Opinions on effect of blankets-recording drums

MrKwik

MrKwik

**will man ho for gear**
Here is a picture of the area that I use for my studio. As you can see this is a multi purpose area (2+ car detached garage). The problem is that I have metal garage doors, no wall treatment of any kind, other than that black fibreboard stuff between the studs and outside wallboard. The total area is like 26x22 (I think), and I dont know the exact hight of the roof, but it has about a 4' peak and 6' wide section of plywood atic flooring that runs the length of the garage, and about 1/3 of the floor is covered with a kitchen type carpet. Outside noise is not a real problem because my house is about 100 yards off the street with woods on both sides and a cornfield in back (no jokes please, it is Kansas after all) . I want to do something to make my drums sound better in this less than ideal room. I cant do anything like blocking off garage doors, and dont have the cash to do any drastic wall treatments. My drums sound better with the door open, so I know that those are a problem. I saw an add in modern drummer for what looks to be basically packing blankets. Would there be any adwantage to getting 5 or 6 of these and hanging them from the rafters around the area that my drums occupy, and maybe over the doors? Would they help cut down the reflections from the surrounding concrete floor and untreated walls? They seem very cost effective if they would work. Anybody that has any experience please chime in. Im pretty new to this.

-Damn that got long, sorry

kit1.jpg
 
Hey,

If you've no problem with noise then go ahead and use the blankets to stop most of the nasty reflections off the garage doors / walls. You didn't say what the ceiling/roof was made of, this might also be an area to look at deadening.

Unless you're after a great drum room sound (which you won't get with an untreated garage) then don't worry if it's too dead either, close mic the kit and add reverb at mix.

Hope this helps,

Rich.
 
Doh! This time I'll read the post properly...

My mistake, you did say what the roof material was.

Try and get some cheap acoustic foam panels and attach them above the area where your drum kit resides, it should be enough to kill a majority of the unwanted top end from your cymbals and snare etc.

Experimentation is the key.

Cheers,
Rich.
 
Can I just treat the 6' strip of plywood attic flooring, or will I need to threat the entire garage roof? Is there a kind of foam that I can get say from a fabric or hardware store that is less costly than the stuff sold specifically for treating studios? I realize that I wont get the best sound in this room, but I think I should be able to get better than it is, and it's all I have to work with right now.

-Mike
 
MrK,

There is a reference in 2 threads here (Wall Treatment and I think it is the "Cost Effective" thingy thingy thread) to rigid fibreglass panels. The stuff is similar to normal roof batts but it is stiff and more efficient than some acoustic foams.

I would consider making up some 2'x4' or 4'x4' rigid fibre panels, (see abovementioned threads for details).........suspend a couple over your drum area and a couple in front of the garage doors.


:cool:
 
Personally, I'd build movable baffles that fold up after use and put one behind the drum kit and a couple of them in front of the garage door. You can use them for a variety of micing situations and when your done just fold them up and roll them into a corner.:D
 
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