Probably the most often asked question we get is 'How much acoustic material do I need?' The easy answer to this is: 'it depends…' It depends on how you like to mix; what you are expecting from your room; will it be multifunctional studio; and how familiar you are with your room in the first place. Ultimately, a good studio is one that is relatively neutral. In other words, when you finish a recording project and play the track on another audio system or in your car, does the mix translate well?

It all starts with balance. Begin by doing a top-down scale drawing of your room. When you look at the mix position, is it well balanced? Are you centered in between the walls on each side? How about your front-to-back mix potion? If you are in the middle of the room, you will likely encounter more problems with cancellation than if you locate the mix position further to the front.

** Diagram of poorly located mix position in rectangular
** Diagram of better location of mix position in rectangular room

Once you have decided on where the equipment will go, you now need to look at treatment options. Back in the 1970s and early 19080s, most recording studios were very dead. This means that they had so much absorption that there was very little or no natural ambiance. This changed in the later 1980s when acousticians found that rooms that had an even balance between being 'dead' and those that have natural 'live' ambiance worked better. This concept called LEDE - is discussed in greater detail by following this LINK.

Room acoustics follow a bell curve. Common sense tells you that if you put a single 12" x 12" Broadway panel into the room, it will have no affect on the room acoustics. Add another still nothing. Another… another then… all of a sudden, your room will magically change. The sound will tighten up, and you will be able to sense a more controlled environment. Keep adding panels and eventually, if you cover all of your walls and ceiling with Broadway fiberglass panels, the room will be very dead sounding. This is how the bell curve works. You just have to decide where you would like to be on the bell curve!

** Diagram of bell curve - follow Excel sheet

If you like to work in a room that is relatively 'live' then you would want to be on the left hand of the bell curve. If on the other hand, you would prefer to work in a darker, more controlled environment, you will move to the right. If you are not sure - do what most folks do: They start with less and add more as they go!

This LINK will bring you to the acoustic bell curve calculator. Just enter the dimensions of your room and play with the results. It will even produce a budget for you! For panel placement, go to B2 - Room Treatment - Where is the best place to start?

Using corners to save money!

One of the best places to install absorptive panels is in corners. This is because sound constantly expands outwards as it moves forward, just like the effect of a pebble in water. When sound energy strikes a surface, it reflects the sound just like a mirror. By treating the corner seam, you virtually double the effectiveness of the absorptive panel as it absorbs both the direct sound and the energy reflecting off the adjacent wall. Double the performance for free!

 

Pebble diagram

Corner diagram

 

Parallel surfaces

Another great way to save money on your installation is to only cover one half of the parallel surfaces. Think of it this way, for an echo to survive, it must be able to reflect back and forth and back again. By absorbing one wall, the echo will simply die out before it gets started. When installing absorptive panels, you will find that placing the absorptive panels so that they are not directly across from each other will reduce echo more effectively and save you money!

 

Parallel wall diagram

 

So how much should I put up?

The real answer is generally limited to available budget. The more material you install, the more control you will have over the sound of the room. As a quick calculator, measure the square feet of the floor surface area and this amount of material will generally produce studio quality control. Now reduce this based on what you feel would adequately suit your needs and budget. Go to www.primacoustic.com/roomcalculator to calculate your budget using our popular Broadway panels.

 

	Voice over	Studio	Music room	Home Theatre	General
Coverage	85% to 100%	50% to 65%	35% to 45%	25% to 35%	20% to 30%