#STUDIO A STUDIO FOR A FILM MUSIC COMPOSER
Andrej Melita is a film composer and musician based in Munich. Since 2000 Andrej has produced music for short form videos and adverts, and from the mid-2000s moved onto major cinema and television productions. Together with Andrej we demonstrate how we optimised his studio with the t.akustik Producer Set S Premium to improve the acoustics.
Prior to installing any treatment Andrej’s studio was too reverberant and unbalanced. It was very difficult, if not impossible, to assess the quality of vocal and instrumental recordings. In addition, the stereo image was affected by too many reflections off the bare surfaces which made mixing decisions, such as panning and judging depth, difficult.
Andrej Melitta
First, Andrej measured the room before installing any treatment using a measurement microphone, the popular and free measurement software Room EQ Wizard (REW) running on a computer, an audio interface and powered speakers. This captured data revealed the acoustic behaviour of the room which could then be compared to the results after treatment was installed.
With the measurements taken, now we can unpack and get started installing the Producer Set S acoustic kit!
This t.akustik package comes with five Highline A1 Silver Spruce absorber modules, eight Manhattan diffusors, twelve Highline CBT1 Silver Spruce Corner bass traps, a glue applicator gun and plenty of t.akustik Contact Glue for securely attaching panels to walls and ceilings.
After some basic assembly of the Manhattan diffusors, Andrej began installation by mounting the Highline CBT1 bass traps onto the vertical and horizontal corners around his mix area, as well as placing the Manhattan diffusors over his mix position, using the Contact Glue included within the kit. In addition to instantly improving the sound, this first stage of treatment gave Andrej’s studio an increasingly professional, attractive look. The clean, square geometry of the diffusors provide a modern aesthetic whilst also effectively scattering unwanted reflections away from the mix position producing a softer and larger overall soundscape.
The next step was to install the wall absorbers, the Highline A1 panels featuring an effective absorption range of 400Hz to 3kHz. Andrej determined the position of the absorbers with the old ‘mirror trick’, a simple and trusted method where you sit at your mix position then (with the help of a friend) place a mirror on the left and right walls at the points you can see the left and right speakers respectively.
This point on your wall defines the reflection point where it is important to install some absorption to mitigate side reflections being returned to you directly and affecting the sound you hear from your speakers. Once the reflection points have been treated any remaining absorption can be distributed on the walls evenly, attached using the included Contact Glue, to further reduce room reverberation and other unwanted reflections.
Now the installation is complete time for a second measurement on REW! The results are easily seen, and more importantly heard – the reverberation time has been more than halved in almost all areas. Very impressive!
In particular decay times in the low-mids between 250Hz and 500Hz have significantly reduced providing a cleaner, more reliable sound. The all-important bass is a lot more controlled, less boomy with more punch. Distracting flutter echoes have been completely eliminated and the high frequencies have been tamed and are now less fatiguing.
The end result is a clear stereo image and a cleaner, easier mix environment which allows Andrej to work more confidently for longer periods.
Success!
The t.akustik Producer Set S Premium at a glance:
- for rooms from 15 to 25 m²
- ideal for home and recording studios, music producers, DJs, gaming and video applications
- gives the room a professional acoustic atmosphere
- Improvement of the reverberation time
- Combination of diffuser scattering and absorption of the reflections
- Damping of early reflections
- Increase in acoustic room quality
