And you're saying that your personal opinions about this issue are more accurate than the conclusions of acoustic engineers and physicists who've been profoundly studying, analyzing and conducting tests on the subject of acoustics for who knows how many decades.

Acoustics is a branch of physics. It's hard science. Opinions are mostly irrelevant in this field. What matters is data. It's proven that egg cartons do not absorb or disperse audio in a significant manner. Period.

And I'm not contradicting myself, by the way. Far from it. I always talk about the dangers of placebo effect in the plugin industry, and I'm always trying to conduct more objective tests in order to understand what audio stuff actually do to sound.

This is just another case of placebo effect. You think egg cartons make a difference to acoustics, you may even feel the difference (because yes, placebo effect feels real) while it factually doesn't make any difference at all. Technically, you very probably would "hear" a difference while playing the exact same drums, placed in the exact same spot, in the exact same room, only painted in different colors.

 

Last edited: Jun 24, 2016

Ok so after a long discussion, we STILL need to take a decision and a meeting point. I will update you soon.
But I think I should be fine using:
- Status CB-1 (great headphones IMHO, they sound really flat)
- a semi-cheap pair of computer speakers (regular stuff)
- and the big deal, a pair of Tannoy Stratford speakers (huge ass stuff).

The Tannoy are a bit worn out after a closer inspection, but the sound is quite clear (part of the woofer is a bit damaged; hope I can bring these babies to repair soon). The bass is HUGE AS HELL maybe just because the room is also huge and there's a lot of reverb, I have no idea. Of course these probably don't have a flat response, but they can be good to analyze how a track will sound if played in a party or on something similar.

I really wanted to buy some studio monitors, but I decided "no". Why? Because then I'd need to treat the room; and I'd need to buy GOOD ones, no point in buying cheap stuff; and even then if I really wanted to upgrade I'd need a subwoofer, etc. etc. So this stuff is probably WAY out of my reach now. For now, though, I think the above setup is quite good.

Updates soon (Hopefully, Lol)

EDIT ~ For the eggs discussion, I saw them being used by a band one of my friends is in. No idea if they actually work, haven't tried them

 

As far as soundproofing is concerned, if you don't have much money to spend, you can dampen the sound a great deal using air-conditioner duct board. I took a class once on building home studios, and the instructor actually brought some to class for us to experiment with, and it works really well. It's designed to dampen the sound of air traveling through it, but it's relatively cheap because it's used in every home and therefore mass-produced.

You say you want to keep the sound from going upstairs. I don't have any experience mounting the boards on a ceiling, but it shouldn't be too hard because it's lightweight. Remember to cut out holes for your vents if they're on the ceiling. As for the walls, if you cut your boards to be a tiny bit longer than the length from your floor to your ceiling, you can slide them against your walls with nothing else holding them. Also remember you want the non-shiny side facing the inside of your room.

Another tip: go somewhere that sells craft supplies and buy a bunch of fabric you like, then stretch it around the boards and staple it to the back, like upholstery is attached to furniture. With the fabric installed, it can look really nice and professional.

 

Saw all the egg box talk and thought you guys meant this stuff:
http://justhomemedical.com/media/ca...35df139433887a97daa66f/E/-/E-F90-CN-BI-03.jpg

Since you meant ACTUAL egg cartons, try this stuff instead. I'm not actually sure where it originates from, but everyone I know here has piles of the stuff all over the place. I covered most of my studio room with it and it works pretty well for free!

@Shatterling that is a really good idea too. I bet that class was awesome

 

For advice about studio acoustics, try the "sound on sound" DIY, Electronics, Studio Design & Acoustics forum.
http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=24&sid=ff3089b10d253ccc2190b82842b36ff4

Theres enough good quality info in there, from experts who do this stuff for a living, to keep you reading for hours.

 

Soundproofing is another animal completely and is more about construction, building basically a room within a room. That costs a lot of money in materials alone. You probably cannot scavenge the materials you need for that. Upstairs is going to hear you no matter how well you treat your room.

 

about the external leak out, or to keep noise from outside out of the studio:

serious problem, you'd need money
double walls, you can use plaster board, high pressure fyberglass (125-150 kg/m3 that s how the measure it)
thick panels, 10 cm thick
fyberglass is 30% more effective than rockwool, but here it's for industrial use
double plaster board panels (1.3 + 1.3 cm, 2.6 cm of choke)

double doors double windows, if air can pass through, sound will too

that's the complete view then... money... I know

about the acoustic chamber there are many projects and schools, here's mine. Well not mine, I've learned it from a berliner, ex Hansa Tonstudio guy, all the principles are explained in the link provided, by Ethan Winer (I think 2 degrees but read yourself):

https://audiosex.pro/threads/basstraps-and-acoustic-chamber.22948/

 

Thanks for all the answers.
For now, I will just put the speakers as close as possible and use mostly the headphones and the other things for reference. I think I should be good. Later on, when some money will magically appear in my wallet, then I'll start see what I can do for more serious stuff.

I almost finished cleaning, will post pictures soon and hopefully you can tell me where's the best place to put the desk

 

So are you ready for pictures? I bet you are all jealous of my setup and my super huge desk...

Jokes aside, is this a good place to put the "desk"? It's also the most convenient for me. Keep in mind I'm probably gonna put the Tannoy Stratford (huge speakers) in the angles at the sides of the window (at human height hopefully, so I'd need to move the wood shelf). Oh also, I'm probably gonna change this ridiculous table for something a bit larger, I don't even know if monitor + keyboard fits, still haven't tried. Sad thing is, at the moment, I have no replacement I kinda feel embarrassed lol

Ok you can laugh now (and before you ask, nope, none of this space is mine, so I can't really move stuff around that much).

 

Oh and yes, believe it or not, this is cleaned. You don't want to see the "before"

 

nice big room, right place for the desk, keep the speakers at 50-80 cm from the rear wall.
the ceiling isn t so high, if I may I'd suggest to put basstraps in the ceiling corners, maybe one in the middle, and acoustic foam, not all the surface, just corners and above the desk and listening position.
also he room is a bit long which is good for the lows, especially if it s around 8 mt long.
move the desk a little bit inside the room, so you may achieve some further space on the back for the connections, the window.
I would put a minimum set of 16 basstraps (240x60 cm standard) and acoustic foam for an overall surface of say 40%. then... up to you... little by little...
for the external leak out it s complicated, many doors, low ceiling... not easy to solve this.
plasterboard seems to me the only way. You would lose 10 cm in height.
it will be expensive, if you aren t able to do it.
here around 8000€ of materials, 15000€ materials and job done, more or less.
good start of the journey

 

Last edited: Jun 27, 2016

if u plan to rec drums there or put mics on high stands anyway a low ceiling will bring combo filtering issues.
basstraps on the ceiling would solve this as the effect is that the wall seems literally moved up by 1 meter.
I don t sell basstraps. I use and build them since 2004

 

Thats huge.
The possibilities here are endless,just depends on your budget,though i personally prefer smaller rooms,could be easily distracted and start playing football in there instead of producing music

 

How the fuck is it a placebo effect,lol?
Sorry RMorgan but this is now just snob talk.
How do you know you have a low pass filter on a mixbus,do you hear it or do you know because you saw it.
You are basically telling me i cant differentiate between frequency ranges,which is critical for my work
and you are also telling me my field experiences are worth shit because you have heard a guy in a suit telling you
that is how it is and that is how physics work.
Next you`re going to tell me this snare sounds superb and im having a placebo effect when i hear it sounds like shit.

 

I've spent the youth in murphy rooms full of egg boxes. As stated above they do something to the highs, but they look ghetto.
The fact is that there are cheap ways to treat mid highs, acoustic foam starts from 9€/m2.
(but for standing waves and ringings you'd still need deflectors traps)
But below 125 Hz nothing is efficient as a basstrap. And the lows are problematic.
There are 2 models, for high and deep bass, broad band, they absorb down to 70 Hz.
Inside of it the sound pressure is stopped by the front wood panel first, then transformed into heat by the fyberglass or rockwool, the heat cools down in the rear space of the box.

A high basstrap without the front panel is a mid-high trap, but you d need some thick textile to cover the rockwool.

Now the good part is that you can do it all by yourself, that s bricolage.
Deflectors are easy, too.
In the link provided in a previous message there are tests too, I guess, but I garantee the effect on lows.
I have like 80 basstraps here right now, around, or stocked for the next room I ll build in autumn

PS I ve added a simple Tube Trap project and pics to the Basstraps thread, second post:

https://audiosex.pro/threads/basstraps-and-acoustic-chamber.22948/

 

Last edited: Jun 27, 2016

You'll only harm the sound in a studio space using egg boxes, yes they have some acoustic properties, but they would be more detrimental to the sound than any thing else. A quick google and there are plenty of articles on this topic. http://www.acousticsfirst.com/eggc.htm

 

Yea using egg boxes to slightly muffle the sound in a practice room and using them too acoustically treat a studio space are two completely different things, your only doing more harm tbh!

 

finally some sense!!

 

@Adamdog and @Stevesmak

Ofcourse i wouldnt use egg boxes in a studio,lol...i was just pointing our that they do tame down the mid-high frequencies and i was using them as a kid in high school in my drum practice room away from my home and many bands back then used them as well.
Its a cheap trick to help you out.
We are talking the real minimum budget when you dont have much money as a kid.
People should read my answers and not jump to conclusions.
I was merely disagreeing with some people who say it aint worth shit.

 

I had understood you well, indeed
for me they are around 8 kHz so yes cymballs

wooden basstraps are cheap too, if you re able to work a little bit. It depends on the fyberglass quality from 50 to 70 € each.
Cardboard ones... homeless prices lol, of course they don t have all the wood properties but they absorb for sure.

to me basstraps are the evolution of eggboxes, in a way, but with brains, some skills, and huge final effect.