Alt accoustics/matress and gun case foam?

[deathonacraker]

Hey everyone. noobie here. I've had several very cheap "recording studios" over the past 10 years or so never really digging into the technical aspects of home studio recording (and how it's showed!). well, I'm now moved into a new house with a really cool recording space. (see pics). well i have a small space left to the right of this to put some acoustic paneling on two walls and a ceiling. the problem is the cost!

Well, this afternoon I went by a sporting goods store closing and they had gun case foam (egg shell crate style) on clearance for around $30 for 72x 30x2 sheets. it is almost exactly like the mattress foam you can get for extra padding. i was wondering if it was worth picking up to use to line my walls for acoustics when recording vocals and acoustic guitars or is it made completely different than real acoustic paneling?

second questions is about mic placement. in the picture the right side is what I'm working with. as you see the ceiling curves up. i have from the window over to work with. should the mic go against the walls, maybe in the corner, with the padding behind it or away from the wall into the open space with my back against the paneling and a small bit of paneling behind the mic?

Thanks in advance!

Tony

 

[dodgeaspen]

I see no reason why that wouldn't work for you.

 

[Massive Master]

Far too lightweight, probably decent and sucking up around 5-8kHz (I have yet to be in a room with issues at 5-8kHz).

You're going to have substantial low end issues (as every single standard construction room does). Always, always, ALWAYS start with the low end. Foam is for "touch ups" - Not for treatment. Especially ultra-light packing foam (which is worthless for most everything - except packing).

Mic placement? Always away from the corner (preferably, out in the room), always with a good amount of broadband trapping (again, no foam) in that corner.

 

[deathonacraker]

thanks guys. I'm getting mixed signals on this post. on other posts i see people stating it works and on others they are saying it doesn't. what to do, what to do?

 

[oretez]

thanks guys. I'm getting mixed signals on this post. on other posts i see people stating it works and on others they are saying it doesn't. what to do, what to do?

as mentioned in other post . . . there is no scientific support for packing foam to be of much use in acoustically treating a room for use as a recording venue

'what to do' . . . read a book then you decide, effectively, before you buy stuff expend effort on things that do not work

 

[Massive Master]

"What to do" is to start with the low end. All the time, every time, absolutely positively no exceptions, period.

90% of the problematic energy in just about any room is going to be in the low end. And again, packing foam is packing foam. Not nearly massive enough for any reasonable effectiveness - except maybe in the high end.

Take away the high end in a room without adequate treatment in the low end and you get mud. If you want good quality and almost illegally inexpensive acoustic foam, look no further than Auralex. It's cheap as hell for the quality and it does a helluva job on the high end. Still, it's foam - It's a 'touch up' to an already well-treated space.

 

[shnj]

How to measure teh room's acoustics pre treatment?

Are there any computer programs out there that can generate tone and also capture and analyze to to permit sonic analysis of a room? Ideally public domain?

Thanks
Chris

 

[Massive Master]

Look for RoomEQWizard. That's decent software.

Of course, measurement mics, preamps that are accurate enough to process the information - None of that is public domain.

 

[Lethalxbeats]

I bought foam for my home studio from this place-

http://www.foambymail.com/Products.html

 

[Massive Master]

Is it too late to return it...?

 

[j_tofflemire]

Is it too late to return it...?

Hi I am new here and I wanted to get some foam for a studio I am building, what is wrong with foambymail? Where should I get some from if not them.

 

[Massive Master]

Auralex is ridiculously cheap for acoustic foam... Probably around half (maybe even less) of the nicer stuff (and unlike so many other 'budget-friendly' foam treatments, Auralex is actually reasonably effective (at absorbing high end - which is what foam does).

THAT SAID: And I'm sure I'll go to my grave yelling about this -

You don't need foam. Maybe a sheet or two. Throwing foam up all over the walls makes things considerably worse if the space can't handle the low end.

I've yet to be: (A) in a room of typical construction that didn't require a reasonable application of broadband treatment for the horrible low end problems inherent in literally every typical room. (B) In a room *with* a decent amount of broadband trapping that actually needed more than a sheet or two of foam (if any - and just to control any erroneous comb filtering which weren't tackled by the broadband absorbption).

There are three very important, absolutely vital rules to room treatment:

1) Always start with the low end.
2) Low end - Always start with.
3) Start with the low end ALWAYS.

There are no exceptions that I've found, ever, period.

 

[j_tofflemire]

Auralex is ridiculously cheap for acoustic foam... Probably around half (maybe even less) of the nicer stuff (and unlike so many other 'budget-friendly' foam treatments, Auralex is actually reasonably effective (at absorbing high end - which is what foam does).

THAT SAID: And I'm sure I'll go to my grave yelling about this -

You don't need foam. Maybe a sheet or two. Throwing foam up all over the walls makes things considerably worse if the space can't handle the low end.

I've yet to be: (A) in a room of typical construction that didn't require a reasonable application of broadband treatment for the horrible low end problems inherent in literally every typical room. (B) In a room *with* a decent amount of broadband trapping that actually needed more than a sheet or two of foam (if any - and just to control any erroneous comb filtering which weren't tackled by the broadband absorbption).

There are three very important, absolutely vital rules to room treatment:

1) Always start with the low end.
2) Low end - Always start with.
3) Start with the low end ALWAYS.

There are no exceptions that I've found, ever, period.

I have been doing a lot of reading and I have a question. Are the FBM good for the wall area's and use that 703 fiberglass stuff for corners?

Also how do you make the 703 look nice after, would you build a frame and use cloth over it?

Also if there a section where I can find peoples home made studio's?

 

[Massive Master]

Again, I'd avoid the FBM stuff like it was on fire. Cheap foam = Auralex.


I don't think many people actually understand how inexpensive Auralex is... And how crappy and useless cheap, cheesy, ultra-low-density foam is. Auralex is one of those rare occasions where "cheap" actually = "good" - But I know soooo many people who throw their money away trying to get even cheaper and winding up with a load of uselessness.

But I digress.

Anyway - Cloth-wrapped 703 is a wonderful thing. Maybe a dozen, maybe 16 4" panels will put a nice dent in almost any typical room. After that, I'd doubt that you'd need any foam anyway.

BIG rooms - with huge wall space (and tons of broadband trapping already). That's where foam comes in handy.



(EDIT)

Holy cats... I just visited the FBM site (first time in a long time) and they actually call it soundproofing foam...? I don't want to be a stickler, but that's like calling "paint" "Drywall." The two really have nothing to do with each other.

And a link I haven't seen in a while that might be of some interest... http://www.realtraps.com/data.htm

 

[Chili]

Also how do you make the 703 look nice after, would you build a frame and use cloth over it?

Also if there a section where I can find peoples home made studio's?

Look at the Studio Build forum on this site. Do a search for 703. One of the threads that come up will be mine where I show how I hung mine on the wall.

Studio Build forum here:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?f=20