DIY room treatment

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J_Dunavin
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DIY room treatment

#1 Post by J_Dunavin »

I’ve watched a few videos and read up on a few articles, with the basic idea down.
Has anyone here built their own panels to hang?
Looking for a reasonable cost material to pack in the panels. I’ve seen recycled denim insulation and recycled foam insulation? Looks dense enough, but can’t seem to find a local source.
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DaveMacKay
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Re: DIY room treatment

#2 Post by DaveMacKay »

I built some DIY bass traps using Roxul “Safe ‘n Sound” insulation and 2”x2” lumber. The Safe ‘n Sound is commonly used in acoustic panels too.

It’s easy to work with and is available at Home Depot and Lowes (here in Canada).

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Bill Fitzmaurice
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Re: DIY room treatment

#3 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Rock wool is best for traps, for fire resistance. Any open weave cloth will do.

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Tom Smit
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Re: DIY room treatment

#4 Post by Tom Smit »

J_Dunavin, did you get to read this article, as well?
http://ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
TomS

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J_Dunavin
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Re: DIY room treatment

#5 Post by J_Dunavin »

Tom Smit wrote: Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:51 pm J_Dunavin, did you get to read this article, as well?
http://ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
Wowzers! There’s a lot of information there.
How does one know where exactly to place room treatments, and what type to place where?
I suspect RTA ing the room would identify peak areas?
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Strange Kevin
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Re: DIY room treatment

#6 Post by Strange Kevin »

I like the Rockwool stuff, have used it a little bit.
We build some clouds with it for a guy once, turned out well.

Where to place?

I'd start on the walls where the first reflection of sound will hit your listening position.
Take a seat in your favorite spot and have a friend walk around the room holding a mirror against the wall. Take a note of where you can see your speakers in the mirror.
The next place I'd probably hit is the wall behind you.
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Grant Bunter
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Re: DIY room treatment

#7 Post by Grant Bunter »

Is there a need to wind back a bit?
Is the room treatment in regard to a sound system, or taming a drumkit?
Or some combination of the two?

I think the sound system stuff is covered, but I would do other things for a drum kit alone, and probably additional things if it were for both.

For drums, I would think wall inside a wall with no two surfaces parallel to each other.
For sound and drums, wall treatments for sound as before, polycarbonate isolation booth for drums...
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J_Dunavin
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Re: DIY room treatment

#8 Post by J_Dunavin »

This is specifically for that drum kit we got.
We will set it up next month, and I’ll wait until then to determine what all needs done.
Just trying to learn and get ahead of the curve.
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Re: DIY room treatment

#9 Post by Grant Bunter »

J_Dunavin wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:12 pm This is specifically for that drum kit we got.
We will set it up next month, and I’ll wait until then to determine what all needs done.
Just trying to learn and get ahead of the curve.
J,
Obviously you could spend a fortune depending on what level of sound "kill" you want to achieve.
It may be more cost effective to make a smaller booth in a room rather than the entire room, if that makes sense.

More temporary measures may include egg crate foam (or cardboard), and/or moving blankets attached to walls...
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Bill Fitzmaurice
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Re: DIY room treatment

#10 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Are you talking about damping in room reflections? Or sound proofing from the rest of the house? Two very different goals with very different methods.

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J_Dunavin
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Re: DIY room treatment

#11 Post by J_Dunavin »

I thought I wanted both, but after some reading I see that isolation from the rest of the house would be very difficult.
At this time I’m only interested in treating the room. Which…. I get the feeling I’ll need to set everything up in place first, then do some fiddling around.
His practice snare drum rings pretty good in there as is, so I’m sure the full set will be an issue.
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Strange Kevin
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Re: DIY room treatment

#12 Post by Strange Kevin »

Sorry, I forgot about the drums!

Yeah, attempting to sound proof a room gets expensive in a hurry!!
A good book on the subject if you're interested, is - Home Recording Studio: Build It Like The Pros, by Rod Gervais
https://a.co/d/1PpxfWT

More of a studio tool to isolate difrent instruments in the same room... It could be fun to start with a couple Gobos to setup around the drumset.
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Bill Fitzmaurice
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Re: DIY room treatment

#13 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Make some 2x4 foot 2 inch thick frames filled with rock wool, covered with open weave cloth. Hang them around the room until you get the desired level of reverb reduction. A carpeted floor is a must, as are curtains over windows.

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Seth
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Re: DIY room treatment

#14 Post by Seth »

Strange Kevin wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:42 pm It could be fun to start with a couple Gobos to setup around the drumset.
I pictured something completely different when I read this. Thought to myself, heck yeah, great way to get a kid pumped up on learning the drums... gobos setup around the drum set. :lol:

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Bruce Weldy
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Re: DIY room treatment

#15 Post by Bruce Weldy »

I built a pair of rolling gobos in 1980 for our studio. They are still at a friend's studio....and still look fine.

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