Good sound in a gym possible?

R

ronhar

New member
After reading the recent post about problems with high school musical productions I thought I might pose a simular question. I am am a veteran of the school sock hop circuit many, many years ago. About the only sound treatment was "loud and proud". Now as I attend my kid's assemblies, dances (amateur DJs or none at all!) and various concerts in (shudder) GYMNASIUMS, has anyone any suggestions I can pass on to the powers that be about controlling the horrible echo and reflections that destroy the music short of massive sound treatment. I don't expect miracles but surely someone has ideas for improvement.
Ronharless
 
The real problem is that Gyms are designed for sport and music should be in a building designed for music. I have had to use many gyms over the years and they all sound terrible. Some that were not so bad had sound absorbing panels in the building design to take out the reflections, these were perforated panels with fibreglass filling. The panels at least took out the high end slap back to some degree, but the bottom end was still an issue. The only thing to get the sound clear was to shelve the bottom end of the PA.

One of the fixes tried in recant time was to hang acoustic panels vertical from the roof so that both sides of the panel would absorb sound. Another thing that would help would be to have a very heavy theatre curtain on runners that could be pulled across the walls to reduce slap.

Alan.
 
Amazingly enough, our school system invests heavily in acoustic treatment for the gyms. I don't know what is used, thick heavy rockwool-type panels, but they work good. Not the same as Witz described. They are large, 4ft x 8ft, and numerous. They line the walls and ceilings. Not complete coverage and the gyms still have a fair amount of reverb, but it's nothing like it would be without them.

I recorded a school winter concert in a gym a few months back but haven't gotten around to working on the recordings yet. I can in a week or so and will post them here. I remember the concert sounding good and not washed out with reverb and slapback delays.
 
Chili said:
Amazingly enough, our school system invests heavily in acoustic treatment for the gyms. I don't know what is used, thick heavy rockwool-type panels, but they work good. Not the same as Witz described. They are large, 4ft x 8ft, and numerous. They line the walls and ceilings. Not complete coverage and the gyms still have a fair amount of reverb, but it's nothing like it would be without them.

I recorded a school winter concert in a gym a few months back but haven't gotten around to working on the recordings yet. I can in a week or so and will post them here. I remember the concert sounding good and not washed out with reverb and slapback delays.
Click to expand...

Who put that in the school budget????

I want to shake their hand and create a blog supporting them.
 
Been a long time since I was in a gym! I remember tho' that they had big foam rubber fall mats? These could be hung on wall bars? The mat could be "spiked" with a thin screwdriver and long cable ties employed.

Unfortunately, wall bars, IIRC, were on the long wall and the mats are really needed on the back. Maybe the school's technology dpt could be co-opted to build some frames. Home recordists use plastic conduit but for a more "industrial" space I would suggest 40mm sink waste pipe?

Cost is ever an issue for our cash-strapped schools so send the kids round builders merchants and employ some pester-power for absorbent material, pipe etc!

Dave.
 
I remember those 'fall mats' had hard plastic/vinyl coverings, though, probably not good for much absorption.
 
The best sound I ever achieved in a gym was using a line array system ... instead of the ground stack or speakers on a stick kinda sound system.
 
moresound said:
The best sound I ever achieved in a gym was using a line array system ... instead of the ground stack or speakers on a stick kinda sound system.
Click to expand...

Nothing new under....Line source, either 1X 5ft or 2x5ft or for real welly outside, stacked as a ten footer, was our stock speaker system for schools sports days, PTAs and AGMs. Usual amp was a "Wimbledon" 30watt valve jobby 2x KT66. Had a meter on the front to set bias and read other electrode voltages.



Then the disco boys stuffed a mic through their big boxes and you couldn't understand a bloody word!

Dave.
 
Some good ideas. I may have to start a parents group to raise funds to try a fix. I could go for the DYI on the acoustic panels. I did my own in my home studio and they worked out pretty good after doing my homework ( thanks Ethan Winer). I'll have to use my charms. Those admin types like solutions in a box!
 
I played a lot of proms in the 70s. Those fall mats, if arranged \/\/\/\/\/ (the ones we had used velcro on one edge) on the upper deck always helped with the slapback. Keeping chaperons at the exit doors (so they'd be open) on the sides of the building helped with the bass cancellation, but those darned ramps up from the dressing rooms were like bass amplifiers, slapping it all back into the court. Nightmares! :mad: And the open roof, with just the steel girders was terrible. Still, some good times! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top