Recording - November 2016 - 20

If you're treating another kind of
room-say, a recording room or home
theater-then you probably want an
even sound everywhere. If you space
high-frequency absorbers around, alternating with either panel traps or plain
wall, you'll start to create a kind of
"pseudo diffusion".
Creating an iso booth is pretty easy if
you have a closet. You can pack the
closet with clothes, hang blankets from
the walls, or use a more professional
approach and install fiberglass panels.
In a booth, you want the deadest sound
possible, and that's all there is to it.
I keep mentioning rigid fiberglass
because it's the best sound absorbing
material and it's cheaper than acoustic
foam products, but if you can't spend
money, there are plenty of alternatives. You
can even go around your neighborhood
and ask if anyone has anything "soft" they
need to get rid of! This can work great-
but it may not lead to the prettiest space.
Modularity and aesthetics
We're talking about DIY acoustic treatment here, rather than permanent professional studio installations. You may have
to move your studio when you move to a
new space, or if your "studio" is a
shared space, you might have to try for
a pleasing look. Even if it's not, you may
tire of working in a space that looks like
the inside of an egg carton or a construction site. There are plenty of ways to
treat a room and make it ugly, and plenty of ways to permanently install treatment and effectively ruin the room once
you leave, but it's just as easy (and not
necessarily that costly) to do things in a
way that doesn't leave a mark, is easy
to move, and is nice to look at.
21

RECORDING NOVEMBER 2016

In my current space, everything is built
to move. All of my high-frequency
absorbers are small painting-size boxes
with pretty frames and colorful fabric
faces (Figure 16). They hang just like any
picture (Figure 17). Ceiling treatments
are lightweight and hang from tiny hooks
(Figure 18). My "superchunk" is really 4
small modules that I can take out and
move (Figure 19), and my panel traps
are standalone boxes set on the floor or
hung with picture wire, with decoupage
designs by an artist friend (Figure 20).
The room doesn't necessarily look normal
(Figure 21), but it's certainly not crazymaking like my first attempts 20 years
ago-in fact, a lot of people mistake my
HF panels for wall art.
Now go do it
Nothing we've talked about here is
much different than what would be done
with a big budget, except for structural
work. Other than that, acoustic treatment
on a budget can be as good as any
expensive installation. You can hire contractors and consultants to design and
build, or you can follow some pretty
straightforward principles and do it yourself. It's one place where you really needn't compromise, and it's the one place
where you really shouldn't. So have fun
and get your room tuned up!
Aaron J. Trumm (trumm@recordingmag
.com) is probably looking at some pretty
HF absorbers right now.

http://www.amphion.fi

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2016