Help me - Using my bedroom as a control room? 1-room studio

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:40 pm

Here is a video of my room:

http://www.zshare.net/video/62155803df334033/

All I did was stand in the middle and take photos as I rotated myself 360 Degrees.

This is all the equipment\software I am\will be using to make music in my studio.

Equipment:

--Self-Built Desktop PC:
-790FX Motherboard
-Amd Athlon 64X2 6000+ 3.0GHz
-8GB RAM
-HD4870 Graphics card
-500W Power supply
-Audigy 1 Sound card (Will upgrade to Delta 1010)
-500GB HDD
-1TB HDD (Will have)
--Acer 20" Monitor
--Sonic-Cell(Will have)
--Motif-ES8 Rack(Might have)
--M-audio Keystation 88ES(Will have)
--M-audio Keystation 25
--Akai MPD24 or Maschine(Will have)
--KRK VXT4, 6 OR 8 (Will have)

Software:

--Windows 7 RC
--FL Studio 8 Producer(Getting this week)
--Cubase 5 (Will get)
--Komplete 5(Will get)
--Real Guitar 2(Will get)
--EWQL Goliath(Will get)
--Trilogy(Will get)
--Ivory(Will get)
--(Omnisphere(Will get)

As you can tell, this setup is not going to take up much room at all, since I wont have a hardware mixer right now. Basically, my main goal is to soundproof this room, and to make it sound nice inside without making it look too odd.

Ideally, I would want as little sound to escape as possible. Behind my house is a cornfield, so some sound can escape through my window. I need to cover my ceiling, door, left side, and window \ window side.

I need help on what material to buy to soundproof my room, and make it sound nice with the KRK monitors I'll be buying.

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:23 pm

First - CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM! There, now I'm not just nagging my daughter.

Now that I have that out of my system...You need bass traps in the corners. There are commercial solutions like Auralex LENRDs. But there are cheaper DIY solutions. Google "bass traps" and "super chunk" and go from there. Basically any corner you have access to: wall-wall, ceiling-wall, wall-floor can benefit from some sort of high density foam/fiberglass. (The kind of material matters - do your research.)

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:12 pm

Box.net is a better host then most anything, it doesn't run visitors off with ads that you just about have to watch.

When you start your search for room treatment devices like Bob suggested, search for isolation. Isolation is what the industry refers to when talking about soundproofing.

You are going to find a lot of things, mostly overwhelming unless you are very talented.

Mass, air, decoupling and insulation are the componants of isolation. You can use one or you can use all of them, but the best isolation will require all of these things.

Adding mass directly to the existing walls/ceilings/boundaries can get some isolation, but not much, still, some...it is a bedroom:)

How good are you with carpentry work? Obviously your a guy, so you may have some inclination. How do I know your a guy you ask? Guys don't ask for directions or read instructions. Had you read the instructions in this forum, called a sticky, you might be better at getting the directions you ask <insert smiley here>

You will also need money, preferably as much as a million but at least a few thousand will be a good start.
Do you have money? If so, how much would you spend on this project?

Some folks here will want to know what kind of sound levels you are working against...I personally do not care, but if it where a build that really mattered and someone was getting a check for, it would make a difference how the job would be approached.

Mass, decoupling, air/distance and insulation = good isolation

Granted you can use treatments to stop sound...but you will have to have it so thick that you would not have any room left to shoot another video of the room once completed.

Search for isolation, it is what you are looking for.

Good luck

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:41 pm

Thanks a lot man.

Where do people get Cheap Owens Fiberglass panels? I've seen people say they got em for $.90 Per Sq Ft!!! This is ridiculous. The cheapest I can find is $59 for (6) 2' x 4' Panels. That's not even Owens.

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:07 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I cannot take apart my room, install isolation material between the drywall and use Green Glue to attach it. That will be so much work \ money. I'm trying to get it so that nobody will complain\hear me making music outside of my room.

I plan on using KRT V4, 6 or 8 Monitors. I don't know exactly how loud they will be. Only as loud as I need them to be able to mix\create really well.

So.. I was thinking of making (12) 2' x 4' x 2" Fiberglass panels to fit around my room. Save up a month or so more and then getting the corners with "Super Chunk" Bass traps.

How much quieter will my room be with these 12 panels?

EDIT:

I just read a bit more. It looks to me as if treatment is good for getting true sound, but not for "soundproofing" or "sound isolating". The question remains though.

EDIT 2: It looks like I won't get good soundproofing without taking apart my drywall. If anybody knows a solution that doesn't involve taking apart my drywall please post it.

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:11 am

Since it seems that major isolation isn't possible in your case, I think Bob's advice is right down your alley.
Do a search HERE (much less google as Bob suggests) and you'll see a host of threads and links dealing w/ DIY bass traps and room treatments. You'll see quite a few involving my own quest for taming the bottom end in my control room, in fact.

I think you're on the right path w/ the broadband absorbers and superchunks. You'll see there are other options with trade-offs in cost and effectiveness. Like Bob said, don't forget the floor/wall/ceiling corners. If there's space to put in the trap, do it. I know they don't seem as important to a person, but bass doesn't discriminate - it goes everywhere.

I'm going w/ rockwool absorbers and a similar panel in the corners w/ a fiberglass roll behind (cheaper than superchunk). All will be mounted in a 2x4 frame and covered w/ burlap (again, cheap).
I rent my studio space, so I want to make my initial treatments both cost-effective and easily transportable.
Hopefully my tale helps you focus on what the needs of you and your specific room are.

Finally, as Space explained (and it seems you're discovering - I know how daunting serious studio construction/isolation can be!), to get any real isolation you're gonna be dealing with an equation that requires both some serious cash and work to come out right. You gotta have a decent amount of both and a whole lot of one or the other available.
If you really want to get knocked out, check Max's epic thread. I do say a prayer for that man every now and then.

Anyways, I think your best bet is to do the treatments, and track and monitor at a level that your neighbors will tolerate. Talk to them ahead of time, ask about the hours they'll want things quiet, and try to find an agreeable compromise. Try running some playback through your monitors that is as loud as you'll think you'll want to be and see what level you both can live with. And to answer your question directly, don't expect much of anything in sound reduction w/ treatments.
Worst case scenario, you have to work more quietly than you want, and you have some (re)usable treatments that will help you monitor and mix with more accuracy.

*Disclaimer - I am not an expert on studio construction or room treatment. I do mix in a less than ideal room that has led me to consider doing both. Having gone down a similar road as you a few months ago, I thought my story could help you.
I like stories. We can bandy about specs and stats till the end of time, but I prefer to hear it or at least hear about how it happened. Which by the way, only makes Max's thread MORE epic!

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 2:52 am

I live in the basement. There's really a small chance the neighbors would hear me. I decided I'm going to use GreenGlue + Drywall over my existing drywall. Along with the other equipment I need to buy, that will take about 1.3 years depending on the salary of the job I'm going to try to get.

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:04 am

Dude, you are not going to be happy monitoring in a room that small regardless of what kind of crap you put on your walls, floor, ceiling. And keeping people from hearing what you are monitoring? You're dreaming. Low frequencies will couple right through. So if you are into boom boom bass, everybody else will be enjoying it. Not to worry as you are only going to get so much bass from 4 inch, 6 inch or, 8 inch monitors. You'll still like the way your KRK's sound. I love mine. BTW counting your chickens before they hatch never works. Put your computer together & purchase your monitors. You'll like the way it sounds before you do any acoustic work. I mean there's only so many places in a bedroom to put control room monitors. On your desk. On shelves on your walls. On either side of your TV set, in the wall unit. Yeah, not to worry. You are a basement dweller. The corn will love your KRK's also if you are not listening to continuous rap or death metal Christian. If that's the case? You might want to dig another 6 feet down in your bedroom. Line in it with cement and don't forget to plug-in a dehumidifier.

Listening to my mixes in my head
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:51 am

My room is 400 Sq FT.

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:22 pm

Tip: 3 dimensional spaces are not measured in square feet. Your squares need more depth.
400 square feet of floor area, I can believe in.

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:31 pm

Well if that room is approx. 20 x20 then the video is very very decieving. Though there is a sticky at the the beginning of this thread telling you to include dimensions when asking for help. Perhaps you overlooked it. From the video I would have thought the room was only 13 x13 or less. Floor space and ceiling height, and jogs like closets, etc. are all going to affect sound.

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:43 pm

I think you'll find your room is 400 ft.³ not 400 ft.². You're not old enough to do the math.

I'm too old for new math.
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 2:34 pm

To the person who started the ramble about 3D, if you look up "400 square foot room" on google, that would bring up results with a room that is 400 Sq Ft (Ceiling\Floor.) I don't think I got that wrong lol.

@Ms. Remy

Quote:

You're not old enough to do the math.

What are you talking about lol? That was unnecessary. No.

I'm dreaming? No. I didn't even tell you my room size.

They taught us how to find Volume in middle school.

I wrote that up at 4 A.M.

Enough with the educational lessons already. Seriously.

@Bob
CLEAN YOUR ROOM. - No shit, when I'm ready I will.

@Space
How Old am I? I'm suddenly a female for asking for help? A million dollars? Seriously..Unless you're a damn robot you could probably tell that I won't have a space that needs that much money spent on it.

All of those posts would've been better without that personal stuff. I said nothing but thanks and kept on with the topic, but then most of the people still had to go personal.

The Volume of my room is 1160.77778 cubic feet.
The Area of the ceiling/floor of my room would be 149.777778 square feet.

Apologies about the 400 sq ft. measurement. I don't know where I got that from.

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:20 pm

Remy is often very tongue in cheek. I love her sense of humor and her advice is usually very spot on in regards to technical stuff. Don't take anything personally a lot of times it is hard to tell humor here and on the net in general. There are frequent questions regarding how to soundproof a room and it is not as simple as it sounds (pun).

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:02 pm

"Enough with the educational lessons already. Seriously."
You're here to learn, right?

I pointed out your volume/area problem because it was guaranteed to cause ambiguity.

Now can we work on dealing with the inevitable LF transmission through your walls?

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