Simple acoustic treatment advice

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benherron.rrr

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Hey guys.

I have a small setup in my bedroom which I use for University projects and writing and recording my own material. I could use a little jargon free advice on how I can dry up the sound.

First of all,

I have quite a large window that is single glazed, thin and noisy I also live very near a busy road. I have noticed that I get alot of unwanted noise coming through, No matter where I place the mics. I was thnking about building A frame which would slot in the outcrop of the window to block out some of the noise. It would need to be easily movable (I dont want to permanantly block of my window) Im guessing it would need to be filled with some dence material, and a little material for absorbtion purposes. Any suggestions what I could use, that wouldn't weigh a ton?

The next thing is treating my room, Being my bedroom I want to treat it as minimal and as effective as possible. My room is square about 6mx8m and 3.5 high. there is a fire place on one wall so I have a little out crop which means I have 6 corners. Bass trapping isnt really possible as I have a wordrobe in one corner, a Tv in another, a door in another and my mixing set up in another (bad I know, but its the only place it can go)

I have noticed I have a little slapback reverb, not that big but its still noticable. Having a double bed right in the middle should not do any harm. I could do with some streight forward advice on how I can irradicate the reverb and dry up the room. Like I said I dont get on well with the technical side of acoustics, so as simple and streight forward as posible if you can :).
Also Like I said It is my bedroom so I use the space in so many ways and I dont want to take over the space.

My tutor mentioned today some Hardwear/softwear that analyses the room and adusts the eq to make your monitors blanced for your room. Can you point me in the direction of this gear? he didnt take that sentence any further.

Thankyou for yor help, I know you guyes get annoyed ith people asking this stuff, But I really appreciate the help.
 
Hmmm...kinda swingin blind here but...

Your window...could you build a lightweight frame that fits inside the window and just fill it with some rigid insulation like the rockwool or OC703 and just cover it?

As to the reverb ya got, you could try some diffusors in specific places along the walls or some thinner 2 inch bass trapping to act as diffusors but I'm just guessing here.

No idea about the software thingy either. :)

here :drunk: have a beer.....or 2 :drunk:
 
benherron.rrr said:
I could do with some streight forward advice on how I can irradicate the reverb and dry up the room. Like I said I dont get on well with the technical side of acoustics, so as simple and streight forward as posible if you can :).
Click to expand...

Simple and striaght-forward.....

Corners are the most important part of the room to treat. Can you not move the stuff you have in each corner? If not, expect results to be limited.

Can you at least hang some clouds from the ceiling (panels of rigid fibre-glass)??? That would help a lot.

Being able to do both corners and ceiling would give you much better results, obviously.
 
Dogbreath said:
Your window...could you build a lightweight frame that fits inside the window and just fill it with some rigid insulation like the rockwool or OC703 and just cover it?
Click to expand...

Rigid insulation will not sound proof. It will dampen the resonance of the window so that it's resonance will change.

You will need to add mass to the window side of the frame - like gypsum board or MDF. Then fill the frame with rock wool & cover with fabric. Add some handles to the sides to make it easy to install and remove. You will need to seal the edges with weather stripping. Detail is important and it must seal perfectly. If you do this with care, you will be very happy with the results.

For room acoustics;
Mixing: You need a position in the room that is symmetrical. Absorption panels at all reflections points (Get my First Reflection Calculator here for help with placement). Ceiling & side walls. Make the rear wall absorptive. You can add diffusion if the back wall is further than about 10 feet or 3 meters.
Recording: Rule of thumb; Never let untreated surfaces face each other. This can also be applied to mixing/listening rooms but symmetry must prevail.

More good articles at GIK and Realtraps.

Cheers,
John
 
jhbrandt said:
Rigid insulation will not sound proof. It will dampen the resonance of the window so that it's resonance will change.

You will need to add mass to the window side of the frame - like gypsum board or MDF. Then fill the frame with rock wool & cover with fabric. Add some handles to the sides to make it easy to install and remove. You will need to seal the edges with weather stripping. Detail is important and it must seal perfectly. If you do this with care, you will be very happy with the results.

For room acoustics;
Mixing: You need a position in the room that is symmetrical. Absorption panels at all reflections points (Get my First Reflection Calculator here for help with placement). Ceiling & side walls. Make the rear wall absorptive. You can add diffusion if the back wall is further than about 10 feet or 3 meters.
Recording: Rule of thumb; Never let untreated surfaces face each other. This can also be applied to mixing/listening rooms but symmetry must prevail.

More good articles at GIK and Realtraps.

Cheers,
John
Click to expand...

Thanks for the window Idea, that was along the lines I was thinking but you added some Ideas I hadnt thourght about :)

As for the symmetry, Its hard to explain but the only way I could arrange the room to have a mix position like that, It would mean getting rid of my bed :(

I have been thinking about buying one of those cheapish kits wth some diffusers and bass traps. I think my room is quite balenced, maybe needs a little drying up and is a little bass heavy.
Just wanted some advice on minamal yet effective treatment. Untill I grow up and have my own space, I am limited with what I can do.
 
A corner of the room really is the worst possible mix position as your mix (to your ears) at that position will be bass heavy. If possible I would recommend a position about 1/3 the room length from the wall you are facing. I have no idea of your monitor situation so these are just general recommendations. Longest walls would be to your left and right. As far as diffusers you can make them cheap yourself from Owens Corning 2" rigid insulation, some type of rigid backing to glue it to, and non-shiny fabric to cover the insulation. Panel sizes would be about 2' wide by 4' tall. Just lightly stretch the fabric over insulation and staple to backside of rigid backing. I can honestly say these homemade panels work miracles. Place about 3 of them spaced apart on the wall behind you and about 4 of them spaced apart on the wall either to your left or right. No need to do both sides. Remember your mix position doesn't have to be permanent. You can move things around when needed then put them back.
 
benherron.rrr said:
Thanks for the window Idea, that was along the lines I was thinking but you added some Ideas I hadnt thourght about :)

As for the symmetry, Its hard to explain but the only way I could arrange the room to have a mix position like that, It would mean getting rid of my bed :(

I have been thinking about buying one of those cheapish kits wth some diffusers and bass traps. I think my room is quite balenced, maybe needs a little drying up and is a little bass heavy.
Just wanted some advice on minamal yet effective treatment. Untill I grow up and have my own space, I am limited with what I can do.
Click to expand...
Can you provide us with a plan of your room?
 
pandamonk said:
Can you provide us with a plan of your room?
Click to expand...

I would love to, and I was going to but I dont know how to post pics on here.
Would I have to draw one then host it onling and attach it here? or is there a way to post it from my comp?
 
benherron.rrr said:
I would love to, and I was going to but I dont know how to post pics on here.
Would I have to draw one then host it onling and attach it here? or is there a way to post it from my comp?
Click to expand...
You can draw one in paint (something like the one below), good idea to save as .png, then scroll down to the Attach Files section when composing a post.
 

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There you go. the drawing isn't too accurate but the measurements are nearly on the dot (its a very old house so every wall varies a little)
in the picture it appears I could rearange my bed but it is in the most practical place to put it without covering my window (being single glazed it gets very cold) or the radiator. and it wont fit where the wall dips in near my fire place. for a better feeling of the size.
 

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Right off the bat I can tell you that your desk and monitors are in probably the worst place they can be. Ideally, you'd want them where your bed is, about 1/3 of the way into the room away from the wall.
 
How about moving the wardrobe over to where your tv is and using you tv as your pc monitor? You could also use your studio monitors for better sound with your tv. Add bass traps in all the corners you can, including ceiling corners, treat first reflection points and get a big cushiony headboard for your bed. This is quite similar to my bedroom, only I have a bay window. I'd set up like this...
 

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pandamonk said:
How about moving the wardrobe over to where your tv is and using you tv as your pc monitor? You could also use your studio monitors for better sound with your tv. Add bass traps in all the corners you can, including ceiling corners, treat first reflection points and get a big cushiony headboard for your bed. This is quite similar to my bedroom, only I have a bay window. I'd set up like this...
Click to expand...

That aint a half bad Idea! Id love to do some mixing on a night while laid in bed!!
 
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