Home Studio Acoustic Treatment

[abaga129]

Hey guys! I wanted to make a thread to see what kind of stuff you guys have come up with to treat your room! I think it's really interesting to see some of the creative things people come up with to make their room atleast workable.

I'll start with my room.
It's a fairly small room (not sure the exact dimensions but I would say it's probably 12' x 10'. Just a few days ago I started doing some serious cleaning and started to make the most of this space so it looks atleast a little more professional when Bands come to record (of course sound is the primary concern but looks do matter to bands).

I used foam pads(bought at a garage sale for super cheap) that are used to put exercise equipment on. They arent anything special but they have made a noticeable improvement in the room, especially the ones placed in the corners of the room.



Im not so sure of the large foam pads like the one in this picture. They are mattress pads and I have two of them opposite each other.


Last are the homemade diffusers. I found a plan for these on the interwebs and decided to give it a go. They ended up costing me about $10 and 5 hours each. The effect of these is incredible noticeable. I love them so much that I will probably make more soon.


The corner where the diffusers are is where i plan to record vocals from now on and probably drums.

Now I really want to see what you guys have done with your rooms!

 

[MatrixClaw]

Here's mine, haven't really taken any good photos of it up, since I've practically changed all the gear out in my studio....

Corner Traps:

Overhead Cloud

Can't seem to find any pictures of the broadband panels, but they're basically the same as the corner traps, just half the height.

 

[abaga129]

Wow those look really good. I'm guessing you used rigid fiberglass?

 

[Nimvi]

I apologize beforehand, because these pictures were primarily taken as reference for home improvement a while ago, so they may not be very clear. They should still give a good idea of how I treated my humble little den though, so I hope you find it informative

About the room:
It is about 4 by 8 meters, but it has a pretty low ceiling (around 2.10 meters), which I regret. But eh... you have to work with what you've got. So far things have been working out so I shouldn't complain!

About the treatment:
I have created around 20 of my own bass traps and broadband absorbers with Rockwool, wooden frames and breathable fabric. Then I mounted them to the walls and ceilings with looped hook screws and rope.

Specification-wise, the wool used for the bass traps is similar to the well known Owens Corning 703, which is hard to get around here. IIRC, it was called Rockwool 434 Rockfit.
It still wasn't the easiest to find, since it is considered industrial material, and is usually only delivered in full pallets. I did find a Belgian distributor eventually though. If anyone needs info about this, feel free to PM me.
The bass traps where put up in the main 4 corners and in as many other strategic corners as I could get away with all around the room.

The broadband absorbers where mainly used for the first reflection points and a cloud above my listening position. I don't remember exactly what type of wool it was anymore, but it was less dense and thinner than the 434. I think it was 211 or 202.
I had 2 of them left over, which I mounted on movable racks. Handy for tracking vox. No pictures of that, sorry!

I must say, the results, though not the prettiest, are a lot more effective than I had dared to hope. I was afraid the low ceiling would make the room unworkable, but honestly, I haven't had any translation issues at all since I've done this. It can only get better from here on!


Now for some pictures:

I had to get a bit creative with the ones in the tri-corners because of the room height, so I split them in 2 smaller traps and straddled them like that.
When recording something important, I move that guitarcab a bit further away from the wall. It still sounds pretty cool like that though.

On this side in the back of the room, I had to put a single bass trap on a movable rack, because there is a door there. I don't like that and I will probably improve on it in the future. But safety first.

The mixing position. You can vaguely see some of the panels covering the first reflection points in the back. Imagine more of those to your left and right and on the ceiling. All the corners are straddled with bass traps in the same way as the first picture.
There is also a strip of thick carpet on the back half of the desk, which is there to alleviate the desk reflections a little bit more. Or at least that's what I tell myself.
No comment on the clipping master bus... and that lava lamp has seen better days :Spin:

And if you have read this far, you deserve a reward. So here you go:

 

[bryan_kilco]

Not too shabby! I wish I had space to actually set up treatment. Soon, though.

On a slightly different note: I noticed the Profire under the computer monitor. I had my setup similar, but I find the damn knobs on that interface turn TOO easily, and I constantly worry about bumping one/some and screwing myself over.

 

[SocialNumb]

Hey can you guys please use bigger pictures. Those thumbnails just aren't cutting it.

 

[Nimvi]

Not too shabby! I wish I had space to actually set up treatment. Soon, though.

On a slightly different note: I noticed the Profire under the computer monitor. I had my setup similar, but I find the damn knobs on that interface turn TOO easily, and I constantly worry about bumping one/some and screwing myself over.

Thanks! Yea, treatment is a serious assault on space, and I'm lucky that I had a full room to do with as I please. In a living room or other shared space, that would not have been an option. The place now feels a lot smaller than it did before I started, but I haven't regretted it for a moment Best investment I've made by far.

I'm now mostly improving on the aesthetics of the room, because those baffles look so uninteresting. Mood light and posters/prints really help.
And that piano, while not optimally placed in a room like that, adds a lot of mojo to the place. Since I got it a few months ago, people have enjoyed working and jamming there a lot more.

Yea, the Profire under the monitor... not too proud of that I must admit. But in that room it's almost exclusively used as a fancy volume button. I don't track drums there, and apart from the piano, almost everything I track is with a single mic, or DI. And the Isa1 does that nicely

I'm planning on adding some more hardware into the equation in the coming years, and with that I will build a rack next to the desk. The Profire will finally get a decent place then.

Hey can you guys please use bigger pictures. Those thumbnails just aren't cutting it.

But what about the children with bad eyes?
Made them a bit smaller now

 

[abaga129]

Wow I'm so jealous of all of these nice panels. I would love to build some but the cost is too much for me right now. However I may make a few more diffusers if I get the time/motivation. $10 each is hard to beat.

 

[neptunian]

Cheapest, quickest, dirtiest, effective option I've come across is: 1 box of Applegate Acoustic Cotton Batts (6 per box) + 6 of those large black metal binder clips with the silver wings that fold down + 6 nails/screws for the wall. No frame or fabric necessary if you need pure function over looks. About $110 after shipping, NRC slightly better than fiberglass without the irritation. Not really a bass trapping solution though.

 

[BLUElightCory]

I've been building my own broadband absorbers, you can see them on the right in this pic -

It's basically 2x4 foot frames made from 1x2s - the frames are backing for 4" of Owens Corning 703 panels. Pull the fabric over the panels and staple it to the frames and hang it like a picture. Easy and effective!

 

[The StabbinCabin]

I made 18 4" traps out of SAFB batts for $260. I got my materials from Joann's since they let you stack web/phone coupons it was cheap. I got my batts from IDI Insulation.

Looked like

 

[JeffTD]

I did the exact thing as Cory did, frame with OC703 on the front, fabric holding it all together. 4" panels in each corner of my room, 2" panels at key reflection points. One corner of my room has two windows that meet so I can't have any treatment up there and one of my panels is hanging on the back of a door but it's still made a huge improvement.

 

[abaga129]

How did you guys get ahold of the insulation for the traps? I've looked all over the local Lowes and can't find it. Is it something that you have to order? I would like to find the Owens Corning in a small amount since I probably only need 6-8 traps max

 

[BLUElightCory]

How did you guys get ahold of the insulation for the traps? I've looked all over the local Lowes and can't find it. Is it something that you have to order? I would like to find the Owens Corning in a small amount since I probably only need 6-8 traps max

Call Owens Corning and they can put you in touch with a local distributor who stocks the 703 panels. A bit of a pain but it's cheaper than paying to have it shipped.

 

[Alphanumeric]

Looks good.

These vicoustics feel a little inadequate.

 

[Line666]

How are you guys mounting your frames to the wall? Is there any way of doing it without having to stick big holes in it?

 

[heshian46]

Here's my room as it stands currently. What you can't see in the picture is the 2' x 4' x 4" trap hanging from the ceiling as a cloud over the mix position, plus 2 more of the same 2'x2' HF panels that you see on the side wall there. The wall outside the right side of the screen (that you can't see) mirrors the side wall that you can see. 3 out of 4 corners are super-chunked, couldnt do the 4th due to the entry door into the room.