HELP! Drum Room Treatment

Hello all. The Problem: After building my basement studio (many thanks to this site) and recording in it for a bit, I am finding that my drum room is just too 'roomy' I get a lot of bass and low mids that just end up saturating the recording and causing a lot of phase and standing wave issues. What I record: I mostly record rock drums so I really want a clean and punchy sound that I can play with in the mix. What I have done: I used some 2'x4'x2" foam to try and diffuse it a bit around the room but I am still having a lot of issues and the overall bass tones of the room just wont seem to go away, so I tore everything out and am starting from scratch on my treatment. Known Issues: I am aware that the tracking room is not the optimal shape as it is symmetrical, but this is the shape I was stuck with... 'poor planning' early on, I have learned my lesson. Now I just have to make the best of what I got. The good news is, she is sound tight! I get very little sound bleed from the room to the rest of the house and 0 outside the house.. so I did something right :) Anyway here is a picture of the room with dimensions. Short of deconstructing the room and reshaping, what do you all suggest to really get the most out of the room? Its really low ceilings 6'9", but the overall ratio isn't too bad so I know I should be able to do something here...Please help!

From what you have sritten, you have little absorption at low frequencies. First simple to describe treatment is use at least 4" thick fiberglass/mineral wool for absorption. After that, some low end absorbers. Superchunks etc in the corners. Andre

Thanks Andre, When you say 4" thick fiberglass, are you referring to diffusers? I have seen a few threads with these so I am sure I can cook a few up. Can you embellish on the bass absorbers, I.E Is there a certain formula for doing the corner traps? Also, something I have seen a lot of people do on this site, would building out 1 or 2 of the walls with slot resonators be useful? Thanks for the response.

eightamrock wrote:

Thanks Andre,

Tou are welcome.

When you say 4" thick fiberglass, are you referring to diffusers?

No. I wrote for absorption. They are absorbers.

Can you embellish on the bass absorbers, I.E Is there a certain formula for doing the corner traps?

The easiest ones technically to design are just thick fiberglass/mineral wool.

Also, something I have seen a lot of people do on this site, would building out 1 or 2 of the walls with slot resonators be useful?

Usefull for what? Yes they are usefull, but not for what you have described. Andre

Thanks, so based on your suggestions I put together this treatment mock-up. Do you think i would have better results with this? Are there any other suggestions for placement etc? I guess using OC 703 is best for this kind of treatment... are there any other alternatives?

eightamrock wrote:

Thanks, so based on your suggestions I put together this treatment mock-up. Do you think i would have better results with this? Are there any other suggestions for placement etc?

Great start. Fine tune the absorbers by having them not face each other and stagger them up and down.

I guess using OC 703 is best for this kind of treatment... are there any other alternatives?

The cheapest 3 lb/ft^3 fiberglass or 4 lb/ft^3 mineral wool. 703 is OC's tradename for 3 lb/ft^3 fiberglass. Andre

Thanks for the great feedback Andre, Here is the final mock up. Hopefully this will help tame my room. There is not much I can do about the absorber on the wall with the window. I pulled it down a little to stagger it from the opposite wall, but in that space there's not much room to play with. Should I remove it all together? Or is having them directly facing better then having none at all... Thanks, Sam

eightamrock wrote:

There is not much I can do about the absorber on the wall with the window. I pulled it down a little to stagger it from the opposite wall, but in that space there's not much room to play with. Should I remove it all together? Or is having them directly facing better then having none at all

That looks much better. You did the best posible with the absorber on the window wall. You DO NOT want them directly opposite each other. Directly opposite leaves surfaces where flutter echo is more likely to form. It looks great! Andre