i want my drums to sound bigger when tracking and all i have to work with is my basement. it's about 30ft x 12ft (sectioned off from the rest of the basement by cement blocks) so basically i have cement floor (currently covered by commercial carpet) one paneled wall, and the rest are cement block with a 7ft tall, small hard panel drop ceiling.(no natural reverb in the room) i been reading and now wonder if i should move my tracking to the garage... at least for drums.... that is about 22ft square with cement floor, paneled walls, and about a 8ft painted wood ceiling and has "garage things" in it like shelving tools etc. when cleaned all out nice this room has a little natural reverb. which room is better?

Sad,

> which room is better? <

That's a tough call. Neither room is ideal because the basement is long and narrow but the garage is square. Neither shape is great. So the best advice I can offer is to set up your drums in each space, play for a few minutes, and decide which sounds better by ear. Also, you could have a friend come over and listen as you play to get a second opinion from someone who's out in the room rather than sitting behind the drum kit.

--Ethan

so is my best bet for my basement to pull the commercial carpet and expose the bare cement? then what about that hard panel ceiling, is that workable ya think? anything else you'd suggest to make my basement more workable? again it's a pretty low ceiling, i can reach up and touch it. thanks.

Sad,

> so is my best bet for my basement to pull the commercial carpet and expose the bare cement? <

Yes, I prefer a reflective floor and absorbent ceiling, especially when the ceiling is low. So if you remove the carpet you'll also want to apply fiberglass, or rigid fiberglass, to much of the ceiling.

Again, you should try the garage too. Without being there to hear both rooms, it's impossible for me to say which is "better."

--Ethan

OK, Ethan - so what about the walls? I have a short-ceiling concrete space to work with - prior occupant installed the cheap fiberglass tiles (you know, with the metal framework in between)

I'm getting ready to yank out the flourescents he put in, but my walls down here are either bare concrete, 2x4 + drywall with styrofoam behind, or hollow 2x4 + plyboard paneling.

Total area is about 24x18.

Scott,

> what about the walls? <

All rooms need a mix of absorbent and reflective surfaces. Somewhere around 25% coverage for absorbers is about right. And some of that absorption should be on the side walls and ceiling at the first reflection points.

> Total area is about 24x18. <

That's a nice size. Set up so the loudspeakers fire the long way into the room. Then trap the corners, including the ceiling corners, and put absorption on the side walls and ceiling about half way between you and the loudspeakers. See the sidebar "Creating an RFZ" in the Acoustics FAQ, second in the list here:

http://www.ethanwiner.com/articles.html

--Ethan

So I shouldn't replace the cheap 1" fiberglass on the ceiling?

Scott,

> So I shouldn't replace the cheap 1" fiberglass on the ceiling?<

No. If anything, you could add more to make it even thicker!

--Ethan

That's what I was thinking - either using thicker panels or replacing with rigid 703.

how about all that foam i'm going to tear off my walls? what would ya think of putting that on the ceiling to make it "soft"... to absorb the reflections coming off the cement floor? i know it's not fiberglass but will it absorb sound all the same?

Sad,

> how about all that foam i'm going to tear off my walls? <

Sure, put it on the ceiling. And if you end up with more foam than ceiling area that needs covering, double up the foam to make it thicker. Especially on the ceiling edges near the walls where the extra thickness helps trap bass.

--Ethan