John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi guys, i just cleaned up the office room completely and decided to make it into a home studio/band rehearsal room. The room dimensions are 3.93X2.93x3m (12.89'x9.61'x9.84')

Here are some pictures of the room:





I only need to acoustic treat my room as isolation is not an issue for me cause im living in a bricked wall villa with really good isolation, so Im planning on going for a DIY approach in regarding the acoustic treatment, but unfortunately my country doesn't provide much options in dampening materials. So Im wondering what kind of alternative materials is recommended to use in a panel? and what size should the panels be for a room like this? and how many panels would be optimal to acoustic treat the room? and where should i put them best? Do I need bass traps? would i need to treat the ceiling? And is there anything i should do with the windows?

Im trying to go for a budget friendly approach, approximately 500$-650$ USD.

I hope the information/questions are clear enough, if im missing anything please let me know, any help would be much appreciated

Thank you in advance

Welcome! That's a nice sized room and gorgeous as well! There are dimension issues I'd be concerned about it you were trying to build a mixing/listening room but since it's a live room and on a budget then it's nothing to worry about.

So Im wondering what kind of alternative materials is recommended to use in a panel?

I unfortunately have no idea what materials are available in your area.

and what size should the panels be for a room like this?

For broadband panels, I would just make them as large as they come. Typically insulation batts come in roughly 2ft x 4ft sizes. For bass traps, make them as large as you can. For super chunks I recommend cutting the largest triangle you can out of a batt.

and how many panels would be optimal to acoustic treat the room?

There are several approaches to this. I could say that if about 50% of your room is covered with absorption, then you probably won't go wrong. However, you could just put as many bass traps in as possible (there are 12 corners in your room), play in it and see if you like it.

and where should i put them best?

You could stagger panels on the walls so that you prevent flutter echo. Bass traps in corners obviously. Your ceiling is gorgeous so I'd hate to ruin it but you would benefit greatly by hanging a bunch of panels and polys off of the ceiling.

Do I need bass traps? would i need to treat the ceiling?

Yes and preferably yes.

And is there anything i should do with the windows?

You could try just leaving them and see if they are really bothering you acoustically. If they are, you could either build gobos that can wheel around and cover up the windows during critical recording. Natural sunlight is nice though!

Greg