Bass Traps

[lanceblair]

I just put in two 2x4 triangular corner bass traps by GIK Acoustics (based in Atlanta) in my voice over recording space. They're not cheap (but they are fairly priced), but let's put it this way - they cost $250 and the sound improvement is far far more than a $250 improvement in my sound.

Consider this also - without fixing the bumps and dips in the low end response of my room, I could be throwing money away when I upgrade from my TLM 103 to say a U87 because the improvement would be masked by the effects of the room.

If you have a $250 microphone, don't buy a $500 mic next - buy a $250 set of bass traps.

Also, I had my room treated with Auralex foam which of course did nothing to reign in the low end. I replaced them with three acoustic panels from GIK which really improved the sound all across the frequency range from 80Hz to 20kHz. The Acoustic panels cost less than the giant box of Auralex that I needed to place everywhere just to get the room reasonably tamed. Three 2x4 panels were all it took to make my voice over recording space sound terrific. My wife, who can't tell the difference in sound between one mic or another immediately though the room sounded great.

This also positively affects my performance because dynamic rises and falls in my voice aren't masked by surges of boominess and pings. I can be me, and let my talking do the talking without the acoustics getting in the way.

[Mike Sommer]

+++1

For you handy folks you can build them yourself. I get a bundle of about 10 2x4 ridged fiberglass bats for about $98. Then I head over to the Depot, get some clean (few knots as possible) #2 pine for frames, mill it all up, slap 'em together, cover them with some attractive yardage (need to be able to blow through the material -tight weaves are a no no) hang them up and presto! Yummy sounding room. I've maybe spent $600 on everything (2 bundles, lumber hangers) and what a great investment.

My next home studio will have soft walls -floor to ceiling ridged insulation covered with fabric- with built in corner Bass Traps.

Foam is useless unless it's dense and 6 inches thick. And it's expensive.

[lanceblair]

The DIY route is good, but I couldn't have built them this nicely in my house and they really do work well and they're not just fibreglass.

I'm so happy with the sound I think I could go back to my starter set up of an NT1a and a dbx286 and be very happy with the sound...but having this and the Speck 5.0 and the TLM 103 is icing on the cake for now.

[JohnWeeks]

I didn't have the time to build them, so I bought some about a year and a half ago. I bought from GIK in Atlanta as well and have been pleased with the service as well as the results. I have 6 - 2 inch panels and 2 - 4 inch panels and the difference is amazing!

[edwinoldfield]

My next home studio will have soft walls -floor to ceiling ridged insulation covered with fabric- with built in corner Bass Traps.

Mike, I assume you mean fibreglass insulation as softwalls, having a lose weave, does this not cause problems with contamination, I assume the moment you touch the wall it or bang into it, you get fibreglass particles in the air? The lose weave you talk about I assume a jute lose weave material. I guess the question is is there any problems with contamination, including the bass traps?

[Mike Sommer]

Originally Posted by edwinoldfield

I assume you mean fibreglass insulation as softwalls

Yes

having a lose weave, does this not cause problems with contamination, I assume the moment you touch the wall it or bang into it, you get fibreglass particles in the air?

That is a wrong assumption, but very understandable. Ridged insulation is compressed and has a glue that holds it together. Though rough handling of uncovered bats will worked a few fibers lose. Some people spray the bats with hairspray, before covering. But this is overkill, you'll get more irritation from the hairspray than the fiber. Of course use all reasonable precautions when working with it: a particle mask if cutting, long sleeve shirt, gloves if you must. I find this material very easy and a pleasure to work with (compared with lose bat glass ) and I've gone after it in t-shirts and shorts.

With softwalls they cover the fiberglass with thin dacron sheet then cover with material. This makes the wall look smoother and cleaner.

The lose weave you talk about I assume a jute lose weave material. I guess the question is is there any problems with contamination, including the bass traps?

Yeah jute, burlap, or a lose cotton weave, but so as long as you can blow through the material you're good. I found a rather "retro" looking speaker cover material for one of my 4'x4' traps that's almost like a dense gauze, and I have no problems.
Note: you only need to use good material for the side you see. For the backside I use a heavy cheap muslin or cambric material.

As for contamination, fiberglass is only a mechanical irritant, and there is no risk of cancer. Here is what the American Lung Association has to say about that.
The warnings that are place on fiberglass insulation, are for people that are in physical day use of the material. It's just an over cautious warning.

As I said before once covered and hung there is nothing to worry about. Base traps are in just about every big studio in the country. Also this stuff was designed to kill the sound around AC heating units.

Read through all the post here.