Bass traps limited space

EdWonbass

EdWonbass

pull the goalie
I know the whole bass trap thing has been beat to death hear but after reading Ethans articles and doing searches here I still feel like I don't get it.
I guess the big question is, do I need bass traps in all four corners of a rectangular room? Also most of the DIY info suggests building them to the 2'x4' dimensions. That seems like it will take up alot of room in my small but mighty studio. Is it possible to just put them in 2 of the corners and maybe a couple at the wall to ceiling corners?
My room is roughly 12'x10' with 8' ceilings.
 
RICK FITZPATRICK said:
Go here Ed.
http://forum.studiotips.com/viewforum.php?f=6

And then here. This should either keep you busy for a while, or make you crazy.

http://forum.studiotips.com/viewforum.php?f=8

fitZ :D
Click to expand...

I have already checked out those links from another of your posts and I am going crazy. I think I read about halfway down the page and the ADD kicks in and I'm lost. :(

Maybe I'll read some more tomorrow at work where there are less distractions. :D

Thanks Rick. Always helpfull.
 
EdWonbass said:
Also most of the DIY info suggests building them to the 2'x4' dimensions.
Click to expand...

They're 2 x 4, but only about 4" thick and they hang on the wall like a picture or straddle a corner, so they don't take up that much space.

Click on the pix at the top of the www.realtraps.com and you can see the installed traps. They're not all that big.
 
is there any purpose to the 2' x 4' frame other than that is what size the insulation board comes in? putting 2' x 4' frames in my corners would take up a lot of space. would it be possible to accomplish the same effect at 2' x 2' or smaller (assuming same thickness)?
 
The membrane absorber like the Realtraps is basically like a drum with stuffing. The membrane can't touch the stuffing since it needs to be free to vibrate with the air. The size of the membrane affects the frequencies it can absorb, bigger goes lower.

A 2×4 takes up as much corner as a 2×2.
 
Everybody specs 2' x 4' because that's the size the insulation comes from the manufacturer. If you don't want to lose that much corner space, cut a sheet down to 1' wide, then you would have two 1' x 4' traps, which would cover floor to ceiling. Or you could make a triangle-shaped trap with 1' sides that would neatly tuck in a corner and offer lots of absorption. I am working on such a beast for portable traps.
 
so the point then is to actually get where the walls meet, or where the walls and ceiling meet?

1' wide instead of 2 would help a lot. also, my monitors are sitting on bookshelves situated in the corners so really I only have 3 feet above them till i hit ceiling; so I was more interested in the upper "corner" then the actual wall from top to bottom.

here is another issue that might be typical to a lot of people...

in my back corners, I have 1: a door, and 2: a closet. what the hell do you do with that????
(btw-keeping the door open seems to eliminate one "corner")
 
How big is your room, FALKEN? Your monitors shouldn't be in the corners unless your working in a shower stall. Your head and the two monitors should form an equilateral triangle, probably not much more than 3' on a side.

The traps work well in corners because the low frequency energy kinda concentrates there. And you don't need to cover the whole thing. Eight of Ethan's MiniTraps is plenty for a 10×16 room.
 
my monitors are not in the corners, but the bookshelves they are sitting on are. which puts them pretty much in the corners but not quite, maybe a foot away. my desk is backed up from the wall maybe 3' so it forms a pretty good equaliteral triangle. I got the bookshelves from target specifically for their exact height and they were cheaper than "monitor stands".

is it more important to cover the w/w/ceiling "corner", or the w/w "corner"?

btw on ethan's site there is a picture of a room with 2' x 2's in the w/w/c corners. those are smaller than his "mini" traps, which are positioned below those on the w/w corner.
 
You don't need to fill every corner from floor to ceiling if you're using membrane type traps.

RealTraps said:
In addition to the 2x4 foot size, MiniTraps are also available in a 2x2 foot model meant specifically for mounting in tri-corners where two walls meet the ceiling (or floor). This provides further improvement beyond treating the regular wall-wall and wall-ceiling corners.

from here
Click to expand...
 
apl said:
You don't need to fill every corner from floor to ceiling if you're using membrane type traps.
Click to expand...

like the minis?



it looks like from the pictures in ethan's site that you do the w/w first, then w/c, then w/floor, the w/w/c if you want.
 
EdWonbass said:
I guess the big question is, do I need bass traps in all four corners of a rectangular room?
Click to expand...
Because standing bass waves build between the corners of a room it is most likely good enought to put a trap in one corner of a pair. In other words you can get away with traps in two corners rather than four but be sure that they are on different pairs of corners. For example if you put your two traps on opposite corners from each other that standing wave is really killed but nothing is being done about the standing wave between the other two corners.
 
Innovations said:
Because standing bass waves build between the corners of a room it is most likely good enought to put a trap in one corner of a pair. In other words you can get away with traps in two corners rather than four but be sure that they are on different pairs of corners. For example if you put your two traps on opposite corners from each other that standing wave is really killed but nothing is being done about the standing wave between the other two corners.
Click to expand...


That makes sense. I guess the only thing standing between me and making bass traps is money. I can tell my wife that the added insulation will also help with energy savings. I saw on Ethans site that in most pics there was only a single trap in each corner and some in the ceiling corners.
I guess they won't take up too much room. Does anyone know if it is a bad idea to store stuff behind the traps in the corners or do you need to keep that area open?
Thanks for all the responses guys.
 
mshilarious said:
Everybody specs 2' x 4' because that's the size the insulation comes from the manufacturer. If you don't want to lose that much corner space, cut a sheet down to 1' wide, then you would have two 1' x 4' traps, which would cover floor to ceiling. Or you could make a triangle-shaped trap with 1' sides that would neatly tuck in a corner and offer lots of absorption. I am working on such a beast for portable traps.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting concept. I wonder if it would make any difference since it is basically the same surface area. It sure would save a little space.
 
Ed,

> do I need bass traps in all four corners of a rectangular room? <

The more bass trapping you add, the flatter and tighter the low end will be. It's really as simple as that. When results are more important than cost the best solution is to treat not only the wall-wall corners, but also the wall-ceiling corners. As far as I'm concerned it's not possible to have too much bass trapping. Especially in a room the size of yours. However, it's definitely possible to have too much absorption at mid and high frequencies.

--Ethan
 
Ethan Winer said:
Ed,

> do I need bass traps in all four corners of a rectangular room? <

The more bass trapping you add, the flatter and tighter the low end will be. It's really as simple as that. When results are more important than cost the best solution is to treat not only the wall-wall corners, but also the wall-ceiling corners. As far as I'm concerned it's not possible to have too much bass trapping. Especially in a room the size of yours. However, it's definitely possible to have too much absorption at mid and high frequencies.

--Ethan
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response Ethan and I just want to say I appreciate your involvement with this forum and for taking the time to answer yet another stupid question form yet another novice studio builder. Actually studio builder is a bit of a stretch. It’s more like garage converter. :D
I guess as money allows I will start to track down some OC 703/705 and get started. I guess I could start out with the minimum coverage and add as I see fit.
 
FALKEN said:
so the point then is to actually get where the walls meet, or where the walls and ceiling meet?

1' wide instead of 2 would help a lot. also, my monitors are sitting on bookshelves situated in the corners so really I only have 3 feet above them till i hit ceiling; so I was more interested in the upper "corner" then the actual wall from top to bottom.

here is another issue that might be typical to a lot of people...

in my back corners, I have 1: a door, and 2: a closet. what the hell do you do with that????
(btw-keeping the door open seems to eliminate one "corner")
Click to expand...


I have the same situation: a door and a closet (except they're along one of the long sides of the room. I posted a drawing of my room asking about it here on this forum and also on the John Sayers site, but no one has answered the question. :(
 
Well, I just responded to your thread. Maybe now it will get more attention.

I have tried recording with the door open, and I think it helps, which actually reinforces for me the idea behind the traps. sound still wasn't *great* tho.

Ed,

please post how it goes.
 
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