Acoustic treatment can be absorbers, traps, diffusers, or clouds. The type, size, and amount depend on the room dynamics and what you intend to use the room for. It also depends on where the listening or monitoring occurs, the ceiling height, furniture, reflection points or zones, wall surfaces, plus the source or sources of sound.
Full Answer
How much acoustic treatment should I use?
How Much Acoustic Treatment Should I Install?
- The size of the room has a direct relationship to the acoustics of the room.
- The construction of the room can affect the way certain frequencies are heard.
- The use of the room determines how much treatment and of what sort is necessary.
Why is acoustic treatment so expensive?
What Makes Acoustic Panels Expensive?
- Specialty Product. One of the main reasons for the high prices of these panels is that these are niche products, manufactured using specific techniques.
- Raw Materials. Acoustic foam is made by using polyurethane foam or in some cases, melamine foam. ...
- Size of the Project. ...
What are the types of acoustic treatment?
- Acoustic panels
- Diffusers
- Bass traps
Do you really need acoustic treatment?
You usually want to hear (and record) only the source, not what’s bouncing off your walls. Acoustic treatment is the best way to ensure that what you’re composing, mixing, and editing is accurate and unaffected by the room you’re sitting in. Even if you want to have a live vibe in your recordings, you’ll still want to have control over the sound.
What are the two most common types of acoustic treatments?
These include reflection, reverberation and resonance.Reflection. Reflection is a common problem in many rooms. ... Reverberation. Reverberation is the problem that occurs when multiple sound waves bounce off of surfaces and congregate together. ... Resonance.
How do I know if my room needs acoustic treatment?
There are a few simple answers to this question:If it's a room, then it needs acoustic treatment. ... If it sounds bad.If the audio you're creating sounds good in the studio but not as good in other listening environments.See answer #1.
Do you really need acoustic treatment?
Acoustic treatment is the best way to ensure that what you're composing, mixing, and editing is accurate and unaffected by the room you're sitting in. Even if you want to have a live vibe in your recordings, you'll still want to have control over the sound.
Where do I start with acoustic treatment?
The main areas you need to put acoustic treatment are at the early reflection points near you listening position. So directly to the left, right, top, back, and front of your ears.
How much does it cost to sound treat a room?
The price can range as high as $5,000 for rooms like home theaters or as low as $300 for basic soundproofing in a bedroom or living room. Overall, you can expect to pay anywhere between $10 and $30 per square foot for soundproofing a room.
What is the cheapest way to acoustically treat a room?
5:548:21Studio Acoustic Treatment on a Budget - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAlright you also the last effective acoustic treatment option I have for you is an area rug orMoreAlright you also the last effective acoustic treatment option I have for you is an area rug or carpet. If you have a hard reflective surface for your floor.
Do I need acoustic foam?
1:363:14Do you really need Acoustic Foam? | Before & After Sound Test - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd musician or even a podcaster or live streamer you might want to get some of this because it'sMoreAnd musician or even a podcaster or live streamer you might want to get some of this because it's really gonna help you reduce the reverb. And echo in your room.
How effective is acoustic foam?
Foam does not Block Sound Transmission Even covering the wall 100% with 2” thick foam is not going to, to the extent of the person's expectations, stop that sound from traveling right through the wall. Acoustical foam is porous and does not block sound simply because it is porous which allows sound to pass through.
How do I get good acoustics in my room?
4 Easy Ways to Improve your Room's Acoustics4 Easy Ways to Improve your Room's Acoustics. You have a great sound system, but it doesn't sound quite right? ... Move your speakers. This may seem overly simple, but it can actually have a massive impact. ... Hang things on your walls. ... Cover your windows. ... Install carpet. ... Have more tips?
How many acoustic panels do I need?
While the number of panels you need varies based on the purposes of your space, a typical starting number is 8-10 panels. However, that number can go up to 20-25 panels for purposes requiring greater sound control.
How hard is it to soundproof a room?
It's possible to completely soundproof a room, but you'll need to address the source of the sound, its entry point, and its reflection points. Depending on these factors, you may use a sound booth, acoustic panels, acoustic foam, curtains, and/or window treatments to block incoming noise.
How do you acoustically treat a listening room?
2:404:20How to Set Up and Acoustically Treat a Hifi or 2-channel Listening RoomYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipMove your head around the room into different viable locations where you might want to set it up andMoreMove your head around the room into different viable locations where you might want to set it up and when you find one that sounds good place the subwoofer. There.
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Control Room vs Live Room Strategies
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What to Do If The Money’S Already Spent
When setting a budget for your studio, you should ideally set-aside a BIG chunk of the money (possibly as high as 50%), for acoustic treatment alon...
What happens to sound when it is made in a room?
Whenever a sound is made in a room, here’s what happens to it: Starting at the source, it projects outward in all directions. A small portion of it (known as direct sound) travels in a straight line to the microphone. The remainder (known as reflected sound) bounces randomly between the surfaces of the room.
Does direct sound change the tone of a room?
Since direct sound does not interact with the room, its frequency balance remains pure, and its tone unaltered. With reflected sound, each new reflection has the potential to CHANGE the original sound ever-so-slightly. Depending on the size of the room, and the reflective surfaces within it….
Do bass traps absorb mid frequencies?
And here’s why: Though commonly thought of as specialized tools for absorbing bass frequencies…. Porous bass traps are actually broadband absorbers, meaning they’re good at absorbing mid/high frequencies as well. Which is why sometimes…bass traps alone can be enough to get the job done.
Do I need a degree to run an acoustic studio?
The good news is…you don’t need a degree in acoustical engineering to run a recording studio. All you need is a few SIMPLE CONCEPTS. Starting with…. 1.
Why do we need acoustic treatment?
Acoustic treatment is the best way to ensure that what you’re composing, mixing, and editing is accurate and unaffected by the room you’re sitting in. Even if you want to have a live vibe in your recordings, you’ll still want to have control over the sound.
What is the toughest sound wave to control?
Bass Traps. Low-frequency sound waves are so long (and powerful) that they are the toughest to control. This is true whether you’re attempting to block their transmission to a neighboring space or absorb them to clean up the low-frequency response within a room.
What is audible echo?
The audible effect is in many cases a sort of fluttering sound since the echoes occur in rapid succession. In smaller rooms, it can take on a tube-like, hollow sound as the echoes are closer together. You need a combination of absorption and diffusion to defeat flutter echo.
Why use foam for recording?
Foam is easy to work with, simple to trim to size, and cost-effective. It will help improve the sound picked up by your microphones and give you a more accurate monitoring environment.
How does sound affect the room?
Sound travels and is affected by the path it’s on. It might get reflected and/or absorbed based on a number of factors. The noise in your room is also interacting with other sounds that are traveling in its path, further affecting the sound of the room.
Can acoustic treatment color your recordings?
From early reflections to bass modes, the lack of acoustic treatment can really color your recordings, and usually in a bad way. That’s why we’ve put together this acoustic treatment buying guide to explain the basics ...
Do acoustic foams soundproof?
One of the biggest concepts to understand and appreciate is that acoustic foam and diffusors aren’t going to soundproof your room . These are extremely effective treatments for ambient and reflected sound and help make rooms sound better. But they really don’t provide enough sound-isolating properties to keep sound in or out of a room.
What is acoustic design?
Andy Munro, acoustic design specialist, remarks, "acoustic design is the science that restores a neutral sound balance”. Applying that science means interfering with the path of sound to control the sound energy. Jorge Castro, chief acoustician at Vicoustic, says that "in the case of affordable treatment, we need to control the energy ...
Is it bad to mix acoustic instruments?
It isn't just an issue for mixing, though, because any recordings you make of acoustic instruments will bear all the hallmarks of the space in which you record them. That may be a good thing if the space in question is Ocean Way or SARM West, but probably preposterously bad if it's your living room or bedroom.
Do acoustic products have a consultation service?
Most manufacturers of acoustic products also offer a consultation service, and they often have free on‑line calculators to help you decide on a suitable treatment option, too, so even if you choose the DIY route this can be a sensible place to start.
Do you need to pay attention to the space in which you use your recording equipment?
No matter how much you spend on instruments, amps, speakers and recording gear, you still need to pay attention to the space in which you use them. The treatment of home studios is tricky, because of their size and the construction materials used, not to mention the budget of the average home‑studio owner.
What is acoustic treatment?
Acoustic treatment is one of the most essential parts of your music studio; it allows you to trust your ears. An untreated room will color the sound produced by your speakers in various ways, which means the mixing and mastering decisions you make may be misinformed.
What are the problems with acoustics?
These issues include comb filtering, flutter echo, room modes, and excessive decay time.
What happens when sound waves come in contact with a reflective material?
When a sound comes in contact with a reflective material, its energy is redirected. In practice, some of this energy will likely be absorbed by the material the sound wave comes in contact with, but most of the energy will be focused into a new direction. Hard, organic materials like wood do a great job of reflecting sound. Reflectors also tend to be unique in their shape, often with jagged designs meant to diffuse the energy of sound waves throughout rooms.
Can standing waves be flutter echo?
The back wall and the front wall in your studio are also parallel with one another, so flutter echo is a potential issue yet again. On top of this, standing waves are of particular concern. Having moved your desk around, you should have already minimized the effect of standing waves to the best of your ability, but there is acoustic treatment you can apply to the back wall of your studio to further reduce the adverse effects of standing waves.
Is it expensive to build acoustic panels?
I understand that everyone is looking for a way to save money, and I’m the exact same way. Building your own acoustic panels isn’t that expensive, and the quality of the panels you end up with is extremely high.
Is it ok for sound to interact with your room?
It’s ok for sound to interact with your room to some degree, but it’s essential to control how these interaction s occur. Acoustic treatment is all about managing chaos. 2. Types of Acoustic Treatment. Before moving ahead with acoustic treatment, I recommend that you optimize the listening position of your room.
Can sound absorbers be destroyed?
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but it can be changed from one form to another. Absorbers convert sound, which is the vibratory energy of sound particles, into heat. There’s no need to worry about sound burning your studio to the ground because the amount of heat that absorbers generate is insignificant.
Why should I use Acoustic Treatment?
There is a very simple answer to that question. We want to treat our rooms to get a balanced sounding room. We want this so we can record a variety of instruments as well as, mix accurately. Untreated rooms have weird frequencies that affect our mixing decisions. It is because the sound is changed by our room.
Evaluating Your Room
The first thing we want to do is find the spot where we are going to be doing the listening (for mixing) and for recording instruments. For most of us, the room is going to limit us to playing double duty, both mixing and live recording. That’s totally OK. Set your desk up on one end of your room so you are using the room length-wise.
Absorption
Absorption is an easy concept to understand. It is simply that when a sound wave hits the material it is no longer going to bounce around the room…it has been absorbed. Absorption will be the material that you use to control your listening position. Every area that we identified earlier should be covered with absorption panels of some sort.
Diffusion
Diffusors work by breaking up soundwaves in different directions so nothing gets trapped. They come in 1D or 2D configurations. 1D diffusers send the waves either left to right or up and down. 2D diffusers use a combination of both directions.
Bass Traps
The biggest problem in small studios is controlling bass frequencies. As we talked about earlier, bass frequencies like to hang out in corners. So that is where we want to put our bass traps.
Reflection Filters
If you don’t have the budget yet to start into Acoustic Treatment you can start by buying a reflection filter. These are small, lightweight absorbers that fit onto a mic stand. They are designed to absorb the reflections while you are performing directly into the mic.
The Bottom Line
Your room is a vital link in the chain of your musical expression as a music producer. After all, music is about sound and the more control you have over the sound the more you can shape it to what you want to express.
Do I always use acoustic treatment?
If I’m recording in my studio, the answer is usually yes. I do most of the recording in my home studio in one room. Like most home studio folks, that one room is my control room, tracking room, and vocal booth.
Loud Sources
If you’re recording really loud sources like a crankin’ guitar amp or a trumpet, the need for acoustic treatment kinda goes out the window. Sure, you don’t want your room to be super echo-y, but you don’t need it to be dead quiet and perfectly flat either.
A Room Full of Stuff
I was engineering a vocal session for a producer here in Nashville. She just wanted me to bring my gear to her house and set up in the spare bedroom.
Conclusion
Don’t take this article the wrong way. I’m not saying you don’t need acoustic treatment, especially if you’re doing a lot of mixing. but remember that it is possible to get great-sounding recordings in a less-than-perfect room.
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