I'm building a home music studio in our basement. Currently concrete floor, and drywall walls.
Planning a wood floor, with a foam rubber type base.

This isn't for serious recording, mainly jamming and 'for fun' recording. So aesthetics are a big part of it.

The room (20 x 30' rectangle) would be boomy, so we plan acoustic panels. I'm wondering if the standard "egg carton" 4x8' panels would be the best choice? Or is there something that looks nicer than that, that works as well? For example, I've seen ads for panels with artwork or pictures on them, but don't know if that's just for restaurants and not for a music studio?

The goal here is for the music to sound good in the room when people are jamming, or maybe recording. Mix of music would be played (jazz, acoustic, some rock with guitar/drums)

There's better stuff out now. The egg carton thing really didn't do much for the studios.... it looked cool for the times, but in reality, as a sound absorber, it didn't work nearly as well as the products we have today, and without the tacky egg cartons glued to the wall.

This site has some ready to go:

Acoustic treatment



Lots of folks also buy the parts and make their own.

home made


More home made : Owens corning 703 rigid fiberglass 2x4 panels. A how to video.... I'd build the frames a bit stronger, I think he stapled them. I'd use some carpenters wood glue on the joints and wood screws as opposed to staples as the sole means to hold them together.

Youtube video

These can be covered with any inexpensive fabric to your personal taste.


the important thing to remember is to get the high density insulation, not the stuff they sell at the hardware store for your attic.

Do a bit of research...

Since it is a home vs pro studio, you will find that doing simple things such as carpet in part or all of the room will go a long way toward taming the "brightness" of the room created by reflections. Hanging curtains, even on a wall with no windows will break up the solid flat sheetrock sound wave reflecting wall.

Another thing to consider: diffusion. Build a diffuser/art project to hang on a few walls as well.

Home made diffuser project

Start out on the slim side. Don't go overboard and make a "dead space" with all sorts of room treatment. Add things as you find the need.

Another cool little Plug In to add to your studio is called ARC. It plugs into most things that can handle VST. Basically, it compensates for the room after it analyzes the room acoustically. I have is and use it because like most folks with home studios, this room does double and triple duty. So I'm limited as to what sound treatment I'm "permitted by the boss" to hang on her walls. My sound treatment is carpet and furniture as the diffusers. I think I get a fairly decent sound from this studio.

One day, I would love to have a room that I could build my studio in...and set it up as I want. I envy you guys with a basement that can be converted.....

About the egg looking stuff they are selling now.... If you want to add some for that retro-studio look, have at it. I'd opt to put some of that on the walls in a vocal booth... smaller space where quite often, DEAD SOUNDING SPACE is desired in there.

Have fun...and... take some pics.... before, during, and after. It's fun to follow a project such as a studio build....

Use of egg crates was never about soundproofing.

That was used to create the reflective/absorptive boundaries needed for acoustics with hot mic in small space. And it worked well for that purpose in many a small radio station or recording booth setup.

But acoustic ISOLATION was and is an entirely different physical aspect to conquer.

Today we can get panels that do both tasks, although the isolation task can still be quite formidable at times.


--Mac

Peter here is what i suggest. you might have to call around to find this stuff but it will make nice panels. Cover them with a fabric as was mentioned above. it does not really matter what brand just a similar product. http://www.specjm.com/commercial/insulation/insulationboards.asp

There is a JM distributor here:

Pacific Home Building Centre

3730 Trans Canada Hwy
Cobble Hill, BC V0R1L0
(250) 743-5584

I suspect Peter was referring to the Auralex panels that have a surface texture that looks like the bottom of egg crates. I have a few of these on the wall, but confess that a horse blanket thrown over the door makes more of a difference.

Thanks. For clarity, I wasn't referring to actual egg cartons, but to acoustic foam that had egg carton shapes like this: http://canada.foambymail.com/EC1-5/1-5-eggcrate-foam-colors.html

Scott (rokstarnot) pointed me to this site: http://canada.foambymail.com/acoustical-foam-products.html

Are these the types of panels that you are referring to?

Yes, that's what I was referring to. The ones you showed are much more 'bumpy' than the Aurelex panels I have, though.

Be sure to read my post on your other thread on this subject Peter, a low cost investment in a Sound Level Meter first, do a survey as to ambient background noise, that figure can be used to better specify the type of panel needed.

Until we know that, all else can only be based on conjecture as to your isolation needs.


--Mac

I know a fellow who spent a bit of time and money installing a home made booth into his house. Carpeted walls, double-pane full glass door, looked really nice.

But that firehouse across the street...

He has plenty of outtakes that suddenly have fire sirens in them.


--Mac

HVAC flanking path noise transmission is my arch enemy. I'm guessing this closet doesn't have HVAC ductwork, but even if it runs nearby....

Mac is right that eggcrates break up reflections and disperse them. Like a nice book case with staggered depth books does the same.

Wood floor, I would at least have a temporary way to cover that up. In fact, I would carpet it, and if you do want a more reflective floor, then throw down a piece of paneling.

The room has a noise issue from water pipes. The main water pipe for the house passes alongside one wall, and there's access through a hole in the wall with a valve for a main shutoff of the water. That access needs to stay, so there'd be a removal panel of some kind over that valve. Also, when water flows, there is an audible water friction sound.

Not a show stopper, since we aren't planning hi-def recordings, so it doesn't need to be solved. But I wanted to mention that in case anyone has some suggestions to minimize the noise.

If you can de-couple that water pipe from the framing in some way, at least for the framing for the walls/ceiling that room, that will help somewhat, but the groans and aches of a typical wood-frame house will likely be the largest issue you'll deal with after the absorption method is sorted out.

If the pipes are PVC waste lines, you will hear the water. You can wrap them in insulation to dampen the sound transmission.

I don't worry about the sounds in my studio. I can't or else I'd never get a single thing done. Between the dogs barking, the trucks on the road 100 yards away, the occasional airplane, and the lawn maintenance guys with their weed whackers and leaf blowers...... More than one time I have been tracking my acoustic guitars or vocals and here they come...... time to take a break for the 20 minutes or so it takes them to do their job.

remember, the only time the ambient sound is a problem is when you are recording anything with a mic. Aside from that, everything else in "in the box" in most studios, BB/RB. midi, etc....

The sound treatment in most studios is not about making it as quiet as possible, although that is a nice thing, it's about making the room a flat response room for the purpose of accurate monitoring for mixing and mastering purposes.

http://www.atsacoustics.com/panels

I haven't gotten around to ordering these yet, but the website looks very good - loads of good info - and the prices seem reasonable. I'm willing to give them a try; has anyone installed them?

I haven't tried them but their 2 FT x 2 FT foam panels look the same as the more expensive Auralex panels. Might be something to try.

http://www.atsacoustics.com/foam-acoustic-panels.html

I put egg crate style foam on the walls in my little studio , and I was surprised by how much it deadened the echo.

As a test I made the same sound in an untreated hallway outside my studio, and again inside my studio... it was noticeably "deader" in the studio.

This isn't even acoustic foam.. its packing foam I got from the manager of a local FED EX. The irregular surface is what tames the echo.

Not recommended for a pro studio, but for what I do, "the price was right for the tight"

Pat, eggcrate foam can be very effective for mid and high frequency absorption and elimination of flutter echos. If you can get your hands on it, use it. When you say it isn't acoustic foam, it does have most of the properties - open cell, a variety of depths (which helps to broaden the frequency range of absorption as well as the overall absorption coefficient) The deeper the 'valleys' the more effective it will be.
On this photo of my Gobo, down at the bottom, you'll see eggcrate foam that was indeed scavenged from some packaging at my old employer. The wedge materials at the top 2/3 of the GOBO were scraps of actual acoustic foam wedge panels that I scavenged and pieced together and glued to the Gobo


What doesn't work are old-school paper eggcrates - these will help scatter high frequencies, but have very little absorption properties.

Hi! I would like to share this great online resource for anyone seeking an acoustic-panel: http://www.archiexpo.com/tab/acoustic-panels.html

Raul, that is a very interesting site. I had no idea such variety was available for acoustic treatment.

These are solutions that architects uses, sometimes properly, often times not. They are also typically terribly expensive and not very tunable - meaning, the panels marketed to architects very typically have more going for them from an aesthetics standpoint, than from an effective absorption standpoint.

I still stand behind my comment much earlier in the thread that Foam By Mail makes the most cost effective acoustic treatment designed for home studio customers. Cheaper than Auralex or Primacoustic by quite a bit.

Very good points, Scott. Yes, I will stick with my Aurelex panels and a horse blanket.

I like Mat's idea of the horse blanket and some area rugs on the floor I personally think that there are many expensive ways to do treatments but in most cases if you can save a ton of cash doing it on the cheap and get almost identical results and if it doesn't work then just returning a rug to walmart is a lot easier than trying to return accoustic treatment panels......

Peter, have you taken action? Results?

There are inexpensive ways to do this. But there are also usually frequency limitations as to what home-brew methods will render. Rugs, in general, offer more absorption than nothing. However, much of absorption deals with the depth of the absorption. Deeper pile, will help to eat longer wavelengths (lower frequencies) than shorter pile. Whether or not there is a non-absorptive backing also matters. Pile material matters, etc. If you mount a rug on a frame and hang it out away from a wall by a few inches, it can have more absorption effect than laying it on the floor.

Don't forget that a clothes closet in the room is a very absorptive environment. Open the door to the closet, get the clothing arranged so that it's sort of 'loose' but you can't see the back wall of the closet, and point the back of the mic at the clothes. This will work as well or better than the Reflexion filters and other 'portable vocal booth' devices on the market.

You really got to love the irony when a spammer digs up a really old post that the "Boss" posted.... and makes that the one he posts in.

Peter this guy Ethan Winer is a good resource. His new book is great.
http://ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

Live or dead floor Quote from Ethan Winer.

LIVE OR DEAD - WHICH IS BEST AND WHERE?

If you've ever seen photos of high-end recording studios in magazines, you probably noticed that the studio room floors almost always use a reflective material like wood or linoleum. A hard floor gives a nice ambience when miking drums, guitar amps, and acoustic instruments. Likewise, auditorium stages and school band rooms always have a reflective floor surface too. As mentioned earlier, "live" in this context refers only to mid and high frequencies. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a reflective floor for achieving a natural sound when recording acoustic instruments. If you record in your living room and your spouse refuses to let you remove the carpet, get a 4- by 8-foot sheet of 1/4-inch plywood to put over the carpet when recording. You can cut it in half for easier storage and put the halves next to each other on the floor when needed.

I've heard not to use egg crate for acoustic treat because it really does nothing. What I've done for my studio so far is had someone I know come and make costume panels for me. I haven't really been able to tell a difference because the room is pretty big and there's not a lot of panels placed on the walls. I also have a giant window on one of the sides of the room which may reflecting the echo.

Hi Peter,

Unless you want to go with the expensive types recommended up top of the post, the foam wedgies you point to in your link are seen in a lot of rehearsal studios around here and seem to be quite popular.

At the Sam Ash music stores here, that is what they use to cover the walls in the rehearsal studios that are next door to one another. Folks seem to buy them out like crazy for their own home studios too. They are also pretty cheap. (The "Auralex" versions are the ones you will get around here.)

It may be all your need unless you need a $100,000 home recording studio.