Are my room acoustics acceptable?

[AndyDenyer]

I've made a recording the other day (first one, and I'm 16 so don't expect anything special), and here is a link:
YouTube - Home Recording Project
I haven't made an effort to improve acoustics, because I don't know if its necessary, hence this thread.

 

[Massive Master]

I can all but guarantee that you're short at least a dozen broadband panels. It's *always* necessary.

Well, I suppose I can't say "always" as I've not been in every single room in the world. But I can tell you that every single room of typical design I've ever been in needed at least a dozen broadband panels just to make a dent in the low end problems. I have around 35 in here and I really have no issues with adding more. It only gets better (unlike foam, where it only gets worse if the low end isn't under control).

 

[jotangent]

Take a look at this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1982-08.pdf

The math is a bit daunting but the design is sound and can be made with limited woodworking skill. Measurements are in cm not inches. The cross section on page 9 shows the basic concept. There are a raft of other articles covering all manner of useful traps with loads of real world data they colected here.

BBC - R&D - Publications - RD Reports

There are a few acoustics documents for each decade starting from the 70's. Remember if you are making a resonating membrane trap like the one in the first example the back part of the trap needs to be air tight (even though they go and drill a hole in it by the end)

 

[Massive Master]

He could go with a dozen GIK 244's also and not have to take physics lessons...

 

[moresound]

He could go with a dozen GIK 244's also and not have to take physics lessons...

Make that 70 broadband panels.

 

[jotangent]

I agree with the physics bit, I am a bit of a nerd, but if you just take what they say as read and make the things you will get Led Zep or Joani M live at the BBC sound for a fraction of the price of comercial products and have the satisfaction of making something with your own hands. Just skip the bits with greek looking symbols. These guys tested these things, you will have heard the results, they go to quite some lengthhs to prove the acuracy too so you can be sure you are getting what they say you are.

I have recorded at big BBC sound stages and I can tell you, a room the size of a modest aircraft hanger can be totaly dead if you whack 300 of these up in it.

 

[jotangent]

I agree with the physics bit, I am a bit of a nerd, but if you just take what they say as read and make the things you will get Led Zep or Joani M live at the BBC sound for a fraction of the price of comercial products and have the satisfaction of making something with your own hands. Just skip the bits with greek looking symbols. These guys tested these things, you will have heard the results, they go to quite some lengthhs to prove the acuracy too so you can be sure you are getting what they say you are.

I have recorded at big BBC sound stages and I can tell you, a room the size of a modest aircraft hanger can be totaly dead if you whack 300 of these up in it.

A case in point
YouTube - Rock and Roll Doctor - Little Feat

shoddy digital reproduction but gives you an idea of the setup these things where designed for, big space and sounds like a record.

 

[GassyEmu]

props on the recording! sounded alot better than my first one

 

[Greg_L]

Holy crap on a crap cracker! Who set those drums up? I'm not typically a setup nazi, but those tom and ride angles have got to go. The pounds of duct tape aint helping either.

 

[jotangent]

Holy crap on a crap cracker! Who set those drums up? I'm not typically a setup nazi, but those tom and ride angles have got to go. The pounds of duct tape aint helping either.

Afraid I have to agree, take the back heads of all of the drums (not the snare obviously) That will stop some of the ringing, then tune them properly. Also, not sure what mics you used for the overheads but they arent doing anything to flatter the sound of the kit. If you are starting out and dont have much space I would advise against 2 overhead mics. Just use one, it will sound a ton better. With 2 mics stuck up either side of the kit when its in corner like that, you are never going to get a nice sound. Now that you have recorded it with 2, try reversing the phase (normally a little button with a circle with a diagonal stripe thoughh it) of the kick and other drums to see if it helps the sound. Drums are notorious for phase issues. Another thing you should do is put a gate on all of the close mic drums, this will turn them off when you arent hitting them so any phase problems will be minimised. Play with the release and hold functions to get the desired ammount of ring from the drum.

Otherwise, a good effort my young friend, keep it up, as other posts have said, way better than my first attempts. I didnt have the internet back then to help me either so your stuff will be way ahead of where I was at 17, 18.

Keep it up )

 

[Greg_L]

Afraid I have to agree, take the back heads of all of the drums

I certainly don't agree with that unless you want your drums to have that crappy wet cardboard sound of the 70's.

 

[jotangent]

Just a way to get a reasonable sound in a tight space with drums that need a ton of duckt tape, of course it will impair the sound in a boxy 70's way which I kind of like but wouldnt advise for this kind of music. I do find that a kick drum always tracks better without a back head though. Maybe its my old ears.

 

[AndyDenyer]

Afraid I have to agree, take the back heads of all of the drums (not the snare obviously) That will stop some of the ringing, then tune them properly. Also, not sure what mics you used for the overheads but they arent doing anything to flatter the sound of the kit. If you are starting out and dont have much space I would advise against 2 overhead mics. Just use one, it will sound a ton better. With 2 mics stuck up either side of the kit when its in corner like that, you are never going to get a nice sound. Now that you have recorded it with 2, try reversing the phase (normally a little button with a circle with a diagonal stripe thoughh it) of the kick and other drums to see if it helps the sound. Drums are notorious for phase issues. Another thing you should do is put a gate on all of the close mic drums, this will turn them off when you arent hitting them so any phase problems will be minimised. Play with the release and hold functions to get the desired ammount of ring from the drum.

Otherwise, a good effort my young friend, keep it up, as other posts have said, way better than my first attempts. I didnt have the internet back then to help me either so your stuff will be way ahead of where I was at 17, 18.

Keep it up )

Most of the tracks are gated, and I made sure all the mics were facing the same way, so phasing shouldn't be an issue. Also I only used the floor tom, so I took the other two tracks out. I didn't put much of a gate on the floor tom though because I didn't want to ruin the crescendos. The kick drum was a problem, as you can see in the vid, because I don't have any mic stands left so I had to put it on the pillow. The hi-hat... well you can see it at 1:02. No way to get a good sound out of that, I think, but new ones are on the way for Christmas. As for the overheads, it was basically guess work. I should look up overhead placement, I saw a video once but forgot it. They did sound bad though so I put them pretty low in the mix. The duct tape... I bought by kit second hand from someone in my school. It came with the duct tape. He went a bit overkill with it lol. Thanks for the feedback, I'll apply some of these tips on my next project which should be after Christmas, when I get my new hi-hats, crash and acoustic guitar.

 

[machinetodd]

Although all of the advice given on here is solid, I just had to say that for 16 years old and doing it all yourself, I think you did an amazing job.

Sure there is room for a lot of improvement, but Id love to hear what you turn out 10 years from now!

 

[buzzard bass]

Although all of the advice given on here is solid, I just had to say that for 16 years old and doing it all yourself, I think you did an amazing job.

Sure there is room for a lot of improvement, but Id love to hear what you turn out 10 years from now!

Agree, kudos to you mate.