Do you need foam??

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seancfc

seancfc

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Do you need foam to get your recording to sound good? or does it just help a little? I don't mean studio foam. That is obvious that it helps!! but just basic home recording?
 
You need acoustic treatment to be able to accurately hear what is coming out of your monitors. You also need it to correct acoustic problems in your recording space.

Foam is not the best form of acoustic treatment.

So, no, you don't need foam. You do need proper acoustic treatment.
 
Massive Master said:
I'm even more confused than when I glanced over it the first time...
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Yeah, I'm totally lost as well.....

My personal opinion in a nutshell; all foam sucks for anything but insulation, shaving cream, or comfort in furniture. Use products that actually give a benefit in cost/performance ratio. Just cuz something looks cool, does not make it the best choice. At least not the first choice. 'Studio foam' has it's place for spot treatments, but not as the starting point for treating a room.
 
You can lean mattresses up against the wall...


Seriously... It depends what you are trying to achieve.. if you space needs acoustical treatment then look online and ebay for decent prices... not your local guitar center etc... do not try to use bed pads or egg cartons...
 
jimmys69 said:
Yeah, I'm totally lost as well.....

My personal opinion in a nutshell; all foam sucks for anything but insulation, shaving cream, or comfort in furniture. Use products that actually give a benefit in cost/performance ratio. Just cuz something looks cool, does not make it the best choice. At least not the first choice. 'Studio foam' has it's place for spot treatments, but not as the starting point for treating a room.
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lol ok thanks. you answered my question :) I'm not going to rush in to getting foam now.
 
seancfc said:
well.. studio foam costs a lot of money. normal foam is different. I'm asking do I need it? and, does normal foam work?
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Actual, good-quality, open-celled acoustic foam is just short of worthless, but has at least some acoustic value. Packing foam, mattresses, etc., more or less just plain worthless. If you're looking for ridiculously inexpensive and relatively effective (as far as acoustic foam is concerned), look at Auralex. Quality stuff at a fraction of the cost of the "higher end" stuff. Still, putting acoustic foam up in a room with no broadband treatment is like polishing a car that has no paint - because it has no body panels - because it has no frame yet.

Don't get me wrong - Proper room treatment is absolutely vital -- But it's the broadband treatment that makes the big impact. Foam is a nice "tweak" to a room that's already in decent shape.
 
seancfc said:
well.. studio foam costs a lot of money. normal foam is different. I'm asking do I need it? and, does normal foam work?
Click to expand...
Normal foam and studio foam are two different things. (open celled vs. closed cell) Normal foam has no sound deadening properties at all and is quite flammable.

Studio foam does have sound deadening properties, but really only in the high end, which is not where most rooms have their acoustic problems. So, for the most part, foam is a complete waste of money.

Look into rigid fiberglass bass traps. These give you the biggest band for the buck acoustic treatment.
 
I would spend time reading up on sound reinforcement before buying anything.
I have a book on sound reinforcement and it's so mathematically and scientifically complex (for me at least) it makes my head spin. I'm sure there are basic guidelines that anyone can follow, but it's not as cut and dry as just adding material. I mean, the first question I would be asking is where do you put the material? ...whether it be foam, wood, carpet, fiberglass, sand..(in the walls). The type of materials are probably a direct correlation to the size and surfaces found in the environment.
 
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