round bass traps

braden_

New member
I've basically been planning on using 4" of rigid fiberglass from floor to ceiling in the corners, which seems to be the most practiced, but i've found some stuff about cylindrical bass traps. Does anyone know if there are any pros and cons to making some like these?

http://home.comcast.net/~jtgale01/diy2.htm

http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/traps/traps.html

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/basstrap.htm


there's also an article I've seen building them out of plastic garbage cans with Roxul webbed inside. If anyone could sway me one way or the other so I don't have to question myself that would be much apprec'd. =)
 
There's no advantage to a round shape. Generally, a round trap needs to be very large to get enough usable surface area. So a 20-inch diameter tube trap can do a good job, but smaller types like 9 to 12 inches in diameter are much less effective than a 2 by 4 foot panel.

--Ethan
 
Awesome. If I trust anyone, it's you. Thanks Ethan.

I know this is an old post, so let's see if anyone sees this! :p

I have a home studio with good bass traps in the basement/live room, but my control room also doubles as a family office. That means anything in there aesthetically (and cost wise) needs to pass the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). I was thinking about making some of these tube traps. Here are the plans: DIY Tube Traps

My question isn't whether or not they work, as I understand they won't be nearly as effective as say, one of Ethan's traps or a huge round trap, but something like this is better than just using my couch on one side of the room and closet stuffed with clothes in other corner (with door open) as bass trapping. If you skim through the plans, you'll see they tell you to put a plastic barrier around half of the outside of the trap before covering the whole circumference in acoustic fabric. Should I be facing this plastic towards the corner or away from it?

Anyone?
 
Hi. The plans are based on a patented device manufactured by ASC(Acoustic Science Corp), in Eugene Ore. I've visited their plant and saw how these are really made, and they are not easy...nor cheap. The tubular rigid fiberglass is especially expensive, and comes in short lengths, which must be glued together. Then they are wrapped in a metal screen, which is fastened the MDF endcaps to hold the thing together, of which also gives a substrate to fasten the fabric to. Prior to slipping the fabric sleeve over the tube, they are wrapped in a clear Mylar sheet with 2" perforations, which acts a diffuser(or so says the inventor..who is also the owner of ASC). These have been around for a few decades, and lot's of people swore by them for years. At the time of their invention, they were at the top of Acoustic product accolades. But that was then.

However, in this day and age, there have been many advancements and Lab tests of much simpler ideas. The Superchunk is one such idea, proved by Lab tests to perform better than other possible "DIY LF absorption strategies. Do yourself a favor and forget these Tubetraps. Invest what budget you can in plain ole 4" thick rigid fiberglass panels. Knauf sells this product in 4'x10' panels, which can be easily cut with an electric knife or skill/table saw. There are tons of information on building corner " bass traps/Superchunks on this site and all over the Internet. Just do a search. In regards to the Plastic sheet..it's purpose is to reflect Hi Freq sounds so the room doesn't become dead. The purpose of putting them in the corners is simple. This is where Low Frequency sound waves terminate, and reflect from. Hence the term Bass traps...which actually is a misnomer. But I won't go into why. However, in small rooms, you need morethan just bass traps in the corners. Broadband absorption panels(2"-4" thick with an equal airgap behind them)distributed on the walls and ceiling in various patterns breakup specular reflections, add to the absorption coefficient via the Edge effect, and offer a modicum of diffusion as well.

However, in case you still want to build the tube traps, here's a couple of Sketchups I did a while back.

For clarity sake, here is one with the fiberglass removed so you can see the screen.

is.php?i=412&img=6326TubeTrap_with_H.jpg

And here is the fiberglass withOUT the screen, but WITH the perforated Mylar. And btw, regular ole 3 or 4 mil plastic sheeting works just as good, and on Superchunks too.

is.php?i=409&img=Perforated_Viny.jpg

good luck what ever you do.
 
That's great, thanks for tall the info! As mentioned all this treatment in this room needs to pass the WAF which means nothing permanent on the walls. I have some temporary panels I put up to absorb mi-high frequencies when I mix. There are little to no flutter echoes remaining. Really all's i need is something, anything to absorb more bass than what is being absorbed right now. The bass isn't a huge problem, but I'd like to take SOME means of lessening some of it. That was why I wanted to make the tube traps, even though there not as effective. I'm not about to fill the corners floor to ceiling with rigid fiberglass (which is apparently unavailable in Canada), then staple fabric over it, etc. Thing like that DO NOT pass the WF. haha.

So thank you greatly for all the info!
 
I'm not about to fill the corners floor to ceiling with rigid fiberglass (which is apparently unavailable in Canada),

hmmm, that's odd. Then what makes you think you can get ROUND FIBERGLASS in Canada?


Thing like that DO NOT pass the WF. haha.

Without them the room won't pass the "translation" test either. Take your pick. :)
 
hmmm, that's odd. Then what makes you think you can get ROUND FIBERGLASS in Canada?
It sure is odd. Google it. Can't find OC703 in Canada. At least not where I'm at. And I live across the border from Detroit which is one of the busiest national borders. You;d think of all places, Windsor would have it. Although somehow my local building supply has the pipe insulation - I even sent him the link to make sure. Maybe we do more plumbing here, I don't know.

Without them the room won't pass the "translation" test either. Take your pick. :)
Considering I share my house with (and share the bills with) someone I respect, love and will be living with the rest of my life, I need to come to a compromise. I'm glad I know this already, as lots of us with obsessions like these are known to have trouble with relationships but I won't get into that. Basically any room you work in, you learn how the sound of THAT room works with your mixes vs. commercial material. And I have it working well for me. When I burn a cd of tracks I've mixed in my control room and bring it to the car, hi-fi stereo system, headphones or a little cd player, most of everything I hear in the control room "translates". If anything doesn't I go back and make sure it's fixed. Rarely an issue.

I just want a little better bass control in my room and also in the family living room because my subwoofer is boomy. I have it isolated on 2" med-dense open cell foam, but want even tighter bass. I'm just picky.
 
Wait a minute here...what if I made those round bass traps like the link I posted, THEN stuff those with insulation, rockwool, etc?
 
Wait a minute here...what if I made those round bass traps like the link I posted, THEN stuff those with insulation, rockwool, etc?

Insulation doesn't have a high enough density, if you're talking about the pink fluffy stuff.

Mineral/rock wool does, though. You'll just need to work out a containment system in your design that will hold it all together while not blocking the surface.
 
Insulation doesn't have a high enough density, if you're talking about the pink fluffy stuff.

Mineral/rock wool does, though. You'll just need to work out a containment system in your design that will hold it all together while not blocking the surface.
I just figured the fiberglass tube would hold it all in...
 
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