Bass Trap Questions

etanercept

etanercept

New member
Wyatt C. here. First thanks to all the info on my first post (see Bass Problems In Mixdown - HELP!). I have concluded I may need Bass Traps installed to fix my mixdown problems. Thanks to Dogbreath for clueing me in. (He's got some great music - kinda like Ted Nugent meets GnR - http://www.myspace.com/doghausrecords) Here we go. I noticed most "homemade" traps are constructed with 2x4 or 1 bys, a few layers of the magical yellow fiberglass (yes, I do know it's a particular kind, I can't recall the type at the moment) and covered with fabric. Most seem to be at least 4 inches thick. Some I have seen have holes cut in to the frame claiming "more surface area coverage". Does the wood frame contribute to the function of the trap in any way or is it just there to contain the fiberglass panels? Why not just wrap fiberglass panels in fabric and hang um' high - I mean up. Second. I have these huge framed pictures of Led Zep and Hendrix. (You may have seen something similar at Blockbuster Video) Could I fashion a sucessful working bass trap by extending the frames back, filling with fiberglass and covering the back with fabric, and extending these from the wall a couple of inches. It would be a shame for the traps to push out my pictures. My room is not very big. But the bottom line is a properly treated room. Thanks.
 
etanercept said:
Wyatt C. here. First thanks to all the info on my first post (see Bass Problems In Mixdown - HELP!). I have concluded I may need Bass Traps installed to fix my mixdown problems. Thanks to Dogbreath for clueing me in. (He's got some great music - kinda like Ted Nugent meets GnR - http://www.myspace.com/doghausrecords) Here we go. I noticed most "homemade" traps are constructed with 2x4 or 1 bys, a few layers of the magical yellow fiberglass (yes, I do know it's a particular kind, I can't recall the type at the moment) and covered with fabric. Most seem to be at least 4 inches thick. Some I have seen have holes cut in to the frame claiming "more surface area coverage". Does the wood frame contribute to the function of the trap in any way or is it just there to contain the fiberglass panels? Why not just wrap fiberglass panels in fabric and hang um' high - I mean up. Second. I have these huge framed pictures of Led Zep and Hendrix. (You may have seen something similar at Blockbuster Video) Could I fashion a sucessful working bass trap by extending the frames back, filling with fiberglass and covering the back with fabric, and extending these from the wall a couple of inches. It would be a shame for the traps to push out my pictures. My room is not very big. But the bottom line is a properly treated room. Thanks.
Click to expand...

To briefly address your question, yes - but at the cost of decreased HF absorbtion. Check out the studio construction forum and do a search - there are more designs for bass traps and broadband absorbtion ideas than you can shake a stick at.

And welcome to HR. You're in the right place.
 
Here's a thread I started that includes pics on how I hung the panels. Scroll about halfway down.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=279814

The panels are Owens Corning 703. Look at the top of the Studio Build forum for a list of suppliers. Also consider Johns Manville Rigid Fibreboard. I compare the two in the thread.

4" thickness is better. I used 2" thick panels, but keep my volume levels down.

Covering them with light fabric is better to allow a broader range of freqs through. The rule of thumb is if you can blow through it, it will pass sound easily. But if you're only concerned with bass freqs, I don't think it's a problem to put your pics on top of the fabric.

I'm guessing here, but think wood frames would hinder performance of the panels. Couldn't guess as to how much, though. You can hang them without needing a frame. Check out how I did it in the thread I linked above.
 
Don't sweat it dude. Just stuff room corners with 703 or rockwool covered with whatever you want. For panels on parallel walls... don't cover them with anything reflective like posters (coated paper) or you'll increase any HF reflection.
 
Hey dude...thanks for the props. ;)
And anything I rattled off is just stuff I learned here from these guys. Sounds like you're on the right track.

If ya get curious, what I did was burn a mix of before and after treatment, and checked em in different systems. Kinda cool.

Peace dOOd. :D
 
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