How do I livin up a dead room??

[jonno1707]

I just recently set up a rehearsal studio in my basement and the room is soo dead that everything sounds like it has a cover on it...

Here is the lay out:

L shaped space that is about 600 sq feet we are using a 12x18 space aprox 300 sq ft section-Wall to wall carpeting-Drop ceiling with acoustical tiles-sheet rock walls with run of the mill paint-nothing on the walls yet-........

My bass rig sounds incredible in lively rooms but in my basement it sounds dead and lost allot of the punch and clarity I am used to...

 

[Nick Kay]

Ooof. First off, take off half of the acoustic tiling on the ceiling. Your room should be controlled, not dead. Lay some plywood sheets under the rehearsal area, on top of the carpet. I noticed you don't have much broadband treatment beyond the sheet rock walls? Consider throwing some dedicated bass traps in the room while you're at it.

 

[jonno1707]

So what drop ceiling tiles should I use to replace the ones I have and what are bass traps and how do I set them up?

 

[bongomania]

He was suggesting leaving empty spaces in the places where you remove the acoustic tiles. If you don't want holes there, you could cut panels of acrylic or other hard-surfaced sound-reflecting material; that way you could actually tune the ceiling's relationship to the room by selecting which panels will be absorbent, which will be reflective, and which will be empty spaces.

Bass traps are large foam pieces that are tuned to absorb specific frequency ranges. You set them up by shelling out a ridiculous amount of money then gluing them to the walls.

 

[jonno1707]

Got it....

 

[jonno1707]

Is there a science behind which ceiling tiles I remove and why?

My guitarist may have some foam tiles how do I know where to place them on the walls?

 

[bongomania]

Also to "liven up" a room you could make some large movable panels of sound-reflective material and then experiment with placing them in different locations in the room.

 

[baba]

My guitarist may have some foam tiles how do I know where to place them on the walls?

Don't do that! The room is already too dead, and those tiles will accomplish the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. You need more reflection. Take out a bunch of contiguous tiles to expose the hard ceiling some. Keep opening it up until it sounds better.

 

[jonno1707]

I took out a few tiles and it brightened up a little but also created some weird reverberation?

 

[baba]

I took out a few tiles and it brightened up a little but also created some weird reverberation?

Unfortunately, every room is different and there is no way to accurately guess what your room needs. Just keep tinkering around, with the understanding that you are trying to accomplish more reflection and less dampening, and things will improve. Amp and drum locations are also part of the dynamics, don't be afraid to move them.

 

[shakerattleroll]

Whatever you do don't add foam to the walls. If you room is completely dead, you want reflective surfaces.

As mentioned above, wood on the floors would help, uneven stone or brick as wall surfaces both also work well to liven things up without creating too many standing waves issues.

Also, if removing roof tiles creates bad reverb, put them back on and try something else. Pictures of the room and setup would help us to provide more educated guesses on possible solutions.

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Recording-Studio-Jeff-Cooper/dp/0916899004/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_3/105-8097959-6490823

That book is, first off, a bible imho. Second, while about recording studios, the principles in it should help you to figure out what you need to do for your rehearsal space. It's worth the 30.

 

[jonno1707]

Great suggestions..Any body know where I can get reflectice ceiling tyles?
I will get a shot of the room up later....

 

[shakerattleroll]

Seriously, buy that book.

You could take all the tiles off the ceiling to give yourself a taller space.

You will only get so much "life" out of a room based on size constraints. With low ceilings (like in a basement) you might just not be able to get the kind of life out of the room that you're looking for.

 

[link wray]

I just recently set up a rehearsal studio in my basement and the room is soo dead that everything sounds like it has a cover on it...

Here is the lay out:

L shaped space that is about 600 sq feet we are using a 12x18 space aprox 300 sq ft section-Wall to wall carpeting-Drop ceiling with acoustical tiles-sheet rock walls with run of the mill paint-nothing on the walls yet-........

My bass rig sounds incredible in lively rooms but in my basement it sounds dead and lost allot of the punch and clarity I am used to...

The room you describe should not sound dead.
My guess is your problem is not a dead room but something else; probably problems in the bass region. How do drums sound in this room and can you better describe what is wrong with the bass sound of the room?

 

[shakerattleroll]

Link wray

You read the post better than I did. He notes that his rig sounds dead, not the room. I should have read more carefully.