$99.00 Studio foam - For those who have been looking

  • Thread starter Thread starter raerae28
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Don, John, please help.

Thank you all for this great information on using rigid fiberglass insulation instead of expensive foam applications.

I have a few newbie questions I hope you can answer:

1.) I live in an area where burlap would definitely not work. Would there be any sonic reason that I could not use some of the synthetic silks instead? They're lightweight, inexpensive, and would have a much higher WAF (wife acceptance factor).

2.) The panels in the pictures look like they are only about 2" thick; is there any reason not to use thicker insulation, if available? Is 2" enough?

3.) What's the difference between "rigid" fiberglass and the pink stuff in my attic, other than the thickness? Can the latter be used, or does it sag under its own weight in vertical applications, or does the silvered cover defeat the sound-absorbing qualities?

4.) I realize each room is potentially unique and that treating it requires experimentation -- I'm OK with moving stuff around and listening. However, are there "general" guidelines on how much wall/ceiling to cover? Are you looking to make your studio "dead" (I assume not, except perhaps for a small booth for very dry vocals), or simply to remove nodes, or to find (by ear, I assume) a generally pleasing balance?

I know when answering others that sometimes a poster doesn't know enough about the topic to ask the right question -- if that's the case with me, please answer the questions I should have asked instead!

Thank you for your help and for your pictures.

With kind regards,

Mark H.
 
Mark H

1. The cloth doesn't really matter. I've used felt (very trendy in the 70s) cotton, silk, burlap, whatever. As I've said before, when I use it on a ceiling I cover it with plastic to stop the fibres raining down on me everytime the kick drum thumps.:)

2. Only 2" is available in OZ. I think you can get 4" so I'd use it if I could.

3. The density. Really a different product. The home pink bats will work to a degree so use it if it's all you've got but the heavier the density the lower frequencies are also absorbed.

4. The aim is to lower the reverberation time of the room EVENLY so you are hearing the direct sound from your speakers without interference from the room around you. Nearfields are popular because they reduce the room sound to a degree by being close to you. For everything you have that absorbs the highs you must have something that absorbs the lows especially the low mids (150 - 500Hz). Small rooms usually have low-mid (250hz) nodes.

Hope this helps

Cheers
John
 
The rigid fiberglass is just regular insulation that is compressed with a glue binder. The more it is compressed the heavier the density. The weight ratings are pounds per square ft. Hence the explanations for 1.6 or 3lb. These 2 are the most common.

For fabric I looked at a bunch of stuff before going cheap with the burlap. One product is Guilford of Maine. If you do a web search you'll find dealers. Silent Source has some color charts at Silentsource.com

It's fire rated commercial grade fabric made for this application. I called the manufacturer and had them send me a full line color chart and samples. Some of what they offered was real nice stuff. The plain stuff is $15 a yard but comes wider than burlap (60") so you would have less loss.

If you choose something generic be careful the weave of the fabric isn't too tight. A tight weave Poly fabric is at some point going to be reflective to a degree. Just be sure it is something you can breath through.

Don Goguen
 
John,

Thank you, that was just the level of information I was looking for at the moment. Sue and I are headed out to the local building supply center this afternoon to see what they carry in the way of rigid fiberglass: sizes, prices, etc.

I've mainly dealt with this in the past by moving furniture, adding rugs, and pulling my speakers MUCH further away from the rear and side walls. I've avoided formal "treatments" not only because of what seemed to be absurdly excessive cost, but also because the Sonex stuff is just too ugly to put in our living room. You have demonstrated that there's absolutely no reason sound treatment cannot look great, even invisible if that's what's desired.

This is very exciting. Thank you for all your assistance.

Best wishes,

Mark H.
 
Don

Thank you for the additional information on fabrics. As an old (former) volunteer fireman, I appreciate your concerns. You won't find a candle in our house -- I've seen too many homes burned to the ground, simply because someone went to bed leaving a candle burning. I still shake when I think about it; especially mobile homes, which we could never get to in time.

We live right on Humboldt Bay in rural northern California, and the relative humidity is 80 percent plus all the time. Burlap and similar fabrics tend to absorb too much moisture from the air, with the result that mold and mildew start growing on them. Even if a person does not have an allergy to molds to begin with, after living here for several years, it tends to become a problem.

Hence my interest in sheer (for sound transparency) synthetics, which tend neither to attract moisture nor to sustain mold growth. The local fabric store has some very nice faux silks for about $3 a yard that we've used successfully for various decorative purposes. I have not flame-tested them (perhaps I should), but I'm not sure it would be a problem. I'll have to give that more thought.

Thank you for explaining the difference between regular fiberglass insulation and the rigid stuff. I have a pretty good idea now in my head, but I'm sure seeing it at the local building supply center this afternoon will make it crystal clear. I assume it's something I could cut with a jigsaw or cordless recip saw. Probably should still wear a dust mask, right?

I really appreciate your help and advice. Your control room makes it look "do-able," professional and attractive.

Many thanks,

Mark H.
 
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