Help with acoustic treatment in a small room...

AndrewH97

Junior Member
Well, I bet you get this a lot but i'm really stuck with what I should do...
I'm re-doing my small practice room (about 10 foot by 5 foot) and wanted to fix the horrible echo/reverb in the room. I have a cheap 24 pack of acoustic foam tiles what I got for £25 and they work a little but still don't fix the problem. I am going to be recording drums in there so it would be great to have a more sound shaped room. Is there any suggestion as of what options there is and how much it will be. I'm on a cheap budget (Around £100) whats not much so I don't know what to do...

Regards,
Andrew
 
Are you talking foam tiles like used in drop ceilings or foam like this

http://www.foambymail.com/acoustical-foam-products.html

Are you basing the sound of the room from where you are sitting or from a recording you made? That's a small room and many times it's as much placement in the room that's the issue. There is a sweet spot in every room. Also what the construction of the room? What's on the floor, what are the walls made of concrete, dry wall??
 
Are you talking foam tiles like used in drop ceilings or foam like this

http://www.foambymail.com/acoustical-foam-products.html

Are you basing the sound of the room from where you are sitting or from a recording you made? That's a small room and many times it's as much placement in the room that's the issue. There is a sweet spot in every room. Also what the construction of the room? What's on the floor, what are the walls made of concrete, dry wall??

Yes, I have some cheap wedge tile acoustic foam. I'm basing it around the place where I'm sitting... the wall behind the kit is brick and the wall to the left is brick, but the wall opposite the kit and the wall to the right is dry wall. Is this causing the echo? Is it best to face the kit towards the brick wall? Well the room is upstairs and currently floorboard on the floor... but I was thinking about getting a thick fluffy carpet. Is this a good Idea?
 
At the minimum you'll want a padding under the carpet, then carpet. Look to pick up some drywall to cover the brick. If you can add two layers of drywall with some green glue in-between that would be ideal and still pretty cheap (not losing much room space). When you go to play take off couch cushions or pillows and toss them around the room to dampen the high and mids. Due to room being small all of this should cost a couple hundred dollars.
 
Are you handy? I build 2'x4' sound absorbing panels to go around my son's drum set for around 10 pounds each. Foam is simply not cost effective. Blankets do a tiny bit, but the felt covered rock wool panels I build based on some online research are amazingly effective for the $$$.

I used 1x3" strapping wood to make a 2'x4' frame with one cross piece. Put one 4" thick rock wool batt in each (cut it with a utility knife to fit around the center piece of wood. Pressed the 4" batts to 3" thick and wrapped the entire thing with some pretty colored felt from the fabric store. I tacked the felt in place with a staple gun.

The 12 2'x4' rock wool batts were $50. The strapping wood was about $3/frame, and the felt was $4 a yard on sale. Rock wool is pretty nasty, so I used 2 layers of felt on the front side of each panel, added a couple of eyelets to hang each one, and was done. It was a few hours work, but the results were great.
If I knew how to post pictures, I'd show you the panels around his kit.
 
Sorry, I think I figured it out.
This is his drum set inside the Lego table/sound absorbing panel frame. The piece by the bass drum is not visible, but it's two 2'x2' frames made with 1x4 strapping, with 2 layers of rock wool packed down to 4" thick. I covered it with felt and hinged it so it will fold nearly flat, but stands on its own when opened to 90 or 110 degrees. It makes a nice portable bass absorber.
I just checked the dollar to the pound, and I might actually have 125 pounds invested in those panels.
 

Attachments

  • Lego Table and Drum Area.jpg
    Lego Table and Drum Area.jpg
    162.5 KB · Views: 375
Yes, I have some cheap wedge tile acoustic foam. I'm basing it around the place where I'm sitting... the wall behind the kit is brick and the wall to the left is brick, but the wall opposite the kit and the wall to the right is dry wall. Is this causing the echo? Is it best to face the kit towards the brick wall? Well the room is upstairs and currently floorboard on the floor... but I was thinking about getting a thick fluffy carpet. Is this a good Idea?


yes you have a lot of very hard reflective surfaces. Where exactly do you have the foam placed? Can you take some pics and post them that would help. Have you placed any of the foam on the wall behind you?
 
The OP's major uphill battle is the 5' x 10' room. There is going to be so much slap and flutter echo that it will be very difficult to overcome because there is no space for the type of treatment to reduce it. I really don't know how you could comfortably fit a drum kit into a space of 5 feet in either direction. You're never going to effectively fix the problem. Is there a way to move into a larger space, maybe even the basement, unless you're already there.

Dennis
 
Missed that 5' fact. That's more of a closet than a room, but it sounds like the OP already has the drums in there. Maybe it's not really 5'?
If it is, losing even 7" to panels like the ones I suggested would be an issue.
 
Back
Top