John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

I want to help a low ceiling in a drum room with perhaps the following products....

Can anyone help me figure out the difference in the specs between these two?

I need help in interpreting the diffusion capabilities of each.

http://www.snowcrash.se/products/sound_ ... ffuser.php

http://www.customaudiodesigns.co.uk/dif ... kyline.htm

I would REALLY appreciate it!

Thanks!

Jules

Take your time!



I appreciate it (in advance)

I am wondering if I should put up the low profile, apparaently more robust / vandal proof (130mm) RPG Skyline or the hip 70's groovy looking other stuff...

Thanks again!

Drum room, support beam with light fitting marks end of "drum area" beginning of edit area 'B room control room'

Side view

B room Edit station area (can be rolled into vocal booth during tracking...)

+ view into tracking / B room vocal booth

Please note: I do mostly rock bands - their speaker cabs are set up DOWNSTAIRS in another area via tie-lines. (space for two 4 x 12"s and another seperate space for a small bass cab)

Only GTR Amp heads in this room!

Drums only!

View into vocal booth...

Jules, with your live floors, etc, and low ceilings, I would NOT put diffusion on your ceilings, period - you'd be better off with 2-3" of 703 or Knauf board, spaced off the ceiling by a few inches. All diffusion would do for you is make you give up on drum overheads - you need surfaces near mics to be either angled away or absorbed, or very far away otherwise the mics get all "phasey" and sound like ass... Steve

"703 or Knauf board,"

what is either please/

Neither fit into UK vocabulary..

for my situation it can be assumed that I am achiving astisfactory results and wish to 'improve things a little'

Thanks,

Jules

Jules, both the Knauf board and 703 are semi-rigid (highly compressed) fiberglas insulation, (In Australia, the company is Insulco) used mainly for industrial purposes - they can be a bit tricky to find, that's why we've a separate "forum" here for materials - here's one post from a Brit in our Building Products forum -

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=479

There may be others too, feel free to browse -

What you're looking for is (preferably) 3 pounds per cubic foot, or 48 kG per cubic meter density. That's the best for overall absorption in most cases. When you find it, the 2" stuff costs about 1/3 to 1/4 what Auralex foam does, and works several TIMES as good. Spacing it off the ceiling by a few inches improves lower end absorption (1/4 wavelength effect)

If you find you've lost too much "shimmer" from the highs, you can wrap the pieces in light plastic - this works to keep fibers from the "boards" contained, and reduces high freq. absorption somewhat.

Hope that helped... Steve

Very helpfull thanks

What I am trying to do is create the ultimate drum room (within in my space limitations obviously)

My goal would be to be able to use the Glyn Johns 3 mic 60's technique and have it sound amazing.

Presently it sounds kinda like a converted office!

However, thick carpet and a canopy over the drums have helped conciderably as a temporary measure!

This Spring I will be dealing with it, no doubt I will be back here for more help!

The view from our video link downstairs

ha ha - it's good to see someone else who places a blanket over the kick

Jules - you are going to have to do a lot more treatment to make that room work. Currently you are lowering the verb time of the high end but the low end will still sound boxey. You need to add low-mid and low absorption. You can build slots and hanger traps or go out and buy a swag of Ethans's modules.

cheers
john