Bass Traps - Fabric Covering??

[Jamesie]

Hi All,

I have read a few times that it is best to use a thin material to cover Bass Traps, i.e. something you can breath through.

My main question is what effect will there be having thicker material to cover the traps in??

Reason for asking is I have made my Bass Traps from 6" of Rockwool (finally found some in New Zealand) and have spied some material that is the perfect colour but is slightly thicker than I would hope. It is like a curtain material without any backing on it. I can breath through it (just).

Thanks for any replies,

Paul

Attached are Pics for anyone who is interested, 2 x full height (floor to ceiling) for front corners, 3 x 2' x 4' for back wall, and 4 x 2' x 4' for some ceiling/wall corners.

[Acoustic Cloud]

Geesh those are nice!

I dont think the thickness matters, as much as the loose weave, and the natural fabric. Like not a tight blend/poly fabric.

Ethan & Glenn could tell you more.

[dantheman65]

If its purely for bass trapping then the material shouldn't matter so much as the bass will travel right through it.

I've heard about a few people who add bass traps to their room and it just deadens it a little too much for the highs and mids, so they add a plastic sheet over the top to reflect those out but leave the bass in tact.

But yeah I'm sure someone more intelligible than myself will tell you more/correct me.

[lowfreq33]

Burlap.

[georgyj]

I took lycra for my broadband foam absorbers. The best material I've tried until now, but also optical very transparent. If your absorbers shall mainly trap bass, fabrics don't really matter.

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by Jamesie

Hi All,

I have read a few times that it is best to use a thin material to cover Bass Traps, i.e. something you can breath through.

My main question is what effect will there be having thicker material to cover the traps in??

Reason for asking is I have made my Bass Traps from 6" of Rockwool (finally found some in New Zealand) and have spied some material that is the perfect colour but is slightly thicker than I would hope. It is like a curtain material without any backing on it. I can breath through it (just).

Thanks for any replies,

Paul

Attached are Pics for anyone who is interested, 2 x full height (floor to ceiling) for front corners, 3 x 2' x 4' for back wall, and 4 x 2' x 4' for some ceiling/wall corners.

If you can breath through it then you should be fine.

Glenn

[s-cube]

Originally Posted by Glenn Kuras

If you can breath through it then you should be fine.

Glenn

So it doesn't absolutely have to be burlap? I've found another fabric where i live, it has a loose weave similar to burlap but its more stretchable kind of like a net. Do you think i could still use it?

The only issue i'm worried about is fibers floating around from my rockwool panels as the weave is quite loose.

[narco]

nicely done

I'm in NZ too, give me a pm if you've got anything I could help with

I used hessian (americans call it burlap), you can get it in some nice natural shades, it smells a bit at first, like sacking material, but that goes away

as someone said, for bass frequencies anything will do. If you want to stop highs to maybe talk into it and see if you can hear a reflection?

Where did you get your rockwool in the end? I got mine from forman insulation

narco

[narco]

Originally Posted by s-cube

The only issue i'm worried about is fibers floating around from my rockwool panels as the weave is quite loose.

this shouldn't happen unless its windy in your studio

narco

[Audionaut]

If these are really meant to be "bass traps" as the thread title suggests and NOT broadband absorbers, you don't want an acoustically transparent fabric. The really low end waves are going to get into these traps regardless, but the danger is that you're going to end up killing ALL of your high frequency waves at the same time. I've employed burlap to tack my corner superchunks in place within wood frames, but our rockwool is wrapped in heavy (4mil) plastic "contractor" trash bags to keep out the HF waves. Seems to be working pretty well.
If you consult Everest's "Master Handbook of Acoustics" you'll see that he even recommends thin hardboard or plywood to face their bass traps and exclude the rest of the frequency range (for corner traps).
Good luck!

[Audionaut]

-another note: those are great frames!
Here's another option to cover ALL of your bases with those frames you built:
Try facing a couple of them them with a 1/4" or 3/16" hardwood or laminate sheet to get your LF in check (corners, mostly). Then, if your room reflections and HF response are bothering you, use one of those "doorknob hole" cutting attachments on a drill to start poking 3" diameter holes (for broadband absorption) into the hard faces. Listen to your room after every couple of holes until you're dialed in.
Cover these with breathable fabric.

[riffster]

Yeah those are nice. I used muslin.

[emeline-rec]

Originally Posted by s-cube

So it doesn't absolutely have to be burlap? I've found another fabric where i live, it has a loose weave similar to burlap but its more stretchable kind of like a net. Do you think i could still use it?

The only issue i'm worried about is fibers floating around from my rockwool panels as the weave is quite loose.

rockwool isn't carcinogenic so won't do you any harm, and as long as you don't disturb the panels you shouldn't get fibers floating around so don't worry too much. It will however irritate your skin when working with it so wear gloves

[Jamesie]

Hi All,

Cheers for the replies and complements.

From what I gather, the thickness of the material isn't going to have much effect, at most it might refect some highs. (which could be a good thing). So I should be good to go with what I found.

Thanks Audionaut for the tip on the hardwood or laminate facing, I will look into that further before doing the final covering. (may just tack some on and see what happens).

Narco, found the Rockwool at the same place, really good guys to deal with!!!!

Thanks again all,

Paul

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by Jamesie

Hi All,

Cheers for the replies and complements.

From what I gather, the thickness of the material isn't going to have much effect, at most it might refect some highs. (which could be a good thing). So I should be good to go with what I found.

Thanks Audionaut for the tip on the hardwood or laminate facing, I will look into that further before doing the final covering. (may just tack some on and see what happens).

Narco, found the Rockwool at the same place, really good guys to deal with!!!!

Thanks again all,

Paul

Yes if you use something thick it can help to not over dampen the room, but if you go that way I would recommend testing the room after you treat it to make sure they are working right. You may be fine, but.....................