Author Topic: Acoustic treatment (Read 1954 times)

MDV · « **on:** January 15, 2008, 02:47:16 PM »

Folks,

I want to see if accoustic treatment will help the quality of my recording significantly, so I'm after a cheap solution for it.

I dont mind putting work in to actually physically make said solution, so blue-peter jobs better than 'egg boxes' are quite welcome. Ideal, in fact.

Failing that I dont really want to spend more than about 100 beer tokens unless I can be convinced I'm gonna really benefit from it. Basic principle, you see: Its a lot of money for shaped foam

The room is a royal pain, angled ceilings, a big window, at least one bass trap (that the amps are actually in, by virtue of not having anywhere else to put the buggers)

I'll post some pics of the place when I get in from work.

sgmypod · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2008, 02:56:20 PM »

Sure I read somwhere probably a computer music(I will have to search) mag that frames of wood with thick curtains tacked to it(or old carpet) act great as a cheap solution to accoustic dampaning a room.

Also a few things mentioned here like buying furniture foam instead of the expensive accoustic stuff http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul00/articles/faqacoustic.htm

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html#part1

ToneMonkey · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2008, 03:18:21 PM »

Quote from: sgmypod

Sure I read somwhere probably a computer music(I will have to search) mag that frames of wood with thick curtains tacked to it(or old carpet) act great as a cheap solution to accoustic dampaning a room.

Dunno if that would work, but it sounds like a bloody good idea. I suppose that's to dampen the vibrations rather than disperse them.

I'm sure that I said this on here before, but I'll go again anyway....

... A while back I was commissioning a large (think bigger than a shipping container) generator. Obviously one of these is bloody noisy and the problem comes when you need to pass air over it for cooling. How they did this was to install a "widget-thingy" (technical term) at either end. This consisted of rockwool sandwiched between two sheets of perforated steel. Each of these segments was about 3 inch thick. They were easily laid out so that there was a sandwich:3 inch air gap:sandwich:3 inch air gap etc etc. If you stood at one end of it (it was about 4 foot long) you could see your mate about 4 foot away at the other end and could shout as loud as you wanted, they couldn't hear you. It's probably one of the most impressive bits of kit I've played with. Maybe there's a low tech (not that it was especially high tech in the first place) scaled down version that you could do.

Oli · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2008, 03:39:56 PM »

Make a couple of movable acoustic dividers, perhaps 3, so you can put them around an amp and have less noise from outside that area- also good for if you want to record two guitars at the same time in the room.

opprobrium_9 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2008, 09:50:13 PM »

This is the cheapest solution:

Go to your local Junk/Scr@p yard and sift through the shitee there for egg cartons. Get as many as you can and strategically place them, i would say, about a good 4 feet apart (depends on how many you get). If you get enough, then double them up. If you get more than enough double up and, with tape, make a sheet of them that can go over that nasty window!

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2008, 10:03:10 PM »

Quote from: opprobrium_9

This is the cheapest solution:

Go to your local Junk/Scr@p yard and sift through the shitee there for egg cartons. Get as many as you can and strategically place them, i would say, about a good 4 feet apart (depends on how many you get). If you get enough, then double them up. If you get more than enough double up and, with tape, make a sheet of them that can go over that nasty window!

See if you can find a local farm shop selling eggs - they'll sell you some egg boxes. Alternatively, get everyone you know to save up their egg boxes and do it a bit at a time.

I think that for home recording it's overkill to acoustically treat a room. If you're used to how music sounds in that room you will mix accordingly.

:twisted:

Will · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2008, 10:16:28 PM »

Try and get the egg trays, they should be easier to sort out. A farm shop is more likely to have a lot of those spare

TwilightOdyssey · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2008, 10:30:52 PM »

PM sent.

kevincurtis · « **Reply #8 on:** January 16, 2008, 12:53:36 PM »

I've been experimenting with using acoustic tiles around the amp to enclose it (and the mic as well) works well at reducing volume level of the amp and also in isolating amp for recording, so the room has no effect on it. Needs 4 tiles for a closed back combo... or big heavy rugs draped over things are also useful and you can put them back the floor after.

MDV · « **Reply #9 on:** January 16, 2008, 01:34:06 PM »

Good suggestions, folks, keep them coming!!!

The more ideas the better. I'll figure out whats best :twisted:

I've been thinking about isolating the amp in various ways. Try to direct sound out of it in a direction that wont reflect back to the mics and what have you. I think I'm recording some reverberations that I dont want. Have to test to make sure, though

Getting used to the room is hard! I've been in this place for about 3 years, and it sounds very different with just small changes in location within it. Move your head 1 foot and it changes a lot! I have yet to map the whole place's EQ ballance in 3D!!

Actually, I'm gonna get a linear response mic and see if theres some software around I can EQ at least certain positions with.

PM replied to TO!

I took pics last night. I'll post them up in here when I get in from work too.

Author Topic: Acoustic treatment (Read 1954 times)

TwilightOdyssey