Assistance With My New Studio's Acoustics?

[The Phat Conductor]

I'm just re-setting my studio up after a nasty encounter with fluttery standing waves...

The room looks like this more or less:

____window____
1...................1
1...................1 closet
1...................1
1...................1______
1.............................1
1.............................1
1.............................1
1.............................1 9 feet
1.............................1
1.............................1
1______________door__1
9 feet


and is approximately a 9x9 square not counting the little alcove with the window.
the ceilings are also 9 feet high... leaving me with a resonant 9 foot cube

i had originally put my desk on the left wall at around the middle, but the lack of symmetry disturbed me, and there was a lopsided standing wave thing happening at f#.

i figured that if i am dealing with a cube, and an especially resonant one at that, i should probably be near the middle of it so that the distortion is at least the same left vs. right.

my desk is now in the middle of the room, butting up against the closet, with the computer monitor facing the door. it's a lot more symmetrical this way, but i still have to deaden the hell out of the place or i'll never be able to do any mixing here.

now i have this:

____window____
1........office.....1
1........office.....1 closet
1....................1
1....................1______
1......deskdeskdesk......1
1.......spkr....spkr........1
1............me.............1
1.............................1 9 feet
1.............................1
1.............................1
1______________door__1
9 feet


and i am thinking that i will cut this heavy duty persion rug into strips and put them about at different angles on the ceiling to deaden it a bit, as well as on the walls. i also know i need a bass trap, and either deflectors or dampeners (or maybe even both) at the reflection points left and right.

do you have any acoustic advice for me?
any low budget tricks for making deflectors, dampeners, bass traps, etc...?
any advice as to whether things are placed appropriately?

etc...

it would really help. i have soooo many late mixdowns from moving booooo!

PS: apologies if my ascii drawing doesn't work on your computer. it seemed simple when i started it, but it's taken some tinkering to get it to come out right.

[shuutobi]

Is the door on the right wall or the bottom/back wall there?

edit: Looks like the back wall erm... Also what is the total length of the room 12/13'?

[The Phat Conductor]

Is the door on the right wall or the bottom/back wall there?

edit: Looks like the back wall erm... Also what is the total length of the room 12/13'?

yes the total length is approximately 13 feet.

the main area is basically a 9x9x9 cube.

should i leave the furniture the way it is?

my plan at the moment is to just deaden the poopsky out of the whole joint. putting heavy persian carpet strips all irregularly around the ceiling and walls, doubling them up at the reflecting points.

is this a good plan?

[McQ714]

was it an expensive rug? aren't real persian rugs quite pricey??? there was a thread yesterday with a link to an ebay site with some good prices on studio foam, and even though foam is ugly as hell, i guess serves really well at sound absorbtion!?! there are also other building materials out there that can deaden the sound just as well if not better.

[The Phat Conductor]

was it an expensive rug? aren't real persian rugs quite pricey??? there was a thread yesterday with a link to an ebay site with some good prices on studio foam, and even though foam is ugly as hell, i guess serves really well at sound absorbtion!?! there are also other building materials out there that can deaden the sound just as well if not better.

i got it for free, and it's waaaaaaay too big for anywhere in anyone i know's house. it's literally 14 x 9.5 feet!

huge!

[McQ714]

as ugly as studio foam is, i think a persian rug or strips of a persian rug would be uglier. i'm guessing, if this is what you've thought of, that you don't really care about how good it looks as long as it does the job!?! here's the thing, though... if sound can travel through carpeted floors, how well is that rug really going to work? i'd throw that shit on craigslist and buy some foam to deck out your room.

[knotkranky]

Is the door on the right wall or the bottom/back wall there?

edit: Looks like the back wall erm... Also what is the total length of the room 12/13'?

yes the total length is approximately 13 feet.

the main area is basically a 9x9x9 cube.

should i leave the furniture the way it is?

my plan at the moment is to just deaden the poopsky out of the whole joint. putting heavy persian carpet strips all irregularly around the ceiling and walls, doubling them up at the reflecting points.

is this a good plan?

if you have a standing wave, it's a low-end problem and no amount of foam or carpet will help.

first thing is to set up in the right spot. Put your speaks on a roll cart and roll it around the room while your fave hit record is playing. Listen to each spot (not too loud). Could be against a certain wall, could be near the middle pointed in a certain direction. The right spot will sound clearer with good bottom. set up there. Then treatments will be muuuuuch easier.





You may not be in the right spot and trying to treat a room for it.

[shuutobi]

Ideally I would setup against that back wall where the door is.
Start with your HEAD being 59.28" (4.983') from the wall.

If you can setup there with all your gear and have a manageable entry way, that will be your best spot.

Since this is such a small space you're going to need all the bass and broadband trapping you can get. Since you don't have much space you'll need to stack mineral fiber or similar performance material in the corners in 1/8th chunks out of 2'x4'x2" batts. These will take up the least amount of space and give you 12" traps (2' face) in the corners.

You'll definitely need a cloud above you make sure the lowest part is 12" down from the ceiling, maybe another one hanging 45 degrees in front of you at an angle, and broadband traps covering the entire front wall + side walls. Possibly make some 6" traps for the RFZ area.

I don't think diffusion is really going help in that small of a room, so I would just concentrate on as much bass trapping and broadband absorption you can. Maybe use some diffusion in the back to control flutter. Eventually get all 4 corners bass trapped as well...


I personally have only taken care of my mix position, and only spot treated the back of the room with some cheap 2" auralex for spot treating, but I wouldn't dare record anything in the back of the space.

[The Phat Conductor]

excellent advice guys.

i think i am just going to have to suck it up and go to home depot.

i don't think i've used the correct terminology re: standing waves... it's a kind of high pitched ringing reverb at the f# near 1700Hz. deadening should take care of it i think?

also: what is the reasoning for putting the setup against the wall near the door?

that would CERTAINLY look a lot better. why would it sound better? increased room length?

[knotkranky]

excellent advice guys.

i think i am just going to have to suck it up and go to home depot.

i don't think i've used the correct terminology re: standing waves... it's a kind of high pitched ringing reverb at the f# near 1700Hz. deadening should take care of it i think?

also: what is the reasoning for putting the setup against the wall near the door?

that would CERTAINLY look a lot better. why would it sound better? increased room length?

1.7k is easy to kill.

there's nothing to think about, only practical application and ears for your "unique" room is left. Find the sweet-spot first and respond to that. I can't stress it enough.

good luck

[timothyallan]

Maybe you can get some cheap basstrap ideas from this?

http://www.timothyallan.com/studio-design/

[The Phat Conductor]

Maybe you can get some cheap basstrap ideas from this?

http://www.timothyallan.com/studio-design/

HOTTT!!!!

thanks homey

[shuutobi]

excellent advice guys.

i think i am just going to have to suck it up and go to home depot.

i don't think i've used the correct terminology re: standing waves... it's a kind of high pitched ringing reverb at the f# near 1700Hz. deadening should take care of it i think?

also: what is the reasoning for putting the setup against the wall near the door?

that would CERTAINLY look a lot better. why would it sound better? increased room length?

You want to always go the length of the room and have your head @ the 38% mark (killing first reflections even more important then, but that's a given)... In the other position you're basically in the center of the room, and that is nothing but trouble. The other side near the window is also way too small, unless you want to knock down the closet...

I don't think you're going to find 703 mineral fiber or rockwool at homedepot, but it wouldn't hurt to look.

Here is a national supplier of OC 703:
http://www.spi-co.com/servicecenterdirectory.mv

If you can't find any near you check out ats acoustics or gik acoustics for DIY supplies and pre-made stuff...

I'd recommend an even cheaper solution for major bass trapping in your corners, if you had a few more feet and didn't have that door there... (12 fluffy pink rolls of r13 stacked to the ceiling with false walls in front of them. Only cost me $100 for 12 rolls + $20 for the false wall materials. The difference from just a single bass trap panel in the corner to that was amazing! It would cost about $50 more using 2'x4'x2" 703 chopped up, and that seems to be the best option for your corners.)

[kyleland]

excellent advice guys.

i think i am just going to have to suck it up and go to home depot.

i don't think i've used the correct terminology re: standing waves... it's a kind of high pitched ringing reverb at the f# near 1700Hz. deadening should take care of it i think?

also: what is the reasoning for putting the setup against the wall near the door?

that would CERTAINLY look a lot better. why would it sound better? increased room length?

1.7k is easy to kill.

there's nothing to think about, only practical application and ears for your "unique" room is left. Find the sweet-spot first and respond to that. I can't stress it enough.

good luck

Relaxing and fighting stress can also be done at the gym, as unlikely as that may sound. Yoga, stretching, and even Pilates are ideal in this sense, because they do not focus on burning fat or building muscle mass, but rather on achieving inner balance. Stretching the muscles is also helpful because it eliminates the tension that accumulates throughout the day, and thus makes the pain go away, helping us feel better.

[timothyallan]

excellent advice guys.

i think i am just going to have to suck it up and go to home depot.

i don't think i've used the correct terminology re: standing waves... it's a kind of high pitched ringing reverb at the f# near 1700Hz. deadening should take care of it i think?

also: what is the reasoning for putting the setup against the wall near the door?

that would CERTAINLY look a lot better. why would it sound better? increased room length?

1.7k is easy to kill.

there's nothing to think about, only practical application and ears for your "unique" room is left. Find the sweet-spot first and respond to that. I can't stress it enough.

good luck

Relaxing and fighting stress can also be done at the gym, as unlikely as that may sound. Yoga, stretching, and even Pilates are ideal in this sense, because they do not focus on burning fat or building muscle mass, but rather on achieving inner balance. Stretching the muscles is also helpful because it eliminates the tension that accumulates throughout the day, and thus makes the pain go away, helping us feel better.

I thiiiiiink you may want to re-read the post you responded to. Unless you're a bot, and then you can't, but kudos to your developer to recognise key words.