SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Housing 12 different drum kits in one room is a loud endeavor, which is why Yamaha Corporation snared Auralex Acoustics (AES Booth 301), the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions, to assist with its Drum Showroom’s acoustical issues.
The space, located in the Yamaha Artist Services facility includes its Artist Relations Drum and Snare Showrooms along with a world-class recording studio, used for drums and guitars. Reserved for the Yamaha’s elite artists, and only available via appointment, the audio quality of the studio as well as the showroom needed to be top-notch in order to showcase the range in sounds of the drum kits on display, in addition to being used as an in-house R&D facility for new and upgraded drum and guitar products.
“Our goal with the Auralex acoustical treatments was to create a more deadened sound to the room,� says Ken Dapron, Director of Yamaha Artist Services. “Auralex’s ProPanels not only helped with the isolation issues we were experiencing, but it tuned the room perfectly, enabling us to achieve a more natural drum tone.�
Auralex acoustically analyzed the room and the main acoustical renovation involved was absorption and diffusion while also increasing the spaces’ isolation properties. In the main drum showroom, which contains several drum kits of varying models, sizes and configurations, Yamaha installed 12 Elite CT45 ProPanels, three on each corner of the space and 72 ELiTE B24 ProPanels tactically scattered throughout the rooms’ four walls.
The Snare Drum Room includes four T-Fuser diffusors which were installed on the ceiling, and two boxes of 96 AudioTile Shockwave (48 right concave, 48 left concave, 48 right convex and 48 left convex) that were strategically arranged throughout the room’s walls as well as placed in the center of the ceiling.
The recording studio was outfitted with 24 of Auralex’s ELiTE B22 ProPanels, which were installed on the walls, 3 ELiTE c24 ProPanels on three of the four walls, 3 ELiTE CT45 ProPanels in each corner of the room minus the corner closest to the door, and 6 SpaceArray Diffusors located on both the ceiling and walls of the space.
Yamaha requested that all ProPanels be obsidian in color in order to match the existing décor. For additional low frequency control, Auralex also recommended that the B24 and C24 ProPanels be mounted with 2’x4’s to create an air gap behind the panels.
“A special adherence to low frequency nodes was needed for the install at Yamaha’s drum showroom,� says Tim Martin, director of sales and marketing at Auralex Acoustics. “Auralex needed to create a sound environment that best reflected the natural low frequency of the drums while offering added sound control to the space as a whole. By carefully analyzing the current state of the space, our team of engineers was able to carefully and accurately select the appropriate placement and treatments involved to both properly highlight Yamaha’s line of products while preventing the sounds from bleeding into neighboring spaces.�
About Yamaha Drums
Yamaha Drums are a product of Yamaha Corporation. Yamaha has been building drums since 1967, and builds their drums by hand in Japan. The company currently manufactures acoustic and electronic drum kits, as well as other percussion instruments, marching band equipment and drum hardware.
About Auralex Acoustics Inc.
Located in Indianapolis, Auralex Acoustics was founded in 1977 with a mission to provide top-performing acoustical treatment products at the best value. Since then, thousands of satisfied Auralex customers have experienced improved acoustics, expert advice and exceptional customer service. Auralex products enjoy widespread use among prominent artists, producers, engineers, corporations, celebrities and government agencies.
Auralex Acoustics has become the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions and continues to enjoy rapid growth through an international network of authorized dealers. Visit the Auralex web page at www.auralex.com. Auralex can be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling 1.800.959.3343.
