IF YOU DONT READ, PLEASE CHECK THE QUESTION BELOW.
My toxic smelling area: (Auralex behind speaker monitors)
Ok so the regular posters here probably caught that I bought some Auralex from MusiciansFriend when they had it for the stupid deal of the day. Which by-the-way really wasn't cause its still the same price. F-ing punks.
I bought this in an attempt to save time, energy, and money so I didnt have to DIY my own acoustic panels with Roxul Mineral Wool or Owens Corning 703/705. I wanted something that would come ready and just hang up. Boy was I in for a surprise. (BTW, I have 3 703 bass trap panels in this space already)
Everyone warned me that they really only work for higher frequencies and some mid range and very poorly on low frequencies. Trying to save money and time because I dont have much time these days... So, I went ahead and foamed the small wall behind my mixing station. Let me tell you about my experience.
Since I rent and I can't ruin the walls and I ain't about to rehang drywall when I leave. Plus I didnt feel like trying to mess with velcroing every 12" piece of auralex etc. etc. I bought a 1/2" piece of MDF and cut it to size, beveled the edges, painted just the edges black, screwed it to the studs, and started putting up the 2" designer auralex foam using the Auralex Tubetak that came with the kit. I figure when I leave I'll just toss it all. Only spent $70 with shipping.
I have to say I am disappointed with the results. The sound dampening is ok, I'd say about half of what 703 woulda done just from gauging with my ears.. But the tubetak absolutely sucks. ABSOLUTELY SUCKS! It does work for glue but read on. This stuff is very difficult to work with. Hard as ever to get out of the tube. AND the toxic smell it delivers is REDICULOUS!!! No wonder the package from MusiciansFriend comes with 2 free tubes! You HAVE to give it away.
Its cold in Wisconsin. For two days I had a window open in this small room, fans blowing air in, blowing air out, smell is still there. Then I decided maybe its because its not drying. Tried the opposite approach. Closed window and put a household heater on the foam area for the next two days. In the words of my 2 year old, still stanks!
I so regret wasting time money and energy on this "cool" looking foam that I cant even bare to be in the room with without getting nauseous and feeling sick. So if the smell doesn't come out soon looks like I'm taking it down and throwing it all away. Fun right?
I guess the bottom line is not dissing the Auralex foam necessarily but Auralex's TubeTak glue. Rediculous! Dont use it! No wonder the instructions DONT mention it. They give instructions for their spray can glue. No idea how that works though, probably just as toxic smelling. And for the amount of time it took and a little more money than I spent I could have built all DIY Mineral Wool Panels I needed.
If anyone uses this foam ATLEAST DO NOT use the TUBETAK sh*t! Plus no matter what the instructions tell you its hard as f-ck to cut. Electric knife my ars. I had to use a household pair of scissors!
QUESTION: The foam is glued to a 1/2" piece of MDF covering the whole (small) wall. If I take the foam off, would it help to keep the MDF on the wall with mineralwool panels? I know its not how studios are built, but would it help to have something thicker then just drywall behind my monitors? So drywall and MDF wood.
My toxic smelling area: (Auralex behind speaker monitors)
Ok so the regular posters here probably caught that I bought some Auralex from MusiciansFriend when they had it for the stupid deal of the day. Which by-the-way really wasn't cause its still the same price. F-ing punks.
I bought this in an attempt to save time, energy, and money so I didnt have to DIY my own acoustic panels with Roxul Mineral Wool or Owens Corning 703/705. I wanted something that would come ready and just hang up. Boy was I in for a surprise. (BTW, I have 3 703 bass trap panels in this space already)
Everyone warned me that they really only work for higher frequencies and some mid range and very poorly on low frequencies. Trying to save money and time because I dont have much time these days... So, I went ahead and foamed the small wall behind my mixing station. Let me tell you about my experience.
Since I rent and I can't ruin the walls and I ain't about to rehang drywall when I leave. Plus I didnt feel like trying to mess with velcroing every 12" piece of auralex etc. etc. I bought a 1/2" piece of MDF and cut it to size, beveled the edges, painted just the edges black, screwed it to the studs, and started putting up the 2" designer auralex foam using the Auralex Tubetak that came with the kit. I figure when I leave I'll just toss it all. Only spent $70 with shipping.
I have to say I am disappointed with the results. The sound dampening is ok, I'd say about half of what 703 woulda done just from gauging with my ears.. But the tubetak absolutely sucks. ABSOLUTELY SUCKS! It does work for glue but read on. This stuff is very difficult to work with. Hard as ever to get out of the tube. AND the toxic smell it delivers is REDICULOUS!!! No wonder the package from MusiciansFriend comes with 2 free tubes! You HAVE to give it away.
Its cold in Wisconsin. For two days I had a window open in this small room, fans blowing air in, blowing air out, smell is still there. Then I decided maybe its because its not drying. Tried the opposite approach. Closed window and put a household heater on the foam area for the next two days. In the words of my 2 year old, still stanks!
I so regret wasting time money and energy on this "cool" looking foam that I cant even bare to be in the room with without getting nauseous and feeling sick. So if the smell doesn't come out soon looks like I'm taking it down and throwing it all away. Fun right?
I guess the bottom line is not dissing the Auralex foam necessarily but Auralex's TubeTak glue. Rediculous! Dont use it! No wonder the instructions DONT mention it. They give instructions for their spray can glue. No idea how that works though, probably just as toxic smelling. And for the amount of time it took and a little more money than I spent I could have built all DIY Mineral Wool Panels I needed.
If anyone uses this foam ATLEAST DO NOT use the TUBETAK sh*t! Plus no matter what the instructions tell you its hard as f-ck to cut. Electric knife my ars. I had to use a household pair of scissors!
QUESTION: The foam is glued to a 1/2" piece of MDF covering the whole (small) wall. If I take the foam off, would it help to keep the MDF on the wall with mineralwool panels? I know its not how studios are built, but would it help to have something thicker then just drywall behind my monitors? So drywall and MDF wood.
...my wife has one of those.