PublishedinSOSMay2003

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Figure1.Theidealpositioningof
speakersinrelationtothelistenerfor
monitoring.
Monitoring&AcousticTreatment
StudioInstallationWorkshop
Technique:DIY

It'slittleusespendingmoneyonfancymics,processorsand
pluginsifyourspeakersarebadlyplacedandyourroom's
frequencyresponsehasmorepeaksthantheHimalayas!So
thismonthwe'llbelookingatpracticalwaystoimproveyour
recordingandlisteningenvironments.
MalloryNicholls
Oneofthethorniestissueswheninstallingastudioisthatofroom
constructionandacoustics.Whythorny?Well,inmyexperience,ifyouask
anynumberof'acousticsexperts'todesignaroomorsolvearoomproblem,
youwillgetanyamountofconflictingadvice.IshouldsaythatIhaveno
formalqualificationsinacoustics.Ihave,however,designedanumberof
highprofile,Dolbylicensedroomsandalsodebuggedacousticsforsome
majorclientsinmyroleasastudioinstaller.Infact,Igotintoacousticdesign
asaresultoflessonslearntdebuggingotherpeople'sdesigns.
Evenifyouareabletoaffordtheservicesofprofessionals,myadvicewouldbetochecktheirworkatevery
stepoftheinstallation.Ioncesawamonitoringsysteminaroomthathadbeendesigned,installedand
commissionedbyawellknownacousticscompany,whereoneofthefrontloudspeakerswasoperatingout
ofphase.Iassumedthatthefaultwouldbetracedtocrossedwiressomewhereintheaudiojackfield,butit
wasactuallycausedbytheleftsoffitmountedloudspeakerbeingconnectedincorrectly.Thismajorfaulthad
goneunnoticed,andtheroomwassignedoffwiththefaultinplace!
We'regoingtolookatanumberofdifferentacousticsscenarios,fromcorrectingsimpleproblemsinhome
studios,toagroundupdesignforasmallprojectstudio.Weshallalsolookataveryimportantandmuch
overloo
kedsubject,whichasaloudspeakerdesignerisclosetomyheart:
loudspeakermounting,placementandorientation.
RoomAcousticsProblems
Whyshouldweworryaboutacousticsorlookforproblems?Whenyou
mixmusic(oranythingelseforthatmatter)inaroomwithacoustics
problems,thematerialmaysoundfineinthatlocation,butwhenthemix
issubsequentlyplayedbacksomewhereelse,itmaysoundquite
differentandoftennotgoodatall!Ifthemixenvironmenthasminor
problems,theeffectsmaybequiteinnocuous,suchasasmallchanges
inbassortreblecontent.Inextremecases,thebalancemayfallapart,or
maycontainelementsthatweren'theardduringthemixamore
commonproblemthanyoumaythink.
Imagine,foramoment,thatyourroomisbasslight.Whileyoumix,toget
whatsoundslikeagoodresult,youwillinstinctivelydialinmorebasson
bassinstrumentsandkickdrums.Whenplayedbackina'normal'
listeningenvironment,themixwillsoundverybassheavyand
uncontrolled.Thissituationiscertainlynotconfinedtosmalloramateur
studios.Anyonelisteningathomewithasystemthatincludesa
subwooferwilloftencomeacrosscommercialrecordingswithallmannerofstrangeproblemsinthebottom
end.Also,thelevelofverylowbassvariestremendouslybetweenrecordings.Thereasonforthiswillbe
thatthemixand/ormasteringengineerssimplycouldn'thearthatlowinthestudiostheyused.Ialsofindthat
therearegreatbenefitsinbeingabletoseethewooferconesinthemixroom.ThisisoneofthereasonsI
donotrecommendusingspeakergrillestryplayingSteelyDan'sTwoAgainstNaturewhilewatchingyour
monitorstoseewhatImean!
SoundOnSound:Est.1985
Figure2.Ifyourmonitorsarepositioned
incorrectlywithrelationtothemonitoring
position,pathlengthsfromthedifferent
driverswillbedifferent,resultingin
responseanomaliesaroundthe
crossoverfrequency.Asimplesolution
tothisistomountthespeakeratan
angletomakethepathlengthsequal.
Themajorproblemsafflictingdomesticorsemiprofessionalmixroomsandstudioswillincludethe
following:
Lowfrequencyproblems:toolittlebass,orbasshotandcoldspotsthroughouttheroom.
Highfrequencyproblems:toomuchreverberationintheroom,orpoorimaging.
Isolationproblems:Extraneousnoiseandleakagebetweenrooms/buildings.
Choosing&InstallingMonitors
Beforewelookintosolvingtheseacousticsproblems,Iwouldfirstliketodiscussloudspeakerchoiceand
mounting.Itisimportanttolookatthisareafirst,asitwillbeimpossibletomakeaccurateacoustic
judgementswithoutsensiblespeakermountingandpositioning.Thepositioning,orientationandmounting
ofloudspeakerscanh
aveahugeinfluenceonthefinalsoundofaroom,soitiswiseto
examinethisfromtheoutset.Anumberofpitfallsawaitthenovicestudio
installer,themostproblematicbeingthechoiceofspeakerand
positioning.Youmaythinkitstrangetogroupthesetwotopicsunderthe
sameheading,buttheyarecriticallyrelated.
Inmanyhomestudios,bynecessity,thespeakerswillbeplacedagainst
awall,whereasinlargerroomstheymaybeusedfreestandingandwell
awayfromanyboundaries.Togetgoodresultswithspeakersagainsta
wall,itisvitalthattheyarenotrearported,astheproximityofthewallto
therearofthespeakerswillstoptheportsworkingcorrectlyandwill
resultinunevenbass.Also,whenpositionedinthisway,theapparent
bassoutputofanyspeakerwillincrease.Thereforeitisimportantthat
youdon'tchoosebassheavyspeakersthatwerenotintendedforthis
usage.Whenbuyingspeakersforyourstudio,trytoauditionthemwitha
placementsimilartohowyouwillusethem.Iftheywillbeusedagainsta
wall,trythemthiswayatthedealer.Conversely,iftheywillbeusedwell
awayfromwalls,don'tbetemptedtojudgeaspeakerwhichisgrouped
togetherwithmanyothersintheshowroom.Insistthattheyaremoved
intoasensibleroompositionanygooddealerwillexpecttodothisas
amatterofcourse.
AsIdiscussedinmyarticleonsubwoofers(SOSJuly2002),trytoavoid
placingyourspeakersinthecornersoftheroom.Again,thiswillboost
thebassendandresultininaccurateresults.Theidealspeakerposition
willplacethelistenerandspeakersatpointsonanequilateraltriangle,
asshowninFigure1.Ifyourroomwillnotallowthis,itisbettertohave
thespeakerstooclosetogetherthantoofarapart.Ifthespeakersare
spacedtoowidely,youwillgeta'hole'inthemiddleoftheimage,
makingaccuratepanningandacousticplacementimpossible.
Havingmadeyourchoice,thenextstepistodeviseasecuremounting
arrangement.Thesoundofmanyspeakerswillbedisappointingand
unpredictableiftheyarenotmountedsecurely.Thisiseasyto
understandifyouconsiderthetinydistancesthatthewooferconeand
tweeterdomemoveinnormaluse.Ifthebassenergyofthespeakerisabletomoveitsbox(remember,
everyactionwillhaveanequalandoppositereaction),themovementwillsubtractfromthebassoutputand
maywellbegreaterthanthetweeterexcursion,leadingtoareductionindefinition.Thisisthereasonwhy
spikedloudspeakerstandshavebecomethenorm.Whetheryouaremountingyourspeakersonashelfora
stand,placingasmallblobofBluTacundereachspeakercornerwillstopthemmoving.Iftheyarefloor
standingtypes,useadedicatedspikekit,especiallyifthestandsareplacedoncarpet.
Itisvitalthatthespeakersareusedintheorientationthattheyweredesignedforandalsothatyouareon
axistothemvertically,andnormallyhorizontally,inyournormallisteningposition.Ifaspeakerisusedinthe
wrongorientation,thefrequencyresponsewillsufferbadly.Donotbetemptedtolaythespeakersontheir
sidesforconvenience.Listeningoffthenormalverticalaxiswillnotonlycauseresponseerrors,butalso
notchesintheresponsearoundthecrossoverfrequency.Thisoccursbecauseofphasecancellation
betweentheloudspeakerdriversintheoffaxisverticalplane.Figure2showsatypicalsituationwherethe
speakersareplacedonashelfabovethemixingconsole.Inthisexample,thereisa6cmdistance
differencebetweenthetweeterandwooferatthemixposition.Thisdifferencemeansthatthehigh
frequenciesfromthetweeterarrivearound174sbehindthoseofthewoofer.Ifweassumethatthespeaker
hasacrossoverfrequencyof2.8KHz,whichistypical,th
iswillmeanadipofapproximately3dBintheresponseatthisfrequency.
Ifthedistanceweregreater,atotalcancellationwouldoccur.Clearly,this
isnotwhatwewant.Thesimplestsolutionherewouldbetotiltthe
speakertowardsthemixpositiontoeliminatethetimedifferenceand
evenoutthefrequencyresponse.
Figure3.Aplanforconstructingacheap
bassabsorberthedesignofoneofthe
internalcardboardslatsisshowntothe
right.Afrontpanelofperforated
hardboard(pegboard)shouldalsobe
fitted,buthasbeenomittedherefor
clarity.
Evensmallareasofacoustictreatment
canworkwondersfortaminghigh
frequencyacousticproblemsinthe
homestudio.
TreatingHighfrequencyAcoustics
Nowthatwehaveourspeakerswellorganised,wecanmoveonto
sortingouttheroomacoustics.Let'sstartbyfindingawaytoidentify
problemsinanexistingroom.Highfrequencyproblemsaremost
commoninhomeandprojectstudios,although,fortunately,theyare
easytodiagnoseandtreatusinginexpensivemethods.Sitatyourmix
positionandclapyourhandstogethersharplyonce.Listencarefullyto
the'crack'and,moreimportantly,whathappensafterthe'crack'.Inan
idealworld,youwouldhearnothingaftertheinitialcrack.Whatyouwill
probablyhear,however,isashortperiodofsharp'flutter'echoes,which
combinetomakea'boing'sound.
Averyquick,ifunscientificfix,istoholdablanketacrossoneofthehard
walls.Ithelpstohaveanassistantwhilstplayingthisgame!Withthe
blanketheldaninchortwofromthewall,sothatthewaveisattenuated
bothonthewaytoandawayfromthewall,clapagain.Ifyouidentified
themosttroublesomewall,the'crack'shouldsoundmuchcleanerand
shorter.Ifnot,tryanotherwall.
Anumberofpermanentsolutionsexist.Ifyouareonatightbudget,hangingblanketsorheavycurtainson
thewallisfine,although,forsafety,onlyusefabricthatisfireretardant.Beyondthis,therearealarge
numberofacoustictilesavailableforthistypeofproblem.Asmallnumberfixedtothewallwithheavy
doublesidedtapeoradhesivewillworkwonders.AcoustictilesorRockwoolceilingtileswillalsobeof
benefitontheceiling.Amajorbenefitofreducinghighfrequencystandingwavesismuchbetterdetailand
imagingfromyourmonitors.Thisareaisperhapsthemostoverlookedinhomestudios,andindeed,
domestichifilisteningareas.
DealingWithExcessLowEnd
Withoutextensivetestequipment,thehomestudioownermustmakejudgementsaboutbasslevels
subjectively.Remember,ourgoalistoavoidasituationwherewereachforEQcontrolsinerror.Inmany
hom
eorsmallstudios,youcanavoidthemajorityofbassproblemsby
usingsensiblyplacednearfieldmonitoring.Inthissituation,youwill
mainlyhearthesounddirectlyfromthemonitorsandthereforeroom
effectswillbelessproblematicandmayoftenbeignored.Inlarger
roomswherethedistancebetweenyouandthemonitorsisgreater,
anomaliesintheroomwillbecomemoreimportant.
Startbylisteningverycarefullyinyourmixposition.Playarangeof
commercialrecordingsthatyouknowwell.Again,asIsuggestedin
myarticleaboutsubwoofersinSOSJuly2002,listenforasmooth
progressionofbassnotesfrombassguitarsandsoforth.Youshould
hearallthenoteswithaconsistentlevel.Dependinguponthesize
andqualityofyourmonitors,theextremenotesmayrolloff,butthisis
tobeexpected.Trytoassessthequalityofyourmonitorsina
selectionofrooms.Thiswillgiveyouaflavourfortheperformanceof
thespeakersseparatelyfromtheroom.Ifyouhaveareaswherethe
basscomesandgoes,andyouhavesitedyourmonitorssensibly,thenyouprobablyhavebottomend
problemsintheroom.Theacidtestofthisproblemisifyou'need'toalterthebasssettingconstantlywhile
playingarangeoftestmaterial.Ifyoudo,thenyouwillinstinctivelydothesamewhilstmixing.
Next,trymovingaroundtheroom.Doyouhearlargepeaksandtroughsinthebassend?Ifso,youprobably
have'standingwave'problems.Ifthewallsinaroomareparalleltoeachother,astheyareinallstandard
rooms,standingwavesaresetupwhenthedistancebetweenthewallsequalsahalfwavelength,or
multiplethereof,ofafrequencyintheaudiospectrum.Whenthedistanceisequaltohalfthewavelength,
thefrequencyistermedthefundamental.Therelationshipisdescribedbytheformula:f
1
=v/2L,wheref
1
is
thefundamentalfrequency,visthevelocityofsoundinair(approximately345metrespersecondinnormal
conditions)andListhedistancebetweenthewalls.Forexample,ifaroomhasparallelwallsfourmetres
apart,afundamentalstandingwavewilloccurat43.125Hz,aswellassomeintegermultiples86.25Hz,
129.375Hzandsoforth.Toquantifytheproblems,Ifinditusefultoaud
itionthesamematerialinavarietyofrooms.Agoodplacetostartison
yourorafriend'shifi.Doesthematerialsoundsimilaroraretheremajor
differences?Ialsofinditusefultohaveapairofgoodquality
headphonesasareference.Youmaybeabletoreachaworkable
compromisebyresitingthespeakersoryourmixposition.
BassTraps
Thenextproblemisbasspeaksandtroughs.Therearetwomain
methodsforfixingthis.Thebestsolutionisnotnormallydomestically
Figure4.Reducingstructureborne
vibrationsfromyourspeakers.

BoostingTheBass

Havingascertainedthatthemonitorsareup
tothetask,themostcommoncauseof
reducedbassinaroomisobjectsorwalls
actingasabsorbers.Ifyourroomis
constructedwithmoderntechniquesinvolving
plasterboard,thiswillalmostcertainlybethe
case.Testthewallbytappingitwithafinger.
Ifitsoundshollow,itwillmostlikelybe
plasterboard.
Other'hollow'objectscanalsocause
problems.Thindoors,cupboardsandeven
discardedcardboardboxescanallplaya
part.Tryfeelingorevenlisteningtothewalls
whilerunningyourtestpieces.Canyoufeel
anythingresonatingwiththebass?Ifso,it
willbeabsorbingenergyandremovingbass
fromtheroom.
Ifthewallsareplasterboard,thesolutionis
straightforward,iftimeconsuming.Simply
addanotherskinofplasterboardoverthe
existingwalls(andceilingifpossible).Ifyou
don'thavethenecessaryDIYskills,abuilder
specialisinginplasterboarddrywallwilldo
thejobquicklyandrelativelycheaply.The
processofaddingasecondthicknessof
boardiscalleddoubletacking.Itisbestnot
toplasteroverthenewboardjustskimthe
joints(bystickingjointingtapeoverthejoint
andfillingflushwithjointingcompound)and
decoratedirectly.
Thedoubletackingimprovesthebassinthe
roombystiffeningthewalltostopitactingas
anabsorber.Italsohasasidebenefitof
delayingthespreadoffire.Ifyouarelucky
enoughtobecreatingaroomfromscratch,it
isalsoverybeneficialtouseextrawall
studs,placingthemclosertogetherthan
usual.Ifyoualsohaveacheaphollowdoor,
changeitforamoresoliditem.Thesesteps
willincreasethebassinaroomandalso
reducebreakthroughtootherrooms.

acceptable,inthatitinvolvesmakingsurethatnowallsintheroomare
parallelwitheachother.Thisisanimportantconceptandshouldbe
appliedtoanynewconstruction.Makingtheopposingwallsnonparallel
stopsthewavesbeingtrappedandcombining.Thiscanbeachieved
withanoutofsquarewoodenframe,doubletackedwithplasterboard
(see'BoostingTheBass'boxforanexplanationofdoubletacking),on
twoofthewallsand,ideally,ontheceiling.
Alessdrasticandoftencomplimentarysolutionistoaddacertain
amountofabsorptioninstrategicplaces.Thisworksbyattenuating
problemfrequencies,thereforereducingtheirsummation.Byabsorption,
Idonotmeansoundabsorbingwalltileswhilstthesearegreatfor
highfrequencyproblems,noneofthemworklowenoughfortruebass
problems.Bassabsorbers,orbasstrapsastheyarealsoknown,are
availablereadymadeinarangeofdomesticallyfriendlystylesand
colours,althoughtheytendtobeexpensive.ThereisaDIYalternative,
however.Witheitherofthesesolutions,theabsorbersshouldbelocated
atsomepointalongaconvenientwall.Roomcornersarealsogood,andthekeytoplacingthem
successfullyis,asalways,lotsoftrialanderror.
Theabsorberswillworkoverarangeoffrequencies,ratherthanatonespecificfrequency,soit'stherefore
quitedifficulttopredicttheexactplacementandquantityrequired.Startwiththeabsorbersaroundathirdof
thewayalongthewall,thenmovethemandlistensomemore.Addmoreifrequired.Remember,wearenot
necessarilyafteratotalremovalofproblems,justenoughtostopyoureachingforthatEQknob!Ifyouwork
withclientsorproducers,youwillneedmorethanonelisteningposition.Inthissituation,youmustlisten
carefullyinanumberofpositionsandaddabsorbersuntilyoureachagoodresult.
Bassabsorbersworkbylettingthesoundenergyinandthenconvertingittomovementandultimatelyheat.
TheDIYtypeshown(Figure3),behaveinasimilarwaytotheoverlyflexibleplasterboardwall.Sound
wavesentertheboxthroughholesinthepegboardandalsodirectlythroughtheskin.Theenergythen
excitesthecardboardmembranesinsidethebox.Intheprocessofmovingthemembranes,energyislost
andbassisthereforereduced.Theseunitsaresimpleandcheaptomakeandmaybecoveredinfabricto
disguisethem.Thereisadownsidehowever,
becausethistypeisnotasefficientassomereadymadetypes,
soamoderatesizeroommayneedtenormoretocorrect
problems,whichwouldtakeupalotofspace.Thisisoftena
problem,evenwithprofessionalabsorbers.Ioncewitnesseda
largeroomreducedinsizebyathirdinordertoaccommodate
enoughabsorption.
ExtraneousNoise&SoundLeakage
Inmosthomestudios,extraneousnoiseisnotnormallytoomuch
ofaproblem.Ontheotherhand,soundleakagecanbeit'sbad
enoughifyourstudioactivitiesannoyothermembersofyour
household,butit'sanothermatterentirelyifyouannoyyour
neighbours!Becausethesetwoacousticproblemsare
somewhatrelated,improvingonewilloftenimprovetheother.To
reducesoundleakage,itisimportanttorealisehowithappens.
Broadlyspeaking,therearetwomechanismsinvolvedinsound
leakage.Thefirstisairbornesoundwavessimplytravelling
betweentwolocations.Thesecondisstructurebornevibration
carriedbetweenlocations,whichisthemainproblemaffecting
adjoiningroomsorhouses.
We'lllookatreducingairborneproblemsfirst.Themostobvious
problemareasaredoorframesandwindows.Ensureagood
sealarounddoorsbyusingarubberedgeddraftexcluder.It'sa
littleawkwardtosealthebottomofadoor,butifyoucantolerate
asmallstripofwoodfixedtotheflooracrossthedoorthreshold,
youcansealtoit.Dedicateddoorbasesealshavingacentral
rubberstriparealsoavailable.Blockupanyoldlockholesand
soforthifaircangetthroughitthensoundcangetthroughit!
Thereis,ofcourse,acaveathere.Atrulysoundproofroomwill
beairtight,whichmeansitwon'tbeaniceplacetoworkforany
amountoftime!Thesolutionistoventilatetheroomviaaroute
thatwillnotcauseacousticleakageproblems.Inlargerfacilities,
airconditioningwithsoundreducingbafflesisused.With
windows,ensuretheframesandopeningsectionsarewell
sealedand,ifthewindowisnotdoubleglazed,secondary
glazingwillhelpgreatly.Anymethodyouuseforthisshouldbe
easilyremovableforcleaningand,moreimportantly,forsafety.
Figure5.Floatingsubfloorconstruction.
Figure6.Anisolatedskeletonroom
construction.
Windowscanbeanimportantemergencyexit.
Leakagethroughfloorsandceilingsisamajorproblem.Asmentionedpreviously,doubletackingthe
ceilingwillhelp,butit'softenimpractical.Thebestsolutionistoliftthefloorboardsintheroomabove,and
fillthevoidwithfibreglassinsulationorpreferablyRockwool.Floorsmustbesealed,because,ifthefloor
usesconventionalboards,allofthegapswillleakairandthereforesound.Onceagain,practicalityoften
limitswhatispossible.Thebestsolutionistolayanadditionalsealedskinovertheexistingfloor.
Hardwoodflooringwithitsfoamunderlayisagreatwayofachievingthis,butbearinmindthatyoumay
needtocoveralargepartofthefloorwithcarpettoreducehardsurfacereflections.Cheapersolutionscould
usechipboard,MDForplywoodsheeting.Whatevermethodyouuse,remembertosealallthejointswell,
particularlyaroundtheroomperimeter.Inordertoallowforexpansionandcontractionofthewood,I
normallyusesiliconesealantforthis.
TacklingStructureborneVibrations
Structureborneproblemsarethemostdifficulttoovercome.Aparticularchallengeispresentedbyspeakers
mountedonanadjoiningwall.Iftheyarecoupledtotheirmounts,asIsuggestedearlier,energywillbe
transferredtothewallveryefficiently.
Themostobviouswaytoavoidthissortofproblemisbychoosinganisolatedorinternalwallifpossible.If
yourroomlayoutdoesnotallowthis,youwillhavetocompromiseyourmountingarrangementsandallow
thes
peakersadegreeofmovement.Thismaybeachievedbyusingusing
Neoprenerubberstripsunderneaththespeakersorbystandingthemon
adensefoampad.Abetter,althoughmorecomplicatedsolution,isto
mountthespeakersinahighmasssleevewhichisitselfisolatedusing
foamorrubber,asshowninFigure4.Addingmassinthiswayreduces
themagnitudeoftheboxmovementbymakingtheeffectiveboxmass
highinrelationshiptothemovingdriverinertia.
Anothermajorproblemareaistransmissionviathefloorandceiling.The
soundwavesfromthemonitorsexcitethesesurfacesandcausethemin
turntoradiateintothebuilding.Theonlypracticalsolutionfortheceiling
is,onceagain,doubletacking.Thefloormaybeimprovedbymakingasubfloorwhichisisolatedfromthe
mainfloorbyNeoprenestrips,asshowninFigure5.Ifasubfloorisused,thoughtmustbegiventodoor
thresholds.Theraisedheightofthefloorwillrequiredoorstobeshortenedandastepmayberequired.This
constructionmethodisattheheartofmydedicatedstudiodesignsandwillbediscussednext.
BuildingAStudioFromTheGroundUp
Manysmallstudioswillbebuiltintogaragesandoutbuildings.Thissituationallowsyoutobuildadedicated
sealedandisolatedshellwithintheexistingbuilding.Theworkinvolvediswellwithinthecapabilitiesofthe
averageDIYenthusiastandneednotbetooexpensive.Figure6showsthebasicconcept.Startbysticking
10
mmthickNeoprenestriptotheundersideofthefloorframing.Next,
installtheuprightswithplasterboardontheoutsidesurfacesifpossible.
Eachframeisfixedtotheadjacentframebytheuseof'noggins'and
cornerplates,justasinanydrywallconstruction.Sixinchjoistmaterial
shouldbeadequateforallbutthelargestceilingspans.
Whentheframeworkiscomplete,youwillhaveastrongskeletonofa
completelyisolatedroom.Ifyouneedotherisolatedareas,adrumbooth
forexample,justconstructasecondskeleton.Itisveryimportantthatthe
variousskeletonsdonotjoinortouchanywhere.Evenatinyconnection
willdestroytheisolation.Ioncebuiltastudiothiswayandfoundthat
therewasalmostnoisolationbetweenaboothandthemixroom.The
causewasasinglelengthof3x2inchtimberjoiningbothskeletons.
ThebuilderIemployeddidnotunderstandtheisolationconceptand
joinedtheframesatacorner.Thejoinwasthencoveredupunderthe
plasterboardwallskinandrequiredmajordismantlingtocorrect!
Whenbuildingtheskeletons,arrangefortwoadjoiningwallsandthe
ceilingtobedeliberatelyoutofsquaretoreducestandingwaves.
Generally,themoreoutofsquarethebetter,butthiswillinevitably
reducethefinalroomsize,soithastobeacompromise.Inormallyaimforaslopeofaround1520:1.The
ceilingnormallylooksbestifitslantsdowntowardsthemonitors.Thenextstepisto'firstfix'allelectrics
(includingphonelines,lightingandpowercables)inotherwords,runincablesandfitsocketboxes,but
donotinstallsocketsandswitches.Youshouldalsonotoverlookplumbingand,ofcourse,ventilationthe
designwillbealmostairtightuponcompletion.
Afterthefirstfixiscomplete,thefloormaybefitted.Placepolythenesheetinglooselyoverthejoiststoavoid
dampproblemsandthenfillthefloorvoidwithfibreglassinsulation.Next,laythefloorboards.Itisbestto

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ofthePublishers.GreatcarehasbeentakentoensureaccuracyinthepreparationofthisarticlebutneitherSoundOnSoundLimitednorthepublisherscanbeheldresponsibleforitscontents.
Theviewsexpressedarethoseofthecontributorsandnotnecessarilythoseofthepublishers.
Websitedesigned&maintainedbyPBAssociates|SOS|RelativeMedia
Figure7.Adoublewindowconstruction
forboundariesbetweendifferentroom
skeletons.
usededicatedflooringchipboardwithatongueandgroove.Usesealantonthejoints.Fittingtheflooratthis
stagewillmakeitmucheasiertoworkwithintheskeleton.
Thevoidbehindtheskeletonwallsshouldbelooselyfilledwithfibreglassinsulation.Again,ifyourbuilding
isoutside,aswithagarage,youmayneedtocovertheframeworkwithpolythenetoguardagainstdamp,
beforefittingtheinsulation.Next,thewallsmaybecladinplasterboard.Theplasterboardshouldbedouble
tac
kedwiththetwoskinsoffsetbyhalfasheetsothatthejoinsarenot
coincident.Alljointsshouldbesealedandtaped.Alsothejointbetween
thefloorandwallsshouldbesealed.Whenthewallsarecomplete,the
ceilingmaybefitted.Againdoubletack.Makesurethatthejoinbetween
thetopofthewallsandceilingissealed.
Doorwaysandwindowsneedparticularattention.Thinkofdoorwaysas
airlocks.Thedoorframeontheskeletonsidemustnotcontactthemain
buildingstructureortheisolationwillbecompromised.Doorsand
windowsbetweendifferentskeletonsmustbedoubleinotherwords,
oneoneachskeleton.Theframescanbeisolatedbyanairgapand/ora
smallstripofNeopreneseeFigure7.Thegapmaybedisguisedwith
carpetandwallcoverings.Whenfittingwindows,itisagoodideato
anglethemtowardsthefloororceilingslightly.Thisreducesdirectsound
reflectionsandhelpsreducestandingwaves.
Oncecompleted,theroomshouldbeacousticallytreatedasdiscussedabove.InnewroomsIfindit
beneficialtousealternatinghardandsoftareasaroundoneplasterboardsheetinwidthonopposingwalls.
Thehardareasareformedbytheplasterboard,whichmaysimplybewallpapered.Thesoftareascanbe
acoustictiles,clothorcurtaining.IalsoliketouseasuspendedceilingwithRockwooltilesifheightallows.
Thishelpskilloffhighfrequencystandingwaves.
Althoughthesystemdescribedabovemaysoundcomplicatedandlabourintensive,theaveragehomeor
projectstudioshellcanbeconstructedinjustafewweekends.Asalways,rememberthatifyoudonotfeel
confidenttacklinganyofthetaskselectricsinparticularcallontheservicesofaprofessional.Someor
allofthemethodsdescribedaboveshouldproveusefultoanyoneconstructingstudiosatalllevels.They
havebeenwelltriedandtestedbymyselfinroomsaslargeasthirtyfeetbytwenty.
PublishedinSOSMay2003