A strange room

[jaz761]

I have spent some time reading through the painstakingly assembled stickied thread at the top but was hoping for some more tailored advice. I would like to undertake some room treatment to make my space more conducive to recording acoustic guitar and vocals. The room is also used for small band practices which don't get too loud. I'm not looking for Abbey Road, but clearly my room isn't ideal for the kind of recording I hope to do.

I currently use either an Apogee HypeMic or an AKG P170 and a CAD M179 and record vocals and acoustic guitar simultaneously into a Gen1 Scarlett 2i2. Of course there is plenty of bleed etc, but it's fine for demos for me to send around. I also have a bunch of other mics that we use for live sound, 57, 58, Sennheiser 835s etc.

I'm wondering what basic DIY treatment would get me the most bang for the buck. I'm comfortable making panels etc. Almost every inch of the space is used for something so would hate to lose corners to traps, though I know it may be necessary.

The room is 17' X 11' X 10' at the peak of the ceiling. There are old windows all around. It's dodgy. Would a cloud hung over a small area plus a standing - V panel setup be a good start?

Thanks in advance to all who make this section so helpful and interesting.

[alohachris]

Aloha jaz761,

I agree 100% with everyone else who will tell you that you must treat your space first before you buy or even discuss ANY new mic or gear.

Otherwise, you'll be throwing away your money & wasting your time, like I did before I committed to adequate Room Treatment.

Make some (4-9) portable - not permanent, 4"x2'x4', free-standing, Owen's-Corning OC703 rigid fiberglass, broadband absorbers for your tracking area.

Build more later for the room (bass traps in corners) & around your editing desk to hear better while mastering. I made 21 all told over the years. Still in great shape. Here's how to save money on making DIY gobo's:

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

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

Here's the Room Treatment Bible to tell you why (more info than you need but read the first couple chapters for the meat:

http://ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

Like you, I also had windows all around a large studio space. I used to hang double layers of movers blankets (4" between) to handle hard window reflections. Not ideal for all frequencies, but it did work with my broadband absorbers.

As far as panel placement: SPL Meter your room, get print-out off related app to show graphically where early reflection room issues are. Find the sweet spot for tracking in the space. Put you chair in the middle & start experimenting with panel placement. Not difficult or expensive - AND ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!!!

Place two free-standing DIY absorbers in a light V in front of the mic's where you sit. Then two panels behind where you sit also in a V. And then two each on each side of you - not too close.

You may also need one above (hang with mic stand). You can add more or less space between the absorbers to get more or less room in a track. Nine absorbers at first will really do the trick. Or even just two to start behind the mic's.

It's a 'room-within-a-room' fully treated tracking space that truly works well in controlling your space. Made mine 15 years ago.

Also, you can store portable gobo's out of the way when not in use. They really do work great in every kind of space!

Good Luck, jaz!

alohachris

[shufflebeat]

Some more reading:


https://samplecraze.com/2019/01/04/h...atment-part-1/

[b1j]

jaz761, we're building a studio with a room about that size (13 x 19 floor with 10' ceiling at the peak). I'm eager to find out what the acoustics will be like.

See my other thread about playing in the room with only exposed insulation this evening, no sheetrock. It was dramatically different from any of the four locations I've used to record in the main house.

I'm no expert on panel placement, but over the past year I have become a believer in reflection absorption. My plan is to make eight 2' x 4' x 4" panels and use them free-standing as gobos when tracking, and somewhere on the walls at first and second reflection points when I mix. I think they're going to cost me about $40 each.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

[Gordon Currie]

Without seeing the room, I can say confidently that you first need to consider bass trapping in the corners. I've never encountered a residential room that did not need bass traps!

The likely next task is to deal with early reflections via broad-band absorbers.

The use of clouds and things like diffusion is best saved for after you have tamed low-frequency nodes and reflections. Think of it as fine-tuning.

[TBman]

I have several of these ATS 4'x2'x4" panels. They may or may not apply to your situation, but they helped my recordings a great deal.