H
HapiCmpur
New member
I've finally got a room dedicated to music (instead of just a corner in the bedroom), and now I must figure out how to "tune" that room for decent acoustics. (Notice I said "decent," not "perfect.") Naturally, there are a lot of differing opinions in the literature on acoustics. Perhaps someone here – someone who presumably isn't trying to sell me expensive room treatments – might have some suggestions.
My room will be a small project studio in which I will record vocals, guitars, a drum machine, and a digital keyboard using a 16-track digital workstation. Nearly everything except the vocal and acoustic guitar tracks will be recorded without mics directly into the workstation. I don't have the money, the need, or the inclination to sound-proof the room. The house is generally pretty quiet anyway. All I want is a fairly accurate listening environment for mixing my own stuff as a hobby.
The room is 14' long and 12' wide. (See attachment.) The floor is carpeted, and the ceiling of textured drywall is 7'-8" high. There's a window on one of the long walls and another on one of the short walls, and I have covered both with heavy drapes. My mixing setup faces the window on the short wall, and my monitors sit just to the left and right of the drapes. The short wall behind me (as I sit at the mixer) is pretty well broken up with shelves and storage units. In fact, it was originally a long, shallow closet, but I removed the doors to eliminate the flat surface and in the hope that I might be able to make it into a three-sided vocal booth.
The room's biggest challenge is probably the long wall with no window. I've hung some artwork on it for now, but I know I'm going to need something else to get rid of the slight slapback and "room ring" that still exist.
I've consulted the experts at Auralex who have faxed me a free room analysis. They've recommended their Project 2 Roominator Kit ($400!), which includes nothing but foam panels and wedges. This raises three questions:
1. With all that foam and no diffusers, will I over-deaden my little room?
2. Will the foam wedges that Auralex calls "bass traps" really trap bass, and if not, are wedges still worth installing anyway?
3. For my humble purposes, are Auralex panels and wedges any better than other acoustic panels and wedges?
One last thing: My room (which is partially underground, by the way) has a 9” deep ledge running along one short wall and one long wall. And it’s not just a ledge like a shelf – the walls below the ledge intrude into the room about 7 or 8” deeper than the walls above the ledge. My monitors, on stands, rise just above that ledge, giving them a little more breathing room, so to speak, from the wall behind them. Do I need to put anything (like wedges, for instance) on that ledge either directly behind the monitors or in the corners to the left of the right of them?
My room will be a small project studio in which I will record vocals, guitars, a drum machine, and a digital keyboard using a 16-track digital workstation. Nearly everything except the vocal and acoustic guitar tracks will be recorded without mics directly into the workstation. I don't have the money, the need, or the inclination to sound-proof the room. The house is generally pretty quiet anyway. All I want is a fairly accurate listening environment for mixing my own stuff as a hobby.
The room is 14' long and 12' wide. (See attachment.) The floor is carpeted, and the ceiling of textured drywall is 7'-8" high. There's a window on one of the long walls and another on one of the short walls, and I have covered both with heavy drapes. My mixing setup faces the window on the short wall, and my monitors sit just to the left and right of the drapes. The short wall behind me (as I sit at the mixer) is pretty well broken up with shelves and storage units. In fact, it was originally a long, shallow closet, but I removed the doors to eliminate the flat surface and in the hope that I might be able to make it into a three-sided vocal booth.
The room's biggest challenge is probably the long wall with no window. I've hung some artwork on it for now, but I know I'm going to need something else to get rid of the slight slapback and "room ring" that still exist.
I've consulted the experts at Auralex who have faxed me a free room analysis. They've recommended their Project 2 Roominator Kit ($400!), which includes nothing but foam panels and wedges. This raises three questions:
1. With all that foam and no diffusers, will I over-deaden my little room?
2. Will the foam wedges that Auralex calls "bass traps" really trap bass, and if not, are wedges still worth installing anyway?
3. For my humble purposes, are Auralex panels and wedges any better than other acoustic panels and wedges?
One last thing: My room (which is partially underground, by the way) has a 9” deep ledge running along one short wall and one long wall. And it’s not just a ledge like a shelf – the walls below the ledge intrude into the room about 7 or 8” deeper than the walls above the ledge. My monitors, on stands, rise just above that ledge, giving them a little more breathing room, so to speak, from the wall behind them. Do I need to put anything (like wedges, for instance) on that ledge either directly behind the monitors or in the corners to the left of the right of them?
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Once you treat the room a little bit, you'll know more of what you need as you go.
