oops, Sorry for the single paragraph, just posted using Firefox...

No worries Rick, I've seen much tougher to read. And thanks for the suggestion. In regards to the cloud, yep, that's a possible option. 

The idea is that I don't want to drill holes for every little thing - whatever can be put in place using another method w/o compromising too much, that'll be the preferred approach. But if something requires it, no problem.   
 
Greg - in regards to bass traps, I'll be building them myself, so I should be able to customize the just the way I need them. I've budgeted 6 for starters and that was the very first step.


I've been working in untreated room ever since I've started recording and in hotel rooms and such for the last 2 years, so I can be patient and do that stuff gradually, improve things a bit at a time.

I don't have to deliver content for now either, so there's no hurry. I'm mostly writing and learning.

Hi Rain, 

I'm sure you're more than capable of getting what needs to be done to suit 'your' needs and like you said; no hurry.  Which is good.  Plan for the room to look really nice and for what you'll be doing as you said; you don't want to do any drastic.

Considering your needs, several panels placed in the right areas using blankets and curtains (as you said) would do nicely and the bass traps is probably all you need to do. 

That alcove area might be nice for a shelving unit and/or display case. For me, I probably use it as an ISO booth. 

Post some photos when you get done.

All the best! 

We have a ready supply of quilts here....some 10' x 10'....

Hey Rain, your mixing / producing space has dimensions very similar to mine, even down to the placement of the door! It's the latter point that got my attention - regarding your question about bass traps, or the lack thereof. I figured out that in my smallish space, whatever corners could be covered by traps should be. So I got thick mondo traps (I got 4" thick but you can get them 6") and mounted them in the three corners that I had minus the door. Even with three-out-of-four, it made all the difference that you would expect from adding traps  - tightened bass and focused imaging.
 
I mounted them with a single hook screwed right into the corner of the walls where they meet. The traps had a cord on the back so you could hang them right on the hook, just like a picture frame, except kitty-corner style.
 
Since you're in a rental space, I'm thinking that the fix-up would be pretty easy.  Just fill the hole with joint compound (or filler and then joint compound), sand, prime, and paint. If you don't have a can of your existing paint for touch-ups, your landlord will love you for asking for one!
 
Happy listening - and by the way, congratulations! (I must have missed the wedding - I haven't been lurking on these forums for a while.)
 

Thanks, Carlos. :)

I should be starting to work on the room pretty soon. I wanted to wait until everything was in its place and, w/ the display finally here, there shouldn't be any major change in terms of set up, meaning I'll be ready to start working on room treatment.

I've spent the last week mainly listening to the room, seeing how it reacts. Not that hard but it certainly beats all the other rooms I've had to work in in the last 2 years.

Hi, Rain. Sorry, I'd missed this thread because it started while I was overseas on holiday. Just wanted to add that it isn't necessary to trap every corner, so don't sweat the door. If the other corners are trapped well you'll be OK. Bass traps don't even have to necessarily be in the corners - if space just isn't there for corner traps you can also trap the juncture of walls-to-ceiling, which will do the same thing (albeit somewhat less efficiently) without taking up any floor space. 

Regarding acoustical blankets that tout an NRC rating of 0.7 -- look up NRC (noise reduction coefficient) and you'll understand why that measurement is pretty useless for evaluating studio treatments.

Thanks Bit. That's good to know. :)

One thing you'll want to stay aware of is that facing the speakers towards the door end of the room - can create a ( 1/4 wave or so ) reflection that can seriously place the sound out of phase. This is because some first order reflections will reflect off the door area later than off the back wall area. I've seen (heard) results of this that will cause the bass to basically drop out near the center of the room. It ain't pretty and large geometric offsets like this are not treatable with simple bass traps though they most certainly will help. It can affect the entire spectrum though with out them. Just a thought - but you might think about setting up along the long wall opposite the door side of the room - dimensionally there isn't that much of a difference in the long axis as opposed to the short axis.

Thanks. I hadn't thought of that but it makes sense I guess.

OTOH, I intend to remove the closet's sliding doors on that side of the room, which should solve that potential issue.