Hi,
Recently moved to a new apartment...Is there any way to make this situation better? And if so what would you recommend?
The professional room treatments were a little too expensive for me, and the science of treating a room just goes over my head, so I improvised and made some moving blanket baffles. They are very easy to make and easy to assemble and disassemble so you can put them away when you are done recording or have visitors over, won't mark the walls and you can take them with you when you move.
The PVC parts and springs will cost you around $15 and the moving blanket should also be around $15. The only tools needed are a hacksaw and sandpaper to sand the rough edges off the cut pipes. When taking the frame apart you may need a pair of channel lock pliers to help you twist and loosen the connectors.
I used 1" PVC pipe and fittings.
Here is what you’ll need to make one baffle:
PARTS:
4 - 1" x 10' pipes
4 - 1" T fittings
4 - 1" Couplers or Caps
2 - 1" Elbows
2 - Spring Clips
1 - Moving Blanket
Tools:
Hacksaw
Sandpaper
Channel Lock Pliers
1. Cut 8" off of each 10' pipe (for the feet), then cut off an addition 2 feet from each pipe. Take one of the 2' pieces and cut it in half. These will be the feet and legs for the frame.
2. Use a T-Connector and attach two 8" feet and one 12" leg, then place couplers on the ends of the feet. Repeat for the second leg.
3. Use the other two T-Connectors and two Elbow connectors to connect the 4 long sections of pipe to make the square frame and then attach the legs.
4. Fold the top 3" or 4" of the blanket over the top cross bar and clip the corners to the side of the blanket to hold it in place.
That's it.
In addition to the baffles, I had tall bookshelves covering one full wall. I pulled random books "out of alignment" to make the surface uneven, the way they do with those expensive wooden sound diffusers. I also tacked old pillows into the upper corners of the room and stacked the family sleeping bags in one corner.
It's not high tech, nor pretty, and I didn't get every area, but it helped reduce the sound reflections a lot and made my recordings sound much better.
D