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Old 05-07-2014, 12:31 PM
alohachris alohachris is offline
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 2,430
Default Room Treatment?

Aloha Friends,

Yeah, yeah, I know. Here comes ol' aloha with another room treatment mantra for the unsuspecting.

I also know that discussing gear & miking techniques is far sexier than treatment at these forums. But unless you consider room treatment now - as you're putting together the elements of your home recording rigs - then ol' Luke here won't be able to use any other miking techniques but close-miking his 'foot stompin' in X-Y effectively to achieve decent results. Don't limit yourselves.

Bottom line? Without Room Treatment:
- your acoustic recordings will not sound that great or be consistent,
- your mic's, equipment, editing & mastering cannot be maximized (no matter the gear quality). You cannot hear clearly.
- you simply cannot use a variety of stereo miking techniques that utilize your entire recording space (extended spaced pairs, Blumlein, ORTF, M-S, over-shoulder/12th fret, modified Decca Tree or combinations, etc.). That limits your creativity.
- you are limited - by unabated early room reflections. It's your choice.

Treatment controls early room reflections, tames the nasty basses (especially if you treat room corners), truly defines & clarifies the frequencies, gets rid of the mud in the mid-range & can truly allow you to hear the subtleties of your guitar & voice in your recordings. What's so un-sexy about that?

So as you learn about recording & putting together a studio, please take all that under consideration & investigate some kind of DIY Room Treatment for your space. In the early stages, it's actually more important than the signal chain.

AND, Room Treatment does NOT have to be permanent or expensive.

Here are a few clues for those interested in RT info:

DIY treatment from Fran Guidry. Check out the friendly video on how to make your own portable broad-band absorbers (I made 22 for myself & they really work in any room! I put 'em away when not in use):

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2009/...-on-the-cheap/

An Audible rationale for RT from Fran. Hear the difference in the video:

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2011/...adband-panels/

The Room Treatment bible from Ethan Winer (it's all here, especially if you're technically inclined):

http://ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

These cheap or free mover's blankets (ask for used from a moving co. & wash). Though they don't work for all freq's, Double Layers of blankets can get you started w/ room treatment easily & @ little or no cost. Hammer in 1/2" grommets along one end. Hang TWO LAYERS of blankets a min. of 4" apart & 4" off the wall or glass around where you track. Hang in front of windows, mirrors & other reflective surfaces. Double layers really help w/ upper mid's in small echo-ey rooms but NOT bass or lower-mid freq's that broad-band absorbers fix. Combine blankets (two layers) w/ absorbers for complete treatment:

http://www.uline.com/BL_7900/Moving-...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

A studio building/room treatment forum:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/studi...ing-acoustics/

Ya see friends, it doesn't matter if you are starting out with an H-2 recorder, a $50 mic, cheap headphones & free Audacity DAW or whether you invest in a full-on studio space & high quality gear w/ all the matched complementary signal chain elements. The truth is that you need room treatment in your equation as much as you need a microphone - even though it's NOT sexy (former serious mic addict here).

Room Treatment has made the biggest positive difference in my home DAW recordings - especially at the beginning. So please keep room treatment in mind. It'll save you a lot of time & money.

Many have tried to upgrade gear in hopes of improving their recordings, spending a lot of money, only to discover later - as they learn more - that all they needed was some simple portable, DIY room treatment for the clarity, consistency & FLEXIBILITY (as in stereo miking techniques for acoustic guitar) to achieve the sound in their acoustic recordings they seek. Don't make that same mistake, friends.

All the best!

A Hui Hou!
alohachris

Last edited by alohachris; 05-08-2014 at 11:46 AM.
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