help me with getting rid of a room resonance!

Fragle

Member
Jul 27, 2005
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Germany
hey guys,

i'm having some issues with a nasty room resonance around 160hz. it's really starting to piss me off, as it's difficult to get the bass guitar right in that range.
my room is approximately 4,5x3,25x2,2 meters, with a wooden floor and walls (it's in an attic), as for room treatment i have 4 basstraps with 5 inch rockwool straddling the corners plus some acoustic foam on first reflection points.

the room acoustics are actually pretty good, due to the non-rectangular shape and slanted walls, so the low end is amazingly stable. the only real problem is a room resonance in the high bass/low mid range, as i said around 160hz.

what would be a good and (cost) effective way to tackle that issue? are bass traps effectively reducing/balancing that range? which size would you recommend?
i do have the space for about 4 more bass traps on the front and back walls (2 each), after that it would be pretty cramped.

any ideas?
thanks!
 
Mmmm... What about the KRK ERGO Room Correction System!

Ive never used it before so i cant tell, but imo it could be an option.. so check it out! :headbang:

"The KRK ERGO Room Correcton System brings you close to the acoustics of a perfect room. A great mix starts with a great recording room. But when it comes to achieving the most accurate mix, your room may have the upper hand. Like any room, your studio's acoustics include offending frequencies and room reflections, and none of these are helping your mix. Getting a handle on these problems has traditionally meant the installation of soft foam or fabrics, which is a great start. But now you can get even closer to a perfect room, and a perfect mix, with help from ERGO Room Correction System."

http://www.krksys.com/product_ergo.php
 
More basstraps?

This.

Leave those room correction software packages alone, the response around the room isn't even so they will only make the listening position and a couple of inches either side of it better. You still can't outsmart the laws of physics with software unfortunatly.
 
any suggestions on the size of the basstraps to tackle the problematic frequency range effectively?
 
As thick and as beefy as possible, you'd be better off building "superchunk" style traps as they maximise the amount of rockwool in the corners. They aren't even remotley portable though so it might not be a good option.
 
Mmmm... What about the KRK ERGO Room Correction System!

Ive never used it before so i cant tell, but imo it could be an option.. so check it out! :headbang:

"The KRK ERGO Room Correcton System brings you close to the acoustics of a perfect room. A great mix starts with a great recording room. But when it comes to achieving the most accurate mix, your room may have the upper hand. Like any room, your studio's acoustics include offending frequencies and room reflections, and none of these are helping your mix. Getting a handle on these problems has traditionally meant the installation of soft foam or fabrics, which is a great start. But now you can get even closer to a perfect room, and a perfect mix, with help from ERGO Room Correction System."

http://www.krksys.com/product_ergo.php

All this shit is is a analyser and eq, it's not going to help with ringing frequencies, flutter echo etc.
If you have a room that's already very well treated and you just want to get what's coming out of your monitors a bit more flat then it's ok I suppose, but no substitute for real treatment by a long way.
 
You said you're in an attic. Could it be the floor, which probably isn't very solid/or the room beneath resonating back
up?

Thats certainly a possibility, but more likely the second room mode coming from the height of the room, and 4th mode coming from the width. My guess is that there's problems at around 80hz and 40hz as well :)
 
Superchunks, then as many bass traps you can realistically fit in there. Only after doing so should you consider the eq stuff and only if you take it with a grain of salt.