Boxy sound?

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harley96

harley96

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I have a isolation booth approximately 8ft square and it sounds really boxy or small.I have thin foam on all the walls to cut down on reflections and thin carpeting on the floor.I know I need to work on the corners to cut down on bass buildup and to get rid of parrallel walls.The foam is approximately 1/8 in. thick 4x8 sheets with adhesive backing.There fireproof and intended to be used on the inside of engine compartments to prevent fires but my buddie hooked me up with quite a few panels and they are better than nothing.It does cut down on reflections but when I record dry you can almost tell that it's being recorded in a very small room.What do you think I need to do to help the acoustics of this room.When you record dry is it supposed to feel like your in a box then add artificial delay and reverb to make it sound bigger and more natural?:confused:
 
The only way to get a bigger room sound when recording in a tiny room, is to GET A BIGGER ROOM!!! ;) Actually, I'm serious...! :)

But for your situation now I think the best you'll be able to is to deaden the small space as much as possible and use outboard verb to create the ambience you want.

1/8" foam is not going to be very helpful -- try some Sonex or Auralex - it will go a long way to cutting down on the fast, early reflections that are causing your boxiness.

Bruce
 
Thanks Bruce,I plan on buying some auralex panels in the near future.Yes, they are expensive but so is everything else when it comes to recording.
 
Harley,

Have a good read (if you already haven't) of John Sayers post on wall treatment and also the thread on best value acoustic stuff/thingie (sorry I cant remember the exact title.....lol).

Both threads are strongly in favour of rigid fibreglass sheet as opposed to acoustic foams, and the fibreglass is a damned sight cheaper.

ChrisO :cool:
 
Ausrock,Yeah I've had the opportunity to read the threads from John Sayers regarding rigid fiberglass and I'm considering using it along with auralex bass traps. I am always looking for affordable ways to improve the acoustics of my recording environment.Thanks again,Greg
 
i've got a lot of 2" and 4" rigid fiberglass in my studio. i covered it with polyester batting. but, unless you live in a big city, you may have trouble finding it. i had to travel to Atlanta to get mine.

you won't need 100% coverage in your sound booth. actually you probably won't need much at all, if its of the right makeup. i'd probably get rid of the treatments you have now. thin treatments only handle high frequencies and do not touch middle and lower.

also, since you stated that it sounds boxy, the offending frequencies are probably lower mid 300 to 600Hz and you may have an early reflection problem. your thin treatments are not helping these at all. you need thicker treatments. 1/8" foam will do no good for these frequencies. also, you'll only need to sparcely cover two of the walls.

as a starting place, consider 2" thick 2ftx2ft blocks 2" out from the wall and about 40% coverage on two walls non-parallel. the 2" standout will extend lower frequency cutoff point considerably.

one other point, splaying walls does not considerably help room modes and reflections. just correctly treat the parallel walls you have.

-kp-
 
Don't forget that the ceiling is in fact the closest surface to you when you are standing doing vocals and therefore is the first reflection. Make sure you treat that area above you.

Your room modes will be 70.6Hz, 141.25Hz, 211.8Hz, 282.5Hz. which are the modes of 8Ft.

cheers
John
 
Again, thanks so much for all the solid advice concerning my problem and I am going to use this new aquired knowledge to hopefully improve the acoustics of my isolation room and my control room.Greg
 
I know it's not even close to sounding like being in a bigger room, but you could deaden the room and use reverb FX. Not that great of an idea though and I know I'll get flamed for suggesting it.
 
hpn....

it's not a bad idea at all and I suggested it near the top of this thread!

;)

Bruce
 
Sounds so better!!

Well, after a month of sitting on my ass I finally decided to buy a couple auralex bass traps and one 24"x48" flat auralex panel for the ceiling and wow what a difference this made.From what I can tell it has helped elimate early reflections if not totally deadened the room.I also have other existing treatments on the walls and along with $70.00 worth of auralex foam I can tell already that my iso booth is going to be much more manageable.In the future I'm going to add rigid fiberglass when I build my permanent control room and Isolation booths.:D
 
Harley96 - if you keep an eye on Guruland I will be doing a vocal booth in the construction.

Kev's bought one of those DX3600 Kodak digital cameras which we've got plugged in to our puters and I'm living on site so I will be feeding photo after photo onto the site showing all the detailing and the building progression. :)

cheers
John
 
John, Wow definitely looking forward to updates as it takes shape.Thanks again,Greg
 
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