My bass trap positioning

[jordan s]

Hello, after doing a lot of reading on this forum and on the main contributors own sites, I have built a bunch of bass traps and absorbers out of 6 lbs/sq. ft. mineral wool for my small mixing room/extra bedroom in my apartment. The room is 11.5x11 feet (I know, what am I thinking?) but it's all I've got and I need to make the best out of it while being economical.
I have 2" thick 2'x4' panels at first reflection points, two on the sides, one on the ceiling and an extra in the short hallway that leads to the door. I have 4" thick 2'x4' panels across all four corners and 4" thick 1'x1'x1' triangles in the four ceiling/side wall corners.

I have two 4" thick panels left. I was considering putting one either flat against the center of the back wall, positioned vertically OR across the back ceiling/wall corner. Is it going to make a big difference either way? I've hung it across the ceiling/wall corner and esthetically I don't like it. It feels like my already small room is closing in on me, but if it's a big advantage over just hanging it flat against the back wall, I can settle.

Where then should I put the last 4" thick bass trap? Somewhere behind the monitors? Perhaps in the ceiling/wall corner behind the monitors? Or maybe put it on the back wall with the other one that I haven't decided on yet? Any help on what I should do with these remaining bass traps would be very much appreciated as well as any other good tips.

[Glenn Kuras]

I would put both of them on the back wall,(space them a few inches off the wall if you can) though it would not be "wrong" to put one on the back wall and the other in the upper ceiling to wall corner.

Glenn

[jordan s]

As an added challenge, I was originally planning on putting an open back 4 shelf rack against the back wall. I know this is nowhere close to ideal for mixing but this room is also my diy electronics workshop and I needed to store my gear somewhere. The cabinet would be the kind like they sell in hardware stores for garages and whatnot. There would be plenty of space between objects on the rack for sound to travel through and hit the traps against the wall but I'm sure it would make the traps less efficient and maybe even cause some ugly kind of diffusion. This is why I was originally planning on putting the trap in the ceiling/wall corner. But something about how that closes up the room just bugs the shit out of me. Sigh.

[Glenn Kuras]

Well you could always put panels on stands and move them when need be.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by jordan s

As an added challenge, I was originally planning on putting an open back 4 shelf rack against the back wall. I know this is nowhere close to ideal for mixing but this room is also my diy electronics workshop and I needed to store my gear somewhere. The cabinet would be the kind like they sell in hardware stores for garages and whatnot. There would be plenty of space between objects on the rack for sound to travel through and hit the traps against the wall but I'm sure it would make the traps less efficient and maybe even cause some ugly kind of diffusion.

Yep...you're right. It would. In small rooms everything becomes a source for acoustic headaches, but if you can move that rack somewhere other than the back wall or reflection points you'll be better off.

Frank

[jordan s]

I ended up putting one across the ceiling/back wall corner and one horizontally below it, about in the middle of the wall. Thanks for the suggestions and all the great info on this forum. My room is pretty much outfitted with as much bass trapping and absorption as I can reasonably fit. I haven't had a chance to do any listening but I am confident that it is miles ahead of what it would have been bare. I did a purely unscientific clap test between this room and the similarly sized room next door. HUGE HUGE HUGE difference. I can't wait to start mixing. Thanks!

[jordan s]

Oh, and I settled on putting the shelving rack in the closet. I have plenty of storage and I don't have to worry about it messing up the acoustics in my room.