I agree with everything except for the comment about button pusher music. Assuming you are referring to EDM, i’ve been honing my craft since 2010 and it takes a certain amount of skill to write a catchy dance track. Music is music, “real music” (your beloved 70’s rock groups) takes the same amount of effort if not more because there are more people to deal with. Thats the only reason. I prefer working alone though because I cant breakup with myself lol
I respect artistry in any genre. "Button Pusher" music refers to those who rely on loops, samples and plugins to "twist" sounds into songs with no actual musical skills. I 100% respect artists such as yourself who have honed a craft. And remember, I'm the "Lonely Rocker" so I quite understand the enjoyment of creating alone :))))
Respect. You have your methods that you have acquired and developed and used them. There is no reason to warship the past as many do. Take the music in your head and make it live! Keep it up.
That was a lot of real world practical advice. I 100% agree with the idea of "do what you can with your room and then get to work." I think too many guys end up chasing their tails trying to get the "perfect" room. Thanks a lot! I hope you can talk to John again in the future.
John is a genius. So interesting what he said about panels being up against the wall with no gap. Everyone seems to suggest a gap, even some big boys. Making me re think what I thought I knew.
If I understand his suggestion correctly is the gap is inside the panels but the wood frames are sealed up against the wall. Twisted my mind mind around on this topic as well! Thanks for watching.
I've been reaserching all over internet for info about acoustic panels. By far the BEST interview I came across and one of the most knowledgeable guy. What a treat! Checking now all your other videos and subscribing to your channel. It Is really RARE to find some real information between the sea of online wannabe quackers who know nothing about everything.
Thank you very much1. So glad you enjoyed them. I have a bunch of unlisted Acoustic Panel videos that are available on my Patreon if you want more. But tons of free content right here. So glad you found me!
What a fantastic vid/interview so imformative without being dismissive, learned a ton from watching this John is an absolute legend hope you do another one with him. Great job Dan one of my favorites to date...
Thanks for the suggestion to watch this video. Unfortunately, I have already made the 8" deep boxes just this morning. They haven't been stuffed yet however. I was planning to use 2 pieces deep of comfortboard 80 followed by 1 piece of SafeNSound 60 and a layer of foam. But I'm not sure if I still want to use all of that in the bass traps now. I already have the wood for everything, so the rest of the boxes will be 4" deep and will only have 1 piece of SafeNSound 60 which will be elastic strapped to the front to help with some air behind the absorption. I'm thinking that I may wish to use only 1 piece of Comfortboard 80 and 1 piece of SafeNSound 60 and a layer of foam strapped to the front of the box (tight against the front fabric) so that there's a bit of air space at the back of the box and mount them across the back corners of the room. I'm going g to go check out his links in your description for some more to think about. But I'm actually glad to hear that mounting against a wall with no air gaps behind the panels is the best way to go. Awesome stuff man!
The takeaway I wanted you to get from this video is to not overthink your acoustics solution. Unless you are doing it professionally you are just throwing darts in the dark. DIY panels are a great solution to improve a room that was not built for mixing. But no matter what panels you make you will still have a ton of issues in the room because you are not addressing issues with the physical properties of the room and your acoustic panels are really just guesses. They are not treating specific issues or problems. however, the room will sound better to your ear and make it it a bit easier to get your work done. Look for my Spectrum Analyzer video. That will be the next step for your room...
@Lonely Rocker absolutely, I have REW installed already and I have the Soundworks mic profile as well. I'm just hoping to curtail any room modes that mask things too much. If my little project does that and doesn't look awful, I'll be happy as a clamps! I for sure got the gist of his message to not obsess about it, put something up and get to work. So I got the message loud and clear.
@Lonely Rocker of course...REW has other uses like measuring the room after treatment. I do t plan on using correction software, I hate it. I'm treating so I don't need to use it, or that's the plan anyhow!
I'm surprised by that acoustic panel part at 37:00 So by using a Rockwool Rockboard at 3" use a 1"x6" or 1"x8" wood and create a gap INSIDE the panel... interesting, first time I ever heav of this. The gap, yes... but not a gap inside the panel.
Great video Dan, thanks for answering my question John! Removing the rock wool walls isn’t an option but I’ll try the ceiling cloud and continue dreaming of my ideal studio. Good stuff gents, thanks.
Thank you so much this has to be the best acoustic advice I've heard in all my years in music!!!! I'm about to set up a new studio in a spare bedroom and I've going crazy thinking about how to make it perfect. This makes so much sense!
Great interview. I build a small studio in my basement insulate all my 2x4 from stud to ceiling .. Completing now with my panels once I finish painting, this was a great timing find!!
Great job bud! One thing that really stood out (since I’m currently planning my diy panel construction) was his recommendation to have the air gap sealed in the frame! I built a test panel, using two 2inch rockboard 60 panels and created a 1 1/2 inch air gap (5.5 inch total) then was gonna mount it away from wall another 2.5 inches so I could basically get a total of 4 inches in an air gap! Now it sounds like I’d need all the air to be within the frame and sides tight to the wall! Hmm?
Thank you! Keep in mind the other point. When we are DIYing our panels we are guessing. Sealing the panel to the wall lowers the frequencies that panel “ may” absorb. Without taking readings you really don’t know what you need to absorb. So you can stick to your original plan if it makes more sense. Maybe make some thicker panels in other areas. But really you will just be guessing anyways.
Everybody's ears are different, everybody's speakers are different, everybody's interpretations of what sounds "the best" are different, everybody's rooms are different the consumers that listen to the music listen on a myriad of devices - all different (usually phones with ear buds most of the time and they're all different ) - so if you ask me accuracy is out of the window - there's no such thing as that. The song is the most important thing just like a good movie on a shit TV - its still a great movie and it'll still draws you in because of the magic. it's worthwhile taking some steps to improve the sound of your room with treatment no doubt, but if you get to know the sound of your room, and the headphones you use really well you can produce great sounding music. I wouldn't advise getting too hung up on perfection cause it's a load of bollocks...trust me I've been there and it's a fools errand - just my two cents :)
You’re right. There is no perfect room. What John does at the pro level is to minimize the influence of the room on what you hear. That just makes your work easier. He said that in the video. But if you have the budget setting up your acoustics is very necessary for pro workflows. Especially in rooms where many different people work. Your own room? Just get used to it if you have to….
I didn't quite understand the last question. I am trying to fix up my little home studio and will be building my own bass traps. I have some designs in Sketchup, and I currently have the panels 6" off of the wall. It sounds like John was saying that you want to seal the box and put them on the wall, but leaving a gap in the box? Can you explain this further, I felt like I didn't quite understand what his point was. Do not have an air gap behind the panel between the walll? Was there empty space in the deeper box?
Yes exactly. For example, you could make the box 6 inches deep but only have 4 inches of insulation inside. The more important thing he said is you can't really guess at designing the treatment for the room. It's a mathematical process that generally involves physical changes to the room. Best to arrange your panels to the best of your ability and just get to making music without overthinking the process of creating your own panels. No matter what you try it will never even be close to perfect but you can make it a little better...
absolutely fantastic interview, SUPER chocked full of info, so glad i looked at this before making material commitments for my panels and diffusers. question: im looking for a detailed info on curved diffusers. Does anyone have any youtube links or web links that have info on best materials to use how to hash out the math of making one?
I feel cloudy about the panels, did he mean do panels 8 inch thick with 4 inch of insulation material and keep a ‘empty’ space behind of 4 inch so there is a pressure built up?
Best to extrapolate from what he said the best you can. I believed he meant the box firmly against the wall with a gap inside. He also said room treatment is far more than guessing. It all has to be calculated so just do your best with what you have and get to making music....
Thank you for this very informative video! I’m building my own acoustic broad band absorbers. The isolation material will be 9 cm thick. Should I create an airgap inside the frame by making the frame larger and mount it against the wall, or should I create an open airgap and mount it against the wall? I’m a bit confused since a lot of pros promote the open airgap whereas John Brandt contradicts this. Thanks in advance!
My pleasure! The other point John made was you can’t guess. Without taking readings you are just guessing. The best thing if you are not taking pro readings is just do it the way you can. Don’t stress over it. Get some panels up and make your music. Follow basic basic placement principles (I have a video on that). And get the up! Good luck.
And thats where it gets complicated. I wanna say yes. But I don't even have a passport plus I'm single father to a currently 2 year old so odds are not in my favor.
An 80% solution achieved in a timely matter always out ways a 100% solution that keeps you in a hamster wheel for years. Art is never finished so put the hammer down and exercise your musical muscles!
So you put clouds up on the ceiling which is a reflection surface further away from your ears than the floor but leave the floor to ring like a laminate floor bell, interesting.
