New "studio" treatment tips

[TripleM]

I'm going to get a new computer of my own (i.e., don't have to share with the rest if tge family). I'm going to be able now to record in my band's old rehearsal room, which is a square room in my basement.

The room has drywall on all four sides, foam ceiling tile and carpet on the floor.

I have the room all to myself. So construction-wise I can do whatever I want. But after buying the computer, I can't justify spending more money. So I need to make due with things I can pick up for free. Here's what I've done so far...

I've put carpet remnants up on all the walls. In the corners, I've used the carpet to "round" the corners off. Behind the carpets in the corners, I've stacked some left over bathroom tile along with old gallon milk jugs filled with water. My thinking on that was that this will be dense material that still has some flexibility and will make "passable" bass traps. Am I high? Dunno.

I've also taken 2 to 3 ft. wide carpet strips and leaned them against the wall where the floor where the floor and walls meet in an attempt to reduce the amount of 90 angles in the room. Behind these carpet strips, I've leaned some more left over bathroom tile. Another attempt to absorb reflections.

I've put boxes and chairs in the middle of each wall to try to reduce the amount of reflections between the parallel walls.

The room is now very dead (at least for the type of sounds I've tested - I haven't done much with a bass yet). So I think I went overboard. I'm thinking about taking down some of the carpet. I think I need some material there that will reflect high frequencies. Any ideas?

Any further thoughts would be appreciated.

BTW - I haven't even tried recording anything in the room yet.

Thanks.

 

[Ethan Winer]

MMM,

> Am I high? Dunno. <

Not high, just uninformed.

Carpet is just not suitable for use as acoustic treatment. You need materials that absorb below 1 KHz, which carpet does not do. In fact, using carpet will most likely make things worse because it kills all the mids and highs, thus making the inevitable bass boominess even more noticeable.

For more information have a look at the Acoustics FAQ, second in the list on my Articles page:

www.ethanwiner.com/articles.html

--Ethan

 

[TripleM]

Thanks Ethan. After this post, I stumbled across your "Acoustic Treatment and Design" article. I'm reading it now (in bits and pieces - it's a long paper and I'm at work).

But I would think I'd want some of the walls treated with carpet to reduce some of the relections above 1K. Right? I understand that those frequencies aren't as big of a problem, but what about a combination of carpet, drywall, and plywood in some proportion across the walls?

I have plenty of cardboard boxes - what are their absorbtive/reflective properties?

Also, I'd be interested in your reaction to the idea of old bathroom tile, and milk jugs filled with water to absorb lower frequencies.

And sorry if some of these questions are answered in the aritcle. As I said, I haven't finished it yet.