Skol303

^ Great input in the posts above, thanks guys!

I used Dritherm panels at 100mm thickness for convenience: the reason being that the two panels shown in the example above are both 200mm thick. Note that you want to use low density fibre for panels at this thickness (200mm or deeper) and higher density fibre for thinner panels around 4"/100mm (density of 48kg/m3 is what commercial companies mostly use for 100mm panels). And example product would be Knauf RS60, which is annoyingly difficult to buy in small batches! This obviously depends on the size of traps you are building. In this instance I only needed to build 4 traps in total, so had plenty of fibre to spare. As an example you could get 4 panels measuring 1200 x 445 x 200mm from a standard pack of Dritherm 37 (which contains 8 slabs at 100mm thickness). I tend to cut the slabs to the same dimensions as the panel itself. For larger/deeper traps (e.g. front/rear wall soffit style bass traps), I'd recommend cutting the fibre into smaller sections and stacking it layer upon layer horizontally, rather than having the fibre sheets standing vertically. This will help to prevent the lower density fibre from sagging. Less echo and a slight 'tightening' in the bass response from my speakers. More level/volume of bass notes that I was previously struggling to hear due to room modes (phase cancellations caused by boundary reflections). Perhaps also better stereo field - I know that's certainly true from measuring, but I think it is also perceptible by ear. Hard to say as it's obviously not possible to switch the acoustic panels "on/off" and hear an immediate comparison. Hence measurements, if possible, are always recommended if you want to really test the outcome. Two simple methods you can try are: The clap test. Clap your hands and listen to the echo. Does it 'ring out', or does the sound tail off more quickly? Does it sound as though the clap is coming from several places at once, or does it sound more localised at your hands? You'd expect to hear the latter in both cases when acoustic treatment is applied. Sing a low note. The lowest you can manage; your best Barry White impression. Same principle as above... but specifically, listen to how quickly the note tails off once you stop singing it. If you can still hear it ringing for what seems like a few seconds, you probably need more bass traps. The gist of this is that what really matters are the decay times, rather than the frequency response of your room per se. People get hung up on wanting a flat frequency response, but what's more important for acoustic clarity are even decay times across the frequency range, from highs to lows. Yes, perfectly suitable for tracking rooms. Things to bear in mind: Fibre-filled panels are broadband absorbers, meaning they reduce sound energy across the frequency range. And the deeper/thicker the panels, the more low frequency energy they will absorb. This also means that if you install too many thin panels (and by that I mean 2-4" thick), you'll end up disproportionately affecting the mid and high frequencies: they'll be reduced, but the lower frequencies will remain largely unaffected. This can result in the opposite of what you're aiming to achieve - i.e. a room with too much low frequency energy in comparison to mid and high frequencies, resulting in 'boominess'. So when building bass traps, go large and go deep Like, 24" deep if space allows. Don't 'over-do it' in a tracking room: you want to keep at least some echo, otherwise your recordings may sound a little dead. But this is all dependent on the size of your room... any space less that 1500 sq ft in volume is going to have problems, and that applies to pretty much every domestic room, unless you happen to be The Windsors. Start with some panels and build up incrementally, listening (and ideally testing/measuring) after each batch is installed. Blankets are fine for helping to reduce high frequencies, but again, don't over-do it. The classic 'home studio' with carpets on the walls (and perhaps even egg boxes!) results in a space that will sound boxy and boomy. But sure, some heavy curtains and/or rugs covering bare walls prone to echo is generally a good idea.

Short answer: yes. I don’t have any experience with the CR4s myself, but based on some brief Googling I think you’ll struggle to fine anything better at that price. The closest competitor seems to be the KRK Rokit RP4 at double the money. Pros: Mackie are certainly a reputable company and the CR4s get positive reviews (4.5/5 on Thomann from 130+ users). I used to own a pair of Mackie MR8 MkII monitors that were great. The CR4 seem cheap, cheerful and convenient. They’ll certainly let you and Mrs tom1946 enjoy your music... see how I’m being optimistic about the enjoyment bit! Cons: You won’t get a very satisfying low end out of the CR4s - they’re quoted down to 70Hz - but you can compensate for that using headphones. And you definitely won’t be getting “Studio-quality design, sound and performance” for £100, as quoted in the marketing blurb... but you know that, for sure. In all, I think they’ll be fine for what you need. Buy ‘em.

You're very welcome and rest assured you're in good company here as nearly all of us are enthusiastic amateurs, rather than audio professionals. So all opinions and insights are perfectly valid. Personally speaking I'm very much a hobbyist, but with a strong inner nerd that enjoys scratching away at the detail

Off topic, but Chernobyl isn't anywhere near as dangerous as people think these days. You're more likely to get eaten by a bear than suffer radiation poisoning I know someone who lives in Ukraine and has a permit to enter the exclusion zone (he's an ecologist). I have an open invitation to visit and be shown around, should I ever be in the neighbourhood (!), which I would actually love to do sometime. But anyway. As you were.

Spot on. Your monitors are only ever as good as the acoustics of the room. And so there’s no point spending significant money on monitors without spending at least the same amount on acoustic treatment. It’s also worth noting that when manufacturer’s quote a ‘flat’ frequency response, they are most lying. Well, sort of… in that they’re usually quoting a flat response as measured in an anechoic chamber or other unnatural environment. I’ve seen measurements of fairly typical mid-price monitors in domestic rooms and the frequency response is rarely flat, especially in the low end. None of which is especially relevant to tom1946... because as I understand it, he just wants to have some fun making music and doesn't need to invest any time/money beyond that. In which case, pretty much any 'half decent' set of speakers will do the job if accompanied by a good pair of headphones - and that would be my recommendation in this case. With practice, you can get your mixes 90% of the way there with even the most basic set up (including just headphones). And it's always the final 10% or 5% that soaks up your budget and leads to significant diminishing returns. As 51m0n said in another post, it's a slippery slope! PS: for reference, here's a typical frequency response measured in an untreated domestic room. In fact, this one is far from the worst I've seen. Note the big frequency dip of approx -20db between 80-100Hz. Listening on monitors, most kick drums would sink without a trace into that dip and you'd be tempted to crank up the EQ to try and compensate - which would cause the same frequencies to boom when played elsewhere. Every domestic-sized room will feature this same dip somewhere in the low end between 60-150Hz or thereabouts (it's caused by phase cancellation, due to the boundaries of the room). Just something to bear in mind next time you're tempted to believe that your monitors are anywhere near 'flat'.

Good point! I hadn't considered that. ...and this is always very true

^ Absolutely correct. The main benefit of active monitors is convenience. If you already have a suitable amplifier then passive monitors are perfectly fine. In fact, a pair of hi-fi speakers is also fine if you have some available and want to save some money (as was my own set up for a few years). Bear in mind that your monitors will only be as good as the acoustics of the room you're using them in. If you're not ready to install acoustic treatment - and I imagine at this stage you're not - a good pair of headphones may in fact be a better option, especially if your room is small and/or square-shaped. If you have a budget in mind, let us know and we can make some suggestions.

Waaay too modern for where we're heading! You need to be aiming for a late 18th Century horse carriage and coarse britches #Mogmentum (Sorry - sailing close to the winds of politics here. I will flagellate myself profusely in recompense).

There you go, feeding my GAS again! Thanks mate

Wow...! Now that's how to do it. Looks amazing. Even the location itself. Have bookmarked for reading through that thread after work... PS: I notice they're using RPG BAD panels... I've just ordered a very small batch of those. For my garage. And not my multi-million dollar purpose-built, carbon-neutral studio. But heh, other than that point of difference, I'm right with them

^ Spot on. Especially this bit... ...and this bit: If you have a partner, just remember to delete your browser history after visiting the 'High End' section of Gearslutz, otherwise you'll have a lot of explaining to do

Or Guitar Interactive Magazine Premium if you have more 'specialist' tastes

I think some couriers won't accept liability unless the instrument is in a hard case. If so your options are either: Buy cheap and/or secondhand hard case and include it in the sale cost. Find a courier that will offer insurance without a hard case and ask your local guitar shop to kindly supply you with a cardboard shipping box and any included packaging material (I've done this myself at Dawsons in central Manchester and they were very obliging - got a sturdy Fender bass box with all the trimmings, including a free cable). You definitely don't want to be sending it in a gig bag within a standard cardboard box. Unless you're a masochist.

The slackened strings thing comes from advice I picked up at Jack's Instrument Services in Manchester: "Put the guitar in neutral — slacken the strings. When tuned up your guitar holds a hell of a lot of pressure — think of it as being charged. If someone dropped your guitar strung up to pitch there's much higher risk of a headstock break!"

Yep, and that's pretty much the principle behind the classic Pultec EQ (which both attenuates and boosts, so you can carve out the desired low end very nicely). PS: as a general principle, when applying a HPF to bass guitar, you want to at least eradicate everything below the lowest note, because it's just going to be useless rumble. So for a five string that would be applying the HPF at 31Hz and for a four string 41Hz. And I'd recommend a steep reduction of -24db/octave. Simplest method is to grab the HPF frequency dial (or computer mouse), close your eyes and start upping the cut-off frequency until you hear it have a noticeable effect on the sound, then dial it back a bit. That then gives you a good starting point for fine tuning.

Slacken the strings to reduce tension on the neck. Package it sufficient to withstand someone standing on it. Send fully insured via UPS (as used by all of our overseas shipping companies at work). Interparcel offer good deals. There are horror stories associated with every courier company, but lots more success stories that you never get to hear about (Royal Mail's own failure/horror rate is quoted as being 0.01%). Life's too short for much fretting beyond that

Your options boil down to: Finding a friend who knows someone capable of granting access to such a site... hence posting on Basschat is a good idea. Finding a suitable location and contacting the site owner/manager direct to discuss permission (liability insurance will be a concern and the management company will almost certainly charge you a fee to cover this as a bare minimum, if they see it worth their while at all). Contacting a film location agency that will be able to recommend locations and make all of the necessary arrangements (for a fee, of course). When I worked in the music press, most unsigned bands would simply blag it by - ahem - 'arranging impromptu access' to such sites and recording the film guerilla-style. Plenty of such locations at the time in the North West. This approach isn't advisable, of course, as you could end up with the police involved or worse still, suffering an accident if the site is unsafe. So if you want to do things properly, you'll need to contact either the site owners direct or via a location agency and cough up some money. Personally, I'd go down the agency route as you may otherwise find yourself chasing locations/ site managers for some time before you strike it lucky. All depending on your budget, of course. If you're skint, it's time for balaclavas and the P u s s y Riot approach EDIT: yes, I'm having to circumvent the website swearword filter to write 'p u s s y', like some kind of deranged Daily Mail comments section contributor.

Hell yes! I loved ReBirth. It's partly why I ended up using Propellerhead Reason as my DAW of choice. I squeezed just about everything I could out of ReBirth at the time. That and some old tracker software; I think it might have even been called 'SoundTracker' (can't remember). Great fun and a good exercise in making the most of limited tools.

As I said earlier... great thread; lots of personal recommendations for people's own preferred software and set ups (all valid and worth noting); and yet my recommendation remains the same: Spend time learning Garageband Only then can you determine whether Garageband meets your needs And if not, then explore other options As as both 51m0n and BigRedX have pointed out, spend your money wisely - and frugally! It's very easy to blow lots of cash very quickly on audio gear and then discover that you could have made much better choices had you been better informed. So don't spend any big bucks until you've got at least a year of music-making under your belt, by which time you'll begin you start fathoming out what you need. In the meantime, keep it simple and try to ignore the shiny stuff!

Perfect! That's great to know. Truetone 1Spot CS7 and a daisy chain cable now incoming... Thank again folks. EDIT to say I've just discovered the majority of my pedals draw less than 5mA (the most being a Behringer BSY600 at 30mA), so I could potentially run loads of pedals without the Truetone PSU even breaking a sweat. That's not going to help my pedal GAS. It's really not.

I know that's true for a regulated PSU, but for unregulated power supplies I *think* the Voltage is capable of varying depending on the current drawn - so for instance if you connect a pedal that requires, say, 80mA to a 9V/500mA unregulated PSU, the Voltage would increase. But then I know very little about electronics and may have that completely wrong I'm going to opt for a regulated PSU anyway, so I suppose it's moot point. That's useful to know. I'm going to be mostly using the power supply for studio work - in fact, for running pedals for the purpose of reamping, more than as a traditional live gig pedalboard. So it's no problem for me to opt for the slightly bulkier CS-7 and that extra output would be useful From what you're saying, I'm guessing I could therefore daisy-chain several pedals off the CS-7's higher current outputs (500mA) - providing that the total current drawn doesn't exceed the maximum for the PSU (in this case 1900mA)? Think I'm starting to get my head around this now. Thanks guys!

^ This. A reasonable pair of headphones will fair much better than a cheap set of monitors at double the price. A set of Sennheiser HD280 is a great place to start (around £80). But to be honest pretty much any set of headphones will do the job to begin with. I started out on a pair of £15 no-brand cans (think I still have them somewhere!) and still do many of my rough mixes on Apple earbuds.

Thanks G. Nice video too...albeit GAS inducing! Just to clarify the above: mA aren't an issue providing the PSU has a regulated power supply - otherwise the Voltage will vary and may rise above what the pedal is designed for (e.g. it may increase from 9V to say 12V or more if running a 80mA pedal from a 500mA unregulated PSU). Do I have that correct?

Thanks for all the input guys. Having shopped around I'm now thinking of pulling the trigger on a Truetone 1 Spot CS7, which has the following outputs: 1 x 18V 100mA 4 x 9V/12V 200mA 2 x 9V 500mA This will cater for all my current needs and also accommodate any juicier pedals I may acquire in future (like Moogfoogers, which I've been eyeying for sometime... and gratuitously displayed by xgsjx above!). Quick question: the Truetone 1 Spot is listed as having a regulated power output, so am I right in assuming that I can plug any 9V pedals into either the 200mA or the 500mA sockets without risk of damaging the pedals?