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[Jasmine]

So, I am slowly trying to mosey on over into the acoustic treatment side of things, and it didn't dawn on me how:

1 ..expensive acoustic treating materials cost

2. ..much research/planning/science is behind a good setup.

I assume the first step in acoustically treating my room is discerning the reasons why, rather than simply "slap stuff on the wall because it's what I should do".

My desire is to:

1. Increase the effectiveness of my recordings in my current space.
2. Transition into using studio monitors and headphones in mixing, rather than relying on one medium.

Right now, my studio will practically be a recording/listening/bedroom hybrid. Tossed my queen sized for a futon. Getting a rug. I'm getting serious, but now I am wondering if I jumped in a little too early. Perhaps I should minimally treat my room, and then wait until I am in a better space? That is another thing. This apartment is temporary, so anything that I DO implement would need to be mobile. Not to mention I have no "continuous" wall space - EVERY spot in my room has an interruption, be it a convex door, or closets on one wall, windows on another. No, it's not ideal (when is it ever?), but I want to make the most of it.

I have been doing my research, but right now, I am wondering if, based on my situation, space, and funds, it would be better to save and wait until I can get a good chunk done, or build over time. Perhaps do nothing at all till I move.

My questions, for those of you who have acoustically treated your room (this is aimed at those with home studios, and even more so at those who sleep in the area where they create their music):

1. How much did it cost?
2. Did you build over time?
3. Is acoustic treatment worth it if you can't proof your room all at once? Are small installments still better than nothing?
4. Would you recommend someone in a temporary living space to wait, or perhaps minimally treat their space? (Expect to be here, at the most, another year)
5. Have you noticed a significant quality increase in your mixes upon switching from composing primarily with headphones to mixing with studio monitors?
6. How difficult is DIY?

Thanks in advice for the feedback!

[groovyone]

If you're spending a lot of money on good monitors - you're better off actually spending some of those funds on room treatment, and getting less expensive monitors.

When monitoring you want as clean a representation of your audio coming out of the speakers. By not having a room that is treated in some way, and depending on the size of the room and position, you will get a lot of cancellation or build up of frequencies where you sit.

I would suggest looking into Auralex Roominator Kits, they are very affordable, and you can use push pins to pin the foam to the wall and if you go with the deluxe set, the diffusers to the walls / ceiling. I have used this a lot in my home studio which has moved quite often between different rental properties.


http://www.auralex.com/ikc-new/ - room size calculator with recommendations for different kits.

I bought the deluxe plus kit which allows me to size up or down depending on the room. Then again I had a reasonable budget and was doing a lot of audio work which required a good mix.

You can get smaller kits for $199-$399

one such example from one reseller: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RoomDSTAlBur

Bass traps are pretty important, as well as the absorbtion of high frequencies. Placing furniture around like bookshelves and sofas .. etc can help scatter the mid frequencies effectively.

If you get a small room kit you can purchase additional elements to continue to build up your room treatment material.

Treating your room so you can hear the stereo field correctly, not have interfereing standing waves does affect your mix. You hear differently in 3D space than two separate speakers pumping sound directly into your ears.

[Jasmine]

Hey groovy, thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, my current situation leaves me in a bind. Still, it is looking like the "build as you go" approach is looking more and more like my next course of action.

I frequent sweetwater! They have a room consultation form that I was thinking about filling out, in an effort to get some feedback on my layout. Also, thank you for the push-pin idea -- I was really nervous about how to go outfitting my current place.

I am hoping that having that '3d perspective' will give me insight into my mixes that I hadn't noticed before.

[Kyle Preston]

I have a friend who does this for a living, I can ask him some good questions if you'd like, as I'm kind of a noob when it comes to optimizing acoustics for studio. This is a pretty good article though. 

[groovyone]

Look on your local craigslist for auralex - you'll be surprised how cheap you can get it when someone is getting rid of it.

[NoctemAudio]

Just don't buy a bunch of Auralex cheap acoustic treatment from GC or something and expect it to help a ton! If you want to tame low frequencies you'll definitely need quality and thick bass traps. You can DIY build some with some 2'x 4' and 4-6" thick wood frames, material, and owens corning 703. Or check out http://www.gikacoustics.com/ or other similar companies.

Be sure to place some acoustic panels or Auralex absorbers on first reflection points.

[Jasmine]

Thanks guys!

I understand the need for basstraps, especially since I am in a small room, with an uneven wall design, and plenty of trihedral corners. I definitely plan to research the crap at of my room (as well as get some assistance from sweetwater) before I think about purchasing anything. So far, what seems to be my biggest sources of trouble:

1. Parallel walls being comprised of different surface materials.

2. Parallel walls not being equidistant.


Along with uneven window placement, and an extra door which leads to a bathroom. I have to research how doors effect sound in a room, too.

So, yeah. A lot of work.

[Breakdown Epiphanies]

Great thread, taking notes here, too. Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge and pointing to those great ressources!