Need help with deciding what to do with my small room

[mhacker]

I posted my first post a while ago. JCBigler suggested me to read the FAQ and reference topics, and I did so. but there are still a few questions for me to be solved.

I've attached a 2D version of my room, because unfortunately I'm not familiar with 3D drawing. my room is a little bit strange. as it's been shown in the picture, it's not rectangular. so first of all, what should I do about the angles below or above 90 degrees?

the height to my room is 280 cm. I checked the dimensions in http://amroc.andymel.eu/amroc_andymel_eu_calculator.php and I saw its not that appropriate! should we consider the dimensions before we do any acoustical treatments or after installing them? with my room being that small, is it wise to make something like a vocal booth or a quiet room within the room? I was thinking about my options: I can reduce the height by installing what we call a "fake ceiling" (I don't know the exact term) or I can make a room within the room with this dimensions: L: 200-250 cm/ W:150-165 cm/ H: 240-280 cm. what should I do? I just need a decent room to record vocals.

the walls of the room (about 8-10 cm wide) are made of bricks and cement, without any air gap in between. but if I'm making a room within the room, I would use drywall (not sure if prefabricated plaster walls we are using in Iran qualify as Drywall!) with the width of 10cm, then a 5cm layer of air gap and after that I'll be using Rock wool (80 kg/m3) with 5 cm width ( rock wool 2*1 m panel slabs with 5cm width). I'll be using acoustic panel as needed after I install the rock wool inside the wooden (1*1m or 2*1m) frames. am I using the right materials? would you be kind to help me figure out what should I do?

[mhacker]

hi guys. believe me I'm not trying to spam or anything, but I really need your help. I tried my best to d include in my post whatever I was supposed to.

[malfunction]

Hi,

Don't worry, it might take awhile for the pros to answer and eventually they will.

But here are some things you might want to answer before anyone can do anything...
What kind of gear do you have to fit in the room?
Do you have a mixing console and rack gear or just a computer and a desk?
What is behind your walls, do you really need to isolate it just to record vocals?
What is above and below your room?
Will you ever be recording anything louder, like guitar amps?

If you fill these in, you might get a quicker answer.

Tomi

[JCBigler]

With the size of your room, I see two options.

1) If you can build a second wall on the left side of the room at an angle to match the 96.52 degrees on the right side of the room, and then orient your mixing desk on the side of the room which is 2.9m wide, this will give you a symmetrical, but non-parallel room with the walls angled just enough to be out of parallel.

2) orient your mixing desk on the left side of the room, facing the 2.6m wall and then build acoustic treatment panels for the left and right sides of the room and the back of the room.

I would no try to build a vocal booth in a room that size. It's too small. Just record in the room. Maybe build an iso box for your computer or other gear that have loud fans to help cut down on the noise from that equipment.

Also, what is the ceiling like? is it flat? Or does it slope up towards one end or another? Also, you need to indicate where the current windows and doors are in the room. That makes a big difference in how to orient the room and what can be built where.

[mhacker]

Hi,

Don't worry, it might take awhile for the pros to answer and eventually they will.

But here are some things you might want to answer before anyone can do anything...
What kind of gear do you have to fit in the room?
Do you have a mixing console and rack gear or just a computer and a desk?
What is behind your walls, do you really need to isolate it just to record vocals?
What is above and below your room?
Will you ever be recording anything louder, like guitar amps?

If you fill these in, you might get a quicker answer.

Tomi

thanks a lot, actually I'm really confused searching for information on acoustics and insulation, because there's a lot of information out there, that's the reason I yet don't know exactly what I should include in my posts. I don't have a mixing console or a rack gear, It's just my laptop, my sound card (Fast track MK II), the speakers ( Edifier x3, they're not monitoring speakers, but they're not that bad), my microphone (Rode NT1-A) and my M-audio keystation 61es midi controller. I' ll be recording vocals and sometimes I sometimes will need to record electric guitar through amps (I don't have the appropriate mic yet). I live in a condo, so above and below my room are two similar rooms, making pretty much noise, also the neighborhood is noisy, so there would be lots of sound leaks into my room through the door and the window of the room. I think I need to insulate the room using rock wool panel ( 2*4') on some parts of the walls; also I need to use bass traps ( whether foam bass traps or DIY versions! but I cannot afford making superchunks, unfortunately). do I need to use other kinds of acoustic panels like diffuser panels? heres the simple design showing where the door and the window is placed, the height of the room is 2.8 m (9.18 ft).

[mhacker]

With the size of your room, I see two options.

1) If you can build a second wall on the left side of the room at an angle to match the 96.52 degrees on the right side of the room, and then orient your mixing desk on the side of the room which is 2.9m wide, this will give you a symmetrical, but non-parallel room with the walls angled just enough to be out of parallel.

2) orient your mixing desk on the left side of the room, facing the 2.6m wall and then build acoustic treatment panels for the left and right sides of the room and the back of the room.

I would no try to build a vocal booth in a room that size. It's too small. Just record in the room. Maybe build an iso box for your computer or other gear that have loud fans to help cut down on the noise from that equipment.

Also, what is the ceiling like? is it flat? Or does it slope up towards one end or another? Also, you need to indicate where the current windows and doors are in the room. That makes a big difference in how to orient the room and what can be built where.

thanks. I marked the placement of the door and the window in the picture. so by option 1 you mean something like this (the one attached in this post)?! :
I really don't know which option is better. if I go with option 1, do I need to reduce the height of the ceiling ( to about 2.4 m)? would I need bass traps and acoustic panels ( absorber, diffuser)? what if I go with Option 2? I think in both ways I have to insulate the window completely so the major source of sound leak through the room is blocked, am I right?
yes the ceiling is flat and probably is made with a layer of cement above brick, the same thing applies to the ceiling. thank you very much for taking time and answering me.

[Soundman2020]

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

I've attached a 2D version of my room, because unfortunately I'm not familiar with 3D drawing.

You should spend some time learning SketchUp, and do your design in that. Sound is 3D, not 2D, so your studio design needs to consider the complete 3D environment, not just the floor area.

it's not rectangular. so first of all, what should I do about the angles below or above 90 degrees?

What is the purpose of this room? Is it a rehearsal space or live room, for example? Or is it a control room? If this is a control room, then the only usable layout is to have the interior oriented towards the left, facing the "2.6m" wall, as JCBigler already said.

should we consider the dimensions before we do any acoustical treatments or after installing them?

Treatment is not considered when calculating the basic room ratio. Isolation, however, is considered! Those dimensions refer to the final interior surfaces of the room after the isolation has been completed, but before installing any treatment.

with my room being that small, is it wise to make something like a vocal booth or a quiet room within the room?

It's not big enough for that, unfortunately.

but if I'm making a room within the room,

... then you should use the final dimensions of that inner room when you calculate the room ratio.

actually I'm really confused searching for information on acoustics and insulation, because there's a lot of information out there,

Very, very true! and a lot of that "information" simply is not correct anyway... But you are in the right place now, here on the forum. So provide as much information as you can, especially about what you want to use the room for, the type of music and instruments, etc. Photos would also help.

above and below my room are two similar rooms, making pretty much noise, also the neighborhood is noisy, ... I think I need to insulate the room using rock wool panel ( 2*4') on some parts of the walls;

That will not do anything at all to keep sound out, or in. Putting insulation panels on the walls will help with the internal acoustics of the room ("treatment"), but does nothing to stop sound getting in or out ("isolation"). Isolation and treatment are two very different things.

do I need to use other kinds of acoustic panels like diffuser panels?

The room is too small for most types of diffuser. They can only be used in large rooms.

- Stuart -