Hi I am needing a room just for recording acoustic guitar and voice, but the only room I have available is with these dimensions: L 12' 8" W 7'10" H 10' .....with carpet floor.
The door is placed on the 12'8" side 26" in from the corner and is 80" x 28".....I have replaced the door that was there originally with a door I made. It has a 2x4 frame with R13 insulation on the inside and 1/2" gypsum board on both sides, so basically it fits flush with the wall on the inside of the room. I've also put some thick weather striping around the edge so it closes up nice and tight. With this door installed, external noise is not really an issue
Material: I have 20 pieces of 2" 2x4 703, but I also have 13 pieces of 3" 2' x 2' auralex wedge foam and 8 auralex bass traps.
My plans were to make 4 broadband absorbers for the corners. Each would be made from 2 sheets of 703 framed together by 1x3 boards and covered with burlap. These will be placed on the floor, so the remaining 2 feet from broadband absorber to ceiling will be filled with a auralex bass trap. As for the the rest of the 703, I planned on framing each 2x4 piece with 1x3's and burlap so they can be hung vertically on the side walls, but also leaving some for the ceiling. Then if I needed more absorption, I will fill in the spaces with the 3" wedge foam and bass traps. (I am willing to cut the 2x2 wedge foam pieces to make them fit right)
For my vocals I was planning on standing up (I am 6'2"), and for the acoustic guitar I was planning on sitting on a tall stool(guitar will be about 3 to 4 feet from floor. I was also thinking of laying down a 4' x 4' (or bigger) sheet of some reflective material on the floor when recording guitar to give a little life, but if this a bad idea please let me know.
1. So could any of you give any suggestions for the layout of my absorptive material?
2. Does the layout for the vocal recordings need to be different for the guitar recordings?
3. Would it be better to fill the 4 corners with 703 by cutting it into triangles and stacking, or just have panels set up against the corners
4. How should the 703 ceiling panels be placed? Should they be right up against the ceiling or is it a better idea to make a cloud?
5. **Where in the room should I position myself when recording?**
BTW: no other equipment will be in this room while recording.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
placement of 703 panels
Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 10275.
since its acoustic guitar and vox, you can stand the insulation up in the corners rather than create a "super chunk" absorber. as far as room layout - generally speaking , vox wants a dryer space vs an acoustic guitar which wants a more reverberant space. you might consider some reversible treatments to adjust the space and perhaps a nice piece of plywood to lay over the carpet when recording guitar (close reflections off the harder surface usually sound nice).
i would start with hanging the minimum amount of treatments on the walls and ceiling until you get the slap echoes under control and then listen to what you record there. too wet on vox - hang up some more absorbers - too dry on guitar, take some absorbers off the walls. stagger treatments on opposite walls to ensure that removing absorbers doesn't reintroduce slap echoes.
Thanks for the input gullfo. I'll figure out some way to make a quick room conversion between vocal and guitar tracks.
I've attached my room analysis from Auralex to see what you all think.
Could I benefit from some simple diffusion here? I was thinking of investing in a couple auralex minifusors.
Also, do I want to be in the center of the room when I record, or some place else?
Thanks