Klarinet Archive - Posting 000454.txt from 1995/06

From: SCOTT MCCHESNEY <scmcchesney@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Down In The Dumps
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 1995 17:47:41 -0400

>Here's my question. Is there anything I can do to improve the acoustics
>in the cellar? It's all poured concrete with a wood ceiling. The sound I
>get is thin. No, wait. The sound is bright. Yes, that's it; it's bright.
>But, in the living room, the sound is as dark as Dan Leeson's moods.

I have never had this problem, because I've either had a well-removed
room to play in, or a finished basement. However, I know of some rather cheap
methods - well, relatively cheap.
I have seen many people who want to do demos for record companies hang
blankets on their walls in the basement. I have also seen egg cartons - you
need a lot, so the cost might not be so low, but glue them to the wall and they
work quite well.
Whatever you do, cover as much of the surface as you can. Carpeting on
the floor will help a lot, and you can carpet the walls as well instead of
blankets of egg cartons, though that can get rather expensive. As someone
already mentioned, BE SURE TO USE CARPET PAD - EVEN ON THE WALLS. You get much
better results that way.
If you don't want to do the entire basement, cordon off a small room
for yourself and do that up - it could turn out to be cheaper than trying to do
the whole thing. If you end up doing a small room, you might want to "do it
right" - a.k.a. do it like your living room; with insulation, wall covering,
the whole nine yards. Again, a bit expensive, but then you have two identical
mediums to use.
Just my suggestions. If you want to go cheap, hand blankets. Make
sure you cover any windows in the basement well - sound tends to leak through
them very easily.

-- Scott