How I built my bass traps...

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by ollicollins

I've made 11 2x4 4inch thick frames filled with 4inch rockwool, I Covered them in fabric and mounted 4inches off the wall but i've made them with 1/8inch ply backs panels should i remove back panels so they are just rockwool in frames?????

YES you do not want and kind of hard backs on them. HUGE NO NO. tutt


Glenn

[evac]

Thought I'd share my basstrap experience here since I've gotten so many ideas from this thread. In building them I discovered that unless you are handy with construction (which I am not) and/or have built traps before, you can run into some difficulties. Trial and error is how I made it through, so hopefully documenting my errors here will help another clueless DIY'er in the future.

I built 4 traps, dimensions: 4' x 2' x 4"

Material Cost
$32 - 4 panels of 4" Fibrex mineral wool.
$90 - 100ft of 1"x2" Maple wood
$110 - cloth
$7 - Spray adhesive
$3 - Tacks
$10 - Mounting hardware
$8 - Screws
$3 - Wood glue
==========
$263 Total (or about $65/trap)

So you can see right there that I spent as much building them by hand as they can be bought for by other reputable resellers (sans shipping/handling)
This isn't including a few other things I had to buy like a respirator mask (for cutting the min. wool = $4), the clamp I needed to hold the wood in place ($17) or the gas money spent in my 6 trips to various hardware stores (guesstimating around $10). Add those expenses into the mix and the price per trap gets up to around $74.
That's not including my time: I probably spent about 1.5 to 2 hours on each trap (with all the cutting, measuring and car time). At $50/hr, they end up being some expensive traps
I'm not trying to discourage anyone from building your own, I just think it's useful information to consider.

Issues I ran into

1. My frames were a direct ripoff of Melodioso's traps - so thanks, man!
   The first issue I had was that his traps used 1"x1" wood and HomeDepot didn't have any that size so I had to buy 1"x2". The problem with that was 1"x2" isn't really 1 inches by 2 inches. It's about a 1/4 in. shorter on each dimension. This was surprising to me (again - I'm a construction newb) so I had to recalculate all my measurements when I got home and make another trip to HD to return the pre-cut wood for new pieces...which I ended up cutting myself this time because:
2. The first time around I thought I'd be lazy and have HD cut my wood for me. I should have known by the look the guy gave me when I told him I needed 50 pieces of cut that it wasn't going to end well. Sure enough, half the cuts were up to an inch too short/long. So the second time around I just had them cut the stock 12' pieces short enough to fit in my car and I cut them myself at home!
3. The other issue with the thicker wood was that when I screwed into it, it would crack! I had to drill deep pilot holes to get around that, which was a pain - but worked well.

Endnotes
So in the end, my traps ended up looking pretty good seeing as I'm no Bob Vila. For the cost though, I could have spent 20 minutes ordering them online and waited 4 days for the packages to arrive at my doorstep...and I can only assume they'd look more pro than what I made. That's what I'll be doing next when I order my 2" side-wall traps. A learning experience for sure.

[evac]

a few more pics...

[jasonbmerrill]

what is the best way to attach these to the wall?

I would like to be able to get them flush, without damaging the wall, TOO much.

I plan on using wood for my frames...

[evac]

I asked a similar question here and got an answer that worked for me: eyehooks.

I put 2 eyehooks on the back of each panel (maybe 12" down from the top) and then put 2 regular hooks on the wall. If you're mounting them straddling the corner and built 2'x4' traps, then you can put the wall hooks 15" from the corner (worked for me anyway - best to test it yourself.).

Once I had all the hooks in place, I laced a zip-tie through the eyehook and closed it, leaving plenty of slack. I then had someone hold the panel up while I hooked the zip-ties over the wall hooks...tightened the ties down and boom: snug against ceiling and walls.

[heisleyamor]

where can I buy rockwool or mineral wool in the area? I have a lowes and home depot near me but neither sell rockwool. There is also 84 lumber and many more lumber yards. I just don't have the money to spend on 703 right now. I want to make at least 4 bass traps for my room and also some 2" panels for early reflections. Help me! thank you

[evac]

You didn't say what area you're in.

Either way, this might be of help:

Local sources for rigid insulation

[wedgewedge]

i found some at a local hydroponics store... not in massive sheets though.

this might be a silly question, but...
does is matter how wide my bass traps are? say they are 16" wide (without frame), do they need to be wider even though they are covering the corners? thanks!

[heisleyamor]

I live 20 mins from Cleveland in Ohio. I work at lowes. I'm thinking about getting some really thick insulation (safe touch insulation) and just stuffing it into a frame. unless I can buy some rigid stuff somewhere. I just don't know where to get it. Anyone? I want to spend less than 80 dollars. Mineral Wool? Rockwool? Any cheap 703?

[recall]

How heavy are these normal 2' by 4' Ft Bass traps? I'm going to make a few to help my room. Since my ceiling is a normal sloped ceiling I want to position two of them below the apex above my head in the mix Position.

I reckon I can make the traps myself. I'm by no means a DIY'er but I am quite practical and I know how to operate a screwdriver!

I'm a bit preturbed by having to mount them securely above my head though. Any tips for this? I don't want to do any excessive alterations because it is not my ceiling!

Also, any of you guys in the UK? I'm looking for the OC703 type equivalent.

Cheers

Iwan

[FeatheredSerpent]

Hi Cojo, have a question for you, read as far as your second set of traps which look great, am going to copy you, but hey imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that

I'm in Copenhagen so figure I can source pretty much the same materials as you, and the price certainly sounds good.

Any chance you could list the names/brands of the materials you used - brand and exact type of mineral wool especially, and type of wood (if it matters), then I can find some dealers. I've not really done any furniture style DIY before and would like to give it a go, but haven't a clue as to this stuff.

Also, I've seen many traps that extend all the way from floor to ceiling, but yours look quite short, does it matter? And if they're only half the height of the room, should they be hung up from the top or stand on the floor?

How did your response tests turn out in the end, or did you get side-tracked with all that single malt?

I'm gathering that a 6" deep trap in each of the 4 corners, plus a 2" deep cloud and 2 x 2" sides should be the minimum..?
Thanks in advance for some pointers!

[gilby]

All of these bass trap designs look great, however how are you mounting them? I have a finished space with finished drywall. These would seem a little heavy for wall mounting. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Originally Posted by Cojo

Hi!

There seems to be alot of talk about bass trapping on the board right now so I thought it was a good idea to post some info on how I built mine. I really want to encourage everyone to build their own, it's easy and well worth the effort!

Each trap is built as a 17 cm deep frame housing 15 cm (6") of rock wool (not the brand) then the front and back is covered with fabric.

Here is the material for the frame. You can also see four angled metal plates. They are there to prevent the rock wool from slipping out the back.

/Cojo

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by gilby

All of these bass trap designs look great, however how are you mounting them? I have a finished space with finished drywall. These would seem a little heavy for wall mounting. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Angle iron to space them off the wall and wall anchors...or you can hang them just like a picture frame...depending on exactly how you built them.

Frank

[lukasbrooklyn]

what about mounting to the ceiling? mounting to the walls is fine, but i'm still a little nervous about the idea of a frame landing on me from above.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by lukasbrooklyn

what about mounting to the ceiling? mounting to the walls is fine, but i'm still a little nervous about the idea of a frame landing on me from above.

EZ wall anchors and #8 or #10 hooks...works like a charm. Or you can use heavy-duty plant hanging hooks and picture hanging wire, at least for lighter panels. There are actually a bunch of different ways to do it...others will probably chime in with some options.

Frank

[donsimpson]

Originally Posted by lukasbrooklyn

what about mounting to the ceiling? mounting to the walls is fine, but i'm still a little nervous about the idea of a frame landing on me from above.

Use hooks capable of holding the weight of the trap, and screw them into the studs in the ceiling. I wouldn't put more than the weight of a light fixture on the bare drywall.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by donsimpson

Use hooks capable of holding the weight of the trap, and screw them into the studs in the ceiling. I wouldn't put more than the weight of a light fixture on the bare drywall.

People do it with plants, lamps, pictures, clocks, etc. all the time. I have two 2" panels weighting 15lbs each hung from my ceiling directly into the drywall; been there for a year and a half...not a problem.

If you can get into the studs I definitely would though....that's also why I suggested the EZ wall anchors first.

Frank

[Cojo]

Originally Posted by FeatheredSerpent

Hi Cojo, have a question for you, read as far as your second set of traps which look great, am going to copy you, but hey imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that

No problem, copy them if you like!

Originally Posted by FeatheredSerpent

Any chance you could list the names/brands of the materials you used - brand and exact type of mineral wool especially, and type of wood (if it matters), then I can find some dealers. I've not really done any furniture style DIY before and would like to give it a go, but haven't a clue as to this stuff.

You must have read very quickly... take a look at post nr:20 again.

Regarding the wood, I have no idea of the brand.

Originally Posted by FeatheredSerpent

Also, I've seen many traps that extend all the way from floor to ceiling, but yours look quite short, does it matter? And if they're only half the height of the room, should they be hung up from the top or stand on the floor?

It would have been better if the traps stretch all the way to the ceiling but then I had to make 4 more traps. I had already made 8 of them and was tired of making traps... I wanted to make music.

Originally Posted by FeatheredSerpent

How did your response tests turn out in the end, or did you get side-tracked with all that single malt?

I got side tracked!

[gurubuzz]

Wow it's taken me 2 weeks to finnaly get to this the last page (so far) of this thread.

Had lots of Ideas will post when construction starts...

[vespiz]

I just finished 6 panels yesterday. Tried them on my current mixing position and.. whoa! Still have 8 more to go. Can't wait!

[vespiz]

OK, here are some pics of my panels. They're 100mm (about 4inches) thick.

Pretty simple. We had some wood lying around left behind by the previous tenants, so we used that. I used drywall screws to assemble the traps.
The wool is COS5 from Paroc, should be dense enough for the job.

The wood was pretty dismal looking and raw, so I had to sand them down.
I then drilled "some" holes into them and after a lick of varnish they started looking a bit better!

We got some fabric for a pretty good price (haven't received the bill yet! ) and I stapled that to the frame to make a sturdy little package. Also as a precaution I stapled fabric the back of the frame.

My friend brought some plywood triangles for the corners, just to make doubly sure that the wool won't fall, although the traps are so snug that after stapling the fabric on, it pretty much holds itself together.

The wood beam going across the finished trap is for lights (to be added later).

Looks nice, does what it's supposed to and can be moved easily if required.

Next up is 8 more of these and some 8-9 50mm (2inch) panels for the reflection points.

[vespiz]

The rest...

[Mixbuster]

Originally Posted by Glenn Kuras

Every inch helps so, YES fire down the longest wall. thumbsup

Glenn

So putting my self at the shortes wall, which is 25 cm shorter than the wall Im facing now would help alot?

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by Mixbuster

So putting my self at the shortes wall, which is 25 cm shorter than the wall Im facing now would help alot?

It should but you would need to test the room just to be sure. Every room is a little different so there is no absolute............................

Glenn

[6pod9]

Well it has taken me a lot of time to digest this entire post.

Thanks for it cause it really makes things to be clearer somehow.

I just got something to ask if you allow me guys.

Something that really drives me mad is all the material available in insulation shops.

Should it be rigid panels or semi-rigid works as good?

I found some rock wool at 70kg/m3 its that alright or should I try to find something higher, I was thinking the more density the less panels you would need but probably to cover several reflection points the best.

Hmmm yeah that's it....

Thanks.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by L.B

I found some rock wool at 70kg/m3 its that alright or should I try to find something higher, I was thinking the more density the less panels you would need but probably to cover several reflection points the best.

That's fine, but higher density doesn't make up for less surface area. If you had to err in one direction you'd want less density but more surface area. To be clear, if you can get the 70Kg stuff, get it...but cover as much area as you would have covered had you been working with 48Kg stuff.

Frank

[6pod9]

Cool I will do that Frank. Thanks for the quickness.stike

What about rigid or semi-rigid? Does it make any difference?

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by L.B

What about rigid or semi-rigid? Does it make any difference?

Nope...as long as the density is right the rigidity makes no difference whatsoever.

Frank

[6pod9]

Thanks again.

Because frames improve absorption as I think I read, I thought the rigidness would change reactions.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by L.B

Thanks again.

Because frames improve absorption as I think I read, I thought the rigidness would change reactions.

It's not the frames that improve absorption. The effectiveness of absorption is a factor of density, thickness and the amount of square footage covered. The frame is incidental, related mostly to form rather than directly to function.

Frank