Some thoughts on "deadening" a room

G

geekgurl

New member
Hey all, this last weekend I played a gig at this club that had the deadest stage I've EVER heard (not to say I have a comprehensive knowledge, but I've played more than a few places ...). When the drummer was testing his kit, all the high-end ring was sucked out. This was very interesting to me.

What I noticed was, the stage is carpeted and there was a parachute directly overhead. cascading down to each side of the stage was this military camoflage net-type stuff, with fairly coarse weave. The room itself didn't seem all that remarkable; a medium-size club with hardwood floors. We had some big bands on stage (Latin rock music, so like 10 people at times, and pretty loud) and there was NO feedback.

I'm sure this stuff was up there for looks, but I'm wondering if there was functional component too. Do you all think it could be worth the trouble to hang a parachute -- or sheets or something (how many of us have parachutes and how much do cast-offs cost anyway) -- from the ceiling and let them billow in the center to deaden a room you're miking in?
 
for looks...
thin nylon material would change the acoustics slightly... i dont know about cuttin highs on a drum set.. it would also depend on where you are in the room..
a bunch of variables involved.. youd need to set up an experiment

body surfing into parachutes .. how cool is that?
 
Could you see what was behind the material? Unfinished walls with bare studs & rafters can create lots of diffusion which can have a positive effect on a room's acoustics. Parachute nylon would not absorb much sound and only very high freqs. Careful placement of the stage and PA could be a factor as well.
 
Thanks for the replies. I was kind of thinking that'd be too thin a material to really be of much help ... I think the room was bare rafters, so I guess that probably had more to do with the acoustics.
 
the parachute might be made of silk!

if so it probly damps better than nylon!

the fact that you noticed right away that it was very dead i think is a giveaway.

others would notice that too so i think its planned at least to an extent.

do you think it helped? i hate being stuck in a club where its too loud.

when i built my home studio in my basement i used acoustic ceiling tiles for the ceiling and walls and some astroturf panels and carpet and i was very surprised to find it was TOO DEAD!!!

i wound up pulling the carpet and that helped a lot...

:)
 
I think some of the above are on the right track. The camie looking stuff was probably burlap. It may likely have been shielding some type of exposed insulation--fiberglass or minerwool. Either of these will suck up the highs leading to a very dead sound. The deadness is there since the highs are gone, but the low and mid-frequencies are still bouncing around. Be careful in trying to emulate this. A well constructed room should incorporate features which absorb across the spectrum as well as diffuse sound. This will eliminate the feedback associated with standing waves but also sound good.

Alex
 
i also bought convoluted matress pads and made angled walls with them by tacking them up to walls and ceiling.

i put foam across all the corners and i have egg cartons in strategic locations on the floor.

just cheap tricks.

:)

i think the room is ok but i get a reverb effect from my cymbals!
 
FWIW.

My den also doubles as my studio. To deaden the room I hang
heavy moving blankets from plant hooks in the ceiling. If I need to use the room for other purposes, I simply take down the blankets - fold them up and throw them in the closet.

By the way, I hang up and take down the blankets using my
patented "stick with a nail on the end of it".

Hey, whatever works!

Lee
 
im considering puting a blanket parachute style on my ceiling.

from reading the articles it seems that the blankets are moved by the bass waves and turn some of the bass energy into heat thus reducing standing waves.

your method sounds like a good part of a nonpermanent treatment strategy.

there was some talk about using office cubicle partitions to make diagonal walls so you wont have the standing wave problems of a rectangular room. these can also be nonpermanent solutions.
 
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