How I Built My Acoustic Panels

[Classic]

Here's how I built my acoustic panels:

For the walls, I went with 2" thickness; for the ceiling, I went with 4" thickness. 2'x4'x2" sheets of 703 Fiberglass (Owens Corning).

For both panel sizes, I nailed together two pieces of wood, same thickness as the fiberglass sheet(s), to create 90 degree angles for all of the corners. Gazebo lattice wood was then stapled to the angles, creating one side of support.

Then I set the fiberglass panel(s) in and stapled lattice wood on top of that, securing the fiberglass in place.

Next up, I wrapped the panels in Guilford of Maine Fabric, using a staplegun to attach the fabric to the back of the lattice wood.

Eye hooks were then screwed into the top corners; L-shaped hangers screwed into the wall, both top and bottom. The bottom ones act as a leveler to make sure it's flush with the wall (and adds a little space behind the panels).

Ceilings required curved hooks to accommodate the eye hooks for hanging.

Obviously a little time goes into planning placement and making sure everything lines up, but the building of these acoustic panels was really easy.

Here are some photos:

[sandreatta]

What a beautiful studio dude! Looks great, how does it sound?

[DJBlueDrink]

I really like your framing method. It looks like a sturdy way that makes much more efficient use of the materials and would appear to be much lighter weight. Good Job.

[Classic]

Originally Posted by sandreatta

What a beautiful studio dude! Looks great, how does it sound?

Sounds awesome! I remember playing my drums in there for the first time and realizing that *this* is how my drums were suppose to sound... tight and focused.

[scaryonly]

+1
looks great

[beckyrec]

Do you mixed the audio samples on your homepage in this room?

[Classic]

Originally Posted by gslam

Do you mixed the audio samples on your homepage in this room?

Just the first 4 songs. The rest were done at my old studio location, which was much smaller and not as tricked out acoustically.

[jpupo74]

Thanks for posting this!
thumbsup
What are the sepcs on the plywood?
Cheers,
Pupo

[Weasel9992]

Really, really great job...both on the traps and on the rest. That looks like a great place to work.

Frank

[avare]

Originally Posted by Weasel9992

Really, really great job...both on the traps and on the rest. That looks like a great place to work.

+1

Andre

[Classic]

Originally Posted by jpupo74

Thanks for posting this!
thumbsup
What are the sepcs on the plywood?
Cheers,
Pupo

Actually, the plywood in the photos was just a surface to work on. The panels are open on all sides.

[jpupo74]

Originally Posted by Classic

Actually, the plywood in the photos was just a surface to work on. The panels are open on all sides.

Thanks man!
Congratulation on that space. It looks peaceful...

Pupo

[beckyrec]

Maybe I am wrong:

For me the demos sounds very dry, and with nearly no room/space, especially on the main vocals.

When I watch your really great looking studio (good work!), I wondered, if you have enough absorption in the control room.
Otherwise its hard to adjust the reverberation in your mixes.

In my old room, I had the problem...

btw, I love the floor wood.

[Classic]

Originally Posted by beckyrec

Maybe I am wrong:

For me the demos sounds very dry, and with nearly no room/space, especially on the main vocals.

When I watch your really great looking studio (good work!), I wondered, if you have enough absorption in the control room.
Otherwise its hard to adjust the reverberation in your mixes.

In my old room, I had the problem...

btw, I love the floor wood.

Yeah, the floors are a big hit. thumbsup

I tend to mix more on the dry side, but that's just my personal preference. Unless my clients suggest more verb/delay, I mix it the way I would enjoy listening to it.

[Weasel9992]

Did you do all of it yourself or did hire someone to pull cable, terminate, install plates, etc.? If you did it yourself, that's the cleanest DIY job I've ever seen...and this from a guy who used to do exactly that for a high end company for a living.

Frank

[beckyrec]

Thats true. Incredible good installation and painting job.

btw, I mix on the dry side too. hate the 80s sound :D

[Classic]

Originally Posted by Weasel9992

Did you do all of it yourself or did hire someone to pull cable, terminate, install plates, etc.? If you did it yourself, that's the cleanest DIY job I've ever seen...and this from a guy who used to do exactly that for a high end company for a living.

Frank

Thanks Frank! I hired out the framing, electrical, insulation, drywall, air and water/sewage. The rest (flooring, window build, paint, acoustic treatment, tile, soldering wall panel, audio setup, etc.) was done by me, my dad and grandfather... was awesome having 3 generations working on it together.

[localhost127]

wonderful stuff.

now, building the floor/ceiling corner trap is easy in your case because you have gravity on your side:

http://www.thebouncedown.com/wp-cont...basstraps3.jpg

i really like that idea (cutting the oc703 fiberglass into triangular sections).

i was thinking this would be a good idea to do in my home...but for across the common wall/ceiling boundary.

photo:
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/5674/94983734.jpg

e.g. at the top of the drywall/against the concrete ceiling.

it would be a long bass trap run (across the entire width or 75% of the width of my loft)...but i think that would be pretty effective and look much better than random 4" bass traps angled in the corner.

do you have any recommendations on mounting? when doing this in a corner, you can stack the fiberglass as gravity is working to your advantage, but not in my case.

how much do you estimate your corner bass traps to weigh? just so i can get an idea of the density/weight of OC703..and how i might be able to support it up against my ceiling/wall boundary.

[Classic]

Originally Posted by localhost127

wonderful stuff.
i was thinking this would be a good idea to do in my home...but for across the common wall/ceiling boundary.

photo:
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/5674/94983734.jpg

e.g. at the top of the drywall/against the concrete ceiling.

Cool space! I'm not sure on the exact weight, but the Rockwool I used for the bass traps was fairly light (as was the 703 I used for the panels)... enough to just use string to keep it balanced floor to ceiling before attaching the front panel.

The ceiling/wall would be trickier... I guess you could probably use some metal brackets to attach to the ceiling and wall (45 degree angle), spaced out, then run a wire all the way through to keep the 703 in place, then attach the front wrapped panel? Just my initial thought...

I think if I were mixing there, I'd move the desk back a bit, and use 2'x4' bass traps on stands to define the listening space a bit more. Would look good if you matched the colors in the space or went all black with the fabric.

[RiKi]

What Fabric brand did you get. what Does the yard run?
I'm building a couple bass trap.
Been searcing around and could'nt find that type of fabric color,
I'm really liking the grey color on your place looks great thumbsup

[localhost127]

Originally Posted by Classic

Cool space! I'm not sure on the exact weight, but the Rockwool I used for the bass traps was fairly light (as was the 703 I used for the panels)... enough to just use string to keep it balanced floor to ceiling before attaching the front panel.

The ceiling/wall would be trickier... I guess you could probably use some metal brackets to attach to the ceiling and wall (45 degree angle), spaced out, then run a wire all the way through to keep the 703 in place, then attach the front wrapped panel? Just my initial thought...

I think if I were mixing there, I'd move the desk back a bit, and use 2'x4' bass traps on stands to define the listening space a bit more. Would look good if you matched the colors in the space or went all black with the fabric.

yeah, i have a new audio setup with new furniture/speakers/etc...that was just an old pic to show the room. i have a pair of 2x4x4" bass traps behind my computer desk now (with the new speakers).

so that is rockwool you used for your corner traps?

[Classic]

Originally Posted by RiKi

What Fabric brand did you get. what Does the yard run?
I'm building a couple bass trap.
Been searcing around and could'nt find that type of fabric color,
I'm really liking the grey color on your place looks great thumbsup

I bought Guilford of Maine fabric from GIK Acoustics. Can't remember how much it ran per yard, but they seemed to have the best prices on this particular fabric. I'm really happy with it. thumbsup

Originally Posted by localhost127

yeah, i have a new audio setup with new furniture/speakers/etc...that was just an old pic to show the room. i have a pair of 2x4x4" bass traps behind my computer desk now (with the new speakers).

so that is rockwool you used for your corner traps?

Yeah, the Rockwool was a lot cheaper to use than the 703. Only downside is that the Rockwool is a bit messier to cut. The 703 cuts smoother and is more rigid.

[bountytracker]

Those are the cleanest looking DIY panels that I have seen on GS so far.

[pianogineer]

Awesome -- I think I'm going to steal your framing idea.

Any instructions/pictures for how you built the corner bass traps?

[Classic]

Originally Posted by pianogineer

Awesome -- I think I'm going to steal your framing idea.

Any instructions/pictures for how you built the corner bass traps?

Here you go!

How I Built My Corner Bass Traps

[craig9045]

looks awesome man. thanks for sharing

[Insulation Man]

I like the eye hook hanging idea on all four corners. This must eliminate any vibrational noise since they are not rubbing on the wall. Nice.

[Valentin23]

Looks very simple, lightweight.

What kind of wood did you use for the panel frames? Looks like 1/4" or 1/2" thick stock - but you mentioned "lattice wood" - did you find that in individual pieces somewhere (i.e. not sold as a pre-constructed lattice)?

Seems like it's a perfect fit for your design which I might like to use for some overhead frames. Let me know if you have any other details about what type of wood it is, and where you can get it.

Thanks so much - !!

Valentin
artist, producer, ninja

[Classic]

Originally Posted by Valentin23

Looks very simple, lightweight.

What kind of wood did you use for the panel frames? Looks like 1/4" or 1/2" thick stock - but you mentioned "lattice wood" - did you find that in individual pieces somewhere (i.e. not sold as a pre-constructed lattice)?

I'm awful at knowing specific names, but pretty good at making names up. I call it lattice strip wood because it was next to the gazeebo lattice work at Home Depot. I'd say it's about 1.5" width, 1/8" thick.