Room Acoustics

Improve the sound of even the smallest space with some acoustic panels, like the ACP Acoustic Conditioning Panels introduced by Yamaha this week. The super thin panels (3 cm thick) would work especially well in music practice rooms, home studios, and school rooms, and other small or unusually shaped spaces.  

At NAMM, Auralex Acoustics will debut its new line of stand-mounted, portable StudioFoam absorbers. ProMAX panels are lightweight, easy to set up, and quick to tear down, making them a good choice for temporary recording situations or studio rentals.  

Say hello to Primacoustic's Black StratoTiles, new acoustical ceiling treatment panels ideal for nightclubs, home theaters, music studios, conference rooms, and more.  

For the chance to win $1,500 and some bragging rights at Winter NAMM, enter the Auralex Acoustics "Show Us Your Auralex Room" challenge and show Auralex how you put the company's acoustical treatment products to use in your own studio.  

Make your studio look great, sound fantastic, and be as kind as possible to the planet with the Auralex Acoustics Sustain Bamboo Sound Diffusor Series of eco-friendly acoustical products. The series includes the WavePrism, WaveLens, QuadraTec, Peak Pyramid Diffusor, and KeyPacs diffusors, all made of 100 percent sustainable bamboo.  

Need a professional opinion on how to meet your music studio's acoustical needs? Then turn to the free Digital Personalized Room Analysis Form (Digital PRAF) just launched by Auralex Acoustics. Now available as a digital upgrade to the company's existing Free Personalized Room Analysis service, the Digital PRAF allows room information to be fed directly into the Auralex database, so the company's Application Specialists can immediately begin evaluating the room's acoustical needs.  

Auralex Acoustics introduced its new SonoLitePro, the latest addition to Auralex's range of Class-A absorptive panels. The SonoLitePro is different though, since in addition to being affordable, this new panel is Class-A fire-rated and approved for music studios, churches, schools, restaurants, clubs, and other venues.  

Larger project studios, post-production suites, on-air broadcasting rooms, and just about any other acoustic space would benefit from an acoustic treatment kit like Primacoustic's London 16, which packs in the acoustic panels needed to transform a room into a functional work space.  

Give your home studio the gift of acoustic panels with either Primacoustic's London 8 or London 10 room treatment kits. These kits provide a simple, affordable (starting at $199) way to enhance the sound of your studio.  

Using Acoustic Geometry's Voice Curve cylindrical diffusor, you can make your vocals sound alive in any space. The Voice Curve enhances the sound of voices in conference and meeting rooms, voice-over booths, home theaters, recording studios, and more.  

Vocalists and voiceover artists especially will want to try using the new Auralex MudGuard, a mic isolator with Studiofoam designed to help isolate monitors, amps, microphones, and stands in recording studios from hard surfaces, as well as reduce room ambience and off-axis sound.  

KRK Systems released firmware and software updates for the ERGO standalone hardware room correction system, which make the digital room correction system compatible with Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard.  

Auralex Acoustics announced five new pieces for its Sustain Bamboo Sound Diffusor Series of acoustical products. Made entirely of bamboo, the series includes the WavePrism, WaveLens, QuadraTec, Peak Pyramid Diffusor, and KeyPacs.  

Auralex debuted its nicely priced SonoLite fabric wrapped StudiofoamPro panels, absorption panels designed to reduce unwanted reflections and flutter echo in critical listening environments. Available in black or beige, each panel is $24.99.  

Recording isn't just about what you hear, it's about what you don't hear. I once read that etched in Sanskrit into a Prophet 08 motherboard, but it holds true when it comes to recording acoustics. That's why Primacoustic offers the CrashGuard and SplashGuard iso / baffling products. I don't know about that iPad stand mount, though.  

Henry French is an Acoustic Application Specialist at Auralex, making him beyond qualified to lead a tour of the company's new Sustain series of diffusion products. These panels and waveguides are crafted from bamboo, a fast-growing grass with the characteristics of hardwood.  

Cigars? Cigarettes? Free-standing tune-able bass traps? If your ears (eyes?) perked up at the latter, check out the new Vicoustic Vari Bass traps. These passive units can be variably tuned to cancel out the bass problems specific to different listening environments.  

We come to the close of our time with Studio Architect Vincent van Haaff, but we don't want to leave without talking about that acoustical elephant in the recording game: the live room. Back at Studio A at Conway Recording in Los Angeles we examine how, again, van Haaff's theatrical background informs his designs.  

Back with studio architect Vincent van Haaff, we visit one of his design firms's first major achievements, Conway Recording Studios. In particular we examine Studio A's control room's diffusion panels and their West End by way of Ancient Greece origins.  

Am I getting bigger, or is my control room and all the equipment inside getting smaller? Unless your name is Testsuo, it's the latter, and unless his name isn't Vincent van Haaff, Vincent van Haaff's signature architectural-acoustic design elements will work at any studio's scale.

Also in this video: tour the interior of a well-know but un-named rock producer's residential recording studio in the Hollywood Hills! Inquiring gear-heads want to know!  

Have you ever seen pictures of or been inside a world class studio control room? If so, you may have wondered to yourself: why all the crazy angles? According to studio designer Vincent van Haaff, it's what the sound wants. And he should know, having designed studios at A&M and Capital Records (and more). Check out part one of our four-part interview with Mr. van Haaff and find out how your room may be affecting your reference monitor's sweet spot.  

More of our talk with composer, producer, and stupendously excellent drummer Omar Hakim. In this segment Omar details his home studio setup, which bears a striking resemblance to a collection of Matryoshka dolls.  

We spoke with John Storyk -- architect behind Electric Lady Studios and thousands since -- about how control rooms have evolved in response to changes in recording technology. Now we turn our attention to that other space in your studio, the live room.  

John Storyk got into the whole studio design thing when he hooked up with a certain Messrs. Kramer and Hendrix to design a certain Electric Lady Studios -- you may have heard of it. We spoke with him about his acoustical-architectural company, the Walters-Storyk Design Group, and about the evolution of the modern recording space.  

If the bulging, tuberous-looking bass traps in your studio wall are annoying you, it's time for a more subtle approach. RealTraps MegaTraps, despite being mega-sized, offer a softer and less obvious look while effectively taming bass frequencies.  

A clear pristine sound is always desired in venues such as recording studios as well as home theaters. The usual approach to doing so is via acoustic treatment, which often requires permanent installation of bass traps and other devices that will make setup changes very difficult. RealTraps rectifies this problem by offering a modular system of acoustic treatment that is flexible enough for various situations yet powerful enough for that desired sound.  

Coach Hetrick from KRK Systems returns for another round in the room monitor finals. This time he unveils the secret weapon, the room corrector of your dreams. . . or maybe your nightmares, if you're the competition! See the unassuming little box and hear about how it exerts its power. And you better pass the pop quiz, or you're doin' stairlaps!  

With the Vicoustic Vari Panel, you won't have to spend any more nights studying the ventilation systems of top recording studios. If variable acoustics is what you crave, the Vari Panel from Vicoustic could be for you.  

From the Greek words "Sono" meaning sound and word "Lux" meaning light, Auralex shows us the Sonolux acoustic panels. They're fiberglass panels that add actual starlight* to your studio.

* Actual starlight is not actual starlight

 

Auralex EcoTec paneling is not only an ecologically friendly alternative to fiberglass acoustic paneling, it's also made out of 65% recycled polyester. They're accepting donations, and you've had that full Cleveland sitting in your closet for years.