homeade bass tube traps

[Executivos]

I've seen a few websites with directions for making bass tube traps for corners. One is using 12" diameter 1" thick fiberglass pipe insulation, the other using some kind of fencing/fabric netting or something.

The quotes I got for the pipe route were too much (about $30 per 3 foot section of insulation, when the website says about $5)

My question is....is the air-tightness what makes this effective?

I saw concrete tubes at home depot for under 5 dollars. If I filled one with fiberglass and used liquid nails to glue wood circles on the end of it, will it work allright? Or does the fiberglass side of the tube help in another way?


BTW, layed the floated neoprene floor today....VERY easy to do, only took about 2 hours, and it came out GREAT. pictures coming soon

[M.Brane]

I was in a band in Cucamonga once.....

Anyway, check these out: http://www.decware.com/acintro.htm a little different than your standard "tube traps". Kind of a cross between traps & a helmholtz resonator. Also these: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a.htm the quick & dirty method.

[Dan Merrill]

Have you checked the prices for the real thing? I bet that little 12"'er would run you well over $200$

If you have trouble with standing waves, you will be blown away by what they do. Don't bother messing with the design, just build it!! BTW, yes they have to be airtight.

[John Sayers]

Anyone got any figures on what they do?? ....they look impressive but what do they actually do??

cheers
John

[Dan Merrill]

I just looked at Mbranes second link. Those tubes look like a lot of work ( slow and dirty) to build compared to building them with the rigid fiberglass tubes. the fiberglass tubes need no internal support structure. Some specs can be found at

www.tubetrap.com

follow the links for tube trap to find the specs.

here are the plans for the DIY version

http://ic.net/~jtgale/diy2.htm

I've got 6 of them. 12 inch and 16 inch.

[jeronimo]

Hey guys, what if I get a regular water pipe (plastic, PVC) fill it with rockwool and cover it with fabric???

[longsoughtfor]

I belive the reason tube traps work is because of the pressure difference between the inside of the tube and the outside. Once the rigid insulation tube is sealed top and bottom the pressure difference (slight as it may be) is enough so that a low frequency wave front trys to equalise the difference. The insulation absorbs most of this energy and reduces those frequencies.

If the trap were made of a solid tube like a sonor tube or PVC pipe, the sound wave could never equalise the pressure difference and would just reflect. But a sonor tube (concrete form) with holes cut in it and lined/covered with insulation would probably work somewhat.

Cheers
Kevin.

[Executivos]

Originally posted by longsoughtfor
I belive the reason tube traps work is because of the pressure difference between the inside of the tube and the outside. Once the rigid insulation tube is sealed top and bottom the pressure difference (slight as it may be) is enough so that a low frequency wave front trys to equalise the difference. The insulation absorbs most of this energy and reduces those frequencies.

If the trap were made of a solid tube like a sonor tube or PVC pipe, the sound wave could never equalise the pressure difference and would just reflect. But a sonor tube (concrete form) with holes cut in it and lined/covered with insulation would probably work somewhat.

Cheers
Kevin.

what about a cardboard tube (made to fill with concrete, but empty, or maybe filled with fiberglass? It's not a solid air tight plastic like pvc, but somewhere in the middle. Am I better off searching for a cheaper place to buy the pipe covering?

[Bushice]

Executivos,

I think that's what Kevin meant by sonar tube. Check out this link, which I got from a post by Mbrane up higher. These do not seem all that hard or expensive to make, just a little time consuming.

Now that I saw these pictures, I understand the concept better.

Bushice
Here's the direct link :

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