Need assistance acoustically treating my bedroom!

Donta Black

Active member
Whats up FP Family,

I drew up a blueprint ideas earlier this year in Jan. and thanks to patience and a decent job, I am finally able to take some my ideas into a physical form. Acoustically treating my bedroom to a certain extent, to my abilities!

I have recreated a blueprint of my bedroom in MS Paint ( it took some time to make, but don't have Photoshop on my music PC lol ) with in its limits it is as accurate as I could get, not symmetrically perfect, well enough.

Im making this investment/venture in hope to sharpen my mixing production.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is the image created with my idea of acoustic/bass panel & foam placement, along w/ other misc. sound reducing items. I'm asking if any of you pros & knowledge folks can lend me your help! As Im am trying to figure this out asap to get the acoustic treatment items over the holiday season to save a couple bucks! Thanks, much love, & Happy Holidays!

Room dimensions: 10x16x18
Bedroom Blue Print ADD 2.png
 
Last edited:
To those who do read & speculate my bed room blue print. Hear are my explanations from some minor research I had did in the past.

Bass Traps Placement (wedges) - In corners of room, should I only put on the opposite or rear side of the wall from my monitors or on all four corners no matter.
( Also, you will see a dilemma in the bottom right corner, as I have a heating pipe running through my room, I was thinking of placing a bass panel in front of it, like so in the image attached. )

Acoustic Panels - I was not sure if I should place bass panels behind my monitors or acoustic panels? Though I have been assuming it would be acoustic panels. Should I place some over head on the ceiling aswell? And is one on the bedroom door logically?

Diffuser's - On account that they can be pretty pricey I was thinking of buying one and placing it on the rear side wall from the monitors. Possible one overhead on the ceiling in the future.

Sound Blanket - I was going to place one over the window and actually place some acoustic panels on the window to lessen sound travel, as I have encounter sound complaints rarely. It subconsciously plants a small percentage of self awareness in my head for my neighbors, taking away from my comfort-ability.

Rug - I heard this actually doesn't work, but eh, I have hard wood floors, at least my feet wont be could in the morning.
smile.gif
 
Sound-proofing (from neighbors) and sound treatment (for your room) are different. You may be able to mitigate the neighbor issue slightly, and covering the window and adding some heavy "blackout" curtains or drapes is not a bad idea. Just don't expect that to prevent further complaints from outsiders.

Every room that is not a purpose-built studio will have its issues. Regarding your heating register, I would not cover it, or put the trap in front of it. Nothing says you can't cut out a section for the register to pass through the trap, and get the rest of the benefit of having the trap snug in the corner. As to your dilemma regarding behind your monitors, I would put the simpler panels there _unless_ you are having significant bass build-up issues even after installing the traps (which should go in all corners around the room, top and bottom, so you may need more traps than you initially planned).

I would not put a diffuser overhead, although you may want to have a panel above the mix position (a "cloud"); it depends on your room and what you are hearing there, as well as any acoustic measurements you may have taken. Diffusers _usually_ (but not always) go on the wall behind the mix position, and if you need/want one, but find them too expensive, consider a) making one-- you can use scrap wood if necessary, or b) using a substitute, such as a decent bookcase with books in it, and/or a couch can sometimes suffice. The rug is a good idea re: hardwood floors.

I will take a look at your pix and see if I think of anything else...

GJ

PS-- Your monitors should be at least a few feet from the wall, not just angled-in. This may not be possible due to space considerations; just realize that is not optimal. Speaking of which-- Wow! "Wife's shelf; wife's area"... I forgot this was a bedroom project. I must say sir, you struck it rich with that one, as many wives would not be too accepting of a studio plus acoustic treatment in the bedroom (or anywhere else in the home) as it "messes up the decor." Congratulations are in-order on there!
 
Last edited:
Sound-proofing (from neighbors) and sound treatment (for your room) are different. You may be able to mitigate the neighbor issue slightly, and covering the window and adding some heavy "blackout" curtains or drapes is not a bad idea. Just don't expect that to prevent further complaints from outsiders.

Every room that is not a purpose-built studio will have its issues. Regarding your heating register, I would not cover it, or put the trap in front of it. Nothing says you can't cut out a section for the register to pass through the trap, and get the rest of the benefit of having the trap snug in the corner. As to your dilemma regarding behind your monitors, I would put the simpler panels there _unless_ you are having significant bass build-up issues even after installing the traps (which should go in all corners around the room, top and bottom, so you may need more traps than you initially planned).

I would not put a diffuser overhead, although you may want to have a panel above the mix position (a "cloud"); it depends on your room and what you are hearing there, as well as any acoustic measurements you may have taken. Diffusers _usually_ (but not always) go on the wall behind the mix position, and if you need/want one, but find them too expensive, consider a) making one-- you can use scrap wood if necessary, or b) using a substitute, such as a decent bookcase with books in it, and/or a couch can sometimes suffice. The rug is a good idea re: hardwood floors.

I will take a look at your pix and see if I think of anything else...

GJ

PS-- Your monitors should be at least a few feet from the wall, not just angled-in. This may not be possible due to space considerations; just realize that is not optimal. Speaking of which-- Wow! "Wife's shelf; wife's area"... I forgot this was a bedroom project. I must say sir, you struck it rich with that one, as many wives would not be too accepting of a studio plus acoustic treatment in the bedroom (or anywhere else in the home) as it "messes up the decor." Congratulations are in-order on there!

Merry Christmas & thank you so very much for the incite! I must take in consideration the differences between the two terms "sound proofing" & "acoustic treatment".

This was not an easy battle convincing the wife to give her consent with the idea. Luckily, it was Christmas eve & that may have skewed her decision for me. I also let her choose the panel colors. Ivory (Lol). Had it not been for her witnessing me making a little money in this game help as well. Not to mention I made a sales pitch about controlling sound reflections, etc. And its benefits of increase her sleeping endeavors. (Didnt really work. . ) Lol

Also, you were 100% correct about underestimating the amount of panels I would need I did a evaluation, researching, and here is my inventory:

9 - Acoustic Panels 24x48x16
5 - Bass Trap Panels 24x48x16
1 - Corner Bass Traps 24x48x13 (pair)
1 - Sound Diffuser 18x18x7.5

Purchased from:
http://mixmasteredacoustics.com/

Though I am quite frustrated, as the TOP LEFT CORNER is my bedroom's door entrance, eliminating the idea of a bass trap in that area at all.

TOP RIGHT CORNER is somewhat available from above to place bass traps but due to the closet door prevents me from treating he bottom half.

BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER I can install a corner bass trap above my wifes desk space, but can not treat the bottom as well, due to the desk.

BOTTOM LEFT CORNER presents the heating that rides up from my bedroom floor to the ceiling preventing me from placing a corner bass trap in that corner, top or bottom. Leaving me the idea to place a bass trap panel in front of the pole instead.

Out of all the panels purchased I was thinking of placing four ceiling cloud units overhead.

( a bass trap panel & acoustic trap panel )

EX of order:

A.T - B.T - A.T - B.T

Aside of that, what type of rug would you insist for hardwood floor, or does it not really matter?

Sorry if I wrote a bit much, at work, so I have
nothing but time on my hands.
 
I checked-out the MMA site; nice, expensive stuff, that I'm sure does the job better than most. However, I'm going to suggest that you divert some of your budget to some bulk bass traps and acoustic foam from someplace like Guitar Center. Reason being, you do have those architectural/structural features (heating, doors, windows) to deal with, and if you get some of the less expensive (and perhaps less effective) pieces, you won't be as worried about taking some scissors or an exacto knife to them to cut them down to fit around those structures as necessary... Think about it, be creative, "measure twice/cut once," then go ahead and problem-solve those issues. I think if you mix and match some of the expensive MMA materials with some less expensive GC foam, and some curtains and DIY materials, you will get good results and have a workable solution that might save you a few bucks as well.

We had to do some of the same problem-solving at The Sonic Vault. I have a beautiful ranch-type place to house my gear and act as recording HQ, but it was definitely not designed with having a recording studio in-mind. So we worked around some things. You have the added issue of this space being your bedroom in your home, so there are certain things you just won't do. But you can get much closer than you think to a great sounding room.

As to carpet, if you can get something thicker (even shag?), that will help.

As I mentioned, you can also build your own diffuser and maybe save yourself some money there as well:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.re...ering/comments/j0zky/diffusers/?client=safari

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ja__O7JXpPw

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oHTmNyo_0O0


GJ
 
Last edited:
You have been a great deal of help dropping an immense amount of knowledge in this thread for me! The stuff from MMA has already been purchased as I sometimes get noticed and jump the gun, but I will definitely purchase some cheaper foam to cover up the more difficult areas of my room as you put!

Ive never had my own treated room before, to bring it into fruition makes it much more exciting.
 
Not sure where you're inputs are (mics, instruments, etc.), but you may need some more floor covering by the window and the closet.
 
Have you tried standing in three sections of the room (window, production desk/bed, closet area) and clapping your hands in all four directions at each spot to see if you get any ringing/echo? If there's none, you're good. If you get some, then you need to track it down and block it. In my studio, I only put up the sound blankets and a small throw rug in a bare floor area when I'm recording acoustically. If I'm just recording electronically/using headphones - I don't need it.
 
Last edited:
I'm almost complete with installing my panels, I'm not to sure about placement of ceiling cloud panels. Reading from previous threads are looking like math quizzes over here. Lol

I know that it is a good idea to place panels over the monitors or is it partially over the monitor's/ listeners position.

Also, I have 4 panels left:

2 Bass Trap Panels 24x48x4
2 Acoustic Panels 24x48x2

Should I place the bass traps over the monitor/listeners range or does it not matter?
 
Listener's position, but depending on how close you are to your monitors, it might cover both.

GJ
 
20170115_162324.jpg20170115_162314.jpg

The first image with diffuser and horrendous hole in the wall, due to brick behind it is the rear wall. The other picture with the TV is the front. I know this is probably a dumb question. But would you place a panel on the front or the rear?

I'm thinking more the rear. Also do you think it would be better to place it vertically above the diffuser or horizontal above the other panels?
 
Back
Top