KVR Audio

Spiritos · Post by **Spiritos** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 3:38 pm

Hi,

Currently I rent an appartement and I don't have the means to invest a lot in acoustic treatment. That being said it's nearly impossible to get good quality recordings since the room's dimensions in which I want to record are symmetrical square and all concrete so I want to do at least the bare minimum (aside from creating a wigwam each time with my clothingcloset/bedcloth on roomdivider/rug etc.)

I could cheaply get some acoustic foam (a total of approx. 3-3,5 m2 and 180-190mm thick) which I believe is originally intended for the isolation of speakers (see photo) but I wonder if it's possible to make some basstraps out of it by layering the foam. And if this is the case furthermore if I should layer it in a certain way. My guess is I should make sure the rugged side is facing from the wall/corners towards the room but as for the layering: Should I make it as dense as possible or rather leave some air in between?

Furthermore I'm thinking about cutting up some matraslike fabric or something for a few acoustic panels and my question about that (as well as for basstraps since I won't be making a neat frame or so) if it's possible to "hide" or decorate it away from sight by hanging some thin flag like material in front of it as I will be using my bedroom for recording and rather keep an comfy atmosphere. My guess is something as thin as as flag won't interfer with soundwaves but a second opinion would be nice.

Foam.gif

herodotus · Post by **herodotus** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 3:23 pm

Foam is a less than ideal material for sound absorption. The best stuff to use is fiberglass.

Normal fluffy fiberglass is ok if you use enough, but the preferred material is rigid fiberglass. Unfortunately it is less easy to find.

One solution is to by fiberglass suspended ceiling tiles. These are made of rigid fiberglass with a sheet of white plastic glued to it. They are commonly available. If you dont want to buy more expensive burlap or muslin, you can cover them with landscaping cloth, which is cheap and commonly available.

Ethan Winer has a large amount of info about this stuff available.

Spiritos · Post by **Spiritos** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 4:55 pm

Thanks for your reply!

I know it's not the ideal material but it is what I bought.
By now I've put it to good use as the front side of a selfmade vocal screen with double layering which I position in a corner of my living room with several blankets on the walls and floor and I am most pleased with the results.

herodotus · Post by **herodotus** » Sun Mar 27, 2016 3:10 pm

Vocals are actually one of the less difficult sound sources to deal with (low spl, not too much bass) so I can see how your setup should work ok.

Have fun!

voon · Post by **voon** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 2:27 pm

Does this help?

http://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm

Spiritos · Post by **Spiritos** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 3:36 pm

voon wrote:Does this help?

http://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm

Good to have around for future reference. Thanks!

By now I already made the (vocal)screen as a mobile/permanent solution for recording vocals and acoustic guitar. In combination with some blankets and quilts it functions as part of a wigwam-like tent and helps a lot in my case (where I have set it up in a huge livingroom with concrete walls and a laminate floor).

voon · Post by **voon** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:23 pm

I hear you

The monitors of my sythesizer setup point straight at a wall of mirrors. I can't think of a worse solution.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:45 pm

voon wrote:I hear you The monitors of my sythesizer setup point straight at a wall of mirrors. I can't think of a worse solution.

I could, the mirrors could be behind my monitors and I would have to stare at my ugly mug all day

Will this material do for quick&dirty basstraps? + Question about esthetics vs. functionality