Better Acoustics Equals Better Home Recordings
I once asked a great recording engineer, "what piece of
equipment
will take my sound to the next level". He replied,"
Acoustics , Acoustics and Acoustics".
Proper room treatment like Bass Traps and absorption panels can make a night and day difference in your home recordings.
Importance of Acoustics
It is a fairly common problem that many home studios over look room acoustics. Could it be due to the mass marketing plans of the Pro Audio equipment manufactures? So many beginner studios search for their answers in new equipment when a great starting place is room acoustics.
Example: I had
a friend ask me, "Should I buy this new $3000.00 word clock because I
heard in a magazine it will make my recording quality better”. Yes, a good
high end word clock will improve your recording quality but if you
were going to compare word clock corrections to acoustical
corrections, you have to consider the level of Impact each improvement has on
your recordings.
Comparing the two:
Word Clock corrections
can account for a surgical level of improvement in the
synchronization of your digital equipment but the level of effect
that a bad room can have on your recordings, "especially" in the lower
frequency spectrum. I have heard of response variations as large a 35 dB.
You also have to look at the fact that most standard digital
converters in cars and home stereos are “SHIT” anyway.
Better Acoustics Equals
Better recordings
One of the main issues separating home studios from multimillion dollar studios is acoustical design. Acoustical accuracy is by far your most important tool. Of course, right after your ears.
Not dedicating the proper amount of time and energy into the acoustic integrity of your recording and control environments can end up being one of your studios biggest pit falls. Some of the most common acoustical problems in home studios are bass and standing waves. We can not go into these problems in too much detail because that would be beyond the scope of this site but we can give you a broad base understanding of the problem and some affordable solutions. We will also lead you to good links with more in-depth solutions and information on this topic.
Acoustic Problems
Most of the common acoustic problems in home recordings are a direct result of small studios because their dimensions are proportional to the sound waves being transmitted by low frequencies. The result is a boomy or muddy sounding room. Here is a chart showing you the sound wave lengths in feet to help you understand the size of lower sound waves. Here also, are a few links with more in-depth information on the topic of room modes and standing waves.
|
|
|
frequency |
Length |
1/2 length |
1/4 Length |
|
20 |
56.35 |
28.18 |
14.09 |
|
40 |
28.18 |
14.09 |
7.04 |
|
50 |
22.54 |
11.27 |
5.64 |
|
60 |
18.78 |
9.39 |
4.70 |
|
80 |
14.09 |
7.04 |
3.52 |
|
90 |
12.52 |
6.26 |
3.13 |
|
100 |
11.27 |
5.64 |
2.82 |
|
120 |
9.39 |
4.70 |
2.35 |
|
150 |
7.51 |
3.76 |
1.88 |
|
180 |
6.26 |
3.13 |
1.57 |
|
190 |
5.93 |
2.97 |
1.48 |
|
200 |
5.64 |
2.82 |
1.41 |
|
210 |
5.37 |
2.68 |
1.34 |
|
220 |
5.12 |
2.56 |
1.28 |
|
230 |
4.90 |
2.45 |
1.23 |
|
250 |
4.51 |
2.25 |
1.13 |
|
280 |
4.03 |
2.01 |
1.01 |
|
300 |
3.76 |
1.88 |
0.94 |
|
350 |
3.22 |
1.61 |
0.81 |
|
400 |
2.82 |
1.41 |
0.70 |
|
500 |
2.25 |
1.13 |
0.56 |
|
1000 |
1.13 |
0.56 |
0.28 |
|
2000 |
0.56 |
0.28 |
0.14 |
|
5000 |
0.23 |
0.11 |
0.06 |
|
8000 |
0.14 |
0.07 |
0.04 |
|
10000 |
0.11 |
0.06 |
0.03 |
|
14000 |
0.08 |
0.04 |
0.02 |
|
15000 |
0.08 |
0.04 |
0.02 |
|
18000 |
0.06 |
0.03 |
0.02 |
|
20000 |
0.06 |
0.03 |
0.01 |
Many home studios us cheap acoustic treatment resulting in high and mid frequency absorption but do nothing for the real monster in the closet, the BASS. The cheap ''egg foam'' looking ''shit'' when not placed properly just makes the situation worse by making the room to dead. It is ideal to most engineers to have a little life in the room.
What can you do?
Solutions to these bass problems come in many different
forms but the most popular would have to be bass traps. You can also
us the best
performing broadband absorbers for the job. Broadband absorbers will
catch any sound wave in its band of operation usually between
125-20,000 Hz with different absorption coefficients. Placing the
treatment, 'properly' will also maximizes your room’s potential. Placing
effective absorption
in the corners really cuts down the bass activity. Here is a picture
showing you ideal absorber placement.
Acoustic Solutions
