Best accoustics in rehersal room

[Jahoo]

Best accoustics in rehersal room


Hi everyone,

I recently got access to a new rehersal room (gig room, or how do you call it?) in a nice and tall basement. It is in a rather raw state, and there is a lot of work ahead of me and my band members.

I have two questions for people who know their stuff in acoustics:
1. What best to put on the floor? Right now we have raw concrete (cement) on the floor. I am thinking floor-covering or carpenting or perhaps linoleum (PVC) and carpets on top of that. What would you advise? We are semi-tight on budget, but I think I would rather invest more in the ceiling and wall acoustic pannels, bass traps.
2. There is a rather curious ceiling shape (see the second picture below). I'm considering to build a drywall suspeneded ceiling, fill the void over it with insulation fiber and than put acoustic foam panels (like the ones here http://rjelectronics.org/wp-content/upl ... pieces.jpg) onto it. Now the question is - what shape should the suspended ceilng be for best acoustic outcome? Normal (flat), waved, rounded in the corners, a shape of V, or maby upside-down V? Should I build the ceilng at all, or better to just apply the panels the the ceilng that is allready there (please note the hight of the room).

My aim is to create the best possible environment for rehersal and creativity - I do not want to kill the reverb to zero. I also don't want to isolate the sound, since I don't have to worry too much about noise getting outside.
There also might be ocasional recordings done in this room.


Pics
down to earth view:


ceiling shape view (you can see the two and a half floor beams):

[Rabalder]

My aim is to create the best possible environment for rehersal and creativity

For starters just put thick carpets on the floor, move in and start playing.
From that point on, you might allready think it sounds perfect..? If not you can add or remove stuff..
I like to use molton ("theater fabric") on walls. Suspended ceilings are rarely a necessity.

Visit a fleamarked, local theater, concerthalls ect.. These places usually have lots of stuff you can have for free.
No need to spend money on this. Spend it on gear instead.

It all comes down to how "nice" you want it to look.
The best places Ive rehearsed are usually very worn down ugly concrete rooms with stuff hanging from the ceiling, 150 old carpetson the floor, beercans everywhere, etc.
In my experience its the atmosphere, not the acoustics that creates a good environment for rehersal and creativity.

Just sayin...

[Jahoo]

Thanks Rabalder. "Beercans everywhere" is not exactly my idea of creative environment

While I agree with you in general about the atmosphere, one must keep in mind that lots of reverb is very tireing for ears and mind. I remeber a 3 hour rehersal in a poorly adjusted room - I felt like I'm drunk afterwards.

We don't play heavy music and like to focus on details and details are very hard to hear, when everything the drummer does bounces off the walls a hundret times.

[3dot...]

rehearsal room is tricky.. because of the hi volume used..
if the room is small ..there's a lot of chaos pretty easily..
carpets and furniture galore..until it sounds right..
I would also recommend catching bass behind the PA (usually behind the drummer position..)
also try and round the corners a bit.. or put traps there..
speaker and guitar amps should be away from the walls..
ceiling should be treated at the very end..
because completely "drying" up the room ..makes for a dull sound..

[memes_33]

carpet the floors- you can get carpet samples or extra cuts for very cheap or free if you look around.

stuff batt insulation into the ceiling spaces between the beams. if you can span the ceiling with chicken wire or fence, you can just stuff insulation up there and have the chicken wire prevent it from falling on you (although you might get fiberglass dust all over you- if so, just put a breathable cloth underneath the wire or fiberglass to catch it). if you get the batt insulation with the paper on back, either tear the paper off or mount it paper-side-up to the ceiling surface. batt insulation is much cheaper than the rigid fiberglass stuff, but the rigid looks much better and is much easier to work with. same thing with the rigid, though- either tear off the foil/paper surface on the back or mount it so that is against the wall/ceiling.

a few foam or fiberglass panels on the walls will help, too. add as necessary- more will yield a deader space, less a more reverberant if not slightly "tube-y" sound.

bass traps in the corners are nice but not a necessity.

for rehearsal spaces, you are much less worried about low-end accuracy (like you would be in a control room) and much more worried about reflections of mid & highs, which are much easier to deal with than the low end. that being said, a few bass traps in the corners will probably help with the low end and up clarity.

personally, i would try to make it pretty dead, unless there is a singer in your band. vocals need a little air for the singer to properly practice, IMO. just my $0.02.

[swishniak]

one thing that will make a big difference for drums is if you can put put some sort of rubber / insulation / wood between the concrete floor and the drums. just carpets wont do much. i recently did this to my room and it makes a big difference.

also its easy to make some baffles out of a wooden frame + insulation inside - wrapped over with some linen. the look good and you can move them around to find where they make the most difference (and also easily reposition them to create effects / track dry vocals, etc.).

theres alot of info over at gearslutz if you can wade through all the annoying posts first

[3dot...]

+1 for a wooden drum 'ramp' ..