DIY Panels

oildrops

New member
Is it possible to set up one corner of a room as a recording space for acoustic guitar and vocals? Everything else I record is di. Do I need bass traps for this? I am looking for a good DIY panel recipe, since I can't make permanent changes to my rental.

I was thinking to do a vocal booth by building a 2 rock wool panels, covered in moving blankets. Is that a waste of time?

Right now I have a bunch of camping gear stacked into a corner and it's better than nothing, but would like an upgrade. I have about $150 right now to DIY with.
 
Hey hey!

No, not a waste of time at all.
I mean, I wouldn't build a 'booth' as such, but having a few panels handy that you can set up in the room is a great idea.
I wouldn't even bother with the moving panels, to be honest, unless the room is 100% tiles or something daft.

If you're able, you could store them on hooks at the first reflection points l+r of your monitors, so they're always doing something useful,
then take them down to use them elsewhere for vocal etc.

Here...I'll attach a few pics from the DIY panels I made. Not sure how useful that'll be but I just used reclaimed skirting board, old bedsheets, and a staple gun.
I'm cheap, that way. ;)


1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
4.jpg
5.jpg
6.jpg
7.jpg
8.jpg
 
Like Steen said, yes, you can and should do it, forget the moving blankets, 4" rockwool. covered with a breathable fabric is what you want to use. Some people do it without a wood frame, using fabric glue to glue the cover to itself.
The trick (cost-wide) is to fgind some place local to buy just as much rockwool as you want/need (rather than a minimum order). I didn't have any place near me, so ordered from ATS Acoustics, got enough to do 6 4"x2'x4' panels, total coast including fabric, wood, shipping was about $250.
bass01184_zps9f0d872b.jpg

bass01186_zps5f9286fd.jpg

bass01187_zps16e5cef8.jpg
 
I'll bite, why rockwool (wtf? Never heard of it) vs some regular insulation?

I'll bite back! :)

Because rockwool is the cheapest form of semi rigid insulation. Great for making portable broadband absorption panels, stopping flutter echos and such.

From my research and direct conversations with studio builders, they are not however the best at absorbing frequencies below 150hz and they are a bit reflective in higher frequencies. But they do work well enough. Actually pink stuff in a corner provides better low end absorption than rockwool does. But is not as easy to deal with.

But not all of us can build a room to make it acoustically ideal. So the rockwool panel concept is the best for small rooms without ability to tear out walls and dig in to better methods. I still use two 2'x8'x4" thick rockwool (Roxul 80) as bass traps on monitor wall corners in my studio control room, but that room is also 28' long, 13' wide and 8' tall, with pink fluffy in the ceiling joists covered with cloth and 8 2'x4'x4" on panels on the walls. The need for better bass traps in that room is not as necessary because the room is not a cube. The modes do not effect my bass buildup so much as a small room will.
 
With rockwool, I think you need a frame. With Owens Corning OC703, you can use spray adhesive to glue on a fabric cover and then hang them on your walls with thumb tacks. To find OC703, look for a local SPI building supply store.
 
AND! When you have done all that you might find the ac guitar a bit 'dim and lifeless' ? We did in a small, 12'x12'x8.5' room which is so full of music related junk that it is pretty dead anyway. Just put a 4'x4'x 4" GF filled panel across a window and one opposite.

The fix was to cover most of the exposed carpet in hardboard, about 30sq feet, shiny side up.

Dave.
 
I don't know too much about insulation but those rockwool squares will stand there without a frame and keep their shape.
Any loft insulation I've fitted will not.
 
Is "semi-rigid" really a thing? i.e. a big diff vs standard fiberglass insulation, which is considerably cheaper?

Yes indeed. Semi-rigid describes it perfectly. These panels are more expensive than regular pink fluffy, but their acoustic properties are different. For good acoustic absorbance, you are looking for a density of 3lbs per cubic foot. Pink fluffy is far less so you would have to compress it.

Here is a list of commonly used material for bass traps and acoustic panels.

Selecting the Right Acoustic Material

Based on a suggestion from one of our members here, I put a roll of pink fluffy behind each OC703 panel that straddles a corner.
 
I'm finishing up a half-dozen mega-bass traps this weekend...and I can post some pics when I'm done.

These are meant primarily for the low-end, and not so much for broadband treatment, as I already have enough of that.
It's a bit more of an involved build, though nothing complicated, I just wanted a more custom look, and also specifc purpose....so these are not just bare frames fully wrapped around, etc...but rather finished wood frames w/trim, with the cloth only on the face and the back, since they are not going up against any walls, but are meant to be "mobile" and also free standing.

Basically...6" frames with 6" of OC 703 (three layers of 2" 703) in each trap, with one layer being the 703 FRK (aluminum reinforced paper) type, which acts as a membrane on one side of the trap and helps focus the trapping to the low-end, and the other side will be just a regular 703 layer, same for the middle layer.
That way the traps can be flipped around to either the "hard" or "soft" side.
There's also going to be a layer of polyester felt on both sides, which will simply add to the 703 on the "soft" side, but also prevent too much upper-end reflection on the "hard" side.
Finally some nice Guildford of Main acoustic fabric as the final layer finish layer.

Yeah...a bit overbuilt, plus doing the finished wood frames made it more involved...but I was never crazy about the "stuffed sofa cushion" look that some guys ended up with where they just wrapped sheets of fiberglass or only wanted the front facing traps, with the backs on the walls...so I wanted something different. These are more "gobo" like bass traps...and I actuary plan to also use them in that manner at times, and then for mixing, I can move them in behind my mix position...etc.
 
Yes indeed. Semi-rigid describes it perfectly. These panels are more expensive than regular pink fluffy, but their acoustic properties are different. For good acoustic absorbance, you are looking for a density of 3lbs per cubic foot. Pink fluffy is far less so you would have to compress it.
Then I'll compress it. I'm a cheap SOB.

Thx for the info though. Man this could be a real PITA lol
 
You could do that...but I know from experience when trying to compress the fluffy stuff into the floor of a closed in porch, that it's not as simple as it seems...and it's never going to compress the way they compress the semi-rigid 703, 705 stuff.
The fluffy stuff fights you because it's hard to compress it evenly at every spot...and as soon as you move, it wants to expand.
Maybe if you take a piece of plywood the same size as the inner frame dimensions...and you kinda put that on the fiberglass and than stand on it...?...but after trying to stuff my porch floor with it, I would never do it again, 'cuz you get fiberglass particles all over the place when that stuff is handled too much, and I can't stand it.

With my project, I am most likely going to also wrap the 703 with a real thin plastic layer (thin as food film wrap .5mil or less)...and completely seal the 703 so there is no possibility of loose fiberglass particles in the studio.
The stuff won't kill you....but it can cause a lot of skin and respiratory irritation.

You can get a 6-panel case of 2" 703 for $56 + shipping....it's not THAT expensive even for us "cheap" guys... :D ...and 703/705 is "the" stuff to use for acoustic panels.

ACOUSTICAL INSULATION - Acoustic Panel Materials - Fiberglass Acoustic Panels - Buy Insulation Products
 
How about futon mattresses? I live in a college town, so I could look for clean ones. I used to have a 4" king sized DENSE wool filled futon mattress. Wish it could have made the move.
 
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. :)
 
LOL. Love it.

Resisting the urge to suggest he should sleep on it. :(

If lucky, it might be a fresh set of mattresses... Might absorb farts....

I would not recommend sleeping on a insulation panel. Definitely itchy. So in no way substitute them for each other.

Though actually that could be a business startup. If there were a mattress that worked effectively as sound absorption for small rooms? Hmm...
 
Last edited:
If lucky, it might be a fresh set of mattresses... Might absorb farts....

I would not recommend sleeping on a insulation panel. Definitely itchy. So in no way substitute them for each other.

Though actually that could be a business startup. If there were a mattress that worked effectively as sound absorption for small rooms? Hmm...

Actually, that is not a bad idea. Wouldn't be cheap but neither are good mattresses...
 
Let's not forget that Deep Purple recorded the 'Machine Head' album in a hotel using mattresses to control the sound! Of course things were different back then - and they had the 'Rolling Stones truck thing', too.
 
Back
Top