studio decor...dual purpose

i've noticed that alot of the professional studios i've been to are adorned with alo of wod....i later learned that wood has very positive acoustic properties....hence my question does it matter the type of wood and its layout in the studio?.....i have access to alot of bamboo and was considering implementing it somehow into the studio that i'm building...slats maybe...or some kind of diffusor?

bump....nobody have any info or opinions???....so called experts?

flygrade, Dude, a little patience. Both John and Steve volunteer to do this stuff on the side... for FREE. It's not unusual to wait a day or two for a reply. They'll get to it, provided that you don't completely alienate the very folks you're asking for help. Again, they put up with us out of the kindness of their heart and a sincere desire to help those who are willing to roll up their sleves and slog into DIY hell. To begin addressing your question... What type, how much and where is going to depend entirely upon your room and it's needs. Example; If your room needs a slot resonator solution, you'll be looking at a fair amount of wood for that. The thicknesses, widths and spacing of the slats is dependant upon the frequency you need to trap. But if you don't need a slot resonator, you darn sure don't want to put yourself through that expense, only to screw-up the frequency response of the room. It's all really room dependant. If you can go ahead and post the answers to these basic essentials, it'll get your answers much quicker. How many rooms? What purposes for each room? What are your room dimensions? Do you have a design yet? Can you post a link to it? Oh, and it really does help if you can update your profile to let the guys know where you are. Some locations on the planet are easier to recommend what ever you should use because of direct knowledge of building matterials and availability, etc. Hang in there and be patient, I'm sure there'll be some info coming soon. Max

Thanks Max :) - please tell us more flygrade - what's the point of discussing bamboo if you only 1/2" thick bamboo? I've got 6" bamboo growing on my property. cheers john

alright...for starters i'm in jamaica...the bamboo that i have ranges in size so i cant actually say anything more than its ALOT of bamboo....the room is tentative so dont want to get into specifics right now but i will say that its gonna be the main room in a small production studio...really, i just wanted to know if bamboo is viable as an acoustic material in a studio without getting into specifics....sorry for my impatience...its inherited

flygrade, I'd say only as a general statement that yes, bamboo is going to be OK for some of your finish millwork. Note that I conditionally say "some" of your millwork. I haven't worked with enough of the species to comment on how stable it is. (warping, cupping, twist) As far as I know, it will likely be a real challange to get much 1" thick material. Then too, most of the bamboo that I've seen here locally in the states is in the .25" thickness range. (Laminate flooring thicknesses) If this is indeed the typical thickness of the species, you'll be glueing up an awful lot of it to do any major millwork. But if you've got an abundant supply, a good sharp jointer and planer, plenty of glue/clamps and lots of time, go for it! Bamboo is a bit hard to rough sand because of the fiber content. However, it seems to finish out fairly easily if you can start from a medium/fine grit of paper. It doesn't hold dark stains too well from what I recall. Other than that, what little bit I've worked with held edges well and drilled up fine. Again, I'm certainly no authority on bamboo, so I have no idea as to it's suitability for anything structural. Good luck, Max

Hello, Since we're talking about types of wood and how it affects studio acoustics. Maybe this is a good time to drop one of my questions on wood. All of the pictures I have seen of build studio's, which use wood to make slot resonator, leave it unpainted. But from a decoration standpoint it would, in my opinion, be nicer to paint the wood used in the slot resonators, or other placed where wood is used. Giving wood a nice color which fits the rest of the colors in the studio would positive influence the ambiance in the studio. My questions are: 1) If I would paint the wood in the studio would that affect the positive acoustic properties of wood? 2) In general how does wood have a positive influence on the room acoustics? Does it absorb or diffuse? What are the properties of wood when we're talking about acoustics? Thanks a lot for your response. Hewert.

1) If I would paint the wood in the studio would that affect the positive acoustic properties of wood?

No - painting makes no difference.

2) In general how does wood have a positive influence on the room acoustics? Does it absorb or diffuse? What are the properties of wood when we're talking about acoustics?

wood is reflective as a straight surface, if used in slots it's still reflective but the resonator aborbs low mids. The more rigid the wood the lower the frequency of reflection i.e. Hardwood reflects more than softwood. Wood used in a panel absorber reflects but the panel absorber absorbs low frequencies. cheers john

Hello John, Thanks for your response. So, when I understand it right: Where some people talk about the nice woody sound in the studio and the nice characteristic sound of wood, there talking nonsense. There's no such thing unless the wood they are talking about is used in a slot resonator or panel absorber. I could use steel instead of wood for the slot resonators and panel absorbers and the room would sound the same. Am I right? Kind Regards Herwert.

I disagree to the notion wood has no effect... Wood flooring sounds much different than concrete...wood flooring with a crawl space under it sounds different than wood flooring laid over tiles.... Different woods have different acoustic qualities....that's why there are so many different woods for instruments, and I think once you get down to it, a studio room is in reality is its own instrument, albeit a different one. Steel will not resonate very well (when it does, buildings tend to fall down...).. this sounds dumb, but a resonator MUST resonate to function... hence using an extremely stiff piece of material would (I think) defeat the purpose...

MAN I envy you people!! bamboo growing on your property!! all I have growing are shrubs and potplants!!!!!lol

Steel will not resonate very well (when it does, buildings tend to fall down...).. this sounds dumb, but a resonator MUST resonate to function... hence using an extremely stiff piece of material would (I think) defeat the purpose... This would be true if the SLATS were what was supposed to resonate in a slat absorber - but they're NOT. In fact, you want the absorbent in a Slat resonator (AKA Helmholtz) to be AGAINST the backs of the slats, with a cloth cover between them (the cloth increases helmholtz action by adding to the resistance of the "air column' between the slats) - the "resonance" is a function of the air column behind the slats, the "acoustic resistance" of the slot between the slats, and the permeability of the material that's "blocking" the slots. About the only thing that should change the result of a(properly designed) slat resonator as far as the SLATS are concerned, is their width, thickness, and spacing. Oh, and somewhat the amount of higher frequencies your slat material of choice reflects. Everything else you see from the front is purely aesthetic, other than possibly some materials being harder to damp; if you like Cocobola or Zebra wood or Walnut,(or concrete or steel, for that matter) then do it... Steve