before I go any further..

[G.Well]

Hi people,
Geoff here in Ghent (bELGIUM), got referred to by a friend (live soundengineer) so only recently got to know of the existence of this place..after I've started altering my space for musicmaking.

My goals in the room are both mixing(dub) and recording, I know, not your dream scenario but hey, attitude goes a long way, right?
Foremost this room will be used to record basic drums (no overheads, just snare, hihat,kick, 2toms), other than that the occasional vocalist/solo instrument.
That being said, said room is in the back of the house, away from street and such, only one neighbour who's not complaining when I play my drums..(yet!, although she can hear them a little)
At present I use some nearfields (decoupled on solid filled stands).
The roomwalls consist of mostly isolated drywall with a inch thick pressed woodpulp (ideal to press pins into) layer to avoid reflection.

Dimensions at present are:
L : 322 cm / 10.6 ft
W: 315 cm / 10.3 ft
H : 264 cm / 8.6 ft ( + 20cm/+0.6 ft between woodbeams )
As you'll notice I'm not proficient(novice) at Sketchup, however after some trial and error I cooked up some image for reference, bare with me..

My q's:

1.) Lengthwise I came to realise I could still make the neighbour sidewall (C side) in two leaf, if so what would be a better
dimension? (How much space in between required?) What ratio for room dimensions would aid?

2.)At the back of listening position (openside in the graphic) I was thinking to go with a bass trap over the total surface;
what would be a good depth for the trap and what thickness isolation should I be aiming? (Fluff or dense?)
(note:This is the side at which my (kick)drum is pointed at.)

3.) The windows on the side are fixed so I can't change them, I was thinking of mimicking them (partially) on the opposite
side of the mixing area (C side; with fotoframes); good idea or better a different approach, or ignore altogether?
(note : the windows do not seem to be in early reflection area)

4.) My groundsurface is solid oak glued on concrete, normally I'm going to try and decouple the drum acoustically with a
sheet of cork 1/2 inch. In lack of the necessity for a dedicated drumbooth (not mentioning the space).

5) In between the ceilingbeams I was planning to fill up between with rockwool (or should I opt for the fluffy stuff here?) and
finishing with some low-density cloth, this to tame reflections and have some absorption .

6) cornertraps/chunks , what minimumsize front would be advised for this room, keeping in mind that I don't need to
mix or play at loud volume or anything, this I ask because the position of the windows are perhaps less then ideal (talking
corner side A/B now..)


All the best and thanks for giving me help.
Geoff. Well

[Gregwor]

Welcome Geoff!

Please completely fill out your profile.

If isolation isn't a concern for you, you just have to try and make your room as good as you can, as is. I would put your speakers and desk up against wall C. I would put the biggest bass traps you can in all 4 corners (even covering up the windows closest to the corner (wall A and B corner). I would completely fill your ceiling with insulation and cover it with a breathable fabric. Put 4" of insulation behind your speakers and place your speakers directly up to this insulation. Regarding speaker placement, use this as a guideline: Speakers between ~28% and 34% (20% min and 40% max) width of the room away from the side walls. 25% is BAD! This is a frequency null point! Also don’t put them on the 45 degree line from the corner however put them as far apart as possible.

Once your speakers are in place, before putting any acoustic treatment up, follow the REW measurement instructions here on the forum and make an empty room baseline measurement. Then add one piece of treatment at a time and take measurements each time to see if you're getting to where you want to be.

I would also completely cover your rear wall (the one with the door and windows) with at least 6" of insulation. After that, you'll probably need to address your first reflection points on your side walls and then retain some amount of liveliness to your room while eliminating flutter echo by putting some poly's on the remaining bare parts of your side walls. Installing an angled hard backed cloud might be needed too, but, all of this should be confirmed throughout your REW testing phases between treatment placement.

Greg