Tips for a modest home studio (bass traps and alignment)?

Hi all Greetings from Cape Town!, This is my first post here - I will do my best to comply with the forum rules etc. I lam moving to a small apartment block, where I want to set up a room for producing electronic music. The room I have chosen for music is 535 cm x 355 cm and the ceiling is 265 cm high. (I don't do metric, but I have tried to convert as Aims: - I won't be recording audio very much; I mainly 'mix in the box' - I don't want to mix very loudly, since I do not want to disturb my neighbours The room is the biggest in the apartment (still quite small), and has a picture window and a balcony facing out to the street at the far end. Here is a rough sketch map. If you want me to re-do it on Sketch-up or re-size it please let me know 8) I have three questions (1) First, what is the optimal alignment of my mixing desk? I can't easily go symmetrical down the long axis of the room, so I am thinking of going diagonal. Are there any advantages/ disadvantages in that regard? (2) Should I be close to / far from the window? At the moment I would rather push any residual sound out into the street, rather than into the building. I am also concerned about high frequency reflections from the window (3) Bass traps. I have a fair bit of acoustic foam I want to put up but I also want to put in bass traps in the corners. I have no carpentry skills whatever so I am going to have them made up. I am interested in finding readymade plans that I can give to a carpenter. Any advice about these will be appreciated Thanks!

Hi there "re:dream", and welcome! :)

The room I have chosen for music is 535 cm x 355 cm and the ceiling is 265 cm high. (I don't do metric, but I have tried to convert as

You can use metric, or imperial here. No problem Whatever is most comfortable for you.

I lam moving to a small apartment block,

Will you be on the ground floor, or an upper floor?

Here is a rough sketch map.

It's never a good idea to face your desk into the corner. It would be much better to forget using the balcony, and face your desk towards that end of the room. It is critical to have god symmetry for your room, and the best way of getting that is with the desk facing straight-on to one of the short walls of the room, so that the speakers are pointing down the long axis of the room.

(1) First, what is the optimal alignment of my mixing desk? I can't easily go symmetrical down the long axis of the room, so I am thinking of going diagonal. Are there any advantages/ disadvantages in that regard?

Diagonal is not a good idea, due to the major bass build-up that happens in room corners. All room modes terminate in corners, so having your speakers and your head close to one is not a good idea. If you have your desk on one of the long walls, then that would put your chair roughly in the center of the room, which is another very bad place to be. In the center of the room, all the modes are at their maximum peak or lowest null: not a good place to put your head.

(2) Should I be close to / far from the window? At the moment I would rather push any residual sound out into the street, rather than into the building. I am also concerned about high frequency reflections from the window

There's not a lot of difference. Drywall, brick, glass, and wood are all about the same in that aspect. Higher density materials (heavier) are a bit better at reducing sound transmission, and therefore a bit more reflective for mids and lows. The best idea is to set up your room with good geometry, meaning that the speakers, treatment and your chair are in the best possible locations within the room, from the point of view of modal response, SBIR, and other such issues.

(3) Bass traps. I have a fair bit of acoustic foam I want to put up but I also want to put in bass traps in the corners. I have no carpentry skills whatever so I am going to have them made up.

The very best type of bass trap is the "superchunk": Basically, that is just triangles of semi-rigid acoustic fiberglass, such as OC-703, then stack a bunch of those triangles in the corners, from floor to ceiling. Then you just make a simple rectangular wooden frame (like a picture frame), and cover it with fabric, and place that across the front to hide it: otherwise it looks really ugly! Put one of those in each of the four vertical corners, and it will be a very large improvement. Then also place absorption panels at your first election points, and you have the basic treatment in place for your room. It might need more, but that's the basics. - Stuart -