This time we are going to talk about acoustic treatment and how it can help you in your studio. Acoustic treatment is in my opinion the most important piece of gear in your studio. It helps to tame early reflections as well as keep standing bass waves from muddying up your mixes. I started off in a room with no treatment and could never get a good mix. I then became a student of how acoustics work in a room. My room is far from perfect, but I get better mixes now than 3 years ago.
I'm sure your thinking after going online and looking at some treatment, "how will I be able to afford this?" or " but I want that new guitar". Trust me when I tell you, this purchase will make a huge difference on how your recordings and mixes turn out. There are two ways you can do this. You can buy pre-made panels, or if you are handy, make them yourself. I chose the latter because it saved me about $1000. They are easy to make with the right know how and there are plenty of diagrams and videos online showing different ways to make them.
Most home studio hobbyists, like me will not have a dedicated room in which to build your studio. Just ask my wife. Mine is in our master bedroom.Below you will find a diagram of my studio/master bedroom. Yes, I have a very tolerant wife in case you were wondering. You will see my desk position as well as where I have been able to place acoustic panels in my room.
I have corner floor to ceiling 3 inch thick bass traps with an air gap behind them. They are made from from 40# per square foot rigid mineral board. This is an OK way to make them. I wish I could have made them thicker but I couldn't. The rest of the panels are 1'x3' Roxul Safe-n-sound mineral wool filled broadband acoustic panels. These serve to effectively deaden my room for mixing and recording. I do have some issues with resonant bass frequencies around 120 hz, but I know where the problem in the room is. I need money and time to make 6 more panels. Another problem with this room is that it is designed to be lived in so that means no floor insulation and walls covered in drywall. But I make do with what I have. No home studio will ever be perfectly tuned.
There is confusion between acoustic treatment and soundproofing. Let's clear that up some. Soundproofing is not allowing sound to pass thru walls, floors and ceilings. This is usually achieved by decoupling interior surfaces from exterior surfaces and thru the use of dense rubber insulation. Decoupling allows two surfaces to be physically detached from each other keeping vibrations that allow sound transfer to a minimum. Decoupling is not cost effective for the home project studio however. It requires expensive materials and a definite construction know how.
Next is the physical barrier. These are generally dense rubber material that is glued to a wall and then covered with another layer of drywall. It will be essential to make sure all seams are taped up also to prevent any bleed. A product I have heard and read good reviews about is Audimute's Peacemaker® sound barrier. It comes in 2mm 3.2mm and 6.4mm thickness. The 2 and 3.2mm are designed for wall installation. The 6.4mm is best used as a floor underlayment. This method is also a little expensive, but may be more doable than decoupling. It certainly doesn't require as much construction know how. These methods are really only necessary if you need sound isolation from neighbors or the rest of the house.
The easiest way to control reflections in your room with out expensive soundproofing is acoustic panels and diffuser's. Acoustic panels are built from sound absorbing mineral fiber like rock wool or rigid fiberglass, covered in a thin decorative fabric. These panels, when placed in a room effectively, will dampen the sound waves reflecting off the walls. Diffusion is a little different, but still acts as sound absorption. Diffusion is sound energy being spread evenly in a given environment. Diffusors (or diffusers) are used to treat sound aberrations, such as echoes, in rooms. They are an excellent alternative or complement to sound absorption because they do not remove sound energy, but can be used to effectively reduce distinct echoes and reflections while still leaving a live sounding space.
The NRC rating (noise reduction coefficient) is used to measure how effective the treatment in your room is. A 0 NRC rating means your room has no absorption at all. A 0.5 NRC means 50% of sound is being absorbed while the other 50% is being reflected back into the room. A NRC of 1.0 means 100% of the sound in the room is being absorbed, with none being reflected back. The 1.0 NRC is what you want. When mixing or recording in a room, the less reflections you have to deal with, the better.
Any of these products can be purchased online or you can find instructions to build you own. That's what I did and like I said, I saved a small fortune. Stay tuned for the next article.