SOUND ON SOUND

[Blott]

The bad news is the laminate flooring just isn't working for me, it's too reflective even with the rug laying on it and a sofa inside.

Do you have acoustic treatment up yet? If not, I wouldn't rush to rip it up!

With effective broadband absorbers on the mirror points, bass traps in the corner, and a cloud overhead a laminated floor isn't normally a problem -- and in most cases it's actually very useful and practical!

I know I could try and control this more with room treatments, but I'm not sure I have the time and patience required to do that properly, so I'm leaning towards carpeting the room instead.

A carpeted floor is no substitute for properly located and effective acoustic treatment. Not even close...

Thanks Hugh,

The laminate floor is still intact as present! :)

My problem with the room treatment is the cost...

The build of the studio itself has already gone over budget by around £1000. :(
Gik Acoustic room kits start from £600 and the cheapest room kit with clouds sets you back nearly £800!!!

Funds are very tight now, in fact to quote Sir Edmund Blackadder "I'm as poor as a church mouse, that's just had an enormous tax bill on the very day his wife ran off with another mouse, taking all the cheese"! :)

Obviously I'd have the best of everything if money was no object, but sadly the reality is I can't afford to do too much more right now - I've £400, could probably scramble to £500 but that's my lot!

The studio isn't big. It's only 15ft long, 9ft wide with a 7' ceiling and I worry that the amount of treatments necessary to control this level of reflection may just make a small studio space feel even smaller.

Of course I'm not arguing that a carpeted floor is a substitute for a properly treated room (I know it isn't), but it was effective in helping deaden my prior home studio and I'm thinking it may be a better compromise solution - at least in the short term.
I can have the floor carpeted with a decent 12mm underlay and thick pile carpet for £330.

If you're saying I could achieve better results with acoustic treatments for around the same cost then I'd definitely do it.

Thanks :)

[Sam Spoons]

I built 10 acoustic panels using Cara fabric, 2 x 1 PAR timber and 50mm thick Rockwool RW3 for around £300 to go in my 4 x 4 x 1.9m room.

Build you own using the cheapest timber and weed block fabricant, if you use RW3 you can cover them over the top with something nice like Cara fabric later when funds allow and you won't have compromised the effectiveness of the panels.

PM if you want detail on how I made mine...

[blinddrew]

I was going to ask how your DIY was?

[Sam Spoons]

Judging by the earlier posts I'd say Blott's DIY skills are adequate at worst :D

[blinddrew]

Oh the build is nice alright! I just wasn't sure who was doing the building... ;)

[James Perrett]

Your budget is just about right for acoustic treatment if you are prepared to DIY. A couple of bales of Rockwool, some wood to make the frames and Cara fabric to cover them will probably come in under budget (or at least they did when I last treated a similar size room a couple of years ago).

[Luke W]

I also built the majority of my panels for around that number, it’s certainly possible. With everything else you’ve done then I think it’s worth it at this stage as well, it’ll be a great overall result.

As already mentioned a reflective floor with your walls and ceiling taking care of the absorption is generally a good thing, so if it’s a choice between the carpet or some DIY panels, I’d be going for the latter every time.

[Hugh Robjohns]

My problem with the room treatment is the cost...

Everyone always says that... But it's not a 'nice extra' -- it's what makes the room usable as a studio. Otherwise all you've done is build a small spare bedroom down the garden with all the same compromises and limitations.

For anyone starting out down this road, acoustic treatment really should be included in the initial project build costs planning, just as much as the windows or the flooring or the mains wiring, or the ventilation!

If you're saying I could achieve better results with acoustic treatments for around the same cost then I'd definitely do it.

DIY acoustic panels would save a lot of money over commercial products.

[Blott]

Thank you for the responses.

I've decided to go with the acoustic treatments and will let you know how I get on.

Will definitely do a before and after video too! :)

[Luke W]

Thank you for the responses.

I've decided to go with the acoustic treatments and will let you know how I get on.

Will definitely do a before and after video too! :)

Looking forward to seeing how you get on :thumbup:

[Sam Spoons]

Thank you for the responses.

I've decided to go with the acoustic treatments and will let you know how I get on.

Will definitely do a before and after video too! :)

The construction method I used was as simple as it could possibly be but they have proved very satisfactory, at the risk of boring the whole forum I'd be happy to post details....

[Blott]

Thanks everyone.
My woodwork and carpentry skills leave a lot to be desired, so although I know it's a simple DIY task for most to make them it won't be that simple for me, so unless anyone can give me a good reason not to I'm probably going to purchase a couple of sets of these...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6x-Mafia-Panels-Acoustic-Sound-Proofing-Panels-Complete-Studio-Set-160-00/283962137960?hash=item421d765d68:g:SYwAAOSwmlZfIL27
Which at £320 fits the budget perfectly.

In the mean time I will repaint the studio to be 100% asphalt grey. At the moment it's two tone grey with asphalt and a lighter grey and the light grey is just too...well...light! :)
For anyone interested a photo of the studio as it looks right now with only a sofa inside can be viewed here...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h5juclgr6wn4bsy/Studio%20Interior%202%20tone.jpg?dl=0
I'll upload more photos to the google folder when I get a chance in the next day or two. :)

[Sam Spoons]

That does look super cheap, assuming they are using RW3 they are pretty much the same as my DIY panels for about the same money. I'm quite tempted myself at the price if they can match the fabric to my existing panels.

[Hugh Robjohns]

...unless anyone can give me a good reason not to I'm probably going to purchase a couple of sets of these...

Given that I can't find any info on what the panels are made of I can't say how effective they'll be...

Assuming a mineral wool slab or similar, at 50mm thick they will probably soak up a lot of upper-mid and HF reflections. But they won't do much for the lower-mid and nothing at all for the low end... so the risk is you'll end up with a rather boxy sounding room, uncontrolled at the low end and over-damped at the high end.

You might be able to extend the absorbtion downwards slightly if you can mount the panels away from the wall -- the usual guide is to space them about the same as their thickness -- so 40-50mm off the wall (presumably on battens).

Most of the absorbers in my room are 100mm thick, and spaced from the wall by another 45mm, and the corner bass traps are... enormous!

[Sam Spoons]

The ebay seller suggests spacing the panels 50mm off the walls and ceiling. He also offers different packages including 4 x 'large panels'. The corner traps are a bit narrow but a better option might be to buy more of the large panels and place them across the corners instead with bags of cheap roof insulation behind. They still won't be as effective as Hugh's bass traps but would certainly make a difference if my room is anything to go by.

Just check what RW he is using before committing though. FWIW it looks like he may be a one man band working from his home address so may well be quite flexible if he's building them himself rather than buying them in from China.