Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - My new cheap bass traps (pics, prices, suppliers in London)

Format6 · 8th September 2009

Hey guys,
First off the bat I want to thank Ethan and Glenn for all the input you guys have put in on this forum. Has helped me heaps! I was temped to ask questions but I spent alot of time searching and found all the answers I needed.

I was setup in the corner of my room until a friend told me I really should follow Ethan's guide to position myself correctly in the middle of the room etc. So I did all this, treated the first reflection points with the the few bits of foam I have. Once it was all setup I put on a track I knew and waited to hear the difference.... But sadly the difference was not good, no bass! (I know that bass in corner was not accurate and what not but still it was nice to hear somthing!)

I very very nearly brought some cheap foam bass traps off ebay but then found posts stating it wouldn't help we will with my low end problems. (funny they call foam bass traps, bass traps if they dont trap bass?)

So I got to designing and making my own. I have a few factors working against me as
A) I am renting so I cant attach anything to walls
B) My room is close to the dreaded square of death (3610 x 3060)
C) One wall is basically all glass (bad for reflections right?)
D) Due to furniture restrictions I am positioned in the shorter length of the room
E) I'm poor

I have two types of trap, 3 x wooden frame traps and 3x triangle corner traps.

Materials are as follows:

Wood:
6x MDF panels (1200x200x18)
6x MDF panels (636x200x18)
Cut to size by local joinery shop was £35 (travis perkins wanted £50)

(I know I would get better performance if I removed some of the wood from the frame but I dont have the money to pay the joinery shop to do it or the tools to do it myself.)

Rockwool:
2 x RWA45 4 pack (1200x600x100) code 107524
Travis Perkins quoted me £41.07 per pack but I got it from CCF CCF - Ceilings, Partitioning, Dry Lining, Insulation & Fire Protection for £15.00 per pack. Funny thing was Travis Perkins delivered it and gave me a TP delivery note.

Fabric:
Here's where my expenses will vary. Luckily for me but unlucky for my bedroom studio my wife lives here too so part of the deal of me filling our small room with empty boxes was she got to pick the fabrics. The fabric store had plain black for £2.50 per meter so you could do it for about £20 however I had to get crocodiles and stuff so my bill went up to £40.

Tools:
Drills - borrowed from work
screws - borrowed from work
staple gun - £10.00
drill bits - £2.00
Box cutter - £2.00
paper mask - £1.00
gloves - found under the sink
tape - found under the sink

Thats a grand total of £120 all up. About what I was going to spend on foam but I got alot more trapage for my money (in theory).

The build:
So I drilled and screwed the MDF frames together.

Put 2 x 100mm rockwool sheets in

I chose the frame sizes the same as the Rockwool so I wouldn't need to cut it, sadly tho the Rockwool is a bit smaller then the advertised dimensions so I had to use some tape to hold it in place.
(shabby I know, but no one will see it)

Then stretched and stapled the fabric.

that's the 3 framed traps done, for my tri traps I require my wife to do some sewing so I will reveal the plans and photos etc once they are done.

Oh and a reminder to those who dont know, Rockwool is scratchy and nasty so take precaution to avoid skin contact!

Hope this helps some one

Thoughts, feedback ?

8th September 2009	#1
Format6 Gear interested Joined: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 11 Thread Starter	My new cheap bass traps (pics, prices, suppliers in London) Hey guys, First off the bat I want to thank Ethan and Glenn for all the input you guys have put in on this forum. Has helped me heaps! I was temped to ask questions but I spent alot of time searching and found all the answers I needed. I was setup in the corner of my room until a friend told me I really should follow Ethan's guide to position myself correctly in the middle of the room etc. So I did all this, treated the first reflection points with the the few bits of foam I have. Once it was all setup I put on a track I knew and waited to hear the difference.... But sadly the difference was not good, no bass! (I know that bass in corner was not accurate and what not but still it was nice to hear somthing!) I very very nearly brought some cheap foam bass traps off ebay but then found posts stating it wouldn't help we will with my low end problems. (funny they call foam bass traps, bass traps if they dont trap bass?) So I got to designing and making my own. I have a few factors working against me as A) I am renting so I cant attach anything to walls B) My room is close to the dreaded square of death (3610 x 3060) C) One wall is basically all glass (bad for reflections right?) D) Due to furniture restrictions I am positioned in the shorter length of the room E) I'm poor I have two types of trap, 3 x wooden frame traps and 3x triangle corner traps. Materials are as follows: Wood: 6x MDF panels (1200x200x18) 6x MDF panels (636x200x18) Cut to size by local joinery shop was £35 (travis perkins wanted £50) (I know I would get better performance if I removed some of the wood from the frame but I dont have the money to pay the joinery shop to do it or the tools to do it myself.) Rockwool: 2 x RWA45 4 pack (1200x600x100) code 107524 Travis Perkins quoted me £41.07 per pack but I got it from CCF CCF - Ceilings, Partitioning, Dry Lining, Insulation & Fire Protection for £15.00 per pack. Funny thing was Travis Perkins delivered it and gave me a TP delivery note. Fabric: Here's where my expenses will vary. Luckily for me but unlucky for my bedroom studio my wife lives here too so part of the deal of me filling our small room with empty boxes was she got to pick the fabrics. The fabric store had plain black for £2.50 per meter so you could do it for about £20 however I had to get crocodiles and stuff so my bill went up to £40. Tools: Drills - borrowed from work screws - borrowed from work staple gun - £10.00 drill bits - £2.00 Box cutter - £2.00 paper mask - £1.00 gloves - found under the sink tape - found under the sink Thats a grand total of £120 all up. About what I was going to spend on foam but I got alot more trapage for my money (in theory). The build: So I drilled and screwed the MDF frames together. Put 2 x 100mm rockwool sheets in I chose the frame sizes the same as the Rockwool so I wouldn't need to cut it, sadly tho the Rockwool is a bit smaller then the advertised dimensions so I had to use some tape to hold it in place. (shabby I know, but no one will see it) Then stretched and stapled the fabric. that's the 3 framed traps done, for my tri traps I require my wife to do some sewing so I will reveal the plans and photos etc once they are done. Oh and a reminder to those who dont know, Rockwool is scratchy and nasty so take precaution to avoid skin contact! Hope this helps some one Thoughts, feedback ?