Acoustic foam placement HELP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jasenko
  • Start date Start date
J

Jasenko

New member
Hello everyone!
I'm transforming my room into recording/mixing room.
I have 6 m2 of acoustic foam 7 cm thick and I don't know where to place them.
I will try the mirror method but if you can and if you know what placement will be best for my room let me know please.
Here is the pic :


myroom.png


yellow-sofas
green- TV
empty space - door and windows
red - KrK's on my desk
brown- thick carpet

I was thinking to put 2 m2 on the wall behind me and 2 m2 in front of me (behind KrK's).

1m2 on the celling over the desk and 1,2 on my door..

Please tell me what you think..
Chears
 
If you read a few threads on "foam", some of us are going to sound like a broken record...but here goes....

"Acoustic foam" is ALMOST useless for sound treatment. You need to use proper materials, like rigid fibreglass in the corners, first reflection points, and over your listening area if possible. Once you have that in place, then foam MIGHT come in handy for a little spot treatment here and there. But foam alone will probably make your listening environment even worse because all it will do is kill your hi-mids and highs, which are rarely the problem. In 99% of rooms, 99% of the problems are bass-related. So, using foam will only make bass 100% of your problem, which is worse.

Also, if you can get rid of the carpet. A hard floor is more desirable for sound. Reflective floor and absortion on the walls and ceilings is the way to go.
 
Hi Jasenko, the best place for your foam right now is in your garage.

Start with acoustically measuring your room so that you know what problems you are traing to treat. Almost certainly you will want to install some bass traps in the corners and broadband traps on the walls and ceiling at the mirror points. These can be bought ready-made or DIY. They are made from rockwool (you might find that Knauf or Rockwool are brands available in Sarajevo).

Once these are in place you will measure your room's acoustics again and if you have problems with flutter echoes then the foam from your garage will help. The carpet you have on the floor will absorb some higher frequencies so the foam is possibly not needed at all.

The basic priciple is that you need to treat the bass frequencies as these are the most problematic. In doing so the mid and higher frequencies are controlled and so post-installation measurements will tell you whether there is anything else that is still problematic and needs further treatment.

Looking at your picture, your desk and monitors do not look centrally placed along the wall. It will help if you can move to a central position.
 
Jasenko said:
... I can't put rockwool in the same room where I sleep right?
Click to expand...
You wouldn't want to leave the rockwool exposed, whether you sleep there or work there. If you build your own traps then cover them with a breathable textile, eg. hessian.

Jasenko said:
Just to be clear.. we are talking about this foam ?
Click to expand...
Read the company's page about that foam and don't be fooled. The first word they use is soundproofing. Soundproofing is 100% isolation and is impossible. Foam is useless at soundproofing (isolating). This company is trying to fool the unsuspecting into believing their product will do something it cannot. You have to read right down the bottom of the page to get the truth: It does not isolate a noise source. That way the company can say that the facts are on the page but I think the big bold lies at the top are intentionally misleading to promote their foam.

Sorry, Jasenko, I am not trying to make you feel bad but it is important that you understand what is true and what is not so that you can trust who you buy your acoustic materials from.

Jasenko said:
So I will not gain much by buing this foam?
Click to expand...

Elsewhere on the page: thinner panels work just fine for human voice. If you are working with only the limited frequency range of the human voice then those pyramid foam panels can help, otherwise no, you won't gain anything by using this foam. If anything you will absorb some higher frwuencies which will accentuate the bass problems, making things worse, not better. A DJ friend has them in his radio station studio and I can hear that they help when we record an interview.

ljacobs1987 said:
I thought acoustic foam was useless.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately people like, or remember, extremes, black and white. Acoustic foam has its uses but is often on this and other forums mentioned by those that have not studied acoustics and have done a quick search on the internet. Those here that know do seem to be helpful in explaining that you need to treat the bass, which is done using thick rockwool traps, and foam may be specified to deal with outstanding issues later on in the acoustic treatment, but only if it is relevant. One other problem is people catch onto the idea that foam can help but don't notice that it is acoustic foam and so find the cheapest source of foam, which is not acoustic foam.
 
Last edited:
If you are worried about fibres from rockwool, buy acoustic polyester. It is more expensive but has no fibres and has great accoustic properties. I only use this, no rockwool / fibreglass. Here is one brand but there will be loads out there.

Alan.
 
Capriccio -thanks again for answering!
I read and watch how people are buiding pannels and bass traps from rockwool and I know you have to cover it with something but I wouldn't put that in my bedroom.
Why whould I feel bad? I will sure listen to you and give up on foam. I was thinking to buy 1 m2 of foam for recording vocal and I think that will be helpfull.

Witzendoz - thank you! I will try to fing those panels.. I live in Bosnia & Herzegovina.. here thay almost don't have guitars.. they shure don't have acoustic polyester but I will try to find it on ebay.
 
If you are having a problem finding the materials, the American company GIK Acoustics has an office in the UK and a representative in Slovakia. Let me know if you need help.
 
Jasenko said:
Capriccio -thanks again for answering!

Witzendoz - thank you! I will try to fing those panels.. I live in Bosnia & Herzegovina.. here thay almost don't have guitars.. they shure don't have acoustic polyester but I will try to find it on ebay.
Click to expand...

The company that I buy from in Australia also specialise in thermal insulation for hospitals, as all fibre insulation is banned in medical buildings, so if you if you look for insulation companies that do alternatives to fibre insulation you will find that they usually have a sound insulation product list as well.

Cheers
Alan.
 
Hey guys!

I decided to buy mineral wool and put it all over the room. I will try to make portable traps so traps will be in my room only when I record and mix. Do you think that is a good idea?
I heard that by moving the traps the fibers from mineral wool can escape.. should I be consern about it?

Chears,
Jasenko
 
2383pascy.jpg


All over doesn't sound quite right. Usually traps cover between 25% and 45% of the room's surfaces.

Making traps portable is a good idea. Panels should be at least 10 cm thick. To avoid the fibres escaping, cover the traps with a breathable fabric - if you can blow through it it is breathable.

There are many different ways of building traps. In my photo you can see empty frames and also frames with Knauf mineral wool on the right. I covered them with hessian, stapled to the frames.
 
Ok, so corners, first reflection points , ceiling ?

Here one idea...

What about placing wool around me. Not on the walls and not in the corners but around me and above me. It can be done by placing hooks on the celling and just put panels on it.. it will hand around me (first reflection point, right behind me on front wall and on the ceiling sbove me).

What do you think about this?

Btw your traps look grate.. i have something similar in my mind..
 
Jasenko said:
Ok, so corners, first reflection points , ceiling ?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Jasenko said:
What about placing wool around me. Not on the walls and not in the corners but around me and above me.
Click to expand...

I know what I think but am not expert enough to guarantee that I am right. I understand that traps are most effective when placed in the corners and near the walls because bass collects in the corners and wall traps absorb frequencies best based upon the thickness of the trap and its distance from the wall, up to a maximum of the thickness of the trap. ie. If the trap is 10 cm deep and has a 10 cm gap between it and the wall it will be most effective.

My guess is that if you only placed traps around you they would not absorb lower frequencies sufficiently. You could test this. My thoughts are that if this is a good idea then the professional acousticians would recommend it, so personally I am following the normally recommended method: corners, first reflection points, ceiling.
 
I myself hang two portable 2'X4' panels from the ceiling, forming a 'V' around the back of mic when tracking vocals.
 

Attachments

  • Vocal setup.webp
    Vocal setup.webp
    22.6 KB · Views: 69
I have covered everything with foam pads that you get for kids play areas. The work effectively to dampen the level of noise escaping but may not be considered very good acoustically...however, most recording I do is direct into my mixer and computer anyways.
 
RayMort said:
I have covered everything with foam pads that you get for kids play areas. The work effectively to dampen the level of noise escaping but may not be considered very good acoustically...however, most recording I do is direct into my mixer and computer anyways.
Click to expand...

Well, first of all, I hate to tell you this but, they don't do anything to dampen noise escaping. And, you're right, they're not good for acoustics either.

Even if most of what you record is direct, you need proper treatment in your room to monitor and mix properly. You can't mix properly what you can't hear properly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top