egg cartons and carpet (yes, more)

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shackrock

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I've read through most the posts here....but i figured maybe i can get a consensus about it here:

1st - with egg cartons, is it the shape that makes everything sound better? or the styrophome? can i use the cardboard egg cartons? if it is that shape that does it, can i use plastic "planters" that have that same shape?
2nd - basically, i should just cover everything with egg cartons right? any wall/ceiling.
3rd - why carpet, and not egg cartons? can i mix and match?


so really - what can i use and where do i put it in my basement, to get a not bad sound.
I have a vocal booth already that is covered with egg cartons and carpet. and then my drums are in just my basement - which is huge. could i put up some kind of temporary wood wall around the set? and cover that with cartons/carpet? really im open for any and all suggestions.
 
Egg cartons will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help room acoustics -- look into acoustic treatments by Sonex, Auralex, amongst others for usable sonic treatment................

Bruce
 
well what about carpet?

and otherwise...where can i get something cheap that does the job?
 
Carpet and egg cartons do little if anything to help achieve "good" sound. They may vary the reflections at certain frequencies BUT will not "improve" the sound.
Consider making some moveable panels of Rockwool insulation in a timber frame covered with fabric, that way you can move them around the room to the necessary positions. You may also find it necessary to build some form af bass trap in the corners.

ChrisO :cool:
 
I say if you don't know what acoustic treatment you need, you probably don't need any at all. It will make absolutely no difference to you if you dont know what it is and what it does.
 
if you want to know anything about creating better acoustics for your room, try this website...


http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html


It was written by John "Put a shrimp on the barby!" Sayers, and the SAE, in a desparate attempt to buy all audio knowledge to sell it on at a price, bought it off him (at least thats the story I heard)


It's a bible for any engineer. Go read it, and then come back. :)


oh, and while i remember. Egg boxes won't work because of howthick the cardboard is. Instead of absorbing the sound, the sound just passes straight through, and then reflects off the wall behind it.

Bear is right, if you want acoustic treatment, you'r looking at a endless pit of spending. The question you have to ask is. Does the amount of recording you do justify spending what could easily be $400 easily. Why not look into making variable frequency absorbers (just look on John's website). I've been thinking of making them for months, and just not got round to it. (thats my excuse anyway, i'm useless with power tools...)

Have fun man, and if I've talked crap, then at least point it out in a polite way. I feel so crappy when people shout that i'm wrong about something... sheesh.


rochey
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Egg cartons will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help room acoustics --
Bruce

Is this a blanket statement? If were are talking HF absorbsion, its true. If your talking diffraction it is not true. Whats the definition of Help? Different or Better?

I have some thoughts here on egg cartons..flammable....Stinky...How many eggs do you have to buy to get the required square footage for a typical control room. More than you want...there are also problems with digging in garbage cans. If they are used, they carry bacteria like Salmonela and E-coli. So now that I said that, looking into the recommendations of Bruce, ausrock and even Rochey is a great idea. There is a reason why Sonex and Auralex is still in business, I personally own about 16 sheets of 2'X4' sections of the gray matter, its works great and looks nice. I wish it would have come in red, but colors were not available. I will be buying somemore next year, I think Ill do some pyramid and wedges :0).
I have advocated egg cartons in the past for those who are absolutely financially desolate in third world countries, which might be your only option. I wou;ld rather monitor a mix inside a sleepingbag than have egg cartons in the studio. My 3 cents..



Peace,
Dennis
 
what about the foam matress toppers (egg carton shaped, yellow foam..comes in Twin, Queen and King) you can get at Walmart?
 
Atomictoyz - you can spray paint foam. I used sonex in a studio way back in the late seventies and we had it spray painted. It looks cool and it doesn't effect the absorption figures of the foam. (maybe a fraction at the xtreme high end). The sonex suppliers painted it for us actually.

cheers
John
 
Yeah, what about those egg cartoon sahped foam? that gbondo9 mentioned? I have access to those here in Brazil at a good price... :/
 
John Sayers said:
Atomictoyz - you can spray paint foam.


I know you can paint it, but its not the same.... Its like a bleached blond...its not true through and...well...you know.
Besides, Im not going to paint 16 sheets with a spray can...not unless I get really bored...or desperate. But I still have to do my ceiling with something this year...maybe a tiedye foam would be nice...Maybe I can find a graffiti expert to paint some cool things on my foam?

Peace,
Dennis
 
gbondo9 & jeronimo,

I will be experimenting this weekend with some panels I'm making from the egg crate type foam you're referring to. I needed a cheap & non permanent way to treat my 12x13 & 9' ceiling room. Each panel (4 total) is 26"x74" & I'm gluing each piece onto 1/8" hardboard to provide some stiffness to it in order to either hang from the ceiling or on the wall.

I also currently have curtains over a couple of windows & a french door too, so the foam panels are not the only absorbers in the room. Not sure how many more panels I'll need, but I'm just using the four right now.

Not sure how it will all work, but anything has got to be better than the sound of the room without it. Will let you know how it all turns out after I experiment.
 
Thanks rdub, that will be very helpfull... I'll start building my studio in 2 weeks, I'll post pics and let everyone knows about my experience!
 
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