I just built my first skyline diffuser....

[Tom H]

As a test I decided to build a skyline diffuser today! I calculated the dimensions with the free mhsoft software and went for a basic design wich works from 860Hz to 3440Hz.



Got a bunch of wood from the Gamma store, I needed a total of 15 meter by 5 cm. Took out the machine saw and sawed them in to little pieces of 20, 15, 10 and 5 cm.



After that, all I had to do was glue them on a 60 by 60 cm panel in the right order. My cat decided to help.



Halfway there!



And there it is, the glue has to dry for a day, I will install it in the studio over the weekend.



Total costs of building this; around 30 Euro's.


Cheers,

Tommy

[Colorblind]

looks good!

how much does that sucker weigh?

C

[Tom H]

Don't know exactly but as you can imagine it weighs quite a lot!

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by Tommylicious

Don't know exactly but as you can imagine it weighs quite a lot!

I bet it does, but supper cool looking.

Glenn

[critikal]

but where did you got the soft? this address on the picture is not working

dope looking! good work!

[Ethan Winer]

They changed their web address a while ago. Here's the updated link:

Acoustic Calculator

--Ethan

[rjaudio]

Inspired by Tommy, I'm thinking about building some skyline diffusers as well. As I'm in the US, I'm using 2x2 so some basic conversion was needed of mhsoft's calculations to go from cm to inches.

As noted earlier in the thread, once finished they will be quite heavy and herein lies the rub. I have a drop ceiling and don't like the idea of a diffusers crashing down on my head (though a clients might be ok). Will the diffusers performance be affected if I simply remove the drop tiles where I want the skyline to be and secure it to the joists which are 5" above the bottom of the drop ceiling? Based on mhsoft calculations, the column lenghts would be 2", 4", 6" & 8", so the two longest would still protrude below the surrounding tiles, but the shorter columns would be recessed. I noticed in the disucssion of Amsterdam Mastering's construction thread that this is how their skylines are installed.

Thanks as always,

Jeff

[johndykstra]

Originally Posted by JeffK

Inspired by Tommy, I'm thinking about building some skyline diffusers as well. As I'm in the US, I'm using 2x2 so some basic conversion was needed of mhsoft's calculations to go from cm to inches.

As noted earlier in the thread, once finished they will be quite heavy and herein lies the rub. I have a drop ceiling and don't like the idea of a diffusers crashing down on my head (though a clients might be ok). Will the diffusers performance be affected if I simply remove the drop tiles where I want the skyline to be and secure it to the joists which are 5" above the bottom of the drop ceiling? Based on mhsoft calculations, the column lenghts would be 2", 4", 6" & 8", so the two longest would still protrude below the surrounding tiles, but the shorter columns would be recessed. I noticed in the disucssion of Amsterdam Mastering's construction thread that this is how their skylines are installed.

Thanks as always,

Jeff

Why not mount a 5" extension from the rafters to mount it flush with your drop?

[rjaudio]

This is something I also thought about, however the ceiling is already low (7'3") and I'm tall, so if I can get an extra 5" of ceiling height, that would be preferable.

Jeff

[heltup]

Is the "kittie help" a requirement?

[Soundseed]

Nice Job!

Is there any rule of thumb about where these things go in relation to the listener?

Cheers
Chris

[betserd]

Originally Posted by Colorblind

looks good!

how much does that sucker weigh?

C

I'm quite interested in the weight as well. If you could place it on a weegschaal I would appreciate it a lot!

[adamcal]

I had no kitty to help me :-(

but they are looking great, I made mine from Tasmanian Oak and they will be stained next.

[Disjointed]

they are frickin heavy...

i expanded mine to a 2' x 4' panel size (about 3 times the size of the standard)

bad idea, it is crazy heavy, it took 2 people to help me slide it up the ladder to secure it to the wall, it was going over the drummers head, but no way i'd risk that..

id estimate 150+lbs for mine (50lb for each maybe?)

[Tom H]

Hey all been away from GS awhile but thanks for the nice comments and good job on your own builds!

Just wanted to say they work very well so far, but they are addictive so I will have to build more! Combination of basstraps and diffusion gives much fresher sound.

Weight; dunno. no scale in the studio, will weigh the next ones i build at home!

Placement; indirect reflection points seems to work best, but I'm still experimenting with it.

[Time Tech]

How much does the cat weigh?

Is the cat available for freelance work?

How long did it to take the cat to figure out the diffuser was not some poorly designed litter box?

Project looks great and is very cost effective (if you discount the "sweat equity") of you and the cat building them.

Best of luck with the build, and give the cat a pat for me.

Cheers!

Bruce Maddocks
Cups 'n Strings LLC

CUPS 'N STRINGS are experts in digitizing, restoration and preservation of audio recordings. audio analog to digital transfer specialists, Los Angeles

[ruy]

has anybody tried doing this with lighter materials?

[G. E.]

Originally Posted by ruy

has anybody tried doing this with lighter materials?

After some diffusors made of spruce I started to use balsa; it has ~40% of the weight for the same volume. See some pics of a pair of "Dual BBC" mobile diffusors

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by ruy

has anybody tried doing this with lighter materials?

Well, the standard Skyline diffusors from RPG are made of styrofoam. They are very light (and much safer to hang above your head), and I believe they are slightly more effective than wood because they have some absorption as well.

[adamcal]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Well, the actual Skyline diffusors from RPG are made of styrofoam. They are very light (and much safer to hang above your head), and I believe they are slightly more effective than wood because they have some absorption as well.

that doesnt make them more effective as diffusors, if what you want when buying a diffusor is diffusion not absorption.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by adamcal

that doesnt make them more effective as diffusors, if what you want when buying a diffusor is diffusion not absorption.

Of course you're right. Both materials work equally well as diffusors. I just meant that for some people a small amount of absorption combined with equally-good diffusion would be an improvement. But your wood Skylines look great. I would happily use them in my studio. I just took the lazy approach and bought them ready-made from RPG.

[fabricaudio]

I used polystyrene, the same density as rpg


http://www.gearslutz.com/board/3918981-post28.html

Nikolas

[Terry McInturff]

How about building with styro..and then using a full sized spray gun to coat them with epoxy paint?

[fabricaudio]

I am not an expert but this is what i found on quick search

Styrofoam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The one i used is the Extruded polystyrene foam, the same density as RPG diffusors, because t is more dense than the Expanded polystyrene foam, so it works better for diffusion

You can only paint it with water-based paint otherwise it will start melting


Nikolas

[adamcal]

Originally Posted by Greg B

O Both materials work equally well as diffusors. .

The real RPG's are a great cost/time/weight effective solution, but in every other aspect (sound/tone/looks/feel/slutness) real hardwood!!

[Terry McInturff]

Originally Posted by fabricaudio

I used polystyrene, the same density as rpg


http://www.gearslutz.com/board/3918981-post28.html

Nikolas

Nikolas,

Can you share the design of the full height diffusor in your link?

[fabricaudio]

Originally Posted by Tommylicious

As a test I decided to build a skyline diffuser today! I calculated the dimensions with the free mhsoft software and went for a basic design wich works from 860Hz to 3440Hz.

Attachment 107729


Tommy

This was my schematics too

Then you buy the polystyrene , you cut them 5x5 cm. Then you cut them on the appropriate lengths, were 0=0cm, 1=5cm, 2=10cm, 3=15cm, 4=20cm

Last you cut a base 60x60cm from polystyrene and you glue them with glue for wood and fix a nail on each one in the center for more support, i did one 60x70cm so i could slide them in the supports show at the ceiling


It is simple and cheap, just time consuming (God bless my brother Jordan!!!)

Nikolas

[fabricaudio]

Sorry i misunderstood!!!!


The full height goes like that. Ordering 10 cm polystyrene is quite tricky and more expensive, so i used two 5cm together. Between the different widths i placed thin wood of width 25cm


I hope this helps

Nikolas

[Tom H]

Originally Posted by Time Tech

Best of luck with the build, and give the cat a pat for me.

Thanks, I'll do that!

[RedWallStudio]

Does anyone know where I can get a Mac version of the acoustic calculator?