#1868715 - 01/08/08 09:02 AM
A Diary of - and Few Questions about - treating a small, irr
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Max Dread
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Registered: 01/08/08
Posts: 2
Loc: Norwich, UK
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Happy New Year all!
My resolution - to get on with treating my music room! So here goes...
The main post is below, but here are the pictures I refer to, and to make hopefully things clearer.
1. Studio Layout From Above New Version:
2. Studio Layout From Above Old Version:
3. Studio Layout Looking Straight at the Back Wall (For Chimney Alcove):
4. Low Frequency Response Graph of my room
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The photos kind of go around the room anti-clockwise. I took quite a few and put them in this order because I sometimes find it difficult making sense of studio photos in threads.
1. Front Wall:
2. Front Wall Left Corner:
3. Left Wall:
4. Back Wall Left Corner:
5. Back Wall:
6. Back Wall Right Corner:
7. Back Wall Right Corner2:
8. Front Wall Right Corner:
Onto the thread.......
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#1868721 - 01/08/08 09:06 AM
Re: A Diary of - and Few Questions about - treating a small, irr
[Re: Max Dread]
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Max Dread
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Registered: 01/08/08
Posts: 2
Loc: Norwich, UK
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The pics have come up a bit big! Sorry about that...does anyone know how I can reduce the size? And should I repost with smaller pics and have this deleted? I'm pretty new to this so please excuse me!
THE POST
I've spent the last few weeks reading about acoustic treatment and would like to put the books and websites aside and get the tools and Rockwool out! I‘ve found other “diaries” extremely helpful and so thought I would share my work as well. In return, hopefully people will be able to advise whether my plans seem ok, as well as answer a few remaining questions. I must stress though that this is a basic spare bedroom project, and the bedroom in question is both very small and irregularly shaped. I rent the home and as such I plan to not doing anything too permanent, plus I want everything to be transportable should I move. But I figure many will be in the same boat…. I really hope that the results will be impressive not only for my own satisfaction, but to show that you can make small rooms work on a tight budget, and still fit a lot of gear into them! The questions are at the end.
Bass Trapping
I plan to build Superchunks in the front wall corners from floor to ceiling (24”x17”x17”). I will wrap the triangles in Garden fleece probably, in units of say 2 foot in height (then stack them on top of eachother). This will keep the fibres from escaping and hopefully make them more transportable. I will then build lightweight frames, covered in breathable cloth, and put these in front of the stacks of Superchunks – for aesthetics.
The back wall has an alcove (see pics). For the alcove corner, I plan to build a simple horizontal platform above the filing cabinet to the depth of the alcove. I will then place Rockwool slabs horizontally on the platform right up to the ceiling, cutting them so that they fit the curve of the chimney breast. So when finished, the whole upper portion of the alcove will be full of Rockwool. I will then place a wooden framed panel across the front of this (with a further 4” – 6” Rockwool in it) for further depth and aesthetics.
In the remaining corner where the guitars are, I will straddle a 3’x2’x6” wood frame/Rockwool trap across the corner – going up as far as the ceiling.
Reflections
Side wall mirror points will have 2’x3’ panels (vertical) with 6” Rockwool and a small airgap at the back. The front wall will have either a 2’x4’x6” panel placed in the centre horizontally, or two 2’x2’x6” panels with a space in the middle (any ideas which would be best?). Not sure what to do with the back wall, as it is not as wide, and most of it will be taken up by the bass traps. But there won’t be anything in the centre of it if left untreated.
The angle of the door is a bit of a ‘mare. Placing a mirror on it you can see both monitors when in the mix position! I guess I could put an absorber on it but then that would make the room less symmetrical with the window on the other side. I’d rather keep the window as a window you see! The other option I thought of would be to keep it open when mixing, thus changing the angle (only when the other ‘arf is out of course).
Ceiling
Two 2’x4’x6” panels from the front wall to the first beam – placed side by side or with a little gap, creating more a less a cloud of 4’x4’ above the mix position.
Symmetry
Obviously the room is far from symmetrical, and there is little I can do about that! I chose to set up the gear as I have in order to keep the front of the room as symmetrical as possible (which I have read is the most important part of the room for symmetry). I’m hoping that the window and door will roughly match each other as reflective surfaces. The bass traps at the back of the room will not be symmetrical but from what I have read this is not too much of an issue with LFs.
Another problem is that the right hand wall (the one with the door) is a lightweight partition wall. Not sure what it is exactly, but it definitely resonates if you thump it!
38% Rule
And finally, I have posted 2 diagrams of the room from above. The new version is only different in that the monitors have been brought away from the front wall and the mix position moved accordingly (to maintain the “equilateral triangle”). This was for two reasons:
1. Because it was difficult to cover the side wall mirror points with the monitors in the original position.
2. To get the sweet spot away from the middle of the room as much as possible. However, I am still only 45%/55% between the front and back wall rather than the optimum 38%.
Questions
1. Do Superchunks need to be right up in the corner, or can they have an airgap around them? My house is old and cold, and an airgap would allow the walls to breathe. Also, I can afford to go a bit bigger than 24x17x17, but only a bit. Yet it is most economical to cut the slabs to these dimensions (8 triangles from a 2’x4’ sheet). But would the airgap help or hinder performance?
2. Questions RE: alcove:
a) Does this sound like a good plan?
b) Would it be more effective if the wood panel was fixed at an angle rather than parallel to the stacked Rockwool, creating a variable airgap between the back of the panel and the face of the stacked Rockwool?
3. Would it be a good idea to slope the ceiling panels down towards the front wall rather than have them parallel with the ceiling? And if sloping down to the front wall – where it will almost meet the front wall, would the airgap make them double up as bass traps in the wall ceiling juncture?
4. Is there anything un-drastic I can do about the lightweight partition wall, other than hanging the absorber panel?
5. What’s best to do about the angle of my reflective door?
6, I cannot really think of a way around the mix position being 45% rather than 38%, and am not too sure how much of a big difference it will make. If anyone has suggestions to get around this or feedback then please do fire away!
7. Any other comments or suggestions?!!?
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Well, what can I do apart from spank myself stupid for posting such a long thread? I totally appreciate that many won’t have the time to read it, but if anyone does and can offer any feedback they will thanked sincerely from the deepest depths of Norfolk! I hope to post pics of the work I do as I’m doing it, and final pics once I’m done (including room measurements to compare to the untreated room).
On the other hand, if people new to acoustics are reading this and want to ask questions or for me to clarify anything then ask away! I’ll do my best to help or at least sign post to good advice. I feel a bit stupid and humbled to be offering this in the company of some real acoustic geniuses, but hopefully some people will benefit along the way………..if they can spare the hours to cut through my endless rabble……blah….bllahh…..blllaaahhhh…..enough (spank - ouch!)!
All the best
Max
PS Respect and thanks to all who generously spend their time and share their knowledge on Forums such as this. I only discovered Forums about 18 months ago and they restore my faith in humanity at times (stop hitting me)!
spank
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