The black art of acoustics..... Any thoughts on my room?

frobisher

I'm doing enough work in my room that I'm starting to get annoyed by its response. It's got more corners than a Rubiks cube. I've had worse sounding space, but she's a slappy in the high mid and a bit loose in the bottom. Like an aged hooker :P

The room is 2.18m high, 5.96m long and moves from 2.08 to 2.68m deep. I know the science of acoustics runs deep and dark. Any light on making improvements would be very welcome. Help me solve my Rubiks cube.













Interestingly, when I record instruments/vocals in front of the sofa space they sound crap compared to the area to the right (as I sit) of the DAW. So I intend on using that space for my vocal tracking with an acoustic foam kit and a maybe thick curtain. Other than that I'm thinking a van load of foam in the corners and some bass soakers.

Don't shoot me on the decor. She looks a lot prettier in real life than in sketchup

krd

Cover every surface in the room in long shag sheep skin.

I'm not sure it will do much for the acoustics.........but I would like to see the room once it's done.

frobisher

krd wrote: »

Cover every surface in the room in long shag sheep skin.

I'm not sure it will do much for the acoustics.........but I would like to see the room once it's done.[/


I actually have three sheep skin rugs in there already and have ordered more from Poland. Long haired beasts they have there. So you're not far wrong.

You couldn't really have the desk in a worse position..whats the bass response like around it?..massive bumps depending on where you're standing?..did you try tucking it in there by the glass door?

frobisher

Deleted User wrote: »

You couldn't really have the desk in a worse position..whats the bass response like around it?..massive bumps depending on where you're standing?..did you try tucking it in there by the glass door?

It's actually not that bad. Although it's not great either. That's why I'm changing it. The desk can go anywhere. I'd love to make it work where it is, but as you say I'll have a lot more work with diffusion and absorption by putting it there. If it turns out to be not worth it, or the absorbers/diffusers behind the listening position eat up too much room space, I'll most likely do as you say.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

frob - have you measured at the mix spot ? from 30 to 300 hertz ?

or if you play a bass or bass synth -
from low e up - do you hear drops outs or overloud notes as you ply up the keys ?



id say that spot would be very dodgy sound wise

frobisher

DaDumTish wrote: »

frob - have you measured at the mix spot ? from 30 to 300 hertz ?

or if you play a bass or bass synth -
from low e up - do you hear drops outs or overloud notes as you ply up the keys ?



id say that spot would be very dodgy sound wise

There is no spot as such, it's all experimental at this stage. Right now I've turned the whole thing 90 degrees towards the glass door and am experimenting with the 38% rule. It's certainly sounding different. Much more clarity in the low mid and the whole mids area seems to have more space. My monitors are newish to me, and I'm trying out a sub woofer so there's a lot going on all round. And I'm far from out of the woods.

Anyone built or bought diffusers and/or bass absorbers or any note worthy impact from foam?

I've just taken delivery of a pair of ultrasone pro 750 headphones so I can do my best to pretend the room isn't there :-)

madtheory

Regular foam is useless (and often a fire hazard), and proper "acoustic" foam is only useful if you decide you need to be very specific about the frequency range of absorption (foam mostly works on upper mids and highs). But in your room it's the lower end of the spectrum that needs absorbing.The best readily available material for that in Ireland for DIY is 50g/m3 Rockwool slabs. Most DIY places are RW stockists and can order it in a few days. All you need to do is make a frame for the slab and cover it with something- I used dust sheets, they look nice.

But start simple- stack rolls of RW in each corner. Leave them in the plastic wrapping and cover with a nice breathable fabric (dustsheets). Easy and effective "superchunks".

Difusion is best applied in the recording area, but that's a total generalisation. It's also more challenging to build a diffuser than an absorber! Tape Op recently published a fairly simple, but effective one. The one on Ethan Winer's page is even simpler- curved ply with RW backing. How you achieve a room that is as acoustically neutral as possible is a mixture of your tastes, budget and the physics of the room. But rest assured you can make vast improvements without complex engineering.

You should take a measurement just to back up what your ears are telling you. Need not be anything fancy, just record a sweep back into your DAW, that will show you generally where your peaks and dips are. Use a measurement mic- the Behringer is actually a fine one. It's also a useful recording mic, especially in pairs.

Dadumtish is right- up around 350Hz is the "room cut off frequency" in your average domestic room. This means that above that you don't need to do much absorption. But you can calculate the exact frequency for your place using one of the many online calculators out there.

O ya, question for you. If you're happy with the recorded sound in the area with the glass, why would you go changing it by putting in foam????

frobisher

madtheory wrote: »

Regular foam is useless (and often a fire hazard), and proper "acoustic" foam is only useful if you decide you need to be very specific about the frequency range of absorption (foam mostly works on upper mids and highs). But in your room it's the lower end of the spectrum that needs absorbing.The best readily available material for that in Ireland for DIY is 50g/m3 Rockwool slabs. Most DIY places are RW stockists and can order it in a few days. All you need to do is make a frame for the slab and cover it with something- I used dust sheets, they look nice.

But start simple- stack rolls of RW in each corner. Leave them in the plastic wrapping and cover with a nice breathable fabric (dustsheets). Easy and effective "superchunks".

Difusion is best applied in the recording area, but that's a total generalisation. It's also more challenging to build a diffuser than an absorber! Tape Op recently published a fairly simple, but effective one. The one on Ethan Winer's page is even simpler- curved ply with RW backing. How you achieve a room that is as acoustically neutral as possible is a mixture of your tastes, budget and the physics of the room. But rest assured you can make vast improvements without complex engineering.

You should take a measurement just to back up what your ears are telling you. Need not be anything fancy, just record a sweep back into your DAW, that will show you generally where your peaks and dips are. Use a measurement mic- the Behringer is actually a fine one. It's also a useful recording mic, especially in pairs.

Dadumtish is right- up around 350Hz is the "room cut off frequency" in your average domestic room. This means that above that you don't need to do much absorption. But you can calculate the exact frequency for your place using one of the many online calculators out there.

O ya, question for you. If you're happy with the recorded sound in the area with the glass, why would you go changing it by putting in foam????

Foam gets a bad rap. The wrong stuff is close to useless, but some open cell foam can be a lot better than nothing. I just bought a used room kit and it makes a huge difference to the high mid slappiness I mentioned. Whether or not it shall be part of my final solution remains to be seen however.

I'm not happy with the sound by the glass. It's much better than the alcove area, but still needs improvement. The foam has gone aways to that. But the bass absorption still needs to go in. Which may end up being broad band, in which case the foam could go. I'm trying out different positions at the moment, trying to get a good balance between good mixing and tracking spots and ergonomics in a small space. To be honest, my head's bloody melted with it. But I'll get there