DIY Panels

miroslav said:
A mattress would be a "band-aid"...the same way that sleeping on insulation in lieu of a mattress would be. ;)
It would provide some type of absorption/insulation...but not a complete solution.
I would find it kind of cumbersome and unruly positioning a couple of mattresses around me any time I wanted to record....but you might feel different about that.

People in the home rec world tend to "make do" with all kinds unusual solutions for a variety of reasons, instead of going with something more proven and commonly used....be it budget, convenience, inexperience...whatever.
In the end...do what you think is best, and what you can for your situation...and if you like the results, that's all that matters. :)
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Got ya, I wouldn't want to sleep on insulation! Prices for high density stuff really isn't bad for a solution I can take with me anywhere. So, how do I begin thinking about what I need specifically for my room? I would like to get some experience tuning a room. I've walked around with an AT2020 with monitors on clapping, singing low notes etc, and it seems like the most dead sound I've gotten was in my closet with thermarests and sleeping bags piled up.

It was too small, so now it's all in a corner with HEAVY wool blanket draped over my PA speaker. I also figured the MDF in the PA speaker and a few amps heads I have would catch some bass, so they are in the corner as well, along with a couple of guitar boxes stuffed with foam and bubble wrap with blankets hanging on them. That's all behind my "mixing desk" which is actually just a philips hi fi stereo, and a USB speaker. I also mix in my living room on a pair of polk bookshelf monitors.

Sorry for the details, just figured I would let you know where I'm at here. I'm still working on the performance aspect of my gig right now, and just doing sketchbook types of recordings. I'm just trying to hone it a bit as I go.
 
miroslav said:
You can get a 6-panel case of 2" 703 for $56 + shipping....it's not THAT expensive even for us "cheap" guys... :D
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True enough. In fact that's cheaper than even a small one of those damned mic shields. :) How do you know to get 1" vs 2" vs 3" etc? Just a sort of unwritten standard?
 
joey2000 said:
True enough. In fact that's cheaper than even a small one of those damned mic shields. :) How do you know to get 1" vs 2" vs 3" etc? Just a sort of unwritten standard?
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For clouds and point-of-first reflection panels, you can use 2" (but thicker is almost always better). 4" minimum for standard panels used in othe rplaces including front and rear walls and corners (if you can't build superchunk absorbers)
 
First reflection point is the spot where the sound first reflects off the wall to your ears. If you were to put a mirror on the wall, you would place it so you could see the speaker driver in it. That's the first reflection point. A cloud is the same thing except it hangs from the ceiling.

If you want to tune your room, ideally you want to know how it responds to sound from your speakers. There is an app called Room EQ Wizard that can do that. It can produce different sounds like white noise, pink noise, sine waves, frequecny sweeps, etc. It will record them through your mic and interface (the mic should have a flat response) and graph the results.

Record your room with REW, check the graphs for large peaks and valleys, hang up you treatment, re-record your room. REW does take a little time to figure out.
 
IMO...I would say that 1"-2" panels would be fine for broadband absorption, and where you can have a whole lot of them all over.

The 4" gets you more serious control, and they would be best for problem and key areas, like back of mix, corners...etc.

The big 6" stuff for more focused/serious low-end absorption...especially when combined with some sort of front membrane, which would allow the mids/highs to reflect back more (best not to be used in direct mix-point reflection, but angled positions), and then the absorption is really focused on the low-end and sub low end.

I think maybe a mix of the above, placed appropriately, would give the best results.

My current bass trap build is all 6" w/membrane. I have it almost done, just doing the final wood trim today....will post pics.
 
joey2000 said:
Thx for all the info.

Side note, what about bass traps? Holy #### you can spend money on these if you want. I don't want. :) And I see stuff like this:

Amazon.com: Bass Absorbing Wedge Style Panels - Soundproofing Acoustic Studio Foam - 12"x12"x3" Tiles - 2 Pack - DIY: Musical Instruments

And wondering if stitching these together to make a panel is a reasonable alternative. Mind you it's just my vocals, no band, so I would think low-end issues should be minor.
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No. Foam not good for bass traps in any way, shape, form, nor price. Forget about those. They can be good for some spot treatments of high end and reflections and they look cool, but that is not what most rooms need right off.
 
Kraft-faced "pink stuff" usually wants to go between studs that are spaced 15" on center. That's obviously not quite as big as a 2' chunk of the other stuff, but you can staple it to your frame and it'll work just fine. It won't work so well without a frame. If you really wanted to compress it AND kind of keep it contained, you could stuff and staple it from both sides. Like, two layers squished together between the paper on either side. That paper is reflective at very high frequencies, so you'd want something soft covering one side if it was being used at a first reflection point, but for bass trapping elsewhere, it can work reasonably well.

What I did in my mix room was to basically frame a room within a room...Well, both side walls and the ceiling, and in 4' sections... Stuffed and stapled the cavities from the "outside" so the speakers hit the fluffy side. Covered that with landscaper's "weed stop" fabric. It ain't pretty , but it works!
 
Pink stuff comes from the factory compressed. Open it and in 5 minutes it is twice to triple it's size. On the cheap, you likely better to keep the rolls in their factory plastic and covering with a blanket or cloth for effective low end results.

I had thought about other DIY options before. Like a heavy mesh metal face built 2' from ceiling and stomping that shit in there. Then closing up the hole at the top before the shit expanded. I went with the semi rigid instead.

And I also have heard others say that the superchunks are not as good as many say. An air gap behind seemed to be the importance with a more dense insulation and one layer with the kraft paper face. But man, you hear a thousand points of supposed fact. Deciding which is right for any room is just a guessing game unless you either try it and fail; try it and win, or you just listen to what the guys that do this for a living do.

Problem with the above for many, is that the professionals that build studios for a living do it starting within the walls. Not so good for someone who rents and does not have the ability to start tearing shit out.

So it ends up being more of a compromise. 'What can I get away with on a limited budget'? is asked. Well that depends on the personal situation and skills of the guy needing it. And most importantly what the room actually needs for a particular situation. Is it bass traps? Likely. It is less reflections? Likely. To what degree and how much? Who really knows unless you ask a pro and/or spend time to learn why and how.


It all comes down to how vested one is in finding out what is good for them. Kinda hard for someone else to say who has no idea what you are dealing with.

Above statement bad analogy to follow: I haven't met your significant other... I can't tell you how that relationship is working without being in it. Horribly bad analogy but I hope you get my point. And it actually applies though very off point.

:)
 
joey2000 said:
Thx for all the info.

Side note, what about bass traps? Holy #### you can spend money on these if you want. I don't want. :) And I see stuff like this:

Amazon.com: Bass Absorbing Wedge Style Panels - Soundproofing Acoustic Studio Foam - 12"x12"x3" Tiles - 2 Pack - DIY: Musical Instruments

And wondering if stitching these together to make a panel is a reasonable alternative. Mind you it's just my vocals, no band, so I would think low-end issues should be minor.
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Like Jimmy says: NOOOOOOO!
Foam does not absorb low frequencies - at any thickness. Do a youtube search for 'build a bass trap'. OR save up some money for commercial ones. Acoustic Panels | Bass Traps | Diffusors | GIK Acoustics
 
Some great advice in this thread, frame, rockwool, fabric cover. This is actually what we have used to build treatments in pro facilities over the years. Have been building studios for the past 15 years and this is def the way to go. For bass trapping you can also build a corner trap with a sheet of MLV hung with eye hooks to help with low frequency control. Best of luck. FYI if you cannot feel your breath through the fabric, get a thinner fabric. :thumbs up:
 
kanex52002 said:
FYI if you cannot feel your breath through the fabric, get a thinner fabric. :thumbs up:
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Yup!! I got mine from the bargain bin at Walmart. $1/linear ft. (60" wide). Thin polyester. I don't think I spent more than $20 to cover all the panels.
 
I found some thin cotton (actually probably polyester for the price) sheets for my last few traps - available in lots of colors.
 
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I don't think it's a question of just thin or thick fabric...probably more a question of thread count and how tight it's woven.
There are cloths/weaves that are good and some bad...not if you can just breathe through it, that it means it's good for acoustic purposes, though for traps it's probably not as critical as it might be for speaker covering.

100% cotton wouldn't be a first choice, polyester is probably the best choice, or some other synthetic or at least a 60/40 blend, because natural fibers like cotton can sag over time and with the change in humidity, where the polyester will not.
 
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DIY is the way to go with panels and traps. As others have stated you can set them up to treat your room for mixing. I created quite a few panels last summer using Roxul Safe n Sound. It isn't quite as dense as OC703 but certainly got the job done.
 
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