painting a studio????

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chris-from-ky

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Can you paint a slot resonator wall or does the paint decrease it's effectiveness? FYI - To me, a slot resonator wall is a wall with variable sized and spaced planks of wood attached to it. If I'm using the wrong terminology, I apologize. Could you advise on painting studios and what can and can't be painted on?

Thanks So Much,
Chris
 
You're right, you described a slot resonator (also called a slat resonator) - if you paint one, you need to do it carefully and with relatively thin paint - if you get any paint build-up between the slats, it changes the gap between them - if the resonator was built to a specific frequency using the correct formula, the lower the frequency the narrower the gap between boards and the more critical that gap width becomes when maintaining the center frequency.

Most of the calculators online for figuring out the frequency of a slat resonator are WRONG, due to all the internet copying of information - there is a math error in nearly all the spreadsheets out there. I've corrected the one at the SAE site (which was also wrong) and posted it here -

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1363

Other things that will change (usually for the worse) with painting -

studio foam (paint closes the pores, although a light spray might make the room a bit brighter sounding)

rigid fiberglass or rockwool insulation - paint closes the fiber openings. These are usually covered with some kind of fabric, like burlap or cloth.

Most diffusors are OK to paint, like ones from RPG - some newer types have smaller openings for a little absorption, though - these would not be good to paint.

Hope that helped... Steve
 
I see what you're saying. Are these slat resonator walls necessary in all studios? Can a well designed room eliminate the need for resonator walls or do such walls make a room well designed? Till now, I have assumed that only the length and angle of walls in a room was what made the room good or bad. Now, I suppose the surface of the wall is as crucial or is that a false assumption? I mean... If I had a room with the right dimensions and only had sheetrock and maybe some auralex foam scattered here and there along with bass traps in the corners, would that be sufficient? Can that question even be answered?

Thanks for the help,
Chris
 
Knightfly,

A couple more questions regarding slot resonators:
In the calculator it mentions depth from the wall, however aren't most resonators designed to be angled along the length, so that one end is near and the other end further away from the sheetrocked wall? Is that so that it absorbs a wider frequency range along the length of the wall?
Also, is the insulation supposed to be right behind the slats in the framing, up can it instead be along the sheetrocked wall, or does it matter? And what if the plan is to build 'inside out' walls, does that change things?

Thanks
-Krag
 
Guys, this is a little deeper subject than I have time to get into right now - I'll try to work up some meaningful stuff in the next day or two for both of you - til then, just a basic statement - everything you put into a room, every change you make in the size, construction, shape, furnishings, all change the way the room sounds as does placement of the instrument, the mic, speakers, in other words anything you to in or to a room will affect the sound. Some of these things are more influential than others. Even the type and thickness of wallboard your walls are made of changes how the walls absorb sound at different frequencies, and the choice of foam or fiberglass absorbers, with or without a paper covering, literally everything makes some amount of difference in the sound.

From a practical standpoint, a lot of these things don't make enough difference to consider in anything less than a "perfect" mastering room, to be worth doing.

Slot resonators are unique in that they can be tuned to specific problem frequencies, they can "pull out" that "boxy" sound without leaving the room dead sounding, and they're relatively simple to build. They work really well in drum booths, because they can be tuned to attenuate the characteristic 300 hZ boom from the kick drum, lessening the modal excitement that part of the drum kit causes at other frequencies.

I gotta hit the sack for now, I'll cover more of this either tomorrow or next day... Steve
 
I appreciate your help. Looking forward to whatever other information you plan to enlighten us with.

Chris
 
Been buried both at work and home, but should see some time in the next few days - didn't want to skip out on you, so this is a "bump"; I'll answer all your q's soon... Steve
 
Thanks Knightfly,

No problems and no big rush. I've been mucking through building my own 'studio' project for a while. Funny, so many friends offered to help - till I had the sheetrock delivered :) Now I apparently have no friends .. lol. Actually things are going well.. I've read and read and read again all I could here and at Johns site, had plans up there a couple months ago, and have been slowly self building. "basement" studio, just for myself, so no big rush really. Aside from my wife wanting all my things moved out of the living room :)
I've just about got the soffits completed, built the in wall speaker stands yesterday - they came out great (I think). Totally detached from everything but the floor.
I'm just going to plug away with my plans so I can get a place to finally 'work' and play. I'll deal with further acoustic issues as they arise once the room is 'complete' if needed.

All the best,
-Krag
 
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