Room Treatments For Rehearsal Space

[Obscura]

I have a 12'x25' rehearsal space with cinder block running up 4 feet on each wall and sheetrock to the ceiling. The ceiling is about 8 feet high. The room is a perfect rectangle and sounds pretty lousy. We're set up the way we do live; drums center, bass rig to the left of the kit, guitar rig to the right.

We record most of our rehearsal but the room sounds pretty horrible. Any ideas on how to improve the acoustics? Bass Traps? Auralex Foam? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Obscura]

One more try...

 

[Metaltastic]

Hey Todd, I think bass traps and broadband absorbers (essentially bass traps that are just mounted flat on the walls, rather than straddling the corners) would be your best bet. Here's the collection of threads I assembled that really helped me out with getting the lowdown on it all!

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/andy-sneap/377128-basic-acoustic-treatment-help.html (Great overview)
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...ou-not-thinking-about-treating-your-room.html (Great overview)
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/andy-sneap/352943-some-advice-diy-bass-traps-2.html (Info about 703 vs. 705, esp. on pg. 2)
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/andy-sneap/361142-bass-trappin.html (Good info on DIY bass traps)

But to summarize, I would go for 2 6-packs of OC703 from Ready Acoustics, and make 4 bass traps (with two OC703 sheets each) and 4 broadband absorbers (with one OC703 sheet each), following the tutorial vid below, and that'd get you set I would think!

 

[Obscura]

Thanks, Marcus. Always very helpful. I figured the OC was the way to go but wasn't as sure about the placement. I'm guessing 4 bass traps in the corners that face the drum kit and a bunch of absorbers in front of the kit/amps as well. Would you place absorbers behind the kit as well? Thanks again for the help.

EMG 707!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pifos_2]

waouh marcus thanx for the summary!! I'll take the time to read those.

 

[Metaltastic]

No prob. dude! And Todd, yeah, having traps in all the corners, two absorbers behind the kit, and then one on each side wall (or more, if budget allows) would do you good I'd say!

 

[Metaltastic]

And you'll definitely need bass traps with the 707!

 

[Obscura]

And you'll definitely need bass traps with the 707!

Not with my superior Rackmount Rectifier/Boogie .50 Caliber/Mesa OS/Engl Trad combination!!! I can't wait to try the 707 next Saturday coupled with the mahogany geetar.

 

[nwright]

for a room that big, you may need a few more than just 4 corners and 4 wall mounts?

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, I was just operating under the assumption of limited budget (which I can certainly relate to!)

 

[Obscura]

It's definitely a very limited budget. We pay $450 a month for the room so cheap=good. We're only recording demos in the room so if we can just clean up the sound a bit it will be helpful. I want just enough clarity to help us learn our material more quickly.

 

[Metaltastic]

Well I still think you'll be amazed at the difference 4 traps and 4 absorbers will make, and at least they're not permanent! (though you will wanna mount them so your ears are at about the middle of the panels - Ready Acoustics sells their nested corner mounts that are pricey, but look super-convenient for corner bass trap mounting)