Room size and sound quality.

[cbass]

So I put my amp 2 el84 rocketish build in the basement bedroom bout 12x12 with an 8' ceiling So I could crank it up without bothering people and practice with a drummer.I uasually play in my garage bout 22x24 with a 10'+ ceiling I think the amp sounds great in there.It sounded like poo in the basement is that just the way it is.Would some foam on the wall or corner traps help?I'm using a sealed 2x12 You think open back would be better in a small room?

[NickC]

Yeah, basically that's how it is. Some rooms sound great, and some sound bad. Audio engineers speak of a "golden ratio". You can read about it here:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=4431.0

Foam? The good stuff (for audio) is crazy expensive. The other stuff could make the acoustic space even worse.

Without getting too complicated ....... bass traps and absorption panels can be made economically and are way more effective than the expensive audio foam. I've built a great many with one-by pine frames, stuffed with Roxull 2'x4'x2" mineral fiber panels (sold in bundles of 8 panels IIRC), covered in some inexpensive breathable fabric (canvas works great, but anything from the fabric store bargain bin that you can breath through will work fine).

Here's how I build 'em:

Gobo Panel Construction
1"x8" pine for framing. Build the frame for 2' x 4' inside dimension. Shoot three 2 1/2" dry-wall screws (or wood screws) into each corner to hold it together (I use a drill with screw-bit adapter, and 45 degree corner clamps to hold the work together will fitting pieces together.

Staple fabric on one side. Pull tight around edges and staple.

Fill with three 2'x4'x2" mineral wool panels.

Staple fabric on other side to seal the fibers inside (you don't want to breath it, wear eye protection and gloves).

Bass Trap Construction
For corner bass traps, modify the dimensions above so that the panels are 2 feet wide and go from floor to ceiling. Put a one-by pine brace on the inside at the 4' mark. Cut the mineral wool panels to size with a sheet-rock saw or comparable. Place the corner bass traps at a 45 degree angle to each corner, tucked in from floor to ceiling.

The mineral wool bundles were a little less than $15/bundle last time I bought some. This is by far the most effective and inexpensive sound absorption panels. They work better than the expensive foam stuff at a fraction of the price. Just takes a little time to knock 'em together, well worth the effort.

[Reeltarded]

Foam no.. open cab maybe. Any room that isn't square and closer to a shorter wall. Plate modes in the room create gapping holes in the frequency response when out of phase waves cross. More volume is worse.. diffusion works, jist not on the wall. Gobos work great. You can build those easy.

Corning 703 and rockwool are your friends.

[Reeltarded]

Truckstop bathrooms sound awful, anyhow.

hah

[Bob S]

Shakers & handclaps sound excellent in a tiled bathrooms.
Flatulance has a great fast vibrato with a touch of reverb in there.
Guitar not so good.

[Reeltarded]

The flutter enhances the flateur.

[LeftyStrat]

My basement makes every amp sound like shit. Unfortunately that's where my bench is.

I think it has to do with the seventies decor. That was the disco era.

Only way to really hear an amp is take it outside, preferably in the desert.

If a doctor ever tells me I'm terminal, I'm going to build seven Marshall Pigs, buy a huge-assed generator, go back to Joshua Tree and play 0-7-6-7-8-0 followed by 0-7-9-9-0-0 and die a happy man.

[Teleguy61]

Shakers & handclaps sound excellent in a tiled bathrooms.
Flatulance has a great fast vibrato with a touch of reverb in there.
Guitar not so good.

Played a gig at the Cumberland Hotel in Plattsburgh NY in 1973. Had these great old tiled bathrooms, it was a serious fleabag, but they sounded awesome to sing in. We used to warm up the vocals in the bathroom before the gig each night. Great slap echo.

[sonicmojo]

I put together a similar sized music room at my last house and had big feedback and sound problems. I did use some foam for the corners but also made myself some DIY panels out of Home Depot ceiling tiles where I stripped the white plastic off of one of them,doubled them up, strapped them to some 1x2 frames and wrapped them with some muslin cloth. It made a WORLD of difference and was pretty cheap to do. After I did that and put them on all the walls that made sense, it felt like the ambient sound was being sucked out of your eardrums when you walked in the silent room and had no problems with jamming after that. I can take a picture of one if you want.

[stelligan]

Corning 703 and rockwool are your friends.

+1 on cloth covered 703. Cheap and effective.

[cbass]

Guess I really don't have time to build anything right now.I'll try it with the back off the cab.

Would carpet be useful for anything?I got some

[Bob S]

Sorry - I know nothing about room acoustics, but..
Carpet's good for burnin yer knees.

[cbass]

I thought it was for munchin'

[Bob S]

Yup - useful stuff.
I like the shag pile - the brillo pad stuff not so much.

[cbass]

Open back sucked too.It sounds an amp with way to much reverb but It don't have any.Now I'm worried thaat my amp doesn't sound as good as I thought it did. I really don't even think I can practice down there with out a lot of work

So if I built some panels or gobos or what ever they shoud be 2'x4'?

So I f I have 4 walls close to 12' long how many should I make?