Forum Switch

I started this tread in the design forum and realized that it really should go in here instead. First, let me thank all you fine gentlemen (and ladies??) for all you do for the recording and studio construction community, this resource has been an unbelievable help to countless newbies, myself included. Let me preface this question by saying I don't know whether this belongs here or in the construction forums, heck it could even go in the acoustics forum. A little background, I work with a highly portable recording rig that handles mostly rock bands and they all like to turn up (who doesn't). I have been doing demo sessions for touring bands for about a year and recording live albums for five. I just finished a semi-live recording (you know, no audience) for a band to get a handle on just what they sound like live. I have been using portable gobos I machined and built to get isolation and they serve me well. So, the question is if I were to use a set of gobos making an enclosed room around the performer and used a heavyweight cloth with reflective panels attached as a ceiling at 12' under a 20'-50' actual ceiling what would be going on in terms of low range frequencies because as far as I can tell the sound reflected by the actual ceiling and then reentering would be reduced somewhat, but what effect does that have on the calculation of modes and other properties that one would use treatments for? I know it is an odd question, but I am looking for the best way to neutralize the unwanted acoustical artifacts of a larger room and this is the best solution I have found. Thanks for all you guys do. Jay

i think if the room is that large, your room modes will be less of an issue and things like echo and reverberation will be the artifacts mostly likely to intrude into the recording. if you're not able to treat the space to get the desired RT60 then you're best option is to prevent it from getting into the microphones by close mic'ing, and/or using absorbers/reflection/gobos to keep the room sound low enough to not cause you problems later in the mix.

Thanks for the reply, I guess the room modes not being a real issue is a good thing. The enclosed space made by the wall segments (8'x8'x8' gobos) forms a seven sided polygon shaped room with 16' sides. That amounts to about 930 sq.ft. with reflective, absorbent, and diffusive wall surfaces. There are no parallel walls, but the angles in the room are all the same. I don't know how much that effects things? With the seven sides and the lack of a real ceiling I don't know how to begin to calculate the RT60 or plan for the delay that could be present. Is there any way to calculate/anticipate these factors or do I need to set up the room and test?

i think for your situation, if you can do testing, you're more likely to find out what issues are actually affecting you rather than trying to calculate thing which might not really impact what you're doing.