Carpet or wood floor? room with big windows

[musicstudioproject]

Hi

I'm looking at setting up a home studio with a "control room" and vocal booth in a split level flat that I'm renting... I'm new to this so at the moment, so I'm doing a lot of research to find out what would be the best for me to do. I'm currently working on sketch up to do a decent model and will upload it when it's finished along with a lot of questions....

I would really appreciate some advice for now please:

Please have a look at the attached sketch. The control room is about 3.49m x3.57m x2.45m. There's unfortunately a big single glazed window that takes a good part of the left side wall (the wall underneath the window is made of a layer of plasterboard, some more glass - I suppose that before the window covered the all height of the room- and some sort of insulation on the outside, it seems to me) . There's a radiator on the "front" wall in the sketch, and a little built in cupboard in a corner (with a door) The vocal booth is next to the control room (on the right and separated by a platerboard wall). I'm planning to build a room within a room for the vocal booth but I'll come back to this in another post...
There's wood floor throughout. My flatmate's bedroom is below the "control room" and I've got neighbours on 2 sides (brickwall separation).
My plan is to have the desk on the back wall on the sketch (with the window on the left), add 2 bass traps from floor to ceiling on the corners of the same wall, filled with rockwool cut in triangles and covered with a veneered plywood panel. Also, add a 1.20m x 1.20m broadband absorber on this same wall behind the speakers, then add one 60cmx1.20m broadband absorber on the wall opposite the window, and another 60cmx1.20m broadband absorber on the wall opposite the speakers, along with some book shelves, and possibily a diffuser.

Obviously I wouldn't want to piss my flatmates off, although I won't be playing music extra loud, since I can't fully soundproof the room (rented flat), so I first thought of putting a felt underlay and carpet the room. However I've been reading that carpet is a killer for high frequencies so I don't really know what to do. As there is this big window and I suppose that there's nothing I can do about it, if I was to put a carpet, would some high frequencies be reflected by the window still? Or is carpet really not good compared to wood floor. Would it make a big difference anyway in terms of sound transmission, if there was a carpet?

Thanks a lot in advance for any help!

[Soundman2020]

Hi there " musicstudioproject", and welcome to the forum!

Sorry for not having replied sooner, but I hadn't even seen your initial post for some reason.

Oh well, better late than never...

I'm currently working on sketch up to do a decent model and will upload it when it's finished along with a lot of questions....

Looking forward to seeing that!

My plan is to have the desk on the back wall on the sketch (with the window on the left),

Just to clarify: so as you are seated at the desk, the window would be on your left?

add 2 bass traps from floor to ceiling on the corners of the same wall, filled with rockwool cut in triangles and covered with a veneered plywood panel.

You were doing fine there until you got to the "plywood" part. Do you want a broadband bass trap, or a partly reflective tuned resonator? That's what you would get if you faced a bass trap with plywood. It would become a membrane trap ("panel trap") that would be tuned to a specific frequency. That's probably not what you want...

Also, add a 1.20m x 1.20m broadband absorber on this same wall behind the speakers,

One of those behind each speaker, yes. And thick: at least 10cm. Use OC-703 for those.

then add one 60cmx1.20m broadband absorber on the wall opposite the window, and another 60cmx1.20m broadband absorber on the wall opposite the speakers

Ummm... now you are making the room asymmetrical, which is a mistake. Symmetry is critical for a control room. The left half should be an exact mirror image of the right half.

You'll also need a LOT more absorption on the rear wall ("the one opposite the speakers"). That entire wall needs at least 10cm of OC-703, plus superchunk bass traps in the corners. It's a small room, so it will need MAJOR bass trapping. The two ones you mentioned up front are a start, but nowhere near enough.

along with some book shelves,

Book shelves? In a control room?

and possibily a diffuser.

The room is not big enough for most types of diffuser. Which type did you have in mind?

I can't fully soundproof the room (rented flat), so I first thought of putting a felt underlay and carpet the room.

You seem to be confusing "isolation" with "treatment". Carpet would be treatment. Lousy treatment, yes, but it would still be classified as treatment, since it would do nothing at all to isolate your room: Isolation and treatment are too entirely different and independent aspects of acoustics. Isolation is all about stopping sound from getting in or out of the room, and requires massive, heavy, rigid, thick materials (as in: concrete, brick, gypsum board, thick plywood, thick MDF, etc.), as well as absolute hermetic seals. Treatment is what you do to a room AFTER it has been isolated, to make it sound good inside. Treatment involves light, soft, fluffy, fibrous materials (as in fiberglass insulation, mineral wool, some types of carpet, etc.). You cannot isolate with those materials. That's a myth. Sorry. That's not how physics works, despite popular belief.

However I've been reading that carpet is a killer for high frequencies so I don't really know what to do.

Right. Carpet does the opposite of what rooms need, in terms of treatment, and does practically nothing at all, in terms of isolation. Which is why you practically never see professional studios fully carpeted...

As there is this big window and I suppose that there's nothing I can do about it, if I was to put a carpet, would some high frequencies be reflected by the window still?

I'm not sure I understand that: Are you saying that you want to put carpet on the window? That won't work. What you need in front of that window is thick absorption, located at the first reflection point for that wall. If you don't want to cover the window permanently, then you could mount your panel on wheels, something like a gobo, so you can wheel it out the way when you want to see out the window, then wheel it back again when you are tracking/mixing.

Or is carpet really not good compared to wood floor.

Correct. But the wood also has to be done right: you can't just put any old piece of wood down for your floor, any way you like. For example, there cannot be any air cavity under the wood. It must be solidly up against the sub-floor, which hopefully is concrete.

Would it make a big difference anyway in terms of sound transmission, if there was a carpet?

No. Carpet would only help for impact noise, but not for airborne sound.

(By the way, you can ignore the post right above mine from the spammer, about colors, textures and prices: he will be deleted and banned very fast, if he tries that trick again.)


- Stuart -

[musicstudioproject]

Hi Stuart!

Thanks for your reply! I've got another thread http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =2&t=19402 initially about a panel absorber which somehow ended up being about the room setup and you've also replied to me on there I've dropped the idea of soundproofing the room as it would be too much hassle in a rented flat (except for the vocal booth soundproofing which I will do) but I'm going ahead with the acoustic treatment.

Quote:
Also, add a 1.20m x 1.20m broadband absorber on this same wall behind the speakers,
One of those behind each speaker, yes. And thick: at least 10cm. Use OC-703 for those.

If I do this as opposed to a 1.80 x 1.20m absorber, is that enough?

along with some book shelves,
Book shelves? In a control room?

This "control room" is not a proper control room.. It's in a flat and I haven't got much space so some shelves in the control room would really help... :-/

You can see some sketchup pictures on the other thread..

Also I've got some questions on that other thread and would love to have your opinion please.

THANKS A LOT!!!

[Soundman2020]

If I do this as opposed to a 1.80 x 1.20m absorber, is that enough?

More is better! If you can fit in the 1.8m then go for it!

- Stuart -