Meth Lab Tracking Room and Room Acoustics

[Trimble]

My first post!

I was on the Meth Lab website a few days ago and was surprised to see that the tracking room there looks so acoustically untreated. I know the control room is treated with a LE-DE approach, so I wonder why the tracking room isn't. Could someone shed some light on the situation? Why does this "work?"

I attached the photos I saw of the Meth Lab tracking room.

Love the smilies btw bthead !

[Dan]

It works because there's 15+ years worth of shit piled up all over the place to break up and absorb the sound. Auralex sells you foam to glue to your walls - we have pegboards & benches loaded w/ tools and spare parts. Ethan Winer sells you fancy bass traps - we have piles of road cases and shelves full of inventory. And then there's the cardboard cocoon where our shipping guy lives that, if you're not careful, will swallow up a lot more than sound waves.

Really, the only flat, exposed surfaces in the place are/were the top half of the walls and the ceiling. It's kind of hard to see in the pictures, but about two years ago, I spent 3 or 4 days on a scaffold bolting acoustic panels to the ceiling - so all that's left now is the wall tops. The white diffusers over the drum kit are each filled with a different amount of caulking so that whatever resonances they have are at different frequencies. Further from the drum kit on the ceiling are red, blue, and beige absorptive panels roughly 2' wide and 4-8' long (IIRC). Its been a while, so I'm not positive, but there might also be some variation in the distance they're hanging from the ceiling. They're not flush - they're suspended with chains. The lengths wouldn't all be unique (like the caulking in the diffusers), but they may not all be the same either (e.g. ranging from 3-6 links in length). The difference made by putting the panels on the ceiling was pretty dramatic.

In all honesty, the walls probably could use some treatment, too. But there's enough other stuff going on and we have enough movable gobos that we can manage things pretty well. Our biggest challenge is working around the schedule of the aerobics studio upstairs. It seems that going full-tilt, we both find the other to be obnoxiously loud. :p

-Dan.

[Weiss-Sound]

You could record the ceiling when the aerobics classes are in session. Limit the hell out of it. Then take your biggest speaker and play it back at full volume aimed at the ceiling during the next class. :)

[Dan]

You could record the ceiling when the aerobics classes are in session. Limit the hell out of it. Then take your biggest speaker and play it back at full volume aimed at the ceiling during the next class. :)

That's what the drums are for. :D

But seriously, it pays to play nice w/ your neighbors. We keep quiet before 7pm during the week for their yoga classes, so that on weekends we can ask them to stop jumping rope and throwing around free weights during our vocal sessions.

-Dan.

[Mixwell]

Sounds good to me!

Here is a link to a song recorded at the MEth Lab by Mixwell, with Mixwell Assisting him.

http://rapidshare.com/files/328551833/Trap_Is_Set__Master-Rough.mp3.html

The name of the Band is "The Matter" and they are Four Strong.

The name of this song is "the trap is set"......

They cut the Drums/Bass/GTRS at the same time in the live room.

We overdubbed the Vocals, in the same room later The Piano was cut on a later date.

Our Room sounds way better; thanks to Dan.

If you'll also notice - we have big, wonderful modular go-bo's that can be moved around the room however you want. They were built [and later donated to us] by a long time friend of ours, who's intention was to "build a studio from go-bos" at his space.

He built them like Jesus would.

[moose]

When I was there that room sounded pretty good to start with... the high ceilings (30 feet?) and random piles of shit in a place with a large foot print lead to a fairly diffuse sound. The fact that its a large, cavernous space certainly helps as there's really no quick, hard reflections to come back & screw things up.

[Fletcher]

The room dimensions are 45' x 47' w/ 16' ceilings... as Dan mentioned there is some diffusion / absorption stuff on the ceilings [helped quite a bit] but the main "treatment" of the room is the random absorption and diffusion of it being a full working warehouse.

There are some moveable "gobo"s that can also be used to change the sound of the room [like you can make a "vocal booth" in the middle of the room without a struggle].

[seaneldon]

In all honesty, the walls probably could use some treatment, too.

Why is that, Dan?

If the room was a lot smaller and we recorded anything anywhere near the walls...maybe...

We've got well over 1,000 square feet of walkable/usable space (2,115 total) and as Fletcher mentions, about 3 small rooms worth of gobos and a near-endless supply of packing blankets in case we want anything to sound more dead.

The room is all decay. Very little reflection. No need to "treat" any walls from where I'm sitting.

[Dylansdad]

From the looks and discription the only justification for more treatment is one of the following
1. In the words of an old math prof " random isn't as random as you think" of course this involved ue old bookcase diffuser theory and yah that snooty old drunk was proven right on more than one really bored occassion. Of course a big wharehouse isn't a bookshelf.
2 you hear and confirm with a fft ( hey love using it on my iPhone and rembering the big old $20k something. Meyer SIM rig .)
3 Some nice manufacture wants to prove that their fine product belongs in the Mercenary line card ( the crest would look cool on a panel) and gives you guys enough stuff to make a difference !
The fact is a big wharehouse would makes far better tracking space than 90% of use with the work Dan has done!
The isolation thing is a PITA I now live in a loft that was suggested by a former neighbor and mastering eng. Floors are floated 2 layers of sheet rock, gap is filled with Fiberglass! Gues what metal studs are on 24 in center ( non supporting walls ) no acoustic calk ! Yeah it's about 8-10db better than my last
appartments but my 98 year old house in Galveston with the intenal walls with no glass 4x4 on 18 in centers with 1 inch of cypress ship lapped joints covered with sheet rock was the best isolation and deadest walls I have ever had ( the downside was the 100 year old windows were like an open door.

[hardtoe]

Sounds good to me!

Here is a link to a song recorded at the MEth Lab by Mixwell, with Mixwell Assisting him.

http://rapidshare.com/files/328551833/Trap_Is_Set__Master-Rough.mp3.html

The name of the Band is "The Matter" and they are Four Strong.

The name of this song is "the trap is set"......

They cut the Drums/Bass/GTRS at the same time in the live room.

We overdubbed the Vocals, in the same room later The Piano was cut on a later date.

Our Room sounds way better; thanks to Dan.

If you'll also notice - we have big, wonderful modular go-bo's that can be moved around the room however you want. They were built [and later donated to us] by a long time friend of ours, who's intention was to "build a studio from go-bos" at his space.

He built them like Jesus would.

Adam,

Any chance of resharing this file? Download limit reached.

Cheers

Orion

[Mixwell]

Adam,

Any chance of resharing this file? Download limit reached.

Cheers

Orion

TRAP IS SET (http://www.movethemics.com/uploads/adam/Trap%20is%20set.wav)

These guys do need more practice, and this is sort of a rough mix.

Enjoy.

[hardtoe]

Thanks Adam.


The room is really diffuse - nice "not in the way" kind of sound.

The band sounds pretty good - they are almost tight (on the verge of a great groove).

The only think I'm not digging is the piano which seems a little to "nice" for me, but maybe I'm just a dirty bugger.

Nice work.

Cheers

[Mixwell]

AEA R84's in blumlien do sound nice on Fletcher's Hardman.

I believe I patched them into the RPQ and used no tone shaping or filtering when recording the piano.

The player had no grease at all. He definitely was too nice with the part.