[skinslapper]

So I got a complaint from a neighbour two weeks ago so I needed to act quickly to further sound proof my room before it went to the council and shut my band practice down.

Two things were done, I removed a hallway that was intruding on my rehearsal space giving me about 2 square meters extra room and installed a gyprock ceiling with accoustic insulation above. On the sound proofing aspect, it did further muffle the volume of the drums but even better it almost completely cut out all amplified noise outside the room. More interestingly it dramatically changed the sound of my kit inside the room.

The previous ceiling was just 2" thick styrofoam very porus and absorbing of the highend frequencies. Now with the gyprock above my kit a lot of the highmids are being reflected back to me making my kit sound way punchier with more attack. My floor toms and bass have less boom and my snare is sounding a lot bassier.

The extra freqs have been great for keepig the amp volumes down too and with extra room it's a lot easier to iscolate the different instruments whilst playing.

I'm confident I can retune my tubs to sound the way I want again, but I'm also curious as to how other drummers who are trying to record but are pressed for time might staytuned or is it simply that every room sounds different and the drums be changed accordingly?

[drumn00b]

That's interesting. Yeah, maybe a recording studio could change the sound of your kit... the concept makes sense though, with acoustics and all.

[dtxtremeiiispecial]

I don't know, except that every performance hall, auditorium, etc. is thought to have its own acoustics. So why not every recording room? Interesting question.

[Tainojim]

Did you do your math?

Acoustic theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Use a white noise generator and measure the parameters.

[Paulo]

Acoustics is a pretty neat science. Just like no two cymbals will sound identical, even ones that were made on the same line, no two rooms will give you identical sound.

Everything from the dimensions, the location of the kit, the floor, what's on the other side, even the paint will have a certain impact on what frequencies and harmonics get squashed. Speaking of harmonics, this is what you are noticing an substantial decrease in as your sound is now a lot clearer in the room.

Drywall will reflect a majority of frequencies, especially highs. you could pin up a quilt over where your kit is and probably notice a substantial difference with just that. Or, put a few tiles of acoustic foam. You can also hang them from the ceiling like a sign.

I'm more in favor of changing a couple things in the room rather than totally retune your kit. Especially if you use it for live performances and such.

You can create more or less bass in a room by working the corners. Absorptive material in the corner (wedges) will lower the overall bass in the room, if you want more bass, you could try facing your kit in a different angle. I guarantee you will hear changes.

I'm not an expert on this by any means, more of a practician.

Give it a shot and let us know what you find.

[skinslapper]

Yeah good one Jim. That wiki site just broke my brain. I am only a drummer you know.

I've looked into a number of accoustical teachings like making sure no walls are parallel, proper absorbant foam, etc, but in most cases I don't have the money. I've made do so far with waved matress protectors, and carpet on the walls, which are otherwise coated in sheetmetal. I'm enjoying the mew level of highs I'm getting from the toms and my floors are still very bassy but my kick has lost it's lows and my snare is not so pingy anymore.

My kit backs onto a wall covered in carpet and is centered there. My bass drum is roughly in the center of the 4 x 4 meter room and angled slightly to my right. I can't think of any ways to move my kit without diminishing the practicality of the space but I'll take any suggestions I can get of how to deal with my frequencies.

I mIght try placing some ply wood in front of the kick angled back slightly. See if that gets the lows moving.

[Tainojim]

A simple fix like a couple of Bogo's and a drum shield would probably do the job.

Rubber Foam the corners along the ceiling and walls.

As far as the math goes, we'll keep it as pocket change.

Have you tried the formula for "Z" yet?

[skinslapper]

Duh. Z is for zebra.

What on earth is a bogo?