Livening up a dead-sounding room

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I recently got some large curtains to cover the windows in my studio. These curtains have two advantages: 1) It blocks a good deal of sunlight/heat coming into the studio. This is very important for me -- see my "Do you sweat in your studio" thread... 2) It keeps a little bit of the noise in my studio from getting outside. However, the curtains have deadened what was previously a slightly too-live-sounding room. It doesn't sound "controlled" in there... it now just sounds... dead. What can I do to liven up the room, sound-wise but not do anything that's too visually ugly? (The studio is a spare bedroom with carpeting, so putting a wooden floor is beyond what I can do in this situation.) I'm thinking of putting up some picture frames, hoping the glass will allow more reflections in the room. I don't know if a clear plastic office mat for my computer chair might liven up the room a bit. In any case, I think I need the opposite of Auralex foam! Any suggestions?

[Lee Flier]

I've sometimes put down a sheet or two of plywood on the floor of a carpeted room. It especially is good to set the drums up on that cuz drums on padded carpet tend to sound like doodoo. Yes they're ugly, but you can always move them out of the way when you're not working.

[John Sayers]

yes Auralex or the curtains are going to make the room sound dead cos you are only absorbing the high frequencies. Why not add some slot resonators or panel absorbers to absorb the low frequencies as well - then your room will be *tight* as opposed to dead :) :) as these absorbers will reflect the highs and liven up the top end again. for more info on the slots etc click on the Recording Manual Link below and go to the Index. cheers John

[Dak Lander]

DOOD! Have a party man.... oops, wasted man, how'ya doin' man? Oh... I forget man.... heh heh heh.... wait...

[KHAN]

[quote]Originally posted by Dak Lander: [b]DOOD! Have a party man.... oops, wasted man, how'ya doin' man? Oh... I forget man.... heh heh heh.... wait...[/b][/quote]Dak, it sounds like your roo is plenty "live" at the moment. :D

[philbo_Tangent]

[quote]Originally posted by posterchild: [b]I recently got some large curtains to cover the windows in my studio. These curtains have two advantages: 1) It blocks a good deal of sunlight/heat coming into the studio. This is very important for me -- see my "Do you sweat in your studio" thread... 2) It keeps a little bit of the noise in my studio from getting outside. However, the curtains have deadened what was previously a slightly too-live-sounding room. It doesn't sound "controlled" in there... it now just sounds... dead. What can I do to liven up the room, sound-wise but not do anything that's too visually ugly? (The studio is a spare bedroom with carpeting, so putting a wooden floor is beyond what I can do in this situation.) I'm thinking of putting up some picture frames, hoping the glass will allow more reflections in the room. I don't know if a clear plastic office mat for my computer chair might liven up the room a bit. In any case, I think I need the opposite of Auralex foam! Any suggestions?[/b][/quote]Dude! You have a good setup - just open the drapes to liven up the room, close them to muffle it again... Actually, you could make some goboes, using rigid foam, wrapped in thin fabric (to keep the fiberglass out of your lungs), then cover one side with marlite or something else reflective. When you want live, put the reflective side out. You can also angle them to help break up modal frequencies in the room. And flip them over to deaden stuff. It doesn't have to eat up wall space either - you could mount it to the ceiling. Just a couple ideas... Phil Koenig Tangent Studios

[Mark V]

I recently came to the conclusion my room was a little too dead as well ,so I've just bought some venetian blinds at a sale,I thought I'd try them to add a bit of diffusion.I haven't hung them yet,could look pretty ugly on the walls,to be honest I couldn't care less what they look like as long as they do the job..

[Rheolwr]

Why not, instead of using drapes to cover the window, make shutters with an absorbent face against the glass and a reflective face towards the room. You could use unteated plywood to start with and if you decide you need more reflection you could give it a few coats of varnish or paint later on. Or even use a poster to cover it to brighten up the room! That could even better as a sound barrier and give you some reflection at the same time.