Glad you got the book in hand!! (Ahem, I still don't have my signed copy of the 2nd edition... ;) )

Just as a side note... Everyone prolly knows that Rod did the lion's share of the design work/rework on my studio design, and having his book in front of me made it SO much more enjoyable to get through the build!!

There's just not anything that he's overlooked, or is vague about. It's not done for you, but when you do the work yourself, you'll find his book invaluable.

"...having his book in front of me made it SO much more enjoyable to get through the build!!"

Absolutely agreed, Max. Rod explains it so well, and most importantly, he takes the "guess-work" out of the process...and guess-work almost always results in bad work, especially when it comes to acoustics - which relies on math and science as its core foundation.

Before I dove into this project 3 months ago, I knew a little bit about acoustics - as a recording and mix engineer - picking up bits and pieces of info over the years.
But this book puts everything you need to know right in front of you. Knowing how particular rooms react to certain frequencies and frequency ranges, which treatment is best, how to best fabricate it, and how to best put it all together and apply the treatment, is crucial in building or treating your studio.

I'll say it again... if anyone is looking at building, re-building, or improving an existing recording/mixing space, this book is a MUST-HAVE!

LOL... please learn from MY mistakes...and trust me, I made a S h i t - load of them.

I found out - often the hard way - that there's so much BS on the web regarding acoustics, written by people who are completely clueless as to what they are doing. Some of this comes from people who are just trying to show off - mostly in forums - and some of this info comes from sources who are only trying to get you to buy their products - and quite a few of these companies will make grand claims as to why their products are the "end all-be all" for your situation.

The other percentage of bad info comes from music retail sales personnel, who know absolutely nothing about acoustics, and who are either simply regurgitating info that they've picked up, or who are faking it... in order to get you to buy 5 cases of Auralex (because they have five cases too many in their inventory).

And by the way, I've actually been told by a music retail salesman that Auralex 1" is "absolutely the best way to trap your low end frequencies". o_O Uh...Ya.

Following the suggestions of these all-too-frequently inaccurate sources is not only a huge waste of time, (and money!) but this false advice can also ultimately end up being detrimental to your project in the long run.

There are some very good articles out there, but unfortunately, you really have to dig for them - as opposed to the bad info, which is unfortunately, very easy to find.
Sadly, the "bad" definitely outweighs the "good" by a ton.

With this book, you no longer have to worry about any of this. The information and how Rod explains it is pure gold.

Everything you need to know is right there at your fingertips. You just need to take the time to learn it. ;)

FWIW

d/

Well said.

So well said that I stickied it :)

If Rod wasn't so humble he would have done it his self.

I'm up to Chapter 2. I'm finding out how very little I know about acoustics... but that's okay, because I know that with Rod's book, I now have a valuable resource - an accurate resource - from which to learn (and in some cases, re-learn correctly that which turned out to be myth).

Currently, I'm studying specifics about room modes, dimensions and nodes.

I feel it's time to get into an accurate, professionally respected analysis/measurement tool.

I would really appreciate any suggestions as to the best analyzer method I can get, hopefully without breaking the bank. Are the apps I see on my ipad apps store any good?
Or, is the iPad itself simply not an accurate enough analysis tool to begin with, regardless of the app being used?

I have 2 AKG 414 EB's, as well as a U87 and a U89i. Can I use any of these - in omni or cardioid mono - as an accurate way of capturing the room's frequency response?
Or do I need to bite the bullet and get a mic specifically designed for analysis, like an Earthworks?

Has anyone had any experience with Room EQ Wizard?

Thanks :)

d./

Yup... REW is the deal. (It's accurate and it's free!)

I would encourage using a decent "calibration" mic such as the economical Behringer ECM 8000 SDC, instead of a colored/noisy mic like an LDC/dynamic or ribbon.

+ 1 on all that. May I add easy to setup and use.

If you have a radioshack db meter around you can use that too. It's what they issue in the example in the instructions tutorial, or used to anyway. The calibration file for it is either built in, or available on the site. My room modes in my old bedroom tested w in .2hz of the calculations, using the RS meter and an maudio interface Close enough for rock and roll in a bedroom. Dunno if the new edition of the book comes w the calculator spreadsheets but they are super handy.

At this early stage of the game...does running off in another direction help you or hurt you is what I am thinking.

I have seen people read a few lines of a few books and the "omg...I have a three leaf" conversation starts.
And room modes is an on going battle simply due to not spending the time with the current direction and getting the WHOLE bite not just a few bites.

Know what I am saying?

I would finish Rods book and finish Master handbook of Acoustics before I married into an idea that I still, personally, know so little about and might either find it difficult to answer a question based on high thinking and low information threshold or may avoid it all together as I have been known to do :)

We are in two different domains, three or seven to be technical, but the construction of... based on the acoustical principles of... can overwhelm or at least blind side people as they move forward learning two different things at once(acoustics proper and the construction thereof)....often at a high rate of speed.

So that is my way of saying...before you invest in more gear, find out if you need that gear. And that comes from education not speculation.

The only reason I was thinking about an analysis tool is because Rod does in fact mention in his book how valuable of a tool they can be IF they are used correctly.

I was considering using some type of measurement tool to see what it is that I've actually accomplished thus far.

That being said, leave it to you, Space, to talk me down off the ledge and provide valuable advice. ;)