Venue Acoustic Help

2665 Views 12 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Owen Bartley, Aug 9, 2016

Gregory Place

Discussion Starter · Jul 27, 2016

I have been a Dj for a while now, and over the years have gradually upgraded my system to now be limited by the rooms I play in. Over the last year I have settled at one location and virtually installed my system in the club. I now run sound for live bands and want to continue my learning but I find myself in a room that to my understanding so far has a lot of reverb. The audio sounds great but i'm sure it could be better. My problem is with the Bands, I am trying to lower the total volume of the room and allow for Fx to be added in. I have a vocal reverb on but no matter how high I turn it up I really makes no change. Originally I thought it was me, Untrained ear, But now I believe it is because of the excessive reverb in the room. I want to create a great sounding room with a comfortable volume that will make for a better experience for everyone.

I have all the needed test equipment for Room Eq. I have ran a few test at home with a few panels but have yet to get a good grasp on the program. I also have studied what I could on Acoustics and how to Build Panels, Bass Traps, and Diffusers.

Looking for help on where to start. To my understanding installing acoustics will lower the over all Db reading as well as clear up the sound in the room allowing me more control over the Fx on all the vocals and Insturments. Room is Approx 100ft x 50ft x 15ft. Current audio setup is 4 Qsc K12 as PA 2 QSC K12 as monitors all flown at front of stage. Behringer X32 with S16 digital Snake on stage.

My initial plan consists of : There are three large windows that for now I will cover with producers choice curtains, make 12 panels with 3" Roxul and hang around the top of the walls were they meet the ceiling due to they will really not be noticed and plenty of space in that area. Next would be 2" 705 panels scattered in the ceiling. There is a dropped ceiling kinda setup with beams running trough but no tiles or anything. The upper area is brown so I feel all the panels will blend in and not really be noticed if covered in a brown fabric.

This is all based on research from Youtube and forums. Would appreciate any info you have to offer.

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tonyvdb

· #2 · Jul 28, 2016

Ok, EQ can only fix so much in a large space. One of the biggest chalanges is acoustics and a club like yours will be tough to tame.
One big thing to look at is using as much in ear monitors as you can on stage. The less sound you have to fight from reflecting off the stage the better.
Do you have any acoustic paneling on any of the walls or ceiling in the space? They can be made fairly easy with just some 2x4s and insulation coverd in cloth.

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Gregory Place

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 28, 2016

Yes I agree IEM would help and will hopefully happen in the near future. But do to it always being a different band this will be a project in itself. The behringer will make it possible for each person to adjust their own mix, but teaching them to bring headphones and training them to use them as well as the older guys that will want nothing to do with them.

I have researched Acoustics and have a decent understanding of Panels, Bass traps and diffusers. However most of the info is for Small rooms.

I have Room Eq wizard and all the test equipment and will do a test at the venue this weekend before it opens. I have been testing at my house to get a feel for it this week.

Guess my fist question, may not be answerable unit after test, Is where the best place to start on a setup of this size.

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tonyvdb

· #4 · Jul 28, 2016

Get the walls around the back of the stage lined with acoustic panels first.

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Gregory Place

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 28, 2016

That is my plan. I have the material to build panels for the back walls behind band as well as bass traps in the ceiling. Also ordered producers choice blankets to cover the windows opposite the stage that the speakers point toward. Hopefully this will make a notice differce.

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tonyvdb

· #6 · Jul 28, 2016

It's a good start, do you have hard seating or soft padded seats in the close proximity of the stage? Seating with both material on the seat and back of the chair will also help particularly when the room is less than full.

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Gregory Place

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 28, 2016

no seating near front of stage. Room is a 100ft x 50ft rectangle. wood floor, 6 or so large windows. Stage in centered on the 100ft with dance floor in front no seating, 9 comp pool tables on one side, wood table and chairs on other side for dining area and l shaped bar all wood. There is pretty much 0 absorption without people.

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tonyvdb

· #8 · Jul 28, 2016

I bet the acoustics change dramatically when people are in there. Hard to get a sound check done properly when it's empty but you got to live with what you have.

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Gregory Place

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 28, 2016

My biggest problem is volume "db" drums are so loud even with people in there. Drummer gets excited then guitar amps go up, vocals get drowned out. You know the story!!! I'm hope with the right acoustics it will lower the over all db reading and make the mix easier as well as be a more comfortable experience. I know a drum shield could help but have yet to find a dummer that wants to play be hind a shield. I guess a good question would be how much treatment would be needed to lower the overall volume of a room 5000sqft with current db at 105-112. Is this even possible.

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tonyvdb

· #10 · Jul 28, 2016

You need a set of digital drums, so much better to mix and they are so good now you don't need to break the bank anymore to buy them.

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Gregory Place

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 28, 2016

I have one band that has digital drums and yes they are amazing. But not sure even if i bought a set the other bands would want to go there.

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tonyvdb

· #12 · Jul 28, 2016

Reverse phycology is your best friend here, tell them that the entire band will sound way better if they do use them plus I know a number of good drummers who say the digital kits dont feel any different to play than a normal kit it just looks different.

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Owen Bartley

· #13 · Aug 9, 2016

This is an interesting project, Gregory. If you can (if you're allowed?) please take some pics of the before / during / and after, along with some measurements to see how things turn out. I wonder if you could convince a crowd to suffer through a few minutes of measurements one night when the place is full, to get a good baseline.

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