Yo,

I'm about to start recording my band (again) and I'm having trouble with the drums. They just sound too roomy, so I wanna deaden their acoustic space. I'm recording in possibly the worst acousic space possible. It's my basement with wall-to-wall carpeting and no really square or room shaped areas, actually it's kind of like half a square donut. The kit is in pretty much the only clear corner of the room and I'm not moving it cause that would involve moving all the rest of the stuff I have down there. I wanna use sound deadening panels so I can put them away when I'm not recording and just jam with the band.

My question is, in a situation like this, how tall should the panels be? I have to be able to handle them alone, but I want a really dry sound. Also, my overheads are usually about a foot above the cymbals (like five-six feet of the ground) so do the panels have to go much higher than that? The ceiling is like 10 feet I think and it's just painted plywood. What are your thoughts?

Peace out, Casey

Casey,

> They just sound too roomy <

The most common cause of too much "small room sound" is having the instruments or microphones near reflective surfaces. You don't have to cover all the walls and ceilings in the entire room, but you should cover those portions near the drum set, including on the ceiling over the set.

--Ethan