Audio Spectrum question

[anne]

I need to eq out my little recording room. Can anybody recommend a good piece of software or hardware to do this without spending a ton of money? Thanks

[nickbatzdorf]

Just do a search for "free spectrum analyzer." I'm sure you'll find several, and then you only need to record sine sweeps from your mixing position.Generally it's not a good idea to go overboard with EQ, as I'm sure you know.

[gitarrero]

Hi anne,there are free sinus generators. you simply check your room with every frequency and then you know where the problems are in the frequency range - either you judge it by ear (needs experience and good ears!) or you can also use a special microphone for it (sorry that's to hard to explain in English... Anyway, you'll need abviously good speakers (with a wide frequency) as well as a good soundcard, since from there the sinus is coming.I would advice you to rather design the room so the frequency problems disapear then just eq'in around. You can use some simply "home-methodes" like some old mattress (..cover them with a new blanket so you don't need to look at their scratched-up surface..).A fast rule is that the deeper the freuquency the harder it is to controll it. If you want to know more you would need to specify which problems exactly appear (resonance? on which frequency? room sound? flattering echo? etc).these are diffrent problems that need to be diffrently solved.hope that helps a little ... if you don't want to learn all that stuff and concentrate on your music an alternative would be to find somebody who can help you (..you might have a friend who has a little knowledge on acoustics, or the musicshop around the corner has a friendly staff who's willing to help, etc).

[davewalton]

Quote:there are free sinus generators. Ragweed and mold spores are two that come to mind.

[matto]

Quote:Quote:there are free sinus generators. Ragweed and mold spores are two that come to mind. HEY! Don't make fun of my compatriot's English! Although I have to say...myself I'm rather fond of "flattering echo"

[gitarrero]

uuuhhh....oooohm... hmmm... aaaahhhmmmm....well, at least you understood what I meant

[davewalton]

Quote:uuuhhh....oooohm... hmmm... aaaahhhmmmm....well, at least you understood what I meant My wife says (and I freely admit) that the quality of my humor usually hovers between "bad" and "getting worse". But as long as I'm on a roll... cat dander is another sinus generator.

[kouly]

There is a free and very good program to do this called Room EQ Wizard. You will have to register at this web siteto get it. shackmaster@hometheatershack.com It is not for faint of heart. It is a serious tool. You will need a SPL meter.This program is pretty trick. When you read up on the web site you will see that if you own certain multi band hardware equalizers the program will even automatically set your equalizers to compensate for your room. There is a dedicated forumfor the program and some very bright people there to help with interpeting the charts and frequency waterfalls that it generates.

[andreh]

Anne-How much could you justify spending? Maybe we can recommend some acoustical approaches that would help the problem in addition to the analysis/EQ method.Andre

[mazz]

Most EQ has the potential of adding unwanted phase shift and other types of anomalies that may make your problems worse.I like where Andre is heading as far as using some acoustical treatment. If, like me, your partner/spouse put the kybosh on gluing foam to the walls (why in the world is this a problem honey?) there are things such as bookshelves, couches, wall hangings, throw rugs, etc. that can be used. While not as good as real acoustic treatments, they can cut down resonances and echos.There's a lot of good information out there on room treatments but a lot of it can be confusing and contradictory. Real Traps, Auralex, Primacoustic all have info on thelr websites and all sell everything from single panels or foam pieces up to kits with pictures of where to hang/glue the stuff.Sorry to add a layer of complexity to the issue but this is really some of the stuff that can make or break the sound of your recordings/mixes.Good luck,John