Acoustic treatment - don't know where to start

[guitarplayr82]

I know next to nothing about acoustic treatment so I'm hoping somebody here can help me come up with a good treatment plan for my room. I'm in a bedroom studio that measures 11 x 9 feet, however, we're going to be remodeling soon and will end up moving a wall (the right wall in the diagram below) to make the room 11 x 11. Here's a really rough sketch of the room:



I generally use this room for mixing and tracking vocals, acoustic guitar, and live guitar amps. A lot of bass gets trapped in the lower right corner near the door.

So what are my options? I'm open for moving some furniture around to make the space better, but it's a pretty small room so there's only so much moving I can do. I'm also up for building bass traps, etc. I don't really have a budget for treatment, but I'd like to get the best results for the least amount of money.


Grrr... sorry for the extra attached images.

 

[Ethan Winer]

I know next to nothing about acoustic treatment so I'm hoping somebody here can help me come up with a good treatment plan for my room.

Rectangle rooms are easy. Start here:

Acoustic Basics

--Ethan

 

[guitarplayr82]

Rectangle rooms are easy. Start here:

Acoustic Basics

--Ethan

Thanks, that's a good start. So do you think my first step should be to put bass traps in all my corners?

 

[Capt Hair]

Thanks, that's a good start. So do you think my first step should be to put bass traps in all my corners?

Yep, taming the low end is the first big challenge. Everything is important of course, bass traps are just a good place to start.

Also just a helpful hint for mixing. It's not a good idea to have your desk in a corner like it is. Think about it, sound is hitting the closest wall before the other and bouncing back to your ears. You want to have your desk centered on the wall.

 

[homestudioguy]

After you expand your room:
Move your bed so that it sits left to right against the "the top wall"
Center your mixing desk against "the right wall" between the top and bottom walls.
Leave the dresser approximately where it is on "the left wall".

I’d suggest 3-4 2ft X 4ft panels of 4” thick compressed fiberglass on “the right wall” behind your mixing desk and I’d do the same on “the left wall” directly across from the panels on the right wall.
You’ll need more acoustic material including bass traps to get your room to a decent mode to record and mix in, however, I highly suggest you read the Ethan Winer Acoustic info using the link you were provided above to get a better idea of where to go from there.
There is a lot of reading to do there BUT, that reading will give you really good and rather quick education AND you'll definitely get some good ideas.

 

[guitarplayr82]

Thanks for all the great info, guys! Good news: I just talked the remodeling situation over with my family and it looks like I will have the option to move into a bigger room (11 x 15 ft) that will allow me to better place my console. Here's a quick mock-up:



In the picture the console is firing down the long way (15 ft) of the room. I will have the option to get hard wood flooring in this room (yes or no?) and I'll be able to do acoustic treatment on the ceiling if I wanted. The (red) door swings into the room, so it might be tough to do treatment in that corner. I don't necessarily need to have a door to the closet, so if it makes it easier to put treatment in the lower right corner then I can do without a closet door. If dealing with the two lower corners is too tough because of the doors, then I can always put the console centered along the bottom wall, firing "up" towards the top wall.

So... any new opinions after looking at this new room design? Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Capt Hair]

Well what you can do is make panel bass traps and stick them on stands so they're portable, so when ever you need them you can move them into position in the corners.



There's somebody on here or gearslutz that rigged up a little rail system that they hung bass traps from so they could easily slide them in and out of the corners when they needed them. Hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about and can link it.

Hard woods would definitely help liven up the room. And putting a cloud panel above the mixing position is a good idea as well.

 

[RAMI]

Move your bed so that it sits left to right against the "the top wall"
Center your mixing desk against "the right wall" between the top and bottom walls.
.

Why would you say that? His speakers should be shooting the length of the room. You're telling him to go against the long wall and shoot the speakers to the wall close behind him.

OP, read Ethan's article. He knows what he's talking about. Your speakers should be against the TOP wall shooting down the LENGTH of the room. Just move your bed and you'll be able to center your desk, which is already in the right place except that it needs to be centered on that wall.

 

[homestudioguy]

Why would you say that? His speakers should be shooting the length of the room. You're telling him to go against the long wall and shoot the speakers to the wall close behind him.

OP, read Ethan's article. He knows what he's talking about. Your speakers should be against the TOP wall shooting down the LENGTH of the room. Just move your bed and you'll be able to center your desk, which is already in the right place except that it needs to be centered on that wall.

If you would have read his posts and my comments correctly, you would have seen that I made this suggestion when, initially, his room was going to be expanded from 11ft X 9 ft as shown in his diagram, to 11ft X 11ft (ie a square room) as he spoke of in those earlier posts.
Now that he is moving to an 11ft X 15 ft room, it would only make sense to fire the speakers length-wise.
In an 11ft X 11ft room there is, essentially, no "length-wise" so centering his desk and getting acoustic material up in front of him and behind him would still be a priority as a starting point, IMO.

 

[RAMI]

If you would have read his posts and my comments correctly, .........

Yeah, I missed that, sorry. Don't wet your knickers, it's no big deal.

 

[guitarplayr82]

Well what you can do is make panel bass traps and stick them on stands so they're portable, so when ever you need them you can move them into position in the corners.

View attachment 69505

There's somebody on here or gearslutz that rigged up a little rail system that they hung bass traps from so they could easily slide them in and out of the corners when they needed them. Hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about and can link it.

Hard woods would definitely help liven up the room. And putting a cloud panel above the mixing position is a good idea as well.

The idea of that portable trap sounds really good.

 

[guitarplayr82]

So would hard wood flooring be good, even since this will be the mixing room? Or is carpet best for mixing environments?

I'm still conflicted about how to set up the new room model. Would it be much of a problem to have the console firing "down" the room as shown in the most recent sketch I posted? Or would the various doors/closets become a problem for treatment?

 

[guitarplayr82]

Bump, anyone?

 

[Capt Hair]

So would hard wood flooring be good, even since this will be the mixing room? Or is carpet best for mixing environments?

I'm still conflicted about how to set up the new room model. Would it be much of a problem to have the console firing "down" the room as shown in the most recent sketch I posted? Or would the various doors/closets become a problem for treatment?

Hardwoods would be ideal, then you have rugs as spot treatment one at your mixing position and then one farther back at the back of the room.

You do want the sound to be going down the longest part of your room, as pictured in your most recent sketch up. Closets and windows shouldn't be that big of an issue.

 

[guitarplayr82]

You do want the sound to be going down the longest part of your room, as pictured in your most recent sketch up. Closets and windows shouldn't be that big of an issue.

Okay, but would it be better to avoid the closets and windows by firing from the other end of the room, so the speakers were pointing straight "up" the room model and the back of the console was against the big black space at the bottom?

 

[Capt Hair]

Okay, but would it be better to avoid the closets and windows by firing from the other end of the room, so the speakers were pointing straight "up" the room model and the back of the console was against the big black space at the bottom?

I don't think so, you would have some early reflections right where the windows and doors are, which you CAN work around if your really wanted to do it that way. At least on the other side there's a little more room, having a larger section of side wall and THEN the window. Either way it still might be a good idea to throw up some curtains.