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#83550 - 09/07/01 04:54 PM Building bass traps
jeremy hesford Offline
Founding Member

Registered: 05/06/99
Posts: 6219
Loc: odenton md.
I know this has been talked about before but I could not find it doing a search. A friend of mine said you can build a bass trap by making an air tight plywood box filled with fiberglass any size as long as it's at least 8" deep. Is this correct?

I heard once before you need a small hole in it. I really don't know much about it, any ideas?

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#83551 - 09/07/01 07:05 PM Re: Building bass traps
Eric Seaberg Offline
Veteran Member

Registered: 04/15/99
Posts: 1836
Loc: San Diego, CA USA
George Augspurger designed most of the rooms I worked in, and his traps always used peg-board. In fact, the whole rear wall in one of our control rooms was peg-board about 12" away from the orignal concrete block walls. The peg-board was covered with porous material, much like a furniture covering or something, and the airspace between the peg-board and concrete wall was filled with fiberglass.



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ERIC SEABERG • San Diego, CA
eseaberg@home.com
_________________________
ERIC SEABERG • San Diego, CA
A.E.S., I.E.E.E., S.M.P.T.E., S.P.A.R.S.

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#83552 - 09/08/01 02:44 AM Re: Building bass traps
jeremy hesford Offline
Founding Member

Registered: 05/06/99
Posts: 6219
Loc: odenton md.
Eric, what exactly is peg - board? Is that another name for partical board?

So in theroy, the low frequency waves penetrate the boxed in space filled with fiberglass and are traped?

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#83553 - 09/08/01 06:12 AM Re: Building bass traps
blue Offline
Member

Registered: 12/08/00
Posts: 37
Loc: Switzerland
I am about to build a trap myself. And I also have different questions:
- How important is it to to find the right resonance frequency of the room? Doesen`t it make it worser if I absorb the wrong frequency?
- To find out wether I need to build a Trap or not I thought about tests with a open window. Is this a silly idea or does a open window/door act like a Basstrap?
- I ve heard about fiberglass is bad for health (cancer). Are there some substitute materials that I can get in Europe.

Reto

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#83554 - 09/08/01 07:02 AM Re: Building bass traps
Eric Seaberg Offline
Veteran Member

Registered: 04/15/99
Posts: 1836
Loc: San Diego, CA USA
Pegboard is a 4x8 sheet with 1/8" holes in it every square inch... you know it's the stuff that holds hooks so Tim Allen can hang all of his tools on it in the garage!!

Build-out a frame of 1x1 about 9-12" from your wall. Tack 6" or more of insulation on the original wall and nail the pegboard to the framing. Cover it with any porous material you may like. I'd also recommend NOT building it all the way up to your ceiling... leave about a 1-foot space up there. This really makes a difference, but the fiberglass should only go as high as the pegboard... mainly so you can't see it.

If you don't want to use fiberglass, then you can spend a lot of money for some of the foam products.



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ERIC SEABERG • San Diego, CA
eseaberg@home.com
_________________________
ERIC SEABERG • San Diego, CA
A.E.S., I.E.E.E., S.M.P.T.E., S.P.A.R.S.

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#83555 - 09/08/01 08:46 AM Re: Building bass traps
highVU Offline
New Member

Registered: 08/21/01
Posts: 25
Loc: PA, USA
Hello all
Check out http://www.ethanwiner.com/basstrap.html http://www.studiotips.com/ http://ic.net/~jtgale/diy2.htm
AES NYC There will be a workshop " GUERRILLA ACOUSTICS III " PERSPECTIVES ON ACOUSTICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL ROOMS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON PROJECT STUDIOS.
It will held on Sunday Sept. 23 @ 9.00 AM, $35.00 Workshop fee.
Hope this helps Good Luck VU

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#83556 - 09/08/01 01:55 PM Re: Building bass traps
Pete Offline
Member

Registered: 07/18/00
Posts: 299
Loc: Adrian Mi US.A.
Hey all.... Check out www.decware.com and look under acoustics they have a bass trap plan that rocks!!!! absorbs all the way down to 25 weighs a ton but is easy to build and works well. good luck.

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#83557 - 09/08/01 02:46 PM Re: Building bass traps
CopperDalton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/27/99
Posts: 506
Loc: New York, USA
Hey y'all -

Definitely pick up copies of F. Alton Everest's books on acoustics:

  • The Master Handbook of Acoustics (the latest edition rocks)
  • Sound Studio Contruction on a Budget
  • Build a Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch


All this stuff is covered. Deep stuff, but great reference books. I'm also very interested in Dave Moulton's ideas, but haven't the space that he has to try any of it. Nick can probably give more and better detail on his theories.

From what I know, yes, it makes a big difference what frequencies you target and why...Everest goes into a lot of detail on tuning Helmholtz resonators (either slat or pegboard-style holes) as well as other methods of treatment, and how to get the appropriate degree of absorption at the right frequencies. I wouldn't want to guess at this - it's the sort of thing that should be measured first. Fortunately, the lastest edition of Master Handbook of Acoustics has a chapter on measurement written by Doug Plumb of Acoustisoft (which makes ETF, a great, low-cost acoustics measurement program).

There's also an acoustics mailing list that's quite good, and geared towards smaller recording studios. The site's http://www.studiotips.com/ , and the list is hosted by Yahoo/Egroups.


charlie

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charlie bonnell
www.copperdalton.com

[This message has been edited by CopperDalton (edited 09-08-2001).]
_________________________
charlie bonnell
www.copperdalton.com

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#83558 - 09/08/01 03:08 PM Re: Building bass traps
jeremy hesford Offline
Founding Member

Registered: 05/06/99
Posts: 6219
Loc: odenton md.
Eric, so your saying build a frame, lets say 4 ft across, 4 ft tall and 18" deep, fill it with fiberglass and cover the frame with peg board? Thats interesting because of the other way was to have an air tight box filled with fiber glass. I guess they would both work, I don't know.

I just need to loose the low end of a kick drum that fills my room whenever i'm tracking a band.

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#83559 - 09/08/01 08:49 PM Re: Building bass traps
rick Offline
Founding Member

Registered: 04/16/99
Posts: 3155
Loc: Cambria, CA USA
The frequency will depend on the depth of the absorber, so 12" vs 18" will make a difference.

A sealed box works IF you use thin material, so that it actually squeezes by the bass sound pressure. You can also make bass traps by this method, just creating shallow, sealed boxes against your walls. They flex when hit by bass.

Blue, if you don't know what freq to absorb, you can't do anything. First find out what freq you want to get rid of. Then find out what to build.

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