Trying to get a small studio up.
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Posted on Oct 18, 2005 09:21 am
GRiFFiN8946
entrepreneur?
Member Since: Oct 18, 2005
Ive been doing some small 4 track stuff on my Zoom MRS-4 for 2 years and some on my friends analog setup and im planning on getting a new setup. Im thinking about getting a presonus Firepod and running my whole band through that and having my friend help mic the drums. Is this a good way to go? and i need to do something about the acoustics in my basement, its the typical leaky - unfinished basement so i dont know what kind of insulation i need to balance it all out.
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pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Oct 18, 2005 01:44 pm Welcome to HRC, Griffin.
I've heard good reviews on the firepod, though I've not used one.
I can't tell what else you're using, as you've not mentioned, nor filled out your gear profile (that always helps).
There's two type of sound work you can be trying to accomplish: 1. Soundproofing, & 2. Sound adjusting.
soundproofing is just that, and can have nothing to do with balancing the sounds in the room.
I'm assuming you want to make the room sound better, so adjusting and tweaking seems to be the way to go. I'm going to ignore the soundproofing aspect.
Hi-end sound can be absorbed by blankets, and/or carpet or stuff like that. Cardboard and eggcrates do nothing ( they may keep heat in ).
The denser the material, or more mass you have to absorb, the lower the frequency that mass will absorb. i.e., if you have dense foam, it'll absorb a lower freq, say around 150 - 200hz. Thinner insulation will absorb at a higher freq, say 1k - 2.5k. Carpet and or other thin stuff will deaden some hi end freq, but not much.
If you're going to put up walls, then don't make them parallel to each other, that creates standing waves of low freq, that will show up on a recording.
Couches and book cases can be added to a room to break up standing waves. Pull a couch 1 foot from a wall will help tame low end rumble/muddines in a room. Also, you can make bass traps, and / or slat resonators (pretty cheaply) that will absorb low freq, and keep them out of your recordings.
also, if you're going to put stuff in a basement (gear, drums, electronic equip) please waterproof your basement first. Dampness and gear is not a good combination. Dryloc can be had for ~20$us and can be colored (we just did our basement).
Hope this helps.
Oct 19, 2005 02:04 am "Carpet and or other thin stuff will deaden some hi end freq, but not much."
I think he meant "don't use too much".
I agree with everything he said, but be careful with the carpet. Most of the time the high end is fine. It's the damn low end that is the problem.
Here's a guide I wrote entitled "Why Carpet Really Sucks". www.recordingreview.com/b...arpet_sucks.php
Brandon Drury
Oct 19, 2005 07:02 am Carpet Underlay works really well, plus you can lean baffles against it, and they stay there from the friction...
We used a whole lot of carpet underlay in our shed, and got the room reverb down from a 2 second decay to a less than 0.5 second decay, and stopped alot of slap echo.
here's are some pictures:
michelleklaessens.com/for...ay;threadid=378
Also for sound insulation/isolation, what you need is MASS. We made heavy baffles out of reasonable thick MDF boards, and put fibre glass sound insulation bats (pink bats like the stuff you put in your attic for insulation) on one side, with material over the top. They work really well for cutting out sound. and you can make little booths out of them to isolate instruments...
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Oct 19, 2005 01:59 pm good call Brandon, something I've heard here and there : "Take care of the low end, and the high end will take care of itself".
That's cool work, dragonorchid. Nice use of materials. I'm gonna have to listen to some of your stuff on here.
I'd advise anyone using fiberglass (pink, yellow, rigid, whatever) to cover the material with something that won't let the fibers out, like dragonorchid did above. Those little glass fibers can get in your lungs, and don't want to come out.
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Oct 19, 2005 02:56 pm Also, those little fibers gan get into your equipment....nasty!
I did once help uild a room within a room for a band I was in. It was full framing with drywall and fibreglass insulation. Worked a treat. It was also quite a lively room, but the sound was very controlled so it was very musical too.
I guess I' trying to say that "dead" isn't what you're going for.
Nov 09, 2005 04:22 pm Just remember, not to treat it too much. You want ambience. You will have a hard time with your mixes if you are recording in a totally dead environment. I know. I've done it.
Brandon
