One Room Studio / HELP with FOAM!

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ThaArtist

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Hey everyone. Sorry for sounding novice. I need some help though if you could please!

I just got done puttin in the floor for my little one room home studio and I'm at the part where I'm ready to put some foam (or acroustic handling plastics, etc.) on the walls.

I DON'T know much about foams.

I know that certain foams absorb certain frequencys etc. I was at one site that had like 15 different kind of foams for different shit. So anyway... I'm posting some pictures and a scanned image of the mapped out possibilty of how its gonna kinda work.

I dont even know what kind of frequencys im trying to reduce? any help and links are greatly appreciated!

So any suggestions on where you'd place foam and what kind? I'm NOT foaming everything... I'm really just concerned about the windows and trying to reflect sound as best infront of the monitors when using them... and WHEN recording to have the necessary foam behind the mic. As you can see I don't have a vocal booth. One room does it all for me for now.

Thanks for all your information ahead of time!

(oh please dont mind the crappy photoshop job on the pictures, I had to put like 5 together just to get that small panerama of the small room. hehe ;) )

OHH... one more thing is i think im gonna have the computer monitors and speak monitors infront of the windows on that side of the desk... just so ya know. THANKS AGAIN!

studio03.jpg

studio01.jpg

studio02.jpg
 
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If you're going to use foam, Auralex is probably the best available. If you're not locked into foam and don't mind a little DIY, rigid fiberglass will do a better job inch for inch and dollar for dollar.

Panels need to go wherever you have early reflections - side walls, front wall, rear wall, ceiling. Also, don't forget dealing with the bottom end. Even if you can only manage the upper tri-corners with maybe a 12x12x12 chunk of fiberglass it will help.
 
> I dont even know what kind of frequencys im trying to reduce? any help and links are greatly appreciated! <

Start with my Acoustics FAQ:

www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

> i think im gonna have the computer monitors and speak monitors infront of the windows <

Symmetry is important, so however you set up, you should be the centered in the room left to right. However, you should not be centered front to rear.

--Ethan
 
Ethan, in the case of a small symmetrical room, would using the diagonal of the room make things better? i.e. center on a corner so the distance to the back corner is a long as possible and the walls extend from the monitor location at apporx 45 degrees...
 
Thanks you guys for responding...

Oh my gosh ETHAN! There is sooooo much information on that link. I guess little by little I will try and learn.

I noticed I did one thing right however and used a wood floor instead of carpet for the flooring.

(http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html#hard floor)

I'm going to go through as much of this information I can and then make a design for the room with positioned auralex foam and possibly other acroustical treatment if necessary. Thanks again guys.
 
bpape said:
If you're going to use foam, Auralex is probably the best available. If you're not locked into foam and don't mind a little DIY, rigid fiberglass will do a better job inch for inch and dollar for dollar.

Panels need to go wherever you have early reflections - side walls, front wall, rear wall, ceiling. Also, don't forget dealing with the bottom end. Even if you can only manage the upper tri-corners with maybe a 12x12x12 chunk of fiberglass it will help.
Click to expand...
Hey, maybe you could post images of what your talking about for the "upper tri-corners with maybe a 12x12x12 chunk of fiberglass."

Fiberglass.... hmm I'm not sure if I seen that ever used? Images would help if ya could.

I'll still be looking around but if ya post images, thanks alot!

;)
 
Sorry - no pics right now.

Think about taking a rigid fiberglass board (OC703, 705, or something equivalent.) It's 2'x4'x say 2". Cut each one into 2 pieces that are 2'x2'. You now have a 24x24x4" corner absorber. Do this 5 more times and you have 24x24x24. Build a small shelf in the corner and set these on it. Cut out the middle of the shelf to leave it open for absorbiton on the bottom.

The other option is to cut a single 2x4 piece into 8 equal triangles (cut in half then cut each of those with an X). That will give you an absorber that has a 2' face and is 16" high and extends on each wall about 1.4 feet. Again, you can frame or just sit on a shelf that's been hollowed out.
 
> would using the diagonal of the room make things better? <

Not usually. Yes, it helps deflect direct reflections from the speakers away from you. But the concave corner that's now behind you focuses everything right back at you.

--Ethan
 
The room is fairly small and I only have two open corners so I can't do 2 feet bass traps.

But what about these for the top corners? and then some auralex foam on the walls for mid and high frequencys?

Excerpt from site: (foambymail.com)
RECOMMENDED FOR: All size rooms, specifically in the corners of the room. This simple block not only is used to smooth out low frequency waves, but is designed to butt against your Corner Bass Absorbers in the wall/ceiling juncture to leave a professional, clean cut look.


SPproduct5-4.gif

CornerBlockD2.gif
 
The pics you're showing will certainly work. Auralex makes things to do just that or you can do the same with rigid fiberglass DIY.

As for the walls, that's up to you. I prefer fiberglass or cotton as I think they're more effective per inch and per $. If you want something you can hang up right out of the box, the Auralex is the way to go. Don't even mess with anyone elses foam.
 
Here is a little blueprint of the room with some sound acroustic treatments. Please let me know your thoughts and if this will work or I should do something different?

studio04.jpg


Along the wall where the monitors are there are three windows evenly spaced. So as you can see in the picture there are three 703 rectangles I am going to construct to attach to the window (on the fronts).

Above that is a big piece of 703 wrapped in cloth which I've seen people do but I'm not sure if that will help deflect sound best where it is? Or if its even necessary?

I like the idea of the cube treatment I posted early and also included it in the picture (forgot to include the verticle triangles.) MY QUESTION ABOUT THAT is what to use as far as auralex? If someone could let me know that'd be great.

Then I have a few other canvas like pieces of 703 placed on the other walls. Not sure if thats too much or what.

I read that I should mainly do the CEILING (with a wood floor). So maybe I should just place three big rectangle pieces of 703 up there...

And when I mention 703... I mean I plan on framing out a canvas like structure and placig the 703 inside and wrapping it in cloth, because I NEED my surroundings to look good in my work area. It's just how I am. :)

Please let me know if this sounds like a good idea?

BPAPE.... anyone...

Thanks!
 
They are most likely made from OC705 (they list it as 6lb/cu ft). They'll work fine but will be more expensive than DIY. Depends on what you want.
 
Whats DIY? And Owens Corning 703 is the better stuff then ey.

What about the design I put up bpape? Does it make any sense ya think? Think its a good design for acoustic handling?
 
Comon i got pictures an everything! A little help please! :(

I guess my main concern is if that angular piece of 703 on the ceiling should be on the otherside or not?

Please let me know someone!

Thanks.

Joe
 
Hey Joe
Don't get too frustrated. everyone responds when a thread first starts, and as it goes on they kind of trail off. That's what happened with mine at least, and now i'm kind of stuck. lol!
I'm trying to figure out the wall-ceiling angled peices of 703 as well. My guess would be that you may want them where there are 2 joining angles (like the wall and ceiling for example, 90degree angle) that might focus sound right at your listening position. I don't know though, I'm in the same boat as you that is just an assumption
good luck, lookin' good so far
Scott
 
This may help us out.. I cut this from Ethan W's 101 www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

Besides the corners where two walls meet as in Figure 3a, it is equally effective to place fiberglass in the corners at the top of a wall where it joins the ceiling. With either type of corner, you can attach the fiberglass by screwing it to 1x2-inch wood strips that are glued or screwed to the wall as described previously. The 1x2 ends of these strips are shown as small black rectangles in Figure 3a above. One very nice feature of this simple trap design is that the air gap behind the fiberglass varies continuously, so at least some amount of fiberglass is spaced appropriately to cover a range of frequencies.
Click to expand...

Looks like the ceiling mounted units are used as bass traps. Someone correct me if im wrong once again!
Scott
 
Sry. Daugher's 21st birthday yesterday. Ballgame, party after,etc.

Do the opposite corner too. Might want all 4. Would have to run an analysis to see if and if it needed to be covered.

DIY is Do It Yourself as opposed to buying premade.

In that small space, you'll likely need some wall panels on the rear too. I prefer diffusion but would be tough in that small space to have them be effective. Plot your reflection points accordingly and treat.

If you have a lot of absorbtion on the walls, you might consider using an FRK face or even some thin cardboard (like posterboard) glued to the faces of some of the bass absorbers to keep from overdoing the HF absorbtion.
 
Joe,

> my main concern is if that angular piece of 703 on the ceiling should be on the otherside or not? <

With bass trapping, the more the better. Always. Besides the Acoustics FAQ I linked earlier, there's a ton of treatment advice with specific placement suggestions on my company's site. All of the advice there is appropriate whether you buy traps from us or not. Think of it as a public service to the recording community. :D

--Ethan
 
Thanks everyone for your comments, ethan, bpape, and renascent.

I will show you updated pictures when I got all that done. Bryan, I'll holla at cha about that order if that is indeed what I am going to do...

Thanks.

Joe
 
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