Treatment FAQ

where to place acoustic treatment in your small recording studio

by Dr. Rolando Kihn IV Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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One of the most important places to put acoustic panels is behind your studio monitors. Sound can reflect off the wall and affect the speakers. Since acoustic panels can absorb sound, putting them behind your monitors can help reduce any weird feedback. This placement is especially useful if your studio monitors have bass ports on the back.

Part of a video titled ACOUSTIC TREATMENT - How to Build a Home Studio (Part 3)
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And you still want to improve the sound or you've got more panels left over or whatever the reasonMoreAnd you still want to improve the sound or you've got more panels left over or whatever the reason the rear wall is the next place to treat. So you can just add some absorption.

Full Answer

Where should I put my acoustic treatment?

Oct 24, 2021 · What Is Acoustic Treatment. Room acoustic treatment is a process when you transform your bad-sounding room into a professional recording environment. This is done by hanging acoustic panels on walls and other specific areas for your room. Sound travels in your room and hard surfaces like walls, ceiling, or floor reflect and bounce it.

Do I need acoustic treatment for my recording studio?

Home Recording Studio Example A Breakdown: 1. Bass traps in upper corners to dampen low end frequencies and prevent standing waves. 2. Acoustic foam panels on side wall to absorb first reflections and lower reverberation time. 3. Acoustic foam panels on ceiling to absorb first reflections and stop echoes. 4.

How can I improve my studio acoustics?

To combat this: Place your acoustic foam/fiberglass panels directly to walls on the left and right of the mixing station. You also have to place some panels on the ceiling directly above the mixing position. It is best to go thicker 4-inch fiberglass panels, screwed directly onto the walls.

What is the typical setup process for acoustic treatment?

1.Bass Traps. This is the thing meant for absorbing bass frequencies (plus low frequencies) and can’t be done by simple acoustic panels as low frequencies like them are hard to handle. It’s the thing that you commonly see on the corner of the walls of a studio.

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Where does acoustic treatment go in studio?

Sit yourself centrally between the left and right walls, but about 4/10ths of the room length from the wall you are facing. That way your monitors should be about the right distance from the wall and you will not be sat in the middle of the room (which is often a dead spot for bass).

Where do you put acoustic treatment in a small room?

If your room is small, i.e.; less than very large (see above), you must ALWAYS face the short wall. NOT facing the short wall usually will place the listener in the CENTER of the room, which is a very bad place to try to get accuracy in the low frequencies.Aug 12, 2021

Where do you put acoustic treatment?

Best Placement Plans for Improving Acoustics
  1. Place acoustic panels at the first place on the wall where sound waves tend to hit before reaching the listeners ears.
  2. Place 3' to 6' up from the floor in areas where much of the sound is produced by people sitting or standing in enclosed spaces.

Where do you put acoustic panels for recording?

Part of a video titled Mounting and Placement of Acoustic Treatment - YouTube
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Start by treating the walls closest to your speaker's. Behind the speakers and to either side.MoreStart by treating the walls closest to your speaker's. Behind the speakers and to either side.

How can I make my small room more acoustic?

4 Things You Can Do Today To Improve Your Studio's Acoustics
  1. Ensure windows are adjacent to your listening position. Windows are useful for letting fresh air in, but a nightmare when it comes to treating a room. ...
  2. Get out of the corners. ...
  3. Enforce symmetry. ...
  4. Exercise proper listening position.

Does a small room have better acoustics?

The acoustics properties of small rooms are different to that of larger rooms and free field environments. When a sound wave propagates from a sound source within a small room, it bounces and reflects from all of the surfaces inside of that space.

Where do you put acoustic treatment in home theater?

It is recommended that two acoustic panels are placed on either side of screen or TV and face the back of the room. If you have a perforated screen (such as a projector screen made of fabric) you can put panels behind it to help reduce these additional reflection points.Jul 30, 2020

Where do you put acoustic foam in a room?

If possible, mount some of your acoustic foam across corners of your room. This can be done between two horizontal walls or even the ceiling and side-wall. This will inherently create a large air gap behind the foam. This can be your start to absorbing those low-frequency resonances mentioned above.

Where do acoustic wall panels go?

Part of a video titled Acoustic Panels - What & Where - YouTube
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Between each of the two sets of side wall medium curves and place our curved corner traps in any twoMoreBetween each of the two sets of side wall medium curves and place our curved corner traps in any two of your corners. You can also add two to four more clouds.

How far apart should acoustic panels be?

The minimum perimeter occurs if all 4 panels are placed so that their long sides are touching, with only 48′ of perimeter. By spreading them out with 4′ gaps in between the panels, the perimeter of the entire set of panels increases to 72′, and the efficiency of the layout increases by 50%.Sep 26, 2019

How high should acoustic panels be?

For a standard room, acoustic panels are usually placed directly in the middle of the wall. Ideally, there should be 24 inches of space both above and below the panel.

How do you install acoustic panels?

Acoustic panels will improve the sound of your room. To install a panel, you'll need the included mounting kit, a drill, a level, a measuring tape, and painter's tape. First, place the panel facedown on a clean work surface. Then attach the Z-Clips with screws to the metal plates on the back of the panel.

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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.

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.

What Is Acoustic Treatment

Room acoustic treatment is a process when you transform your bad-sounding room into a professional recording environment. This is done by hanging acoustic panels on walls and other specific areas for your room.

What Type Of Acoustic Panels Exist

Acoustic panels are made from different materials such as foam or fiberglass. But more important is the type of acoustic panel. In general, they absorb the sound to make the room more recording-friendly.

Acoustic Treatment For Home Recording Studios

As long as you understand how different types of acoustic panels work, it’s time to learn how to place them in our room. The proper placement is critical for a good-sounding environment. In this guide, you will learn how to treat the recording room acoustically.

Floor Treatment And Furniture

Many home studio owners have discussions and argue about floor treatment and furniture placement in studios. There are no right or wrong ways to do it and debates will continue. Because it may work in one studio but fail in another one.

Conclusion

The proper acoustic treatment for a home recording studio is critical. Because houses and rooms are not designed for recording, you have to make it great for recording and mixing. And acoustic panels are the best way to treat recording rooms acoustically.

Is home recording equipment cheaper?

At home recording studio equipment is getting cheaper and cheaper making it an amazing time to be a musician or producer . Getting in the music game has never been so easy!

Why are standing waves detrimental to mixing?

Standing waves can be detrimental when mixing because they change the frequency response of the room!

What is acoustic treatment?

Acoustic Treatment, ultimately, is a form of sound absorption that manages the impact of excess, traveling sound. Overall, there are three major components involved in treating the acoustics of a room. Namely, these are: Acoustic Panels – These are meant to absorb mid to high range frequencies in a room.

Where to place acoustic foam panels?

Place your acoustic foam/fiberglass panels directly to walls on the left and right of the mixing station. You also have to place some panels on the ceiling directly above the mixing position.

Is reflected sound bad?

These reflected sound waves can be a major negative on two levels. Firstly, they can find their way back into the microphone/s you are using to record, and tamper with the quality of the recorded sound. And, secondly, reflected sound can be a true problem while monitoring during your mixing process.

Can reflected sound be a problem?

And, secondly, reflected sound can be a true problem while monitoring during your mixing process. In this instance, we’d see excess sounds impacting the perception of the person who is monitoring. You should have a high level of accuracy while monitoring, and this can easily be tainted by uncontrolled reflections.

Can sound waves travel back and forth?

Soundwaves emitted in a room can easily travel back and forth between walls that are parallel to each other. They would typically perform this back and forth motion in more or less the same positions along the wall. Ultimately, this repeated motion can lead to the overall amplification of reflections, which we do not want.

What type of panels do music producers use?

Music producers combat this by covering as much of the wall area as possible using Acoustic Panels . These can be in the form of either Foam Panels or Fiberglass Panels. If you are on a little bit more of a budget, covering your entire wall surface can be something of a costly exercise.

Is diffusion a part of music studios?

It is generally agreed upon that diffusion, in music studios, is an element more effectively incorporated in larger sized studios. Not only that, but diffusion can be rather pricey. Which is why many home music producers choose to leave this aspect out of their workspaces altogether. Either this or they would opt for the DIY route.

Do you need a live room for recording?

Yes, you need different types of treatment for different situations. For instance, the treatment for a live room and a control room are different from each other. For recording, we need a live room that will sound nice, natural, and lively.

How to know if your studio room needs this or not?

And the best know if your studio room needs this or not is to test your room. After you have added the bass traps and acoustic panels, try recording and look if the recording sounds natural or has a room ambiance to it. If it’s not to your liking then, you can add a diffuser and see if that solves the problem.

Why is it important to have a dedicated microphone?

It is as important as having dedicated microphones to record different types of instruments . Treating your room is an essential task that you should never leave out while building a studio or home studio. This is the process with which you will be able to set up the studio room to sound the way you like.

What type of waves travel directly to the microphone?

The direct sound waves traveling directly to the recording equipment, the microphone. And this type of waves will maintain it’s characteristics. All the other sound waves traveling in other directions excluding the above will get reflected back and reach the microphone.

Do you need different material absorbers for different sound waves?

Next, you are going to check and try to reduce the sound waves that will ruin the recording inside the room using absorbers of the different frequency ranges. Yes, you are going to need different material absorbers for different sound waves.

What is bass trap?

1.Bass Traps. This is the thing meant for absorbing bass frequencies (plus low frequencies) and can’t be done by simple acoustic panels as low frequencies like them are hard to handle. It’s the thing that you commonly see on the corner of the walls of a studio.

Do pro studios have separate rooms?

The pro studios have separate rooms for each one of them. But, that won’t be the case for a home studio. I don’t know if you are going to build a recording studio or a mixing studio. Probably, you are going to do both.

What is an acoustic diffuser?

Unlike acoustic panels that are designed to absorb sound, acoustic diffusers act to diffuseand scattersound. They interrupt echoes created by sound reflections bouncing off of walls and ceilings and are used to deal with the effects of comb filtering, standing waves, first reflections and flutter echo.

How does sound travel?

Sound travels in two ways: As direct soundto your ear or a microphone. As reflected soundthat bounces off walls, ceilings, or other surfaces. It’s important to know that reflected sound arrives laterto your ear or a microphone because it has farther to travel than direct sound.

What are the components of sound?

Sound travels in wave cyclesand is composed of three components: Amplitude – the strength of the wave, commonly known as the loudnessof a sound. Frequency– the number of wave cycles per second, which is heard as the pitchof the sound.

What is a bass trap?

Bass Traps. Bass traps are made either of a special foam or fiberglass insulation and are designed to absorb low frequencies. Because of their size and mass, they also help absorb mid and high frequencies to some extent. Bass traps are placed in corners of a room and also along areas where the walls meet the ceiling.

Why should the floor be reflective?

The floor should be reflective to provide life and presence to recordings. By using acoustic products correctly and in the right amounts, you should be able to eliminate or reduce flutter echo, comb filtering, first reflections, standing waves, room modes, and other issues. How To Evaluate Your Room’s Acoustics.

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