need help with a live room - Sketchup

Hi all, I'd like to start using my band's rehearsal studio to record us live, and I'm hoping to get some advice on how to best treat the room's acoustics. My plan is to record everything live on location, then mix at my apartment. We rehearse in a warehouse basement in Hoboken, NJ that's been converted into a group of separate practice studios. The room is roughly 28'10" X 16'4" X 7' (8.79m X 4.98m X 2.13m). I've attached a Sketchup model of the room (please forgive the simplicity of it--it was my first crack at using Sketchup!). The floor is concrete with thin carpeting over most of it. There is an odd concrete structure about 64 inches wide that juts out into the room on one of the long walls (as shown in the diagram). The rest of that wall appears to be made of brick. One adjacent wall is also made of brick. The wall opposite the odd protruding structure appears to be (very ghetto indeed) a large curtain, followed by a floor carpet, then an unknown (to me) insulation (it's yellow and fluffy with a paper layer on one side if that helps), then plywood, then air space where the studs are, then wallboard. The last wall is also very ghetto. It appears to be nothing more than a layer of insulation (more of that yellow/paper stuff), followed by plywood, then more insulation on the other side. This is the only wall I'm not sure of, however, as I don't have access to the other side. The door is a cheap hollow wooden door. The ceiling appears to be floorboards (I can see where the nails are on every piece) with a layer of paint overtop, and there are various pipes running across the room that we slam our heads into now and then. I'm not concerned with sound isolation. We play very loud, but there are no neighbors to disturb, and the only noises that enter the room are other bands playing (which we'll have to schedule around). I'm only concerned with making the room sound as good as possible for recording a live band. Is there any hope for this room? What can I do to treat the problem areas? What are the ideal locations to set up each instrument? (drums, bass cabinet, guitar amps, organ and keyboard amps, and vocals) Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any help you guys can give me. Jay

Oops, forgot to mention a budget. I'd like to keep it under $400 if possible. As always, cheaper is better. And diy is definitely an option. Jay

Hello again, I've attached the diagram as a .gif for those that don't use Sketchup. I've done quite a bit of research on this and other forums over the past couple months, and would like to start working on the room this weekend. I realize that this is a small room for live recording, and all of the corners will need bass traps as well as some of the ceiling and walls for early reflections, but I'm not sure just how much it will need and where. I've read through many other example builds, but haven't found any rooms with as much brick/concrete as mine. Should I cover most of the brick walls? Should I treat only the ceiling above the drums? Please help! Thanks for reading. Jay

Anyone have some advice?

Aloha James, Sometimes the guys get tied up, so be patient and hang in there. In the meantime, here's a couple of thoughts. - First of all, attached is a calculation of what and where the standing waves are in your room. This should help to give a general idea of what the freqs are doing in the room and how best to treat them. It also helps to determine where & where not to place your instruments. I would try to stay out of the peak/nulls indicated, or least be aware of them, and what/how they may be affecting the sound. - I would start with treating the room with bass traps and breaking up any parallel surfaces like opposing walls and the floor/ceiling with some of the absorbers described in the link below . - You may want to consider a drum riser to help tighten up the drum sound. A search on this topic may prove useful. - Here's that link for some DIY bass traps, absorbers and other info: http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm - Here's a link for some good info on acoustics, how they affect what you hear, and how to treat them: http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html (click on menu in left hand column and any tabs at top of pages) Hope this helps you get some ideas going. Aloha 8)