What to do with this bedroom

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Fiddlermatt

New member
Hi, everyone. By way of introduction my name is Matthew and I'm a bluegrass musician from Oklahoma. I've taught and played professionally for a few years and have recorded two CDs with a professional. I want to set up a small home recording area where I can create backing tracks for myself and generally doodle around. Unfortunately, while I attend university, this will have to be in my bedroom. I understand there are many pitfalls to doing this, and I am well aware of the fact I will probable never get halfway decent sounding recordings.

The recording chain I'm considering is a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 used with either my desktop or laptop and a mid-range condenser microphone as well as a few dynamics.

I've attached a crude drawing of the room. Please forgive the shoddy artwork. It is 12x14', the floors are carpeted (ouch), the walls are wood paneling, and the ceiling is rough textured sheet rock. It has two windows (shown by diamonds.) and a small closed. Only one corner is exposed, and I'm hoping that will cut down the bass. I can record from either desk. When I do the clap test, I don't hear any unusual or horrible sounds.

What are the main hazards I need to be watching for? I can't really modify the room in any way, but I could add non-permanent things. What tests do you recommend I perform to get a better picture of what kind of stuff I'll need to treat it effectively? I hope all these questions don't sound completely stupid.
Thanks,
Matthew
 

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Well as a Audio Engineer and Acoustic consultant you have to consider the Standing waves that you will have in the room the bounces of the frequencies above 300HZ . Also you have to run a few test that measures the room in .60 to .85 seconds of Reverb to have a nice treated room.
I can help you out just ask what you need ^^
by the way
May i ask do you notice in your room that when you are on one of the corners a slow buzz coming right up in your ears?
 
Any advice on how to run those tests would be appreciated. I've read about reverb on realtraps.com, and I pretty much understand the theory. As far as the buzz goes; I've never noticed it when listening to music or playing my instruments in the corner where I usually set.
 
well you will notice it much more when you are listening only vocals or voices only test are run down by calculations on the room for example bass traps i can give the calculation on it by picking the frequencies on the room under 300hz . But first i will need the measures of your room .long with and height.
 
The measurements are 12x14x9 feet. As far as bass traps and other things go, will having junk in the corners affect things? In other words, I am going to have to move all my furniture away from the corners of the room? Here's the analysis of some guitar chords on a cheap mic. I don't know if that will help anything.
Frequency (Hz) Level (dB)
21.533203 -52.783749
43.066406 -47.748325
64.599609 -41.803719
86.132813 -29.363705
107.666016 -28.264551
129.199219 -29.414719
150.732422 -26.929518
172.265625 -24.809393
193.798828 -20.411221
215.332031 -25.835274
236.865234 -37.276852
258.398438 -38.677013
279.931641 -24.180460
301.464844 -22.995096

Here's the analysis on a 200hz sine wave.
Frequency (Hz) Level (dB)
21.533203 -61.334602
43.066406 -60.017239
64.599609 -58.895195
86.132813 -60.890045
107.666016 -60.260635
129.199219 -59.730213
150.732422 -60.646088
172.265625 -58.990894
193.798828 -58.340061
215.332031 -60.293400
236.865234 -59.905453
258.398438 -59.766945
279.931641 -57.731884
301.464844 -54.685295
322.998047 -56.997036
344.531250 -56.322899
 
not exsactly i can give you the the calculations right now hold on and dont move your furniture its only treating the first problems that are the most crucial will help you improve a lot hold on im calculation how many bass traps you will need
 
Done the frequencies that you want to fight with bass traps are only 7 and there harmonics . , so you will need 7 bass traps 2 of 4 inches thick 1 od 2 inches thick, and 4 of 1 inch thick .
 
dont worry mathew is simply to see wich standing waves below 300hz will mess up your perception as i told you before are 7 bass traps and 17 frequencies treated with the 7 bass traps. thats the first problem treatment
 
Thanks so much for all the information so far. One more question if you don't mind. Where would be the optimal locations to place these? I know you gave several different dimensions for the traps. Does each one need to go in a specific locations? Thanks.
 
nope you can put it in any wall but it has to be on the walls . I recommend mostly up to avoid children to touch it or start messing with them.
 
Man, seriously?

Stick a bass trap in each of your 4 corners and as many others as you can in as many corners (including wall/ floor and wall/ceiling) as possible. Also, take care of your first reflection points.

You don't need all these ridiculous calculations. It's a bedroom. :eek:

I would also put your monitors and work station where your "writing desk" is. You want your speakers along the short wall firing down the length of the room.
 
RAMI said:
Man, seriously?

Stick a bass trap in each of your 4 corners and as many others as you can in as many corners (including wall/ floor and wall/ceiling) as possible. Also, take care of your first reflection points.

You don't need all these ridiculous calculations. It's a bedroom. :eek:

I would also put your monitors and work station where your "writing desk" is. You want your speakers along the short wall firing down the length of the room.
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First of all ridiculous? Exactly that is the treatment for that room each room has its own needs, If you wanna use generic acoustic kits you are just a dumb ass and good luck treating the needs of your room.
 
SD88 said:
First of all ridiculous? Exactly that is the treatment for that room each room has its own needs, If you wanna use generic acoustic kits you are just a dumb ass and good luck treating the needs of your room.
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Dumb ass huh? :D I think it's time for your medication there, Forrest.

Ok, do all those RIDICULOUS calculations, and when you're done treating the 4 corners, first reflection points and as many wall/ceiling and wall/floor corners as possible, get back to me and tell me how much time you wasted calculating that.

Some people are "educated" way beyond their intelligence.
 
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RAMI said:
Dumb ass huh? :D I think it's time for your medication there, Forrest.

Ok, do all those RIDICULOUS calculations, and when you're done treating the 4 corners, first reflection points and as many wall/ceiling and wall/floor corners as possible, get back to me and tell me how much time you wasted calculating that.

Some people are "educated" way beyond their intelligence.
Click to expand...

If thats the way you are thinking good for you while i help the most corrective an ideal way you are only day dreaming.

Trust me for you is ridiculous i can say that my method is exactly calculated to resolve those issues. and if you think that people are educated way beyond their intelligence too bad for you. I dedicated my time an my concentration for this sweetie.And if i take my time doing those calculations i can afford it because that is my job.
 
Hi,

There are many undesirable issues with your current setup. You should be centered and should stay away from the corners. Is it possible to move your setup over to the area by the writing desk?
You'll want to look into treating the front corners of the room along with the first reflection points, not just absorbers placed randomly throughout the room.
You can use the following as a guide: http://gikacoustics.com/acoustic-advice/
 
Yes, that's actually where I was messing around today. I found recording sounds best with my laptop on the writing desk, with me facing towards the bed. It seems to cut out some of the muddiness. I actually have access to one other room that is much larger ~20x16 and has a tall, vaulted ceiling, partial hardwood floors, and lots of soft furniture in all the corners. I get no reverb at all when clapping, but I haven't been able to record anything there. The only caveat with that room is absolutely no modifications. Everything must be free-standing.
 
Two things I forgot to mention. First, the style of music I play doesn't really require much of anything below 100hz. I can pretty much roll off anything under that and not even tell a difference. Secondly, I'm more focused on making it sound good for recording. I like bluegrass totally unaltered when mixing, so I'll just be adjusting the volume mostly. For the first part of my recording I'll be mixing with headphones (I can already hear the groans.)
 
Just about down to 100 Hz is what you want to aim with for treatment when recording vocals anyhow so that works out well. I would focus on getting a solid monitoring area down with moveable panels at reflection points. You could then use the movable panels when recording (along with a few other in the room too).
And though I understand if you don't want to hang stuff from the walls, hanging a panel only takes a single small nail. You'd want to use something like the Ooks hooks.
 
SD88 said:
If thats the way you are thinking good for you while i help the most corrective an ideal way you are only day dreaming.

Trust me for you is ridiculous i can say that my method is exactly calculated to resolve those issues. and if you think that people are educated way beyond their intelligence too bad for you. I dedicated my time an my concentration for this sweetie.And if i take my time doing those calculations i can afford it because that is my job.
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That's a nice purple. :)
 
SD88 said:
If thats the way you are thinking good for you while i help the most corrective an ideal way you are only day dreaming. Trust me for you is ridiculous i can say that my method is exactly calculated to resolve those issues. and if you think that people are educated way beyond their intelligence too bad for you. I dedicated my time an my concentration for this sweetie.And if i take my time doing those calculations i can afford it because that is my job.
Click to expand...
Take Chill Pill.
You are new here and you are already starting to show your as_.
Believe it or not, you aren't the only one on this Forum that has a clue.
There are many knowledgeable and fun people who frequent this Forum and if you take some time and go a little slower, you may be able to see the wisdom that each of us bring.
Plus you may make some friends on the way. :)
 
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