John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

here is a quick layout of the tiny room.

There is not much room left at all, i can fit 500mm wide panels on walls just before door and window, maybe slat walls here?
I could also put large garbage bag plastic on front of bass traps maybe.....

I heard slat walls are different for different size rooms, If I could fake some space here that would be cool.
this room (hopefully) will be used for solo acoustic guitar.

I tried to work sketchup but couldn't get a handle on it...

I am trying to find a smaller table, and if I can maybe even swap ends, put the table where the recording space currently is.
as long as i can still open door. it opens in as i have 2 doors there,

excuse the mess in the room it's at the point I could blow it up for fun, but the house us above it though

Great! Photos!

First thing I would do is turn that cloud sideways: right now it is not covering your first reflection points on the ceiling. Also, make it bigger! It needs to cover a larger area that that.

Second, you need absorption on the first reflection points on your side walls: you don't have any right now.

Also, raise that absorber on the rear wall up higher, and try to get it away from the wall a bit: And make it bigger...

Fill the rest of the cavities behind your rear bass traps: You say they only go half way up the wall, but you really need to get them all the way up the wall, and also put a sheet of plastic in front of them. Not sure about garbage bags! I'd go for proper polyethylene. They normally have it in hardware stores, on big rolls and you just buy as much as you need. Not expensive.

I would also put absorption on that plywood window plug, since it is directly opposite the door, and perhaps add more bass traps (plastic covered) in the wall-ceiling corners.

What's on the floor? You didn't show that...

Anyway, try the above and see how it goes.

One other thing: try to get the speakers off the desk and onto individual massive stands, and decouple the speakers from the stands, too. Look around the forum for ideas on cheap, effective very massive speaker stands.


- Stuart -

the floor is concrete. I would probably record on a small matt as it silences the chair/feet etc moving around

I could probably fill behind the bass traps with more but it's all scraps i have left.
and the walls are so uneven it's hard to get a exact measure. so they will be a rough triangle shape

I have 3 panels left of rigid poly, about 600 x 480 , maybe put these on the walls..

Thanks for the reply

I've put some foam in 2 corners behind a plastic 'wall' the 2 inch traps are in front of them,
I've just covered the 3 inch bass traps with plastic. and put another plastic covered trap behind the cloud on an angle to help 'meet' the corners( and shoved some small spare odd shapes behind it).
also turned the cloud sideways.

it does sound brighter but haven't recorded in it yet...

will do a few more things but waiting on some more insulation.

there are some manufacturers here who don't seem to worry about small orders, I did however get some for free.
just trying to find some more as well.

the room is so small and uncomfortable to record in though i'm seeing about a smaller desk and put the monitors on stands.
or take the tower out all together and doing the 'rough' mixing in my room...

the room is so small and uncomfortable to record in though i'm seeing about a smaller desk and put the monitors on stands.

A good idea anyway!

Speakers sitting directly on table? : Ummmm... not helping your acoustics very much!
Speakers on massive decoupled stands? : Better!
Speakers in soffits? MUCH better!


- Stuart -

For your midrange problem, try this

I had a recording room with plaster over brick walls that had a nasty problem at 250 Hz, well it just happens that R19 insulation with the paper facing the room has a peak absorption @ 250 Hz. I built two 8' high by 4' wide frames in two corners. I put in R19 with the paper facing the room. They fixed the bass problem right up. I finished them by adding some 1/4" wood molding on top of the frame and stretched some fabric across the frames to finish them. The molding was spacer to keep the fabric from touching the paper.

(from studio tips)

I picked this up out of the "Master Handbook of Acoustics" and used it in a very tubby sounding room. My drums always sounded like cardboard boxes. I built 4 2' x 6' frames of these and they worked great.

Another simple midrange absorber (not quite as simple as that one though) is put some pegboard over a sealed back box. Changing the depth of the box changes the frequency absorbed and adding insulation makes it more broadband. I can't find the calculators online, but the calculations are pretty simple and in Everest's book too.

I need oner more pack of insulation, it seems the manufacturers can't be bothered with such a small order, ( except the mob who gave me some for free. they are cool but figure i've got enough out of them I guess)
I'm trying to find a retailer with a variety of batts to choose from in my area.