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  #1  
Old 10-26-2016, 10:30 PM
gfsark gfsark is offline
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Default Room acoustic analysis for your studio: Is it worth it? Have you done it?

Just spent some fun YouTube time, going through a tutorial on measuring room acoustics using RoomEQ Wizard. All seems pretty straight forward and not too expensive. Well, at least I'm preparing to spend a fair amount of money on getting the room prepped, and getting DAW software and some other hardware, so in the big picture, the cost of buying a few acoustic analytic tools would seem to be well worth while.

https://youtu.be/dYOlC1onguI

Wondering if you have done this for your own home studios?

Also, I've been following the discussion that seems to crop up frequently between Martin Maniac and some of you on the virtues of acoustic treatment, vs. mics, use of foam, etc... Wouldn't this type of measurement provide good factual reference to help push these discussions further toward resolution?

I'm planning to do this for myself as I start putting together my recording studio/guest bedroom. I like measuring stuff. I'm quite eager to look at before and after acoustic signature profiles with each change to the room. I'll post results when I get going on the project, some time next year.
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Old 10-26-2016, 10:34 PM
sdelsolray sdelsolray is offline
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I did it with my space. The resulting treatment improved the room.
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Old 10-26-2016, 11:23 PM
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Doug Young Doug Young is offline
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I used ETF back when I did my room, I don't think RoomEQ Wizard was available then, but it's the same idea. It was quite helpful and enlightening. You can also get some generic info from simple room mode calculators. I posted all the measurements and so on that I did on my web site. It's been quite a while and it was a lot of work, but I think it was worthwhile.

As far as "does room treatment make a difference?" I'd say it depends, you might just accidentally be blessed with a great sounding room, in which case, you're all set. Most of us are not, so it can make a big difference. Here's the difference room treatment made for me, in my garage - a mono recording with 1 mic 18 inches away:

Empty garage:

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/mp3/1..._bare_room.mp3

And then exact same position, when I was about 3/4 done with treating my room:

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/mp3/F...3_18inches.mp3

The foam vs 703 or other materials is just a matter of math. You can look at the absorption coefficients, and if you have measured your room, you'll know what you need. Foam absorbs mostly highs. if that's what your room needs, it will work great. Most rooms need broadband treatment, or even mostly lower frequencies tamed, and foam would not address that. I have a tiny bit of foam in my room - it's strictly for cosmetics - it looks cool, which is what it does best :-) The real work is done by the equivalent of about 30 OC-703 panels and corner bass traps.

Someone mentioned in another thread about the difference between recording and mixing, and that plays a role, too. I do my You Tube videos in an untreated room. With close micing, a basic carpeted spare bedroom works "ok". I wouldn't record a CD there, but it's good enough for you tube. But I mix those videos in my treated room where I can hopefully hear better.
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Old 10-27-2016, 12:30 AM
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Percentage of acoustic absorption coverage of wall and ceiling more important that exact location of the absorptive devices, though you get a greater effect per square foot of absorption material when used in the corners of the room. Four inch thick rockwool panels are pretty effective, though for the ceiling I kept it at two inch panels. Trickier if you want to rely on the natural ambiance of your recording space versus more heavily deadening the space and adding artificial ambiance in post recording.
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Old 10-27-2016, 01:41 PM
gfsark gfsark is offline
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Doug, thanks for the comparison test, what a difference.
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Old 10-27-2016, 02:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gfsark View Post
Just spent some fun YouTube time, going through a tutorial on measuring room acoustics using RoomEQ Wizard. All seems pretty straight forward and not too expensive. Well, at least I'm preparing to spend a fair amount of money on getting the room prepped, and getting DAW software and some other hardware, so in the big picture, the cost of buying a few acoustic analytic tools would seem to be well worth while.

https://youtu.be/dYOlC1onguI

Wondering if you have done this for your own home studios?

Also, I've been following the discussion that seems to crop up frequently between Martin Maniac and some of you on the virtues of acoustic treatment, vs. mics, use of foam, etc... Wouldn't this type of measurement provide good factual reference to help push these discussions further toward resolution?

I'm planning to do this for myself as I start putting together my recording studio/guest bedroom. I like measuring stuff. I'm quite eager to look at before and after acoustic signature profiles with each change to the room. I'll post results when I get going on the project, some time next year.
Yes I used the Room EQ Wizard which is a free download here
http://www.roomeqwizard.com/

The only expense would be an omni mic if you do not already have one

the Behringer ECM 8000 is $60 on Amazon is an inexpensive choice and will work fine.

Couple more video's I think are worthwhile are by GIK acoustics

this on the using the room EQ wizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4uSR3cUUSY

And this on some practical home studio acoustics basics and gets into absorption diffusion bass traps etc .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbQEBVDAY74
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  #7  
Old 10-27-2016, 07:53 PM
runamuck runamuck is offline
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The room I record and mix in is way too big for me to treat it with acoustic panels. Not only that, but I wouldn't like the look and neither would my wife.

So I made half a dozen 2 X 4 foot, 4" thick panels and surround the musician with them when recording or move them into my mix area when doing that.

I surrounded the 703 with 3/4" X 4" wood, covered them with burlap front and back, and made legs that attach with velcro to get them to various heights off the floor. The legs can quickly be unattached so I can store everything under the stairs.



Jim
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Old 10-27-2016, 09:45 PM
muscmp muscmp is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by runamuck View Post
The room I record and mix in is way too big for me to treat it with acoustic panels. Not only that, but I wouldn't like the look and neither would my wife.

So I made half a dozen 2 X 4 foot, 4" thick panels and surround the musician with them when recording or move them into my mix area when doing that.

I surrounded the 703 with 3/4" X 4" wood, covered them with burlap front and back, and made legs that attach with velcro to get them to various heights off the floor. The legs can quickly be unattached so I can store everything under the stairs.



Jim
jim: i'd like to see those. do you have any pics? interesting idea for convertibility.

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Old 10-27-2016, 10:21 PM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by runamuck View Post
The room I record and mix in is way too big for me to treat it with acoustic panels. Not only that, but I wouldn't like the look and neither would my wife.

So I made half a dozen 2 X 4 foot, 4" thick panels and surround the musician with them when recording or move them into my mix area when doing that.

I surrounded the 703 with 3/4" X 4" wood, covered them with burlap front and back, and made legs that attach with velcro to get them to various heights off the floor. The legs can quickly be unattached so I can store everything under the stairs.
Jim
Really big room and you might not need much acoustic treatment for recording an acoustic guitar, just keep away from a wall. Most prominent reflections would be from the floor and ceiling. The 4" backed panels fairly close to the mikes may actually increase problems in the the frequencies below about 100 hertz.
Article: http://realtraps.com/art_spaces.htm
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Last edited by rick-slo; 10-28-2016 at 07:56 AM.
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  #10  
Old 10-28-2016, 06:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by runamuck View Post
The room I record and mix in is way too big for me to treat it with acoustic panels. Not only that, but I wouldn't like the look and neither would my wife.

So I made half a dozen 2 X 4 foot, 4" thick panels and surround the musician with them when recording or move them into my mix area when doing that.

I surrounded the 703 with 3/4" X 4" wood, covered them with burlap front and back, and made legs that attach with velcro to get them to various heights off the floor. The legs can quickly be unattached so I can store everything under the stairs.



Jim
Do your panels have a closed back (i.e. plywood) or are they open back? I would think this would have an effect on how they perform if positioned close to the source and/or mic (particularly in the low frequencies as Derek has pointed out).
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Last edited by ChuckS; 10-28-2016 at 10:13 AM.
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  #11  
Old 10-28-2016, 08:45 PM
runamuck runamuck is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckS View Post
Do your panels have a closed back (i.e. plywood) or are they open back? I would think this would have an effect on how they perform if positioned close to the source and/or mic (particularly in the low frequencies as Derek has pointed out).

There's just a 3/4 " X 4'' frame around the perimeter and a small triangular piece in each corner. I notched the 703 for the triangular blocks.

I also made a few awhile back that hung on the wall that did have a 1/4" piece of MDF on the back. I've never compared the closed back panels standing out in the room to the open backs but from what I've read, the closed backs are more reflective, which in my room is not beneficial.

Jim
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Old 10-28-2016, 08:54 PM
runamuck runamuck is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
Really big room and you might not need much acoustic treatment for recording an acoustic guitar, just keep away from a wall. Most prominent reflections would be from the floor and ceiling. The 4" backed panels fairly close to the mikes may actually increase problems in the the frequencies below about 100 hertz.
Article: http://realtraps.com/art_spaces.htm
Yeah, I've found that to be the case. If I get a panel too close it can cause comb filtering, or what sounds like it.

In the past I used one of those foam and corrugated steel reflection filters behind the mic. I suppose they could be helpful for some situations but I stopped using it right away when I noticed pretty strong comb filtering. Before I made the acoustic panels, I'd hang blankets over a screen a couple feet behind the mic and behind me when recording ac. guitar. That sounded better than the reflection filter.

I've found the acoustic panels are a lot more useful for mixing than recording but still use them more often than not to help control the reverb I get from the large room.
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