How to improve low end in studio??

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peterc52

peterc52

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I have a music room I’ve built.

I want to improve low end response. I feel the room is more trebly than balanced. How do I go from there?

More bass. Less treble.

Any ideas and insight?

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peterc52 said:
I have a music room I’ve built.

I want to improve low end response. I feel the room is more trebly than balanced. How do I go from there?

More bass. Less treble.

Any ideas and insight?

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I built a few bass-traps for the corners and mid to high band absorbers for the walls. You can also use absorbers for the ceiling. hang them on chains. or ropes.
 
I throw dumb low end and shake an untreated basement slab with Abaddon. You can spend money on the room but the real problem is your source tone. I’d consider getting an ISP guitar sub for the Marshall’s for a whole lot less than trying to cut highs for more bass in leu of instead treating the room to be neutral. I fear once you spend the money and time in the room for the goal of perceived bass at the expense of highs and not simple neutrality you’ll struggle to get in room mic recordings that come out naturally.
 
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You need lots of treatment. Send your room specs to someone in sound treatment.
 
Jack Luminous said:
You need to do some measurements with REW and a ref mic and go from there.
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This
Until you take some measurements, you are just guessing.
REW is "room eq wizard" which is a free program available on the web. There are lots of affordable options in small diaphragm condenser mics with a flat response that can be used to take your measurements.
More often than not, a room will feel light in the bass because the bass is actually being canceled by room modes. You can turn the bass up all you want, but you can't overcome the physics if the room can't reproduce the frequencies.
In these cases, the only solution is to eliminate the room modes with bass trapping.
I would focus on getting the bottom end sorted first, and then fine tune the mid/high end with absorption and diffusion.
The mid/high end is usually pretty easy, not too expensive, and doesn't take up too much space.
The low end can be a real bitch. The materials aren't to expensive, but bass traps take up a ton of space.
 
Bass traps absorb low frequency sound...seems the opposite of what Pete wants.

Acoustic panels, blankets on walls, carpet, heavy curtains, should absorb some treble...but will also absorb other frequencies.
 
Highly recommend ARC Studio from IK Multimedia. Includes the mic to take measurements of your room, and then the software to correct it, and finally the hardware piece to load it into that sits between your interface and monitors so you don’t have to keep toggling a plugin on and off like Sonarworks. I’ve read numerous reports from guys that have compared it against their $8,000 Trinnov systems and says they’re nearly identical, and the Arc Studio is like $300. But before that you’ll need to invest in the thickest bass traps you can find. Look at the GIK Acoustics website. Also, a nice overstuffed couch against the back wall can help too. It takes mass to absorb bass frequencies, that’s why everyone has problems with them. If you’re finding you have less bass than you want, it’s most likely that you have phase cancellation. You might be able to fix that by moving your position around. Also, what kind of sub do you have and where is it placed?
 
Room looks like there are too many reflection points. The advice above around measuring your room is a good first step. There are a few sites (Gik Acoustic example) where you can plug in your room measurements and it will help you with placement. I think just a few 4” panels placed around the room would help tame the treble and you’d hear more of an even sound. You can make them pretty easy and cheap or there are always sales going on to take advantage of.
 
Thanks everyone! Gonna order something to make measurements of the room!
 
peterc52 said:
Are they too close? I have about 2 inches air behind them
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I think it may be the source of, or at least, contributing to your problem. Anytime I am forced to have a cab that close to the wall I know I'm going to be in for an extra dose of harsh trebles. Less so on a closed back but if you are cranking it may be noticeable still. It's exacerbated yet more by having hard materials behind the amp like metal/glass/ or stone. I always aim to have a few feet between the amp and the wall whenever possible.
 
rsm said:
Bass traps absorb low frequency sound...seems the opposite of what Pete wants.

Acoustic panels, blankets on walls, carpet, heavy curtains, should absorb some treble...but will also absorb other frequencies.
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counterintuitively...

Bass can resonate and/or reflect, and cause standing waves that effectively kill itself at points in a room. Nuking bass at walls or corners can increase the bass at listening positions.

Bass traps and whatnot are cool, and nerds love to spend money...but a strategically placed couch can do the same thing.
 
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