Bass Trap Opinions

Well, I really need some bass traps in my studio room. Can't really find a one on one comparison between panel style traps and foam wedges and tubes. What are your experiences/opinions on these. Has anyone ever tried making a bass trap out of those foam pool noodles? I wonder what would happen if you bundled a bunch of those together and placed them in a corner.....

a lot depends on your budget. something is almost always better than nothing, but "doing it right" in the pro sense can add up to some bucks.

Really, just try to find a local supplier and go get some 2" OC 703 in 2x4 sheets and make some. I'm still planning on doing mine but I think it's around $100 for a six pack and a few doallrs a yard at a hobby shop for covering.

The foam, well, I'd just as soon use a stack of old quilts. It can break stuff up but if you get the foam the audio places sell you'd be way ahead to just make your own fiberglass panels. The tubes are "wife traps". They work fine, are very expensive and look nice. We're guitar players. What do we care about looking nice?

Just take $300 and make yourself some 2" side and top panels and some 4" or 6" corner panels.

Note to self: read this post and follow through.

Hey, neighbor!

Stay away from acoustic foam products for bass trapping - a waste of money. Pool floaties won't do anything for you, either - the bass energy needs to go inside the fiberglass and get sucked up. I have the large 703 panels in both 4" and 6" thicknesses, very happy with how they "tighten up" a room. Just recently got some 11" ASC TubeTraps for my front corners, haven't had a chance to do any serious listening yet.

Bottomline: Go with 703 Rigid Fiberglass.

mud

And I was way off. A 6 pack of 2" 703 is $58.08 before tax. Online it's around $75 plus $25 shipping. Our hobby lobby has covering for $2.99 a yard when not on sale. It was $1.99 the last time my wife priced it.

If you haven't already, go to gearslutz. They have a whole section on building traps.

Try to find out if the boom might be the result of standing waves in the room. Parallel walls can "capture" and amplify bass frequencies. Depending on the dimension of the room and distance between the walls, nodal and antinodal points of energy can form that don't move along and dissipate like normal sound waves. They just keep building up in set positions across the room, thus, standing waves.

Corner bass traps might be of some help there, but not enough to kill the boom, because the problem is in the middle of the room, not at the corners. Try playing some bass heavy music and walking across the room in all directions. If you hear a boom and then a null as you walk across (or maybe a series of booms/nulls as you walk) you've got bass nodes and antinodes in the space. You might have to build out a false, non parallel wall at one side. Filling the space behind with batting for bass kill and treating the surface to disperse the high frequencies usually solves the issue, if done right.

Easier might be inserting a quality EQ, and reducing the level of the standing wave frequencies, but this can affect the balance of your bass mix, so the issue is usually better solved physically, with space modification than electronically.

When most of us here talk about our "studio" we are talking about an extra room that our wife lets us use sometimes. That rules out building non-parallel walls in your home. Uh, that ain't good for resale. So most of us use bass traps. The question wasn't "what can I do to solve specific problem X?" It was "what can I use to make some cheap bass traps?"

If this was for a commercial studio do you really think he'd be here asking on a sub forum of a guitar forum or do you think he'd consult a professional service? I know what I think he'd do.

I've actually found just putting stuff like bookshelves and framed pictures on the walls can help break up standing waves. Add some corner bass traps if needed...

Tim

When most of us here talk about our "studio" we are talking about an extra room that our wife lets us use sometimes. That rules out building non-parallel walls in your home. Uh, that ain't good for resale. So most of us use bass traps. The question wasn't "what can I do to solve specific problem X?" It was "what can I use to make some cheap bass traps?"

If this was for a commercial studio do you really think he'd be here asking on a sub forum of a guitar forum or do you think he'd consult a professional service? I know what I think he'd do.

Wow!:shock: Just looking at the question from another viewpoint. Please distribute the official list of rules and regs concerning topic response.

Actually, it looks like Mr. Armstrong has a very... mmm... TDPRI approved solution to... can I mention?.. standing waves. Thanks, Tim. Good call! Maybe that and a short EQ dip too, if needed.

Here's your Guide to Common Sense. Ok, how do you attach files again?

Thanks for all the opinoins. Since my first post, I've gone to "Google University" and now understand the standing waves in my studio room. (yes, spare bedroom. 11' X 11' 8" X 9') Have decided to go with panels in the corners (floor to ceiling) and at the wall/ceiling in the middle of the front and rear wall. First reflection panels too. I've also re-arranged the room so the speakers fire down the "long" side of the room. Will treat ceiling with panels too. I've been editing video in here for quite a while with no audio problems, and finally got the pro audio stuff out and set up in here. In 25 years of home studio recording (in 5 different rooms) I've got to say that this room is the worst ever! I'll post the results of the panels in the next couple of weeks..... You can check out my video editing at:

www.bigblueskythemovie.com