need help - basement studio

[NoShame]

Hi all,

We just moved to Michigan from Colorado - our new house has an unfinishied basement. Concrete walls, and floor - the only drywalled section is in the middle of the room (for the stairs) and the ceiling is high but unfinished.

We are BROKE right now - with the move and the expenses of buying the house. I need to get this basement sounding half way decent until I can afford to start remodeling.

Can I effectively treat the walls with blankets? If so, should I hang them out away from the wall? How far? The section of room that I'm using is fairly long - should I hang a blanket, like a partition, or let the sound travel on to the back wall?

We've got a ton of heavy cardboard boxes (from the move) - can I use these to abosorb some of the frequencies along the walls?

Should I leave the ceiling alone or maybe staple cardboard up, as a temporary "finish", to the rafters?

I know some of you will think this is hilarious, but I can't shut down until we can afford remodeling... any suggestions would be appreciated.

EDIT: P.S. I don't care so much about sound isolation - we're out in the country... I care more about recording and mixing.

 

[Ethan Winer]

Shame,

> Can I effectively treat the walls with blankets? <

No. The best value in sound treatment is fluffy fiberglass available at any hardware store or Home Depot. Get the thickest stuff you can afford and put it all over - on the wall surfaces and in the ceiling between the joists. Then put some unopened bales stacked up in the corners for bass control.

--Ethan