what should I do with this couch?

jlewis

jlewis

attic boy
So I'm working on a little home recording studio and here is a quick approximate drawing of the room as it is,
recordingstudio.jpg


I'm wondering if this is a good way to set up this room, I'm pretty new to room acoustics and im stressing about everything from the cutout by the door and by the desk and how those might affect my speaker placement, to if the couch is going to affect the sound coming to my right ear.
Any suggestions on what someone with more experience might do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
jlewis said:
So I'm working on a little home recording studio and here is a quick approximate drawing of the room as it is,
recordingstudio.jpg


I'm wondering if this is a good way to set up this room, I'm pretty new to room acoustics and im stressing about everything from the cutout by the door and by the desk and how those might affect my speaker placement, to if the couch is going to affect the sound coming to my right ear.
Any suggestions on what someone with more experience might do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You sound exactly like I did a few days ago... You should see the disaster that is my "studio" :laughings:

First of all, take my advice with a grain of salt.

Ok, so first I am going to assume that your closet is a permanent structure... well you have no choice but to leave it there unless you wanna do some construction...
Desk is fine where it's at
I'd put the couch on the 14' wall - (just personal preference)
In the bottom left corner of the room you have a weird little corner sticking out... which is no problem, just bass trap both recessed corners.
 
Jlewis,

That's a good suggestion to move the couch...

Place your mix position back away from that wall. - put your seat (head position) 5ft 4inches from the wall where your desk is currently. Bring your desk up to that position. Place your speakers on stands behind the desk on a line that is 40 inches in front of you. Separate your speakers (mid point to mid point) by 46 inches. This will put you at the apex of an equilateral triangle with your speakers and at 38% from the front wall.

Trap the crap out of the corners and take some measurements to fine tune.

Cheers,
John
 
A third for moving the couch to the 14' wall. Not that it makes any acoustic difference though. Also a +1 on "trap the hell out of it".

Frank
 
thanks for the responses guys, I took your suggestions and its workin great. i got a ton of egg cartons on the walls and some huge pillows in the corners for now seems to be working well
 
jlewis said:
thanks for the responses guys, I took your suggestions and its workin great. i got a ton of egg cartons on the walls and some huge pillows in the corners for now seems to be working well
Click to expand...

To clarify the previous post...do not put egg cartons on the wall. They do not do anything significant and they are a fire hazard.
 
Well, it's all I have for now, and at least it dampens the room a bit since it's in an apartment complex where the walls are paper thin. I intend to get some fiberglass when time and funds allow me to make some panels. Should I put rugs or something on the walls instead?
 
Here... I leave for a few days... and you're putting egg crates on the walls. ~sigh~ I can't leave you kids alone for one day! :rolleyes:

Jlewis,

As stated above, egg crates do nothing good for sound. - neither does carpet on the walls. You will sometime see something that is like carpet on the walls of pro studios, but it is a covering for a deeper absorption unit.

Carpet, in general, has a peak absorbency in the range of 3 - 4kHz. Absorbency only at these frequencies is undesirable in most recording/mix rooms. Egg crates look like they might work, but they do next to nothing.

Neither of these products sound-proof. If you are using egg crates, carpet, foam or such, you will get little to no sound-proofing.

To sound-proof you must use a mass - air - mass barrier. Sealed up tight. The heavier the better.

For acoustics treatment in small enclosures, begin with bass traps, then treat walls to control flutter and early high-level reflections (if a mix room), etc...

Sorry, if I am beating a dead horse. --- actually for all the work of finding and gluing egg crates, you can buy rock wool pretty cheap & wrap it is an open weave fire-rated fabric. Put these in the corners for starters...
This will get you on the right path and I promise you will hear a huge difference. :D

Cheers,
John
 
jlewis said:
I'm wondering if this is a good way to set up this room, I'm pretty new to room acoustics and im stressing about everything from the cutout by the door and by the desk and how those might affect my speaker placement, to if the couch is going to affect the sound coming to my right ear.
Any suggestions on what someone with more experience might do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
You had me.........
jlewis said:
i got a ton of egg cartons on the walls and some huge pillows in the corners
Click to expand...

.....then you lost me.:eek::eek:
 
Sorry guys, I get it. But like I said I'm a newb, I've read a lot on what to use, but haven't found much on what not to use.

John, thank you for useful responses
 
I'm glad I read this thread. I was intending on doing my music room with carpet and egg foam, but I can see that it's not the way to go!

So rock wool for bass traps? Or do I also use rock wool for walls? And how would it be applied to the walls?
 
Vhyle said:
I'm glad I read this thread. I was intending on doing my music room with carpet and egg foam, but I can see that it's not the way to go!

So rock wool for bass traps? Or do I also use rock wool for walls? And how would it be applied to the walls?
Click to expand...

Owens Corning 703

or

ATS Acoustics ...

Remember:
If you want good sound...then start with a good sound in your room.



 
Vhyle said:
...and how would it be applied to the walls?
Click to expand...

Usually you're going to make panels out of them...how they actually get installed depends completely on the kind of panel you make. Ours hang just like a picture if you do the simplest way.

Frank
 
If you were anywhere near WVU, I'd get a can of lighter fluid, bundle it with a pack of matches, than post a "Free Couch" flyer--that thing would soon be a black spot in the snow.
 
Vhyle said:
So rock wool for bass traps? Or do I also use rock wool for walls? And how would it be applied to the walls?
Click to expand...

There are several ways you can do it.

Rock wool and OC 703 come in different thicknesses from 25mm (1") to 100mm (4"). The panels are usually 60cm by 120cm (2ft X 4ft.)

Some people wrap them in burlap and hang them on the wall as-is. I prefer to see wooden frames with the fabric on the inside face with the absorption material inside. You can put a back on them made from 3mm (1/8") plywood and drill a hole to hang them on a nail. (they don't dance)

I do not recommend complete coverage but checker-board them instead. You will actually get more absorption this way rather than complete coverage and it adds to the diffusion as well.

Cheers,
John
 
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