Building a rehearsal/recording space

[AgentofOblivion]

My band is prepping to record a new full length.  Our drummer/engineer convinced us to build some bass traps.  To build 12 of them it cost around $100.  Wood frame, roxul insulation, wrapped in burlap.  Mattress topper on the ceiling and some of the walls.  The room sounds fucking good and sucks up all the nasty reflections in the corners. 

What have you guys done along these lines?  Any tips/hints?  Our only limitation right now is power and space.





http://rowsdowerband.blogspot.com/

[hisheroisjon]

Have you thought about doing a membrane absorption panel? You'd have to look into tuning them (I don't know how haha) but it might be more effective than your standard bass trap, since you have to a standard trap a few feet off the wall for any real bass absorption. How big is your room?

[AgentofOblivion]

I'll check it out.  Never heard of it.  The bass traps work really well leaning against the wall actually.  I don't know the dimensions of the room, but it's not very big. 

[hisheroisjon]

I've taken a few audio/recording classes but I'm no pro engineer. but from what I remember in school is that standard traps aren't as effective in rooms with small dimensions and low ceilings. A membrane trap is a sealed trap filled with rockwool/roxul with a "dead" front panel, so some sort of dense cloth or plywood. I have a ton of resources on it I can look into when I'm off work.

[AgentofOblivion]

Sweet, thanks dude.  I would definitely classify this as a small room with a low ceiling.

[dogfood]

John L Sayer forum.  These yahoos have all the information collected about recording spaces.  Warning:  they are the biggest bunch of douchebags on the planet.

[I,Galactus]

John L Sayer forum.  These yahoos have all the information collected about recording spaces.  Warning:  they are the biggest bunch of douchebags on the planet.

Bigger than the Bill Fitzmaurice guys?  Bigger than us?

[Lumpy]

There's a whole forum dedicated to treating rooms on a low budget at Gearslutz.com (mostly recording dudes, not so much rehearsal).

From what I read there, a true bass trap should be 6 inches deep. Building 12 (at 2'x4') for 100 bucks seems unlikely (unless you are getting a contractor's discount?) I priced it at about 6 for 150 bucks.

Anyway, a whole bunch of info at Gearslutz.com (it's a recording/mastering forum) including some illustrated tutorials, "show your homemade traps" etc. Tutorial info on Youtube as well.

[AgentofOblivion]

We payed $30 a piece, times five and I believe there was some surplus.  The frames were 2x4 foot made from 1x2s.  Burlap is dirt cheap.  We had two pieces of roxul in each, so they're closer to about 4 inches thick.

[VOLVO)))]

John L Sayer forum.  These yahoos have all the information collected about recording spaces.  Warning:  they are the biggest bunch of douchebags on the planet.

Bigger than the Bill Fitzmaurice guys?  Bigger than us?

We are the douchebags.

[Lumpy]

At Bill Fitzmaurice's website, you might ask "Is this speaker going to work for this cabinet?" and the answers from other users will be stuff like "If you would study the Thiele Parameters, you wouldn't need to be asking that question " and so on. You can't even get a straight, unsnobby, uncryptic or simple answer from Bill Fitzmaurice himself, even when you are asking him about his products. And then people on his forum say things like "I don't know why these cabs aren't more popular!" Maybe because you made it into an insider's club?

The other thing they do a lot is say "You can't _____" when in reality, people do "____" every day and find satisfactory results. (Example: mix speaker sizes)

[I,Galactus]

At Bill Fitzmaurice's website, you might ask "Is this speaker going to work for this cabinet?" and the answers from other users will be stuff like "If you would study the Thiele Parameters, you wouldn't need to be asking that question " and so on. You can't even get a straight, unsnobby, uncryptic or simple answer from Bill Fitzmaurice himself, even when you are asking him about his products. And then people on his forum say things like "I don't know why these cabs aren't more popular!" Maybe because you made it into an insider's club?

The other thing they do a lot is say "You can't _____" when in reality, people do "____" every day and find satisfactory results. (Example: mix speaker sizes)

Don't forget referring to all guitarists as guiTARDists.   

[dogfood]

On the Sayers forum the response is most often "Read the FAQs/Sticky Read This First thread/search the question before you post."  You will not be responded to until you kiss some serious internet ass.