Acoustic Panels

rickwaugh

I'm wondering about building some acoustic panels for my recording room. It's a small room, 10 by 12, hard surfaces. I'm recording only acoustic guitar, though, and I know that acoustic music often benefits from hard surfaces. What does the forum hive mind know or think about this? I guess I could record some vocals some time too.

Processaurus

Do it! It's one of the best uses for money/time that can improve your studio. Small rooms generally don't have nice ambience, they sound close and boxey, so it can work well for recordings to deaden the room, and add reverb when you mix- otherwise you have this funny, recognizable small room reverb on top of your preferred reverb.

There's a lot of information at gearslutz, in particular, a thread called "how I made my bass traps" that showcases different construction techniques. It is a deep topic, but the thick panels are nice, if you can do it, like 4" because they absorb lower and lower frequencies, the thicker they get- they absorb more evenly. Also the corner, triangle shaped ones are good.

A couple on the ceiling in key spots will do a lot. One way of placing them, once they're made, for mixing rooms, is to sit in your chair, and have a friend slide a mirror along the wall, until you see your speaker in the mirror- that's where the sound first reflects off the wall, and is good to absorb. For recording it's easier, same idea, but your instrument or mouth is the speaker, and the microphone is your ear.

Tarekith

It can make a drastic difference, especially if you're actually recording real instruments or a singer. One thing I will say though, is that building your own is not always the cheaper way to go. I was going to do my own a few years ago, but when I priced it all out I could get a room kit from GIK acoutics for just a little bit more money. Saved me a ton of time, and likely they look a lot better than mine would have too.

Will

If you're only recording yourself AND it's largely for acoustic guitar/vocals AND you're more concerned with recording vs monitoring when mixing, you might try using baffles around the recording source instead of trying to treat the whole room. Much cheaper and easier to get set up (and no math!). Plus, it can move with you if you change your room around where as wall treatment should really be tied to your monitor and listening position.

rickwaugh

@syrupcore said:
If you're only recording yourself AND it's largely for acoustic guitar/vocals AND you're more concerned with recording vs monitoring when mixing, you might try using baffles around the recording source instead of trying to treat the whole room. Much cheaper and easier to get set up (and no math!). Plus, it can move with you if you change your room around where as wall treatment should really be tied to your monitor and listening position.

That's what I want. I mix via headphones. I have also been thinking that might be easier, or the type that just wraps around the back of the mic.

dougdi

I bought panels from https://www.acoustimac.com. I would not have saved money making them considering the choice of materials. Cut out the flutter echo and ringing and made it much easier to monitor and mix. I am not connected to acoustimac but highly recommend them.

Processaurus

@rickwaugh said:

@syrupcore said:
If you're only recording yourself AND it's largely for acoustic guitar/vocals AND you're more concerned with recording vs monitoring when mixing, you might try using baffles around the recording source instead of trying to treat the whole room. Much cheaper and easier to get set up (and no math!). Plus, it can move with you if you change your room around where as wall treatment should really be tied to your monitor and listening position.

That's what I want. I mix via headphones. I have also been thinking that might be easier, or the type that just wraps around the back of the mic.

The weird thing with the baffles that wrap around the mic, is that most of condenser mics you would use, are cardioid/unidirectional. They are already really good at rejecting what is behind them, including echos. The baffles would start to do something around the sides, and are probably mostly effective, because they make your voice quieter, in the room, by soaking it up, so you are generating less echoes, but what would make a dramatic difference is a baffle behind you, to cut out the echos from behind you, coming in to the front of the mic. I made some big rolling baffles for this, but for a tempoary thing, you can hang up a moving blanket or something behind you, like on a couple extended boom mic stands.

Or, get some acoustic panels on the wall behind you.

Mayo

Or hang some heavy blankets on the walls - or woolen rugs.
It works

rickwaugh

@Processaurus said:

@rickwaugh said:

@syrupcore said:
If you're only recording yourself AND it's largely for acoustic guitar/vocals AND you're more concerned with recording vs monitoring when mixing, you might try using baffles around the recording source instead of trying to treat the whole room. Much cheaper and easier to get set up (and no math!). Plus, it can move with you if you change your room around where as wall treatment should really be tied to your monitor and listening position.

That's what I want. I mix via headphones. I have also been thinking that might be easier, or the type that just wraps around the back of the mic.

The weird thing with the baffles that wrap around the mic, is that most of condenser mics you would use, are cardioid/unidirectional. They are already really good at rejecting what is behind them, including echos. The baffles would start to do something around the sides, and are probably mostly effective, because they make your voice quieter, in the room, by soaking it up, so you are generating less echoes, but what would make a dramatic difference is a baffle behind you, to cut out the echos from behind you, coming in to the front of the mic. I made some big rolling baffles for this, but for a tempoary thing, you can hang up a moving blanket or something behind you, like on a couple extended boom mic stands.

Or, get some acoustic panels on the wall behind you.

That seems to seems to make more sense.