Finished Acoustically Treating My Tiny Room

[cardinal]

I think this thread helped me a lot. I've been displaced into a tiny room. The wall opposite my amps is cinder blocks and the ceiling is exposed rafters. I hung a fairly heavy curtain along the wall and a furniture blanket across the ceiling.

I think I notice a real difference in the treble. I've been struggling with a Recto 4x12 that was unbearably bright. Didn't make sense. I've had one before that was super smooth. But I was in a much larger space at that time. Now in a small room, covering up the hard walls and ceiling seems to have helped.

 

[Speeddemon]

Guys, don't want to be a downer, but while the type of foam tiles that the OP is using are doing *something*, they don't really do it evenly, frequency wise.
Fabric coated (like burlap) rockwool panels of 2" or 4" thick will do WAY more, also in the mid- and low-end.
If lightweight and good looks are needed, a foam kind that does actually work somewhat more, is Basotect or Melamine foam.
It's the same stuff that those wonder sponges are made of, you know, the ones that sort of crumble when you use them, typically light grey or white colored. But beware, this stuff is pricey!
I bought a few panels, since my music room/home studio is in my attic with slanted ceiling/walls, and the ones I got, are with an adhesive backside and chamfered.
Like this:

The Auralex-like dark grey foam (1" mostly) almost only works above 1kHz, so while it does dampen the highs and can kill some flutter-echo, it's pretty much not effective in the mids and low-mids. Forget about the low-end completely. You need some serious corner traps for that.

 

[scottosan]

Guys, don't want to be a downer, but while the type of foam tiles that the OP is using are doing *something*, they don't really do it evenly, frequency wise.
Fabric coated (like burlap) rockwool panels of 2" or 4" thick will do WAY more, also in the mid- and low-end.
If lightweight and good looks are needed, a foam kind that does actually work somewhat more, is Basotect or Melamine foam.
It's the same stuff that those wonder sponges are made of, you know, the ones that sort of crumble when you use them, typically light grey or white colored. But beware, this stuff is pricey!
I bought a few panels, since my music room/home studio is in my attic with slanted ceiling/walls, and the ones I got, are with an adhesive backside and chamfered.
Like this:

The Auralex-like dark grey foam (1" mostly) almost only works above 1kHz, so while it does dampen the highs and can kill some flutter-echo, it's pretty much not effective in the mids and low-mids. Forget about the low-end completely. You need some serious corner traps for that.

Since I’m treating and not sound proofing the 1-2 inch foam is all that’s need to suppress the the standing waves to a less fatiguing level. Ive previously treated this same room with OC703 panels although I only used (4) 4’x2’ fabric covered panels, the larger coverage area that I can affordably achieve with foam (100+ sqft) had definitely made a huge difference.

 

[Speeddemon]

Since I’m treating and not sound proofing the 1-2 inch foam is all that’s need to suppress the the standing waves to a less fatiguing level. Ive previously treated this same room with OC703 panels although I only used (4) 4’x2’ fabric covered panels, the larger coverage area that I can affordably achieve with foam (100+ sqft) had definitely made a huge difference.

Scott, I wasn't talking about sound proofing. I was talking about acoustic treatment, to make the room sound better 'inside'.
Soundproofing is when you want your neighbours to be less annoyed. ;-)
While lots of acoustic treatment MAY help a bit with less traveling noise to the neighbours, typically to go the soundproofing-route, is where you add floating walls inside your room, made of 2 layers of drywall, with 2 to 4" rockwool/OC703 behind it, double doors with sealing rubbers, etc.
The whole box-in-a-box thing.

When it comes to absorption/acoustic treatment,
It's a balancing act; the 1"-2" dark grey foam is usually pretty affordable and looks the part in most cases. OC703 + framing and fabric can be cheaper than Auralex and the like, but it's more work, bulky and you have to know what you're doing before it looks good.
Basotect/melamine foam sits in between in terms of performance, IMO looks better than the simple foam, but it damages more easily and it's quite pricey.

One area where basotect would be a great solution is ceilings.
1) Ceilings are often white, so white basotect wouldn't be an eyesore
2) since it's lightweight, you can glue it yourself, no special mounting solutions needed
3) When it's on the ceiling, there's way less risk of damaging, scratching basotect, unless you do Yngwie-style guitarspins with a Kramer, Jackson, Dean or BC Rich with pointy headstocks. ;-)

I haven't started with my room yet, although I have the basotect stuff in house and I'm planning to do about 6 broadband absorpers made of 4" thick rockwool, near my mixing desk; 2 on the side mirror points, 2 behind the speakers, and 2 as corner traps.
I'm going for a bit of LEDE solution, although the Live End where my amps are, still has a nice Persian rug, that lowers some standing ceiling-to-floor reflections.

Note: white basotect doesn't yellow over age, as regular foam does. On the 1st picture below, there's cheap foam next to the radiator on the left, that has yellowed considerably. Basotect is also safe, fire-hazard wise.

 

[Donnie B.]

@Speeddemon Is that a mini SVT stack?

 

[SpiderWars]

can kill some flutter-echo

I had never heard of this term, flutter-echo. At first I thought its what a ceiling fan does...which drives me nuts. But for those who don't know...here you go (with sound sample).

My smallish cave has wood floor, drywall, and drop ceiling so I'm watching this thread for ideas.

 

[Donnie B.]

My smallish cave has wood floor, drywall, and drop ceiling so I'm watching this thread for ideas.

Drop ceiling is good.
Those tiles are designed to absorb some sound since they are often used in large public spaces.
A couch or twin bed against a wall is also a great dual purpose sound damper.

 

[Speeddemon]

@Speeddemon Is that a mini SVT stack?

Yep, the Micro-VR. 200W MOSFET power into a 2x10" closed cab. Sounds huuuge if you want it to.
https://ampeg.com/products/classic/microvr/
It has an internal, non-bypassable fan, which is kinda loud for a home studio environment, so I replaced that with something way more silent and roughly the same air flow. Did the same thing with the Mesa Mini Mark V:25 btw. (and my recorder (Alesis HD24XR) and my A&H mixing desk's psu).

@SpiderWars parralel, hard, reflective surfaces can cause standing waves and flutter echo's. So, the floor-ceiling part can be handled by a reasonably thick rug. Just carpet tiles only dampen some high end, therefore a thicker rug helps more.
Thick mass is key. Same with stage-curtains. Those aren't flimsy either.
Asymmetry in the surfaces help with dispersing waves in different directions, so a couch, a book case, some amps+cabs, it all helps.
Windows are a nightmare, from an absorption's point of view, since glass is non-absorbing and highly reflective. Some drapes go a long way here.

A major benefit of a well treated room, is that there's more 'room' for the sound; things sound almost quieter, yet clearer and more balanced.
It can make the difference of needing earplugs in a rehearsal space (with drummer, etc.) or not, provided the drummer is no Keith Moon and you're a decent distance apart from one another.
Note that I have the Marshall 1966B cab off the floor with an Auralex Gramma; this has to do with coupling and booming bass, that would travel through the floors. In our current house, the floors are all concrete, so the Gramma helps a bit less, but in my previous home, which was from the 1920's, wooden floors greatly benefited from using a Gramma. So much less rumble.

 

[Donnie B.]

It has an internal, non-bypassable fan, which is kinda loud for a home studio environment, so I replaced that with something way more silent and roughly the same air flow. Did the same thing with the Mesa Mini Mark V:25 btw. (and my recorder (Alesis HD24XR) and my A&H mixing desk's psu).

Ya, my 5:25 is sans fan at the moment. I use clip-on USB fans behind any gear with heat and allow for lots of convection.
Love wire racks for that reason.

I have these placed strategically in my room including a couple right behind my open back 12" to control some of the rear
projection, and a few each on the two mirrored sliding doors of the closet. Small pieces of double sided tape secures them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077Q2HYMW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Speeddemon]

That's pretty good stuff. Some places in Europe sell it under the name 'Akotherm'.
The plot that saysL Absorption of 80% at 250Hz is not at the 3/8" thickness, mind you. But you probably figured that out.
Once you get at the 1.6"-2" thickness with these type of panels, it will start working in the mids/low-mids with good results.

Those yellowed foam pieces I have next to the radiator, are to be replaced with chamfered Akotherm as well, 2" thick. They can handle some scuffs and scrapes better than the basotect foam and I've actually lined up the inside of my 2x12 Marshall 1966 cabs with 2" thick slabs of the Akotherm-like fiber as well, for dampening and a bigger tone.