Anybody in an apartment have foam put up?

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quietb03

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Just wondering because I have an apartment and wondering should I invest in some foam to put up to help stop some of the reverb on my vocals.... I might use the temp tabs if I do get some so I dont mess the walls up.
 
in my old apartment I deadned a whole room to record hip-hop music, so I can't see why not.... I also used some temp tabs to put em up. You though, would probably need just some 2x2 pieces put up in different spots of your room, not all over.
 
Yup- acoustic foam will help.

So will tacking extra blankets and sleeping bags to the wall. Not as well, but you might want to try that first before shelling out for the expensive foam.

Take care,
Chris
 
Mostly just for my own bodily protection....
Seriously though, remember that you can go too far with just absorbing the higher frequencies... a big problem many home recordists have in less-than-perfect conditions is a build up of bass which can't be detected by the old 'clapping' test, and which blankets, etc will do nothing to help. For that, you need bass traps... there's a lot better advice on the subject than I could ever give in the "studio building" forum on here, or on this great site http://www.realtraps.com/ by one of our own BBS members, Ethan.
 
im going to be doing some acoustic treatment to my room/studio/basement. i think im going to put the foam up with velcro because when i move out (my parents house) im taking those expensive little pieces of foam with me! i dont have the concern of messing up the walls, because its nothing special to mess up... i pretty much slapped a light onto the cieling and painted sheetrock and called it a studio.. didnt even spackle. plus theres nothing on the other side of the wall, ie no insulation/sheetrock, just a whole bunch of crap leaned up against it.
 
you can get some cheap foam at www.foambymail.com despite the price, their foam are the same quality as auralex foam. I bought a whole buncha auralex foam that covered a whole wall, and then found out about foambymail by a friend, and bought some to cover some more w/ bass traps, and they work well.
 
Mindset,

> you can get some cheap foam at www.foambymail.com despite the price, their foam are the same quality as auralex foam. <

Sorry, no, that's not true. What Foam By Mail sells is not even acoustic foam. It's packing foam. It might look the same as Auralex foam, but it's not nearly as good for acoustic uses. If you'd like to see a direct comparison done in an acoustics lab (IBM), see the second graph on this page of my company's web site:

www.realtraps.com/data.htm

This is not to say that putting a bunch of FBM foam on your walls won't change the sound, because it will. But in this case you really do get what you pay for. :eek:

--Ethan
 
Ethan, how do think their bass traps would do for a smaller home studio? Would you recommend something like this for someone on a small budget?
 
Foambymail is a weird company. I purchased 48 pieces of 2'' foam for 50$ (includes shipping). You do get what you pay for, meaning once i did a quick test on a piece, I wished I had boughten Auralex. After a week, I realized that I liked what it was doing for me. It is very cheap foam that cuts down echo. You receive twice as much foam than you would from auralex and they give you freebies. I liked foambymail for one reason and that is because you receive a lot for a little which means the little that it does coems in a big number which means it can do somethign good for you if used properly. The main reason I have appreciated my foambymail purchase is that since it is cheap, it doesnt absorb as much as auralex, which means it wont completely suck out all of the highs in your room.
 
foam for walls

I just completed my studio. I ran across some slabs for foam 2" thick and they are 80" by 90" . one piece will stand alone around a corner by itself . I have about 7 or 8 slabs left if you are close to NC can make a great deal. If not, sorry, no way to ship the large slabs. it interested, let me know. This foam would cost about 100.00 a slab. I got it for 50.
 
Auralex is just so damn expensive! Then again everything in this field is. I did get a free blueprint of how I should arrange my room and what treatment I should use free from auralex.
 
> it doesnt absorb as much as auralex, which means it wont completely suck out all of the highs in your room. <

Right, but for bass trapping FBM is a very poor choice because it simply doesn't work well enough. Also, a room usually sounds better with good absorption in fewer places (checkerboard pattern or stripes), versus poor absorption all over the walls and ceiling. So to me this comparison of FBM and Auralex is sort of like the joke: "The food at that diner sucks, but they give you really big portions." :D

--Ethan
 
Help on my rooms layout

Hi everyone,

I have attached a gif that shows the room I use for my studio. I know it's small, but it's all I have at the present.

The room is 9'x10' and ceiling height is 8'. The room is carpeted and as you can see there is little room to move things around.

The only thing I will be recording is my voice, or perhaps 2 voices at a time. All of my other tracks will be created in Sonar with Soft Synths so I won't be tracking bass, drums, keyboards or guitars in this room. With the mic so close to the keyboard it works out well to play and track scratch vocals at the same time and I can stop and start the recording myself. This is of course where I will also be mixing.

I've read many articles on the web about acoustic treatments but I think this one by Ethan Winer is the best overall. But, even after reading it I still would like some input on how best to treat my small room. Also, I need to mention that there is a ceiling fan in the middle and being that it is very warm in this room, it is used all the time except when I'm recording vocals. I would need any treatment ideas on the ceiling to accomodate this. Also, the only outside noise is at the door and at the window.

I do understand how to make my own panels and have starting researching where to buy what. I just don't want to make any mistakes in where to put it!

At present I have only a nice tapestry hanging behind the speakers and would like to try to incorporate it somehow in the design.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

Earl Green
 
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