easier bass trap plans

[notbradsohner]

does anyone have some CAD or other drawings to better explain ethan winers bass traps. I have the article, but i cannot understand the construction process. mabye like views from above and the side. thanks

[Ethan Winer]

Brad,

> i cannot understand the construction process <

At the very end of the article is a link to view the plans as a large GIF file which you can then print. Here's a direct link to that file:

www.ethanwiner.com/BTPlans.gif

Note that these are all top views, looking down into the traps. You also have to cap off the top and bottom to make them air tight. These plans show the top being open.

--Ethan

[notbradsohner]

wow, never saw that. sorry ethan!

[GoneinUS]

Ethan, would these bass trap work in a portable type fashion? Say creating the bass traps not attached to the wall, but another piece of plywood that is movable?

[geet73]

Couldn't I just have a piece of 703 across a corner as a bass trap?

Or does it have to be boxed in?

[Ethan Winer]

Gone:

> would these bass trap work in a portable type fashion? <

Yes, you can build a back panel. But it must be rigid and massive, and air tight, and you must place the completed trap right up against the wall.

Geet:

> Couldn't I just have a piece of 703 across a corner as a bass trap? <

Sure, that works fine, especially in smaller rooms. See the Acoustics FAQ, second in the list on my Articles page:

www.ethanwiner.com/articles.html

--Ethan

[HangDawg]

Originally posted by geet73
Couldn't I just have a piece of 703 across a corner as a bass trap?

Or does it have to be boxed in?

I've eliminated all vertical 90Ø corners with 3" thick 2' wide rigid fiberglas floor to ceiling. It has worked wonders.

[geet73]

I thought it was OK.. I just wasn't sure. I see "airtight" everywhere. Heh.

Does iT have to be floor to ceiling? I have some outlets in the way.

EDIT: HangDawg, where you at in PA? I'm playing a show in Lewisberg next week. It might be Lewistown, they're both kinda close.

[HangDawg]

Originally posted by geet73
I thought it was OK.. I just wasn't sure. I see "airtight" everywhere. Heh.

Does iT have to be floor to ceiling? I have some outlets in the way.

EDIT: HangDawg, where you at in PA? I'm playing a show in Lewisberg next week. It might be Lewistown, they're both kinda close.

I'm in williamsport. That's about 20 miles north of Lewisburgh. Not sure about Lewistown.


Floor to ceiling is best I imagine. You could just cut a hole for the outlets.

[cellardweller]

Originally posted by Ethan Winer
Gone:
> would these bass trap work in a portable type fashion? <

Yes, you can build a back panel. But it must be rigid and massive, and air tight, and you must place the completed trap right up against the wall.

How massive? Is 3/4 in. plywood massive enough?

> Couldn't I just have a piece of 703 across a corner as a bass trap? <
Sure, that works fine, especially in smaller rooms. See the Acoustics FAQ, second in the list on my Articles page:
--Ethan

How small??? Is it just relative in smaller rooms? Do you mean that ANYTHING is an improvement in smaller rooms? Will smaller rooms still greatly benefit from membrane traps as opposed to 703 across the corner?

[Ethan Winer]

CD,

> How massive? Is 3/4 in. plywood massive enough? <

Yes, especially if you screw and glue cross bars across the back to keep it from flexing.

> Do you mean that ANYTHING is an improvement in smaller rooms? Will smaller rooms still greatly benefit from membrane traps as opposed to 703 across the corner? <

Yes, anything is an improvement in any room.

Panel traps work well in any size room. But they're a lot of effort to build, and they exceed fiberglass traps mainly when placed flat on a wall. A small room has less wall space, and proportionately more corners, than a large room, so fiberglass across the corners makes more sense there.

--Ethan

[kfrugia]

I have a garage that is roughly 18x23.5x9.5. I mostly record drums and I would like to build some of the traps mentioned in the Ethan Winer article.

The garage layout is shown in the following picture:

http://ad.cavortingimps.com/~kirby/garage.jpg

The left wall is 2 layers of 5/8" sheetrock with insulation.
The right wall is 1 layer of 3/8" sheetrock with insulation.
The bottom wall is mainly a 16x8' garage door, insulated
The top wall is a 12x8' garage door, insulated and a human-sized door.

My question: how many of the bass traps do you think would be sufficient? I can't afford to put them around the entire garage. Any other helpful tips? I am a beginner.

Thanks,
Kirby

http://ad.cavortingimps.com

[Ethan Winer]

Kirby,

> how many of the bass traps do you think would be sufficient? <

I already answered you in my Acoustics forum at www.musicplayer.com.

--Ethan

[BigHighLonesome]

Hello Ethan.

I am new to the forums and I am building a studio in my basement (14*35*9).
Is this a good size room in your opinion and how many bass traps should I have? I will be checking out your materials for sure. I am quite new to studio construction but by all means not new to music and sound wave theory.

BHL.

[Ethan Winer]

BH,

> Is this a good size room in your opinion and how many bass traps should I have? <

A lot of this is covered in my Acoustics FAQ linked above. Also see my article in the current (September) issue of EQ magazine. It's exactly what you need.

--Ethan

[BigHighLonesome]

Thank you Ethan.

I am new here, I will do a bit more reading before I start buggin you for further information. Thats an amazing article btw. This is really going to get my ideas goin'. Perfect starting point and beyond.

Its almost worth putting a link in your sig to that with a quote "Read this first before asking!"

LOL Thanks again.