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In 2015, I moved my studio and business from my home to commercial office space. This has been one of my best business decisions!
But my new studio office is not acoustically ideal. The flat walls create reverb and I have a major interstate outside my window.
This video demonstrates some of my (ugly) acoustic-treatment attempts and their results.
Love the duck
The problem with your tests? You attempted to address a flat surface problem with flat surfaces. Texture is the key to destroying reverb. Try this: leave the disco padding up, but cover them with $3 rock wigs that you can get at a party shop or Oriental Trading or some place like that. The wigs will act like outdoor wind screens on a microphone, scatter the sound…and you can turn it into an art project, too. You may spend $100-$200, depending on the space you have to fill, but that’s MUCH cheaper than acoustic tiling. BTW – I too love the duck.
That’s a great tip!
Yes, I know that flat doesn’t really solve the problems. What I plan to do is make my own large acoustic panels (like the #1 and #2 results at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=diy+acoustic+panels&page=&utm_source=opensearch). This would cost $300 for 300 sq. ft. (two rooms) instead of the $3,000 it would cost for the professional panels.
Wow, there’s a dangerous amount of generalization there. Absorption, diffusion and mass. These are are the tools you need to consider. How they’re manifest is another matter.
You really should find yourself a guest who knows about room acoustics. Even the language you are using to describe things isn’t truly a reflection of what’s happening in the room. There’s room modes, echo, reverberation and decay time to be considered. It’s frequency specific. Your tools to solve the problems include mass (heft blocks noise) and various types of absorption and diffusion.
Great suggestion! Do you know someone who would be good?
Yes, I know I said “echo” a couple times when I meant reverb.