walls for in home recording studio

[ButterBean]

I am currently building an in home recording studio. I plan on using egg carton foam for the walls, but I'm wondering if there any better options short of buying acoustic tile. If its around the same price as the egg foam but works better its perfect.

[hazmuz]

i would recommend you not to spend any time & money on egg cartons. please take a look at these:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/studi...look-here.html


http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/tag/acoustic-treatment/

[MikeBmusic]

I thnk you mean the 'acoustic foam' that has that egg carton look, but it is NOT what you want.
Visit the 'studio building' section of the forums at homerecording.com for lots of good information, including plenty of input from professional acoustic engineers and studio designers.
What you need are broadband absorbant panels (soetimes called bass traps) which absorb all frequencies. Acoustic foam will abosrb highs, leave the low-mids an dlows to bounce around and muddy up recordings (and the listening environment in general).

[Legolas1971]

Originally Posted by ButterBean

I am currently building an in home recording studio. I plan on using egg carton foam for the walls, but I'm wondering if there any better options short of buying acoustic tile. If its around the same price as the egg foam but works better its perfect.

Yeah, as others have said, don't waste your money on that pre-made
foam. If you're taking the time to build a studio then it's the perfect
time to do it right.....

When I built my studio I used batts of Roxul Mineral Wool, built wooden
frames, put the mineral wool in them and covered them with burlap. Then
I hung them about 4" from the wall; don't hang them right on the walls. I hung
5 of them and after each one went up the acoustics of the room changed (for the better). I also installed an affordable wood flooring and put a rug down.

The real test is when you record in the space. You should do test runs to see how the recordings sound and then decide on the number and location. It's the best thing I ever did regarding my studio.

Good luck....

[runamuck]

I think the best option is to research this before you go much further.

You might need a bit of foam to reduce high frequency bounce but the BiG problem with almost all rooms is low frequency issues.

The link below will provide answers to any question you may have and probably many you've never thought of.

http://ethanwiner.com/index.htm

Jim McCarthy

[ButterBean]

I plan on covering everything in foam then building bass traps framed in wood and covered in felt that are filled with wool or cotton. Alamy suggestions as far as mic/speaker placement?

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by ButterBean

I plan on covering everything in foam then building bass traps framed in wood and covered in felt that are filled with wool or cotton. Alamy suggestions as far as mic/speaker placement?

Felt is not particularly good as a bass trap cover, it is not porous enough. You want rockwool (Roxul, or Owens Corning 703 or 705) as the insulation on these.
Covering everything in that foam is a waste of money ... Please take everyone's advice and do some reading before buying/building.

Monitors (for mixing) should be located on the smaller of the walls (facing the long way into the room) - you haven't given us any clue on what your space is like. Materials of construction, size, ceiling height, corner angles ... Ethan Winer's site linked above is a great asset. Ethan also participates on the homerecording.com forums, so will answer questions there.

[Legolas1971]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

Felt is not partiuclarly good as a bass trap cover, it is not porous enough. You want rockwool (Roxul, or Owens Corning 703 or 705) as the insualtion on these.
Covering everyting in that foam is a waste of money ... Please take everyone's advice and do some reading before buying/building.

Monitors (for mixing) should be located on the smaller of the walls (facing the long way into the room) - you haven't given us any clue on what your space is like. Materials of construction, size, ceiling height, corner angles ... Ethan Winer's site linked above is a great asset. Ethan also participates on the homerecording.com forums, so will answer questions there.

Exactly....The foam is too expensive and will not do the job. Many of us have built home studios and have good experiences to share. Taking the time to do it right the first time will save you money and aggravation in the long run. Just get the rock wool (Roxul or Owens Corning), build the frames and cover in burlap. It can be done cheaply and quickly. But the most important benefit is that these absorbers will take care of the unwanted frequencies...

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by ButterBean

I plan on covering everything in foam then building bass traps framed in wood and covered in felt that are filled with wool or cotton. Alamy suggestions as far as mic/speaker placement?

Listen to what people are telling you.

Foam is the best advertised waste of money in the acoustics market. You would be better off covering "everything" with dollar bills

Bass traps at wall and ceiling intersection lines yes indeed .

2 ft by 4 ft by 4inch thick rock wool or Owens Corning 703 panels framed in 1 X 4 " pine covered in heavy cotton color to suit, placed at the first reflection points on the side walls
and in a 4 panel array cloud above mixing position. For the rest of the walls a nice alternated gapped and spaced 1 X 4 wood siding works well looks great.


Have no idea what you mean by mic/speaker placement they are two completely different issues.

[rick-slo]

I put up acoustic panels in a general purpose room. It does not look bad considering.
;
;
;

[7thbassbA]

I have an 11'x13' room. I bought four acoustic panels with 2" fiberglass and hung them on side walls. I bought four bass traps with 4" fiberglass and have them in the corners. I can move them around as necessary. Does pretty good job of keeping a ton of high frequency stuff bouncing around the room. Make them yourself and they can be really cheap.

The studio building forum has all the info you need. You would be surprised how little it takes to make a horrible room not so shabby.