After having my studio in the lounge for a year, lots of space and furniture about, i have convinced the missus to clear out the second bedroom just for my gear.
Problem is, polished concrete floors, plain gyprock walls (drywall, for the americans).
With just my gear and a fluffy shaggy rug on the floor, i’m worried it will sound like shit.
Any tips on reducing echo?
Please dont say egg cartons on the wall. She would have my balls…
Using near field monitors, so not too much volume.
Would leaving the window open help? (Or would it just piss the neighbours off)
Would it really make that much difference to my sound?
Can double check levels with headphones but not too keen on wearing them.
What do you guys do?
I have seen some mighty unusual setups in “your setups”.
One guy even has instruments in different rooms, including the hallway…
At least, i can shut the door and let missus watch her shit tv shows. In peace.
If you want to deaden sound and your missus won’t allow anything to be fixed to the walls then you’ll just have to furnish it I’m afaid. Maybe a few beanbags and a futon?
Perhaps it might help to know that Led Zeppelin IV and other albums were recorded in an old Victorian workhouse (Headley Grange).
Egg cartons are a fire hazard and just absorb high frequencies. It will just make the room worse. So at least don’t do that!
The following is probably common knowledge, but just in case it gives you any ideas, look for ways to diffuse (spread) reflections and soft, heavy objects that dampen.
Uneven, hard stuff that breaks up the flat surfaces are good. Shelves with lots of books of uneven size for instance. It will disperse the sound hitting it, making reflexions less of a hard echo and more reverb-ish. Soft, compact objects are also something you want. A bed, a closet filled to the breaking point with fabrics, a couch, etc. will all absorb energy all the way down to the difficult bass levels. Some kind of nice-looking heavy tapestry decoration on the walls? Preferably with acoustic foam or insulation mats hidden behind them. Make the room a storing space for all the soft crap one tend to own like guest mattresses, spare pillows, your collection of Spider-Man bed spreads that the wife don’t ever allow you to use anyways, etc.
If possible, try to arrange things symmetrical left to right. A lot of dampening on one side, and nothing on the other will completely mess up the stereo image.
Regarding ideal placement of dampening, imagine where you would place mirrors so that you could see your monitors from your sitting position in them. That is where the direct reflections are, and where dampening will help the most.
Choosing where to sit is also important. At some points in your room you will probably have a lot of standing waves, at other points you have a more balanced sound. If you play a deep sine wave at various frequencies while moving around in the room you will probably find spots where the sound suddenly gets really, really loud and others where it almost dissapear completely. Those are the spots where you don’t want to sit.
Ha!!! I could just see my missus’ face.
There is NO WAY she would let me hang that stuff on the walls.
I cant even leave a pair of dirty socks on the floor.
“Oh, but, honey, the socks absorb low frequency reverberation”
Guess its more furry rugs for me.
Thanks guys.
From what I gather, the mini traps in particular gets lots of praise.
Edit: Also, those auralex foam things will still help a bit if attached to the underside of a desk and other places out of sight.
I don’t know if SoundOnSound still have this, but some years ago when I subscribed to the magazine they had a “Studio SOS” series where they helped treat home studios. Lots of tips there. Both auralex foam and mini traps were regulars.
Both auralex foam and mini traps were regulars.