12x12 space

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harbingertx

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I have a 12 x 12 room to record in. I just moved into this house and this is the only space I have now. I record other bands as well, so I will have to have my tracking and control in here. I could put my desk in the closet but all's that would do is clear up floor space. The ceilings are pretty high, so I'm hoping I can still get a big drum sound. Any advice on setups? My desk is about 5 feet wide and 2 feet deep. I have a mixer that sits on a table 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. That's my set up for the "control room". Any help? The closet is about 8 feet wide but only about 3 feet deep
 
Hi

Hi harbingertx,

I've been running my studio out of my bedroom for years. I started out in a very small room, probably the smallest room in our house. I had just a mic, computer and a Ibanez guitar. I moved out recently, then moved back in. (But got a bigger room) Basically I use synths but as far as vocals go I have a corner in the room where a very thick quilt baffle hangs and a mic is in front of that. It sounds quite nice, I have a very small desk in the other corner where the computer is. In the mid section is the keyboard / synth area. I have a bed in there as well, which sometimes is annoying because yeah it takes up too much space. Somehow I managed to find a leather lounge chair that fit in there for relaxing between takes. I can take photos if you'd like some ideas.

Josh Horn
 
Ethan Winer said:
Forget using a closet. In a room like that you need a lot of bass traps, and other acoustic treatment. Then set up as one room for both recording and mixing.
Click to expand...

+1. You don't need the closet for vocal recording. Treat the larger room and record everything in there.

Frank
 
Acoustic Issues

I think you can use both the closet and main room for recording.

The problem is that the high ceilings your hoping will produce a big drum sound will most likely cause a lot of your problems. If the ceiling is parallel to the floor you have an even bigger problem. Parallel walls create a resonance that is pretty much impossible to remove from a recording. Unfortunately a 12x12 square is about the worst acoustic space you can have. But, there are some fixes.

If your on a tight budget use:

-Use Fiberglass Duct board to control unwanted reflections from walls and the ceiling.

-Check out the many DIY Bass Trap sites out there. With a some time and a whole lot less cash you can make some bass traps to suit your needs.

-Drape packing blankets over mic stands to make isolation gobos.

-Use any kind of thick cloth to cover the walls.

I think you'll need to isolate of all the instruments the best you can. Duct board and thick drapes will help with the reverb but bass traps might be your only hope to remove some of the resonance.

I wouldn't completely forget about the closet either. With some acoustic treatment you can use it as an iso booth to separate guitar amps from drums. Treat one room at a time.

Word
 
here's what i'm thinking

The closet probably isn't big enough for a vocalist to feel comfortable and track in there, so I think I will use the closet as an isolation room for tracking guitars and bass, that way they'll get a tighter sound and not so reverby.

But where am I supposed to track vocals? I don't have any treatment in my room, could I just do it in a corner without it sounding horrible?
Help me out here
 
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