At what stage do you open FuzzMeasure in a studio design consultation?

It depends on the project. In some instances I’m designing places from the ground up, in which case I have a lot more control over variables and can make things somewhat predictable. In other instances when I’m dealing with the confines of an existing space, the first thing I would do is run a test. You don’t always have to, because sometimes the acoustic issues with an existing space can be evident without testing. However the benefit of testing is not always just diagnosing the problem but also explaining to a client why certain measures need to be taken.

When a client isn’t in a space working already it’s not uncommon for them to question the need for or cost of acoustic treatment. Granted, with trial and error anyone can make great records anywhere—people have made great mixes in untreated bedrooms and basements. But in any sort of professional working environment where time is a factor—especially in commercial facilities where you have different engineers, producers and clients coming in and out—you need treatment. Most engineers have at some point worked in rooms where the client is saying, “You need to turn the bass up (or down)” and you’re like, “No, trust me, it’s really where it’s supposed to be, listen to it in the car.” You don’t want to have that conversation in a professional environment. You want what the clients hear in your control room to be accurate.

Which graphs do you tend to show a client?

Usually I rely on the Frequency Response and the Waterfall plot. The Frequency Response is good because you can overlap the results. I’ll take measurements throughout the room. Being able to overlap them allows you to quickly and easily compare peaks and nulls from different locations, and aids in determining what is causing the problems and what type of treatment should go on which surfaces.

The Waterfall plot is probably the most useful for me as it illustrates both frequency response and reverberation time. It generally has the most visual impact with a client, even though it’s also sometimes the most difficult for some clients to understand. On occasion when I’m explaining results and start to notice the persons eyes glazing over I have to break it down like: “This line up here should look much closer to flat and you should only see red or orange for a room this size, so this blue stuff down here is really bad.”

How did you get into this?

I got into it accidentally. I’m an audio engineer by trade and I owned a studio in Louisville, Kentucky from 2001 until I moved to LA in 2011. I had performed some of the build-out and constructed the acoustic treatments for the two different buildings that my studio was located in during that time span, and shortly before I moved I had designed and helped build another home studio for another guy in Louisville.

When I moved here [to LA], I was engineering a couple of records but I didn’t have much planned beyond that. My buddy was a general contractor and he got asked to build a home studio but he didn’t have any experience with that. So he asked me if I would want to help, and I ended up running the entire job…

Then in typical LA fashion, one night in a bar someone asks, “So what do you do” and I’m like, “Well, right now I’m building a recording studio…” The abridged version of the rest of the story is that this person referred me to a friend of theirs, whose studio I also ended up designing and building. Then things just snowballed purely from word of mouth, and the next thing I know I’m getting calls from Atlantic Records and Vice and making significantly more money in studio construction than I ever did or could producing punk and hardcore records.

You mentioned you do treatments and sound proofing?

I do everything from entire ground-up design/builds to small treatment installations. I recently got my G.C. (General Contracting) license. Noise reduction construction for any application—music related or otherwise—is one of the things that I specialize in.

Most construction is not done with isolation in mind. There are a lot of standard construction practices and tolerances that are perfectly acceptable for general residential and commercial buildings, but are entirely unsuitable for studios or any other facility where extreme sound isolation is desired or required. In my experience, people who don’t specialize and have extensive experience in soundproofing construction aren’t going to do a very good job at it.

I routinely see some pretty ridiculous things in studios where there are inadequate sound isolation issues that range from bizarre crackpot methods and materials—where its clear that the contractor didn’t even google “soundproofing”—to other instances where the proper materials are used, but in ways that severely impair their effectiveness. For instance, using the exceptionally expensive QuietRock and having it chock full of recessed lighting, outlet, switch, mic panel and HVAC holes. In general if you ever hear the words Soundboard or Homasote come out of someone’s mouth then don’t hire that person.

Similar to Acoustic Treatment, there are a variety of materials and methods that do work. The specific type and degree of soundproofing construction I recommend or perform for each project will vary depending on expectations, budget and the conditions or limitations of an existing structure.

Does FuzzMeasure help in a soundproofing test environment?

Yes, it could definitely be used for this in the same fashion as materials and wall assemblies are tested for STC ratings (though STC ratings are not especially helpful in and of themselves since they basically represent an average of transmission loss and only extend down to 125Hz.) Outside of a lab, the more practical use would be to illustrate the effect of soundproofing construction by taking measurements from outside of the room before and after they have been implemented.