Easy temporary fix for boomy practice room?

[Tim Skaggs]

Pile some stuff in the corners of the room, like blocking dummies from the football field or some bags of scrap foam rubber.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I do have some designs in my notebook of a sallen-key-based HPF (like the fDeck) with controls to make the cutoff slope less steep and hard- Maybe I’ll wire one up and give it a shot, because definitely what the situation needs is a long gradual roll off of the lows..

I’m hoping somebody shows a brilliant easy dampening solution, but obviously I’ll be dealing with EQ either way, and a shallow HPF is probably a good ticket. I’ve never bothered building it because usually it would sound crummy and nasally , or else solve a problem better solved other ways.. but maybe; just maybe.

A rug. A few of them.

Move away from any walls. 10 ft or so.

Although, simply turning your bass and low mid knobs down solves this problem. One hundred percent, every single time, without fail, ever. You can't have low end boom coming from your bass cabinet, if there's no low end coming from your bass cabinet. It's impossible. Tweak it it it goes away. Or at least subsides, then turn your volume down.

Your only other solution, besides the high pass filter (which makes frequencies below the point roll down to inaudible) that you say you made and they don't work, is to simply turn down your volume.

If none of these solutions work, either all at once, or individually, than you just need to let someone else play bass. Sorry. Don't know what else to tell you man.

 

[DwaynieAD]

Oddly, this is actually a pretty practical solution to try in our scenario

Is there a word for being facetious and serious at the same time

 

[lunarpollen]

What app?

Sound Analyzer Basic

 

[Mr Horse]

I built one, and it helped a bit, but I think in terms of frequency profile that there’s a much wider and more gradual slope of too much in the lows and low mids.. taming the subsonics will definitely have its role, but so far, it’s been a bit like planting sod in a rainforest

Like shoving oysters into a slot machine.

 

[didgeribass]

In boomy rooms, you have to maximize the amount of direct sound that gets into your ears vs the room reflections. If acoustic treatment is not an option, you need to adapt your playing to the room.

• Point the amps at your ears (tilt / elevate them)
• Set up as close to each other as possible, so that everyone hears as much direct sound from other instruments as possible. Set up in the middle of a room.
• Be really disciplined about volume, the loudest instrument has to play as quietly as possible
• Exaggerate the soft spectrum of the song dynamics - play the soft passages really quietly, and louder passages will not have to be played as loud as you normally would.
• Deaden the drums - bring a rug, put a pillow into the bass drum and a towel over the snare. You just want the attack - the room reflections will provide the decay. Lighter cymbals and rods/brushes will also help.
• Keep the notes on rhythmic instruments shorter (the room will provide the reverb), use palm muting.

Then you can worry about eq.

 

[Egg250]

Sound treatment for the room. Need to place some bass traps in the corners. Moving blankets will help. Acoustic ceiling tiles are inexpensive materials to build bass traps.

 

[31HZ]

Parametric EQ, with the old "boost, sweep, and cut" trick. I do this at EVERY gig and rehearsal; takes me 20 seconds max and is much more precise and effective than a LPF.

Here's a link to more detail on how to do it (it's also in my sig): https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fixing-a-boomy-bed-room.1592052/#post-27138638

 

[MrLenny1]

IME use the EQ to remove low end boom.
It's always a challenge in every room.

 

[matti777]

My practice room is horrible. Low mids are problematic so I cut them and use an HPF. I also have 2 floor to ceiling monster bass traps in the back corners.

 

[Mike Caldwell]

Another way to think about is figure out what works in your "boomy" practice room and apply that when you go out a play a show.
Chances are you will not be playing in a acoustically perfect room at a show.

I wanted to finish/add to my post. Your not going to be taking a bunch of acoustical room treatments with you to a gig but the amp settings, and placement layout can travel with you!

Actually years ago Barbra Streisand did take semi loads of room treatment on tour with her!

 

[ezstep]

I wish these youngsters knew the horror of playing dances in high school gyms (like we did when we were youngsters!). But we made it work.