Huge empty room vs midsized bedroom for recording?

[Pizzanetor]

Hi guys, I'm getting more and more passionate about acoustic guitar recordings! I'm reading several topics about it and I would like your opinion regarding the choice of the room.

I recently moved in a new apartment and for reasons of "family (girlfriend) serenity" the only places where it's possible for me to record are two:
- On one side there is the guest room (18 ft x 13 ft), but it's fully furnished with wardrobes, bed and furniture.


- On the other side there is a completely empty huge living room (26.5ft x 17.6ft).
[I have no idea of ​​the american standards for apartments, but in Italy there are some apartments as large as my living room, so I find it appropriate to call it "giant living room"].


Anyway, my doubt is that such a large room could give me too much reverb, opinions? Can anyone tell me if such a huge room can give me trouble of some kind?
Also, both rooms have marble floors.

A further problem is that I was literally forbidden by my girlfriend to apply acoustic treatment to the walls, hence my question:
do you think that the blankets on the floor and many cushions in the corners allow for better acoustic?
Any other tips to suggest?

[rick-slo]

Definitely the larger room would record better. Some acoustic absorbing panels in the room even better but you possible could get away without much of that if mikes not too far from the guitar and you sit in a location minimizing standing waves.

Add some reverb post recording if desired.

[KevWind]

I would use the larger room

Not sure what you mean by my "my doubt is that such a large room could give me too much reverb" ?
There will be reflection/reverberation from the walls in either room, but how much and how noticeable it will be, depends on multiple variable factors but in general,, the larger the room the less problematic they will be. As Derk noted close mic'ing well help with this also Also in general you do not want record dead center in the room but more like a 2/3 --1/3 position from one of the shorter walls

Cushions in the corners could very well help... Blankets on the walls not much help.

Some acoustic panel manufactures now offer printed art or decor type fabric for their panels so as to become more like wall decoration, as opposed to an eye sore ..


If that is still a no go And If you have some storage room in the closet,,,, free standing Acoustic Panels --2 ft. by 4 ft. by 4 or 6 inches deep (often called Gobo's ) would be your best bet (either DYI or store bought) You can take them out of closet and set them up around your recording position then put them away to keep your Gal happy.

[Pizzanetor]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Cushions in the corners could very well help... Blankets on the walls not much help.

what about blankets on the floor? good help or not much help?
(I haven't any carpet and also my apartment has marble floors, not moquette)

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Pizzanetor

what about blankets on the floor? good help or not much help?
(I haven't any carpet and also my apartment has marble floors, not moquette)

That is unlikely to be helpful. Easy enough to experiment with though.

[runamuck]

My experience is that for recording acoustic guitar, a small to medium sized room like you're showing here is better than a large room. I could not control the ambience in the large room like I could the smaller room with plenty of bass traps. In the large room, even when surrounded with acoustic panels, there was just too much mid and high frequencies in the reflections.

On the other hand, recording cello or violin, as two examples, sound much better in the middle of the larger room.

[Gordon Currie]

Marble floors are going to present a challenge. The are highly reflective and that reflection will want to make its way into your microphones.

Area rugs might help, along with the use of gobos.

One thing for certain, you will need to do fairly close miking. Your goal is to keep the reflections from interfering too much with your recordings.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Pizzanetor

what about blankets on the floor? good help or not much help?
(I haven't any carpet and also my apartment has marble floors, not moquette)

Ohh that can be problematic Same marble in the bedroom ?

If so you want a to think about a dense throw rug even if only small, and right under your recording position .

[Pizzanetor]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Ohh that can be problematic, same marble in the bedroom?

yes

Originally Posted by KevWind

If so you want a to think about a dense throw rug even if only small, and right under your recording position .

Originally Posted by Gordon Currie

Marble floors are going to present a challenge.
Area rugs might help

so it's better to cover all the room floor with blankets + put a lot heavy of them right under my recording position?

[RodB]

Room acoustics will play a greater part in your recorded sound that the difference in quality of mics, within certain limits.

What about investing in a nice rug to put on the floor and if necessary save on your mic purchases? As an added bonus your ’family’ might appreciate this more...

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Pizzanetor

so it's better to cover all the room floor with blankets + put a lot heavy of them right under my recording position?

Not a good idea.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Pizzanetor

yes
so it's better to cover all the room floor with blankets + put a lot heavy of them right under my recording position?

Blankets (Maybe better than nothing ) but do not have the density to be of much effect. Dense throw rug much is better, but if that's not in cards right now----- In theory it's the first reflection point off the floor that is the most problematic, so focus on the area right underneath you
Another thought might be interlocking rubber flooring tiles maybe 5 ft X 5 ft

[Pizzanetor]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Not a good idea.

excuse me, why?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Pizzanetor

excuse me, why?

Because it's not going to accomplish much. Room treatment isn't tossing some blankets around. Blankets aren't great frequency absorbers. The effect will be minimal and not really worth the expense or the effort. Since your significant other won't allow permanent room treatment, the best thing you can do for yourself is create a space within your space. You can do that with portable bass traps (which you can hide away when not in use). Build enough 4" thick traps to create a circle around where you're recording and you'll be able to get decent results. There are videos in the sticked thread that show you both the benefit of this and how to build them.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Pizzanetor

excuse me, why?

Pro studios go for hard floors (not that you can hope for room treatment at that level). You will absorb a bit of higher frequencies only, not the lower ones. Probably less air and clarity in the recording will result. Of course harshness in the higher trebles can be an issue in steel string guitar recordings but throw rugs un-likey to help with that.