General advice for people wishing to set up home project studio?

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Dags

Dags

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Hi everyone

As this site is set up as a means of assisting the home or project studio musician to get started, I was wondering if there's some general advice that can be applied to the 'average joe' (or joanne :) ) wishing to set up a room for recording?

For instance, there's a lot of advice out there about differential treatment of the walls, constructing Helmholtz resonators, building sloping ceilings with varying levels of treatment and making sure the dimensions of the room are not integers of eachother. But this is kind of impractical (and can be expensive) if they are simply wishing to convert an existing bedroom or rumpus room in order to start enjoying the process of learning to record music at home.

So I was wondering if there's some simple tips, tricks and 'avoids' that have been learned by experience from members of this community that we can put together as a bit of a guide to help those who come after we have departed?

For instance:
In setting up a typical home studio, I believe the most commonly asked question is how to deaden the room sufficiently so that when recording vocals the room doesn't ring?
Some simple solutions I have come across (to be used in combination for best results) that will achieve some level of success and don't involve rebuilding the house and a degree in engineering are:
*Putting large panels of dense foam (or carpet) on the walls and possibly the ceiling
*Suspending wires between ceiling and floor about 3 inches from the wall and packing the space with pillows/doonas
*Standing wire-sprung mattresses up to create a 'dead' space for putting the mic in when recording
*Hanging thick curtains up across windows
*Having the floor carpeted (including underlay) to stop sound from bouncing off the floor

Are there any other ideas to help out absolute beginners?
Doesn't have to be on acoustic treatment - could be anything.

Maybe it could, over time, become a 'sticky' for future reference

Dags
 
I'm not real sure an absolute beginner would be all that interested in building Helmholtz resonators. And carpet on the walls does almost nothing.

My advice would be to play music. If you need a room to do it in, throw a few walls up in the garage. If you're still out there playing music in a couple of years, and you've phased all the Behringer gear off of your list, start thinking about room treatment.
 
This reminds me of one great very wise man. He compiled a very useful guideline for newbies young and old... Here is an excerpt...


vadoom said:
OK, so...

6. Complete full analysis of your room for proper sound treatment.
7. Get a good job
8. Sound treat your room
9. Get good monitors/amps, etc
10. Do more A/B comparisons.
11. Get better job (may require college)
12. Get a bigger place
13. Redo all analysis of room treatment in your new place
14. Re-treat your room
15. Upgrade all your equipment (may require a even better job)
Click to expand...
 
vadoom said:
This reminds me of one great very wise man. He compiled a very useful guideline for newbies young and old... Here is an excerpt...
Click to expand...

LOL!!!! :D

I know there's a lot to consider when setting up an existing room for recording, so I thought that a few ideas to help people get started might prove useful.
And yes, ez_willis, I doubt that anyone starting from scratch would even be able to *spell* Helmholtz resonator let alone build one (me included!) :confused:

Dags
 
I tend to agree with ez-willy there. Just start playing/recording. It doesn't have to be perfect, and it won't necessarily be perfect even if you had a nice studio.

The main idea is to work on your skill as a musician. If you are good, there is always room for improvement. On a side, start recording your tunes/songs. Instrumentals would probably be a good place to start since you probably can get a good signal to noise ratio even with inexpensive equipment and spending nearly nothing on your room. Just make sure you get a nice strong signal.

Don't expect phenomenal results. Perhaps approach it with a "just need to get my tunes on cd so they don't get lost" type of attitude. As you will start recording tune after tune, you will begin to learn things about recording you didn't think about before. You will slowly start to grow and develop in knowledge and know-how.

Some time later (perhaps a year or so. depending how much time you'd be spending on recording), you will feel that you may need to upgrade and will probably understand why. You probably may have a good idea of what you need too...

Anyways, back to the basics - just start recording.


Now, I've been accused by some that I don't give useful advice... In fact, they've used the word "pointless" to be precise. They've mentioned many other mean things. They obviously have that right to express their opinions, but there is an old Russian saying that goes something like this - "in every joke there is a piece of truth". Take if for what it is worth, but beware, I tend to reside on a practical side of matter. In other words, I don't like extra fluff... :p
 
Dags said:
For instance:
In setting up a typical home studio, I believe the most commonly asked question is how to deaden the room sufficiently so that when recording vocals the room doesn't ring?
Some simple solutions I have come across (to be used in combination for best results) that will achieve some level of success and don't involve rebuilding the house and a degree in engineering are:
*Putting large panels of dense foam (or carpet) on the walls and possibly the ceiling
*Suspending wires between ceiling and floor about 3 inches from the wall and packing the space with pillows/doonas
*Standing wire-sprung mattresses up to create a 'dead' space for putting the mic in when recording
*Hanging thick curtains up across windows
*Having the floor carpeted (including underlay) to stop sound from bouncing off the floor
Click to expand...

Those are great ways to have muddy sounding recordings. I'd recommend just putting some rigid fiberglass in the corners as a first step.
 
Dags said:
Are there any other ideas to help out absolute beginners?
Doesn't have to be on acoustic treatment - could be anything.

Maybe it could, over time, become a 'sticky' for future reference

Dags
Click to expand...


My best advice for anyone who is recording: REMEMBER; this board, as well as others, are for OPINIONS of people who may really know what they're doing, or may be in the same position as you. As far as my opinion, just TRY things, try EVERYTHING you've ever wanted to try...when it comes to money, the guys on this board probably wouldnt steer you wrong, but as far as trying to configure different arrangements or spot treating, do what sounds good to YOU! this is what gives you that STYLE...I have been recording for a long time, and i've realized the best way to find out what sounds/looks/works good, is to do it. mess around with your stuff, thats why you got it right?! and if you need a new desk, or a keyboard stand, or you wanna renew a desk go look for wood! build it! the worst that could happen is that you are unhappy, and then you just throw it away or pass it on to someone who can use it! I restored my own desk (used to be a school type rotting wood desk) with laminate hardwood and foam and ive never had anything quite as awesome. experiment, then, pop on here to tell us how it went, im off for now! session time! have a good one guys and remember, no one knows your sound better than YOU!

Zilla
 
here's something I've not seen discussed.
Lots of people have trouble finding owens-corning 703 rigid fiberglass to build absorption panels/bass traps.
EVERY home depot/lowes/menards etc carries acoustic ceiling tiles made out of rigid fiberglass. (you can tell, the backs of them are yellowish-orange, fiberglass colored, plus they have a noise absorption standard listed on them, can't recall it, but it was roughly equivalent to what is listed for OC703).
Buy a case, pull the plastic coating off the face of them, stack them up and put them in frames and voila, you have your absorption panels.
You can even put them back into the cardboard box they came in; cover it with fabric and you are finished.
A bonus is that since it comes in about 1" thick, you can have any depth of panel you might need (comes in handy when I wanted 2" thick on the ceiling).
Please remember to wear a respirator filter when performing this work; fibers will come off when you detach the plastic face.
Safety first!
cheers
C.
 
chugheshc said:
here's something I've not seen discussed.
Lots of people have trouble finding owens-corning 703 rigid fiberglass to build absorption panels/bass traps.
EVERY home depot/lowes/menards etc carries acoustic ceiling tiles made out of rigid fiberglass. (you can tell, the backs of them are yellowish-orange, fiberglass colored, plus they have a noise absorption standard listed on them, can't recall it, but it was roughly equivalent to what is listed for OC703).
Buy a case, pull the plastic coating off the face of them, stack them up and put them in frames and voila, you have your absorption panels.
You can even put them back into the cardboard box they came in; cover it with fabric and you are finished.
A bonus is that since it comes in about 1" thick, you can have any depth of panel you might need (comes in handy when I wanted 2" thick on the ceiling).
Please remember to wear a respirator filter when performing this work; fibers will come off when you detach the plastic face.
Safety first!
cheers
C.
Click to expand...


It is a good think to mess try out, but a I personally try to stay away from fiberglass...
 
chugheshc said:
here's something I've not seen discussed.
Lots of people have trouble finding owens-corning 703 rigid fiberglass to build absorption panels/bass traps.
EVERY home depot/lowes/menards etc carries acoustic ceiling tiles made out of rigid fiberglass. (you can tell, the backs of them are yellowish-orange, fiberglass colored, plus they have a noise absorption standard listed on them, can't recall it, but it was roughly equivalent to what is listed for OC703).
Buy a case, pull the plastic coating off the face of them, stack them up and put them in frames and voila, you have your absorption panels.
You can even put them back into the cardboard box they came in; cover it with fabric and you are finished.
A bonus is that since it comes in about 1" thick, you can have any depth of panel you might need (comes in handy when I wanted 2" thick on the ceiling).
Please remember to wear a respirator filter when performing this work; fibers will come off when you detach the plastic face.
Safety first!
cheers
C.
Click to expand...


It is a good think to mess with / try out, but a I personally try to stay away from fiberglass...
 
you're kidding, of course....... aren't you?
Rigid fiberglass insulation is a primary source for sound absorption - as discussed here (homerecording) thousands of times, and on a variety of other web sites.:confused:
I have to assume you are kidding with your comment.
C.
 
chugheshc said:
you're kidding, of course....... aren't you?
Rigid fiberglass insulation is a primary source for sound absorption - as discussed here (homerecording) thousands of times, and on a variety of other web sites.:confused:
I have to assume you are kidding with your comment.
C.
Click to expand...

True, I was kidding to the point, but if I'm going to install fiberglass, I'd have to make sure to protect some of the people that I know - they are allergic to fiberglass... Or just post a sign saying "Caution Fiberglass Enter at Your Own Risk!" :D
 
ez_willis said:
I'm not real sure an absolute beginner would be all that interested in building Helmholtz resonators. And carpet on the walls does almost nothing.
Click to expand...

It's sure done a lot for some of my recording rooms over the years.
 
ez_willis said:
How so?

I stand by my statement. Helmholtz resonators are nothing an absolute beginner should be concerned with.
Click to expand...

I agree.

You said carpet on the walls does almost nothing. That's not true, Carpet is a great absorber of high and high-mid frequencies and by far the cheapest way to go for a DIY'er.
 
EDAN said:
I agree.

You said carpet on the walls does almost nothing. That's not true, Carpet is a great absorber of high and high-mid frequencies and by far the cheapest way to go for a DIY'er.
Click to expand...

Carpet on the walls is gonna make 99.99999% of rooms WORSE. Plus, it's an enormous fire hazard.

Not a good idea. Not a good idea at all.
 
EDAN said:
That's not true, Carpet is a great absorber of high and high-mid frequencies and by far the cheapest way to go for a DIY'er.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely correct! It will make your room sound poopy because all the highs will be sucked away and all the bass is still bouncing! Have you ever seen a professional recording studio with carpet anywhere?

This cost me around $150 it works very well.

My general advice people wishing to set up home project studio is to treat the room.
 
apl said:
My general advice people wishing to set up home project studio is to treat the room.
Click to expand...

I treat my room like I treat my bitches: with no consideration of their feelings, and a mess in the morning.
 
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