John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi,

I want to convert a basement room into a small tracking room for vocals,acoustics, percussion etc.You can see from the attached what the sizes and shape are (drawing is not to scale).

I've read a fair bit on these and other acoustics forums so I know some basics like corner bass trapping and no parallel walls etc... but I was hoping to get some other suggestions here.

I'd like to keep it under $500 but could go more if needed.

The location is Poland so the walls are very thick brick...isolation is not an issue.I just need to concentrate on making it a better recording enviroment.

I was already planning on making corner bass traps but was wondering the best way to approach the parallel walls and how to treat the fairly low ceiling?

I hope I given enough info...any insights are more than welcome.

Chris

Aloha Chris,

I just need to concentrate on making it a better recording enviroment. I was already planning on making corner bass traps but was wondering the best way to approach the parallel walls and how to treat the fairly low ceiling?

One thought is to use the side absorbers outlined in the link below to deal with the parallel wall issues, half height rear absorber units as gobos during the tracking, and a cloud over the mix position/recording areas if necessary.

Wall Units - http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm

I'd like to keep it under $500 but could go more if needed.

Not sure what materials are going for in Poland, but using the plans outlined on the link above should help you to calculate your material costs.

If you care to check out a couple of recent threads using these absorbers, try here: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... ght=#15598 and here: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4091

Hope this helps,

Aloha

Thanks for the reply.

This is what I had in mind but I'm not sure if I should treat the whole ceiling or just parts?The floor will be wood panels(fake hardwood).

Chris

Aloha Chris,

I want to convert a basement room into a small tracking room for vocals,acoustics, percussion etc.

I'm not sure if I should treat the whole ceiling or just parts?

Since this is a tracking room, are you planning to have a "live" area and a "dead" area? That way you could treat each area differently (and in stages) until you get the sound you like, perhaps?

Aloha

That's a good idea...is the room big enough to have both a dead and live space?I was hoping for a sort of middle ground that could cover dead and also have a bit of liveliness...maybe seperate live and dead areas would be a better approach.

Are the treatments basically on the right track?

Chris

Aloha Chris,

Other than some possible ceiling treatment, it's a good place to start.
After getting the before mentioned treatments in place you can determine whether or not/how much more treatment you need.

Here's a good link for some acoustics and absorber ideas and info (click on topics in left hand margin): http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

Hope this helps,

Aloha

I guess my main concern is besides how live or dead it should be is comb filtering from the low ceiling.Would it maybe be best to put absorbtion on the ceiling first and then see how live the room is?(Remember hardwood floor) After that worry about absorbtion on the walls?My understanding of this all is that by having a slatwall I can deal with lows and low mids but not kill the highs so much...The ceiling is more difficult right?It's either absorbed or bare...unless of course it's high enough for diffusion which I don't think mine is.

Hope that makes sense...I kind of have a handle on the walls but am unsure about the ceiling.

Thank for your time,
Chris

With that low ceiling, you may need to absorb most of it; 50mm or 75mm rockwool spaced one thickness away from the ceiling is a good rule of thumb. If you can't kill flutter any other way, you will probably need to deaden the room and use electronic reverb. With that small a room, it will be difficult to have both live and dead areas, and the 2:1:1 ratio of length/width/height isn't helping. Heavy absorption may be your only option... Steve

Thanks for the info Steve...I thought the ceiling was a bit low for an angled hard surface.Absorbtion it is.

Cheers,
Chris