Where to start with treating room

huckleberry1

New member
I plan on doing some recording in my rehearsal space. As you can see, it is a fairly large room. There is a definite echo. Anyways, I would like to put my work center in the center of the far wall between the speakers. I know I will not get anywhere near perfect, but would like to improve the room as much as reasonable without putting up new walls and such. So, with decor'/good looks in mind, I'm thinking of Amazon purchased foam panels....so where should I at least start?

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No foam!! It might take care of the flutter-echo you hear, but will leave the low mids and bass untreated, leaving you with muddy recordings.
You want what are typically called 'bass traps', made form compressed fiberglass or rockwool. In the corners, 4" thick is minimum (or 'superchunks' - triangular shapes of rockwool). Side walls and ceiling cloud (above your mixing position, and usually above the drums, too) can be 2" thick.
If aesthetics are important you can get some nice-looking panels from places like ATS Acoustic Panels by ATS Acoustics
 
With the carpet there I would not worry about ceiling clouds as they also reduce ceiling height, I would look at bass traps in the corners, and a nice big broadband absorber (or 2) on the long wall. The broadband absorber will get rid of the flutter echo you have and the bass traps will keep the room even after the broadband is installed. The carpet will mostly take care of the highs.

A few of the drop in ceiling panels you have could be replaced with acoustic drop in panels if required after everything else has been done?

Alan.
 
Just to "echo" the other replies - start with real bass traps (not foam). Make your own if you're handy (and want to save some money), and then treat the walls with panels. Regardless whether homemade or premade, you'll need more than foam, especially for drums. A good, heavy drape over the window will help, too.

If that suspended ceiling has room, you could add rockwool batts (e.g., Roxul Safe'n'Sound) above it to help, vs. clouds. (You'd have to use insulation stays.) 3/4" fiberglass panels are not actually doing anything save muffling a little bit of higher frequencies, i.e., pretty much the same thing as foam.

GIK Acoustics is another company whose ads I see popping up from time to time. Theirs are interesting looking, if that matters.
 
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