So in my garage I have about 20-30 square feet of Roxall Sound insulation, two old doors (hollow), a bunch of old solid wood kitchen cabinet doors (varying sizes), a stack of 8 foot 1x4" lengths of lumber, a half roll of rubber under padding for laminate flooring, a half roll of construction grade vapor barrier and 5 2x4' panels of thick acoustic ceiling tiles (the kind you'd use in a suspended ceiling in an office or something). Eventually I'll likely have another dozen of the ceiling tiles (pulling out a ceiling). All this stuff is new but it's not going to get used if I don't figure out what to do with it. I was wondering if I could use this stuff for baffling and sound treatment in my new place. Got any ideas? Happy Sunday, all.

I smell a Frankenstudio on the horizon...  LOL!

You know it. :-D

Actually I'm curious about these so called "bass traps" you guys talk about frequently. Any good references as to how I'd build me some of those and how they are implemented properly? With the doors I think I'm gonna try to make a vocal booth type thing. With the cabinet doors I may try to build an insulated box to put over my amp so I can crank it with having the cops called on me. Stuff like that yanno? I'm just not sure if these materials (mostly the ceiling tiles and the Roxall) are suitable for this type of thing. I also don't know what the proper dimension would be. Wish I could afford that ARC program or knew someone how had it that could pop by and run it. I guess I need one of those fancy mics that picks up room features too.

Beepster


Actually I'm curious about these so called "bass traps" you guys talk about frequently. Any good references as to how I'd build me some of those and how they are implemented properly? 

I've found that putting a cheap bottle of beer in the middle of a large bear trap works well.
 
Oh, sorry.  I thought you said bass player traps.  My bad.

I thought bapu didn't drink...

Don't know if that could be squeezed in your budget, but you can grab ARC for $179 at Audio Deluxe. 

Simple things like bookshelves (w/ books in it obviously) can help. Me, I've learned to use and recycle any and everything to at least help improve the acoustics of the rooms I have to work in. My next challenge is to improvise a "vocal booth" w/ what we have here, to record some vocals for a project my wife is working on.

Ultimately, what you can or should do for treatment depends on the room you're working in. Shape, ceiling height, etc... There isn't really a formula.

You may want to grab a copy of Mike Senior's "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio" - available on kindle reader for pocket change. It may give you a hint on finding what you should focus on - and therefore, how you could use what you have at your disposal.

Beepster


I thought bapu didn't drink...

Try an "I  My Alembic!" button for him.

Thanks, rain. I'll check it out. I actually thought ARC was around $500. At $179 it's still out of my price range for the moment but it's definitely something I'd like in my arsenal. BTW old doors are pretty easy to come by. Like I said I intend on using some for my booth. Just gonna hinge three of them together and maybe put a sound blanket over top and on the "entrance" to the booth. I figure that should do the trick. Cheers.

Beepster


Thanks, rain. I'll check it out. I actually thought ARC was around $500. At $179 it's still out of my price range for the moment but it's definitely something I'd like in my arsenal. BTW old doors are pretty easy to come by. Like I said I intend on using some for my booth. Just gonna hinge three of them together and maybe put a sound blanket over top and on the "entrance" to the booth. I figure that should do the trick. Cheers.

I used to do something similar w/ my japanese shoji screens - just throw a bunch of blankets over them. Bam, instant "vocal booth" (of course, they just absorb some reflexions a bit, they don't really isolate or deaden anything all that much).