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Tue - Jan 20, 2009 : 09:41 pm
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Studio Acoustic Treatment 1
Okay...  Since I had recently returned from my mission in 1996, I knew I wanted to learn how to record music.  Recording music swiftly turned into wanting to be able to record my drums.  A couple of years ago, I was able to put enough money away to buy a load of recording equipment for my drums.

I've recorded quite a few diddies in my basement studio here, and by and large, I was quite pleased with the way they turned out.  I'm not sure what happened, but within the last few weeks, I've been bitten by the music bug again, and the more I record music down here, the more I notice how much it could be improved.

So, after a day or two of researching the best way to economically treat the acoustics in my studio, and because right now, I simply don't have enough money to do it right, I decided to take the money I earned from recording a band recently, went to Wal-mart, and bought $80.00 worth foam mattress pads, cut them up, and placed them all-but-haphazardly around my studio.

The results were really quite pleasing.

Attached to this entry is an audio bite of two drum sessions (only heaven knows who's playing the drums.  *ahem*).  The first portion is recorded in a 16x18x7.5 foot square room with nothing but carpet and painted walls.  The second portion (after the fade-out) is recorded with the treatment.

I'd like to hear what you think of the difference between the two.  Please comment if you can.

Some things I noticed right off the bat were the obvious lack of high-frequency slap-back reverb.  I had no idea it was as bad as it was until I heard the recording with the treatment up.  Absolutely amazing.

Another thing I noticed, but didn't anticipate, was an increased accurate stereo image of the drums.  If you listen to the floor-tom at the beginning of both sessions, you'll hear that the second one is obviously being emphasized in the right-ear.  The first one, however, as soon as the drum is hit, due to the slap-back (being repeated probably 20 or 30 times) causes the stereo image to become muddy, and the hit itself isn't as pronounced through the right ear.  The hi-hat is imaged much more accurately in the 2nd one as well.

Anyway...  I just thought I'd let you all know how happy I am.  Yes, I know that the treatment is ugly as yesterday's garbage, and yes, I know it doesn't create as accurate a sound as professional treatment would, but hey...  For $80.00, I think the results are way more than worth it.

Hopefully, soon, I'll earn enough to treat the room right and make them tin-cans sound even better!

Below are some photos of the room after the crud was put up.

Comment by mom on Jan. 21, 2009 @ 05:39 pm
Yep, Jas, I noticed a big difference between the two. The first one sounded quite tinny & the second one had none of that sound! Sorry I'm not more technical but I'm sure you can decipher my description!  love ya
Comment by PoeticIntensity on Jan. 21, 2009 @ 06:09 pm
Mom, you have no idea what that means to me. It answers every question I had about whether it was worth it to make the purchase and go for it.  If you can hear the difference, then I'm fairly certain that anyone can hear it.  *smirk*...  I love you, mom.
Comment by Sarah Jones on Jan. 23, 2009 @ 05:39 pm
Hey sweet thang...I could definitely tell a difference too.  That is really great hon!  I am glad it meets your needs for now.