Newby drum/live room creation

[jbucki10]

Hey Guy

Newby here (flame suit equipped and ready to go).

I am certain that a bunch of my questions I am about to ask have been asked here before and probably been answered by you guys ad nauseam, I am just suffering from information overload atm.

I am looking to turn a spare room in my house into a "live room" to record drums in. Frankly it is too small for purpose but I have to work with what I have got. I have given up any prospect of isolating it acoustically, I will just settle for treating the room so it doesn't sound like a reverb tank. I have included a rough drawing of the room. All the walls are shiny painted fibro, the roof is slanted and the floor is lino. My ears hurt just thinking about a crash being hit in that room in its current state.

I was thinking of covering the entire room in acoustic foam tiles and covering the floor in carpet and just killing the room completely and just calling it done. What do you guys think will be the best course of action? I wish to do this as economically/cheaply as possiable

Any assistance/guidance in the matter would be greatly appreciated.

[John Steel]

Hello & howdo' jbucki10?
Welcome to the rollercoaster!

I am certain that a bunch of my questions I am about to ask have been asked here before and probably been answered by you guys ad nauseam

That's exactly the way it works - it's a self help forum and the answers to most problems are here if you're willing to look for them.

I am just suffering from information overload atm.

I hear you - it can be overwhelming, just take your time and don't be in a hurry to do anything.

I am looking to turn a spare room in my house into a "live room" . . . Frankly it is too small for purpose but I have to work with what I have got.

I think you may have answered your own question pre-emptively here. The room is very small and although I'm no expert on acoustic treatments, hopefully someone who is will chime in. I certainly don't intend to damp your enthusiasm or pour cold water on your plan, but maybe there is some way of making the space more usable or finding an alternative with a bit of lateral thinking? Best wishes and good luck, John.

[SoWhat]

Greetings jbucki10,

Do listen to John's advice.

I will add my two cents (as a fellow drummer). Methinks your biggest recording issue will be the low ceiling; corner traps will help some of the other potential problems. You really don't have a way to let overhead mics "breathe." They will collect so many reflections (as I'm not sure you can put too much treatment on the ceiling without having to duck all the time). I suggest a REALLY old school approach for recording the cymbals: room mics placed as far from the kit (and not too high) as possible (because its a small space). If you want to get an idea of how this sort of thing sounds (but in a MUCH bigger space), listen to the recording of "Sing, Sing, Sing" from Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall Concert (1938). The entire band was recorded at a distance (save for one soloing mic). Krupa's cymbals sound fine (for 1938 cymbals).

All the best,

Paul

[DanDan]

KD Laing makes great sounding records, with drum recorded in a closet.....
Some suggestions to pick and chose from:-

I would make either the ceiling or floor completely absorbent.
Any mic can be placed in the Pressure Zone, creating a PZM. This eliminates reflections entirely.
I often place two mics on the wall behind the drummer. I have DPA 4061 omnis but even a SDC high up pointing down will also become PZM.
Drums benefit from boundary LF reinforcement, so up against the wall.....

I have used 8x4 sheets of ply leaning at an angle, instead of absorbers. This kills flutter, but keeps a woody liveness...

Try pointing your Kick drum in different directions. The room and drum will respond very very differently. So pick which sounds best.