Worthwhile bass absorption

[Bendybones]

Hi All,
Had no traps til recently.
A friend moved studio &left me a pair of his DIY traps.
Don't even know if they're bass or broadband absorbers but they are covered in underlay.
Don't hear much difference with them in front corners of studio.

So I measured my room's bass response with and without the traps.
Mmaximum difference between recordings was only 5dB
but most differences were 0.5-3dB.

These are huge (2m x 1m x 0.15m), ugly, cumbersome, 'door-and-window-blocking' eye-sores for what seems to me to be a small difference

Are better bass traps in order or is this a reasonable amount of absorption and I just need more of them?

Is it possible that they could be good for mid or high freqs?

If so where can I get some different test tones?

Test set up was:
-A Behringer ECM8000 at mix position
-Adam P11As
-Ableton Live playing sine from 40-300Hz at 1Hz increments (10sec each increment)
-M-Audio FW1814 for playback and recording
-Ableton Live recordin mic input

[river]

Bass traps aren't just for corners, you should have them on the rear wall and on the ceiling above your mixing position as well. The objective is to eliminate standing waves as well as buildup in the corners. My room is 10 x 14 and I'm using 6 traps as well as two sidewall absorbers and a front wall slatted diffuser. It's made a huge difference in getting accurate bass and midrange images for me. Ethan Winer (Real Traps) has a free program available on his site called Modecalc, it will identify the bass and low mid frequencies that will produce standing waves in your room.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by Bendybones

Are better bass traps in order or is this a reasonable amount of absorption and I just need more of them?

Probably both. Without knowing how they're made or from what materials, it's anybody's guess if they're any good.

If so where can I get some different test tones?

There are test tones and much more at my company's site:

RealTraps - Home

Look around there a bit and I'm sure you'll find much of interest and value.

--Ethan

[Bendybones]

Thanks folks,
I'm gradually getting to undersrtand.

[octatonic]

I put fat people in the corner of my studio when mixing.

[siloo]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I put fat people in the corner of my studio when mixing.

What the hell is wrong with you? I don't mean to hijack, but come on man. That's a pretty insulting, not to mention ignorant and mean-spirited thing to say!

[tommy pee]

Originally Posted by siloo

What the hell is wrong with you? I don't mean to hijack, but come on man. That's a pretty insulting, not to mention ignorant and mean-spirited thing to say!

i laughed.

i am a terrible person

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by siloo

What the hell is wrong with you? I don't mean to hijack, but come on man. That's a pretty insulting, not to mention ignorant and mean-spirited thing to say!

how is that insulting? people are insulted too easily these days

narco

[ONDRAY]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I put fat people in the corner of my studio when mixing.

LMFAO

Okay,.. umm ya that wasn't very nice, put a good ice breaker from the seriousness of GS.

[PoorGlory]

Originally Posted by siloo

What the hell is wrong with you? I don't mean to hijack, but come on man. That's a pretty insulting, not to mention ignorant and mean-spirited thing to say!

Dude, it was funny. Get a grip. Would it have been better if he said he parks quadriplegics in the corners of his room? Maybe, but that's a little bit meaner. But still funny. You can market it as the "Terry Shiavo Bass Trap system". Ok, now I'm definitely going to hell.

[matthew.sawicki]

Originally Posted by siloo

What the hell is wrong with you? I don't mean to hijack, but come on man. That's a pretty insulting, not to mention ignorant and mean-spirited thing to say!

What's wrong with fat people in the corner of the room? I'm sorta fat, and I stand in the corner of the room often... are you implying that there is something wrong with me? Some sort of stigma I don't know about?!

I had no idea!

[woofhead]

how's about little people for the upper mids?

[scking]

Originally Posted by woofhead

how's about little people for the upper mids?

Too dense. Maybe a small child....

[lampmeister]

...or lots of dwarfs of various heights stuck to the walls as skyline diffusers...?

[jitterybit]

or fluffy kittens.
anyway, check out bobgolds.com
you can get some ideas there, if you wish to do more DIY stuff

[jbuehler]

I like my bass traps fat.......BIG and really FAT!!!!!

You know what I mean

This thread should be put to rest.......

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I put fat people in the corner of my studio when mixing.

Well the sabin count of a "heavier " person would be so much higher than for paris hilton.

But really, of the 2 who would you prefer in the corner of your studio to absorb some of your flabby bass!

GJ
Newcastle/OZ

[NLP]

Aretha & Latifah... Paris only for mid freq.

[camerondye]

This thread has been officially hijacked, but for good reason. The fat people thing was funny, once this turns to midgets and farm animals...I'm in. Political correctness makes things worse...
cameron

[brendandwyer]

Originally Posted by camerondye

This thread has been officially hijacked, but for good reason. The fat people thing was funny, once this turns to midgets and farm animals...I'm in. Political correctness makes things worse...
cameron

agreed. i'm an equal opportunity offender.