My 8x11 drum room....

[detuned6]

Yeah this is a very small room, i have a 5pc kit with a 3 pc pearl rack holding 13 cymbals, once i get the mic stands in there its "tight as a tiger". Anyways a room this small useally would have a lot of low end (my friend refers to rooms this size as a bass chamber) if im correct? I have some thin carpet on the walls and a old mattress aganist the window(my nieghbors drive way and house is on the other side of the wall) my original intention for putting up the carpet a while back was to cut down on reflection and absorb a little/or any sound level wise for my nieghbor.(ive been lucky he's never complained about noise, and a full band practices on the 2nd floor also!-what a nice old man!)
So from what i understand carpet only absorbs a small amount of the hi end , and cuts down on some of the reflections. Im starting to think that im "treating"(can i use this word?) the hi end, but im doing nothing at all for all the low end that a 8x11 room generates, is my carpet just contribuating to increasing bass? or should i just worry about cutting down the reflections?
What should i do with this room??????

 

[Michael Jones]

From what I've learned here, you're assesment is correct. The carpet you are using is indeed treating only a very narrow band of the high end frequencies generated in the room.

Ideally, you'd want to treat your room for a broader range of frequencies, with a concentration on the more problematic frequencies; in your case, most likely the low and low mid range.

View the acoustics section at the SAE website, and have a look at the panel absorbers here:
http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm

 

[detuned6]

View the acoustics section at the SAE website, and have a look at the panel absorbers here:
http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm

Those are nice and all , but i cant fit those in the room.(8x11) there is about 2.5ft from the door way to the kick drum. (I wish i had a picture of the drum kit to show) if i was to put those corner absorbers in i would have to crawl to get in the room. The kit from left to right is 10ft wide so that gives me 1ft to sqeeze in between cymbal and wall.

Should i rip down the carpet, and deal w/ the reflections?

 

[Michael Jones]

As the carpet definately has a tendency to cut the high frequencies, you're left with an exagerated low frequency. This would tend to give the room an overall boomy sound.

If you can't fit the panel absorbers on the wall corners, could you fit them in the corner where the wall meets the ceiling? You know, mount them sideways and up high? Then maybe spot treat the walls, particularly the rear wall, with some 703 mounted in a 2x4 frame? I think that would help tremendously.

 

[detuned6]

As the carpet definately has a tendency to cut the high frequencies, you're left with an exagerated low frequency. This would tend to give the room an overall boomy sound.

If you can't fit the panel absorbers on the wall corners, could you fit them in the corner where the wall meets the ceiling? You know, mount them sideways and up high? Then maybe spot treat the walls, particularly the rear wall, with some 703 mounted in a 2x4 frame? I think that would help tremendously.

I rent this house so i dont whant to start drilling all kinds of holes in the walls.
What is 703?
So mike what do you think i should do: A) keep the carpet up, to cut down on relections (but this adds to the bass) or B) rip the carpet down to add some more hi's back in but increase reflections?
Thanks for your input.
(P.S. you got a sweet looking room.)

 

[Michael Jones]

I rent this house so i dont whant to start drilling all kinds of holes in the walls.

OK. I can understand that.

What is 703?

703 is a rigid insulation product made by Owens Corning.
Think of it as compressed fiberglass insulation. Its fairly dense; weighing in at 3lbs per cu.ft and comes in a variety of thicknesses up to 3". (I believe) Its generally sold in 2'x4' sheets. These properties make it ideal for acoustic absorbtion, and it gives a much broader range of absorbtion than foam or carpet. You wont find this product at Home Depot or Lowes though, you'll have to look in the Yellow pages for "Insulation Suppliers". You could wrap it in some nice fabric and hang it on the wall, much like you would a picture though, to minimize the impact on the wall.

So mike what do you think i should do: A) keep the carpet up, to cut down on relections (but this adds to the bass) or B) rip the carpet down to add some more hi's back in but increase reflections?

Obviously your limiting factor here is your space. Its a fairly small room, but could still be made to sound pretty decent by doing just a little more in acoustic treatment. You may find that a mix of the 703 and the carpet works best for you.

Thanks for your input.

No problem. Maybe some others that are more knowledgeable will chime in here too.

(P.S. you got a sweet looking room.)

Thanks. Had I known then (when I set up this room) what I know now, I would have gone about it differently.
I'm currently building a new studio though, so I'm not going to make any changes to my current room.
My construction progress can be seen here:
http://www.johnlsayers.com/Studio/Pages/Carriage.htm
It will have a dedicated drum room, so I've put some thought into how best to treat it.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Your best bet for cheapo bass treatment would be to get some 705FRK and put it up in all the corners. It is similliar to 703 but it has a foil covering and it's a little better at bass abosorption. You can put in any corners so if you need space you can put it up where the ceiling meets the wall. The stuff is pretty light so it doesn't take a lot ot secure it. Probably easier then carpet.

That and a few 703 panels on the walls and it should give you a more balanced room.

 

[detuned6]

thanks mike & tex, one last question's about this 703 & 705frk:
Does this stuff have to be flush mounted or even hanging on a wall? could i just lean it against the walls? or would that defeat the purpose because the bass "lives" in the room corners?
Could you atatch this stuff to sheet rock or plywood to use as baffles? and if i could use these 703/705 would it still be usefull to keep the carpet up?

 

[TexRoadkill]

Look down through this forum and there are a couple of recent threads on Panels. You can mount the stuff however is easiest. The most common way is to make a wooden frame and glue the panels to that and cover with fabric if you want a really finished look.

I would take off the carpet because the idea is to get a balanced absorption over the entire room. You do want some highs to give you a bit of presence. A little room sound really helps give the snare some snap and lets the cymbals sizzle.