Acoustic Treatment

  • Ok so, I was recently reading through a few of the threads about audio interfaces and was thinking 'Yeah, I reckon I fancy a new one. Maybe an Apollo Twin now the MKii is out'. But then I got to thinking: actually the Motu 4pre I have is still a lot better than I am at either recording or mixing and is most likely not the weak point in the chain. It's me and most likely my room acoustics.


    Now, my room, like a lot of home 'studios' is a simple, small room (about 3x5m) without a ton of stuff in it. If I had a big room I might have a sofa etc which might help - but I've not got any real acoustic treatment going on.


    When I record acoustic guitar and vocals I hang a big duvet up and try my best to lessen the room's effect on the signal but this brings me to the point of this thread really:


    Anyone out there got some great advice on room treatment for a small room that's used for recording and mixing?


    Now, I have read quite a bit of stuff about bass traps, absorption Vs diffusion and so on, but I know there are going to be people on this forum who've been through this whole process and have good advice - things to avoid, things to do cheaper, etc etc.


    I'm after simple advice which isn't going to cost the earth, so things like getting a specialist out to measure the room acoustics etc isn't going to happen. Think best case with little money;)


    Thanks for reading!

  • a few basics ;)

    • put the speakers on pads
    • don't place the speakers to close to walls
    • don't place the speakers in corners (worst case scenario)
    • put the speakers at the right height, as outlined in this pdf https://www.adam-audio.com/con…ser-manual-P11A-en-de.pdf
    • to record vocals, I use a reflection filter - works nicely
    • use really good speakers - these are probably your most important and most used tools; definitely NOT the place to be stingy ;) I've heard and played the Profiler in many different studios and the fact is: The better the monitor, the better the Profiler will sound. :)

    and personally, I would stay away from EQ based "solutions"

  • Thx for the input @DonPetersen. Looking at your pdf there, I've got the speakers I have set up right - tweeters at ear lvl and an equilateral triangle, so that's all good. I was thinking of a reflection filter, so I'll take a look at those too.


    My speakers are not fantastic - Mackie HR624s.


    Thx again.

  • I have used this free software to analyse my last home studio https://www.roomeqwizard.com/ it's widely used in home and small project studios.


    It takes some time to understand what it all means and you will need a measurement mic. It helps you to understand changes as you make them with your acoustic treatment and speaker placement so you know if you are going in the right direction or not.


    I built a dozen or more traps for a similar sized room using http://www.building-supplies-o…KuNrI298b0CFYbMtAodg1AAwA


    This is very close to The US version https://www.amazon.com/Owens-C…lass-Boards/dp/B005V3L834


    I have a few that haven't been covered in the acoustic fabric so you can see how the wooden frame was constructed. If you are interested I could get a couple of images uploaded?


    You will never cure all low freq problems in a room of this size but with adequate traps and proper placement you can lessen the affects and the seriously improve anything over 150hz or so

  • Hey thx @Duncan any pics would be welcome. I must admit I'm crazy busy with work, a degree, my kids and bands so am not likely to find time to build anything soon, but if I can get a good understanding of how to, that would allow me to try and find the time - if that makes any sense at all;)