Looking for ideas for improving room acoustics (Art Deco)

[Jeffrey Beers]

Hello All - I looked for a previous thread on this topic and didn’t find one so here goes…

I finally have a music room! And…… it sounds like yodeling in the Swiss Alps on 78 speed….

I see where I can buy all kinds of single color or geometric pattern stuff. But, I looking for interesting stuff to hang on the walls.Rugs, too Music themed. Instruments. Famous or obscure musicians. Blues club scene. Eclectic?

Any ideas where this kind of stuff can be found? Maybe ideas on how to create my own…..art?

Thanks.

[John McClung]

Even a big bookcase full of books will cut down room reverb a lot... My recently built studio has decoupling in its construction, no real treatment of walls (yet), but a wall of closet doors when opened have books, magazine, clothes, etc., all doing a pretty good job of deadening the room. Be creative, have fun. I've read that panels and carpets should be spaced a few inches from walls so sound can get behind then get killed in that air gap.

[Bob Hoffnar]

These guys are great:

https://www.gikacoustics.com/

Tons of info and great products.

Whatever you do skip the acoustic foam stuff. Auralex and all that. Ugly, expensive and doesn't actually do anything beyond high frequency early reflections.

[Dave Grafe]

Bookshelves, upholstered furniture, carpets, tapestries, ceiling treatment, anything that breaks up reflective surfaces and/or absorbs sound waves will tame highs and mids. The low frequencies can be a bit more problematic as they are about cavity resonance rather than simple reflections, so simply opening doors or windows can help tame the lows in a small space.

[Justin Emmert]

Carpet or rugs on the floor for sure. I made bass traps for the room corners and framed out sound deadeners to hang on the wall. For both, I made the frames from 1x4" boards, then covered with a burlap material from hobby lobby, then filled with layers of sound deadening insulation. They looked good and helped the room acoustics a bunch.

[Mike Neer]

When I built my little studio, I bought a lot of Owens Corning 703 rigid fiberglass insulation and made panels of varying thickness and covered them in burlap. I also made bass traps that I put in corners and on the ceiling that were also filled with the insulation. Very effective and only about $150 to do a 15’ x 20’ room.

They look like this.

[Rick Campbell]

I built panels using 1x4 lumber, put acoustic insulation (Home Depot) in them and covered with burlap. They look nice and I guess they help with reflections from a solid wall. I put a big rug on the hardwood floor. No matter what treatment you do, you still have to learn your room and monitors.

I've been using this headphone mixing system for the past few months and I really like it. It's a little pricy, but I'd do it again.

https://stevenslateaudio.com/vsx

RC