.
 
I see,,, seems your curious about treatment for recording,,, not mixing,,,

As far as tracking all in one day with unfamiliar mics, positions, and room considerations being unfamiliar, your going to have your hands full on that "one day",,,

Maybe if possible, get scratch tracks of the songs ready prior, and set up DAW templates to be ready to go,,, Tracking one band, I imagine with several songs is more than a days work, and adding your own demo's would seem a nightmare recording process in one day,,,

I suggest for recording input, you post in Recording techniques,,, Hopefully some in there can give you some good input for what you think you want to accomplish in one day,,,
https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/recording-techniques/
 
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