What fabric for bass traps?

[skiroy]

Hey guys does it matter what fabrics I wrap my 703 owens panels in? I want a bright red fabrics which the company where Im buying the owens panels from dont have. Can I find any heavy weight fabrics at a fabrics store and use it or does it have to be certain kind that will keep the fiberglass fibers from being released into the air and giving me cancer!!!

[Ethan Winer]

From my Acoustics FAQ:

Nearly any porous fabric is appropriate, and one popular brand is Guilford type FR701. Unfortunately, it's very expensive. One key feature of FR701 is that it's made of polyester so it won't shrink or loosen with changes in humidity when stretched on a frame. But polyester is a common material available in many styles and patterns at any local fabric store. Another feature of FR701 is that it's one of the few commercial fabrics rated to be acoustically transparent. But since you're not using it as speaker grill cloth to place in front of a tweeter, that feature too is not necessary.

Shiny fabrics having a tight weave should be avoided because they reflect higher frequencies. The standard test for acoustic fabric is to hold it to your mouth and try to blow air through it. If you can blow through it easily, it will pass sound into the fiberglass. Burlap and Muslin are two inexpensive options, but nearly any soft fabric will work and also keep the glass fibers safely in place.

Also, fiberglass is not carcinogenic. See this:

Facts About Fiberglass - American Lung Association site

--Ethan

[Crash]

I was under the impression that you didn't want a heavy fabric.... I used a linen like material that is very similar in weight to a fabric handkerchief. What is it with everybody thinking their panels are going to give them cancer?? As long as you aren't beating on your panels, I would think you would be fine. This fiberglass gets used in all sorts of aspects of construction, like A/C duct work, so I can't imagine that if it gets used for that, it would be harmful hanging on your wall. Just don't lick 'em or smoke 'em... or beat on them.

You may want to go to the acoustics section down below for more info on bass trap construction. There is a ton of info on materials.

[skiroy]

Well IM not going to beat on them but I do have 2 small children. But thankx for the info. Also I was going to hang those acoustic quilted blakets on a sliding ceiling curtain rack in my corner as a soundbooth for vocals only. Do you know if this is worth doing or is the only real option to close it off? The blankets are NCR rated at .70 and they would extend from an 1-2" below the ceiling down to the floor.

[TheBSper]

I had a great experience using these guys. The traps are SUPER easy to hang, just screw the hooks into the wall and then hang the traps from the straps already sewn onto the back of the bags.

There's a picture up on myspace from a drum tracking session I'm working on right now where you can see the bass traps hanging from the ceiling in the top left and then in the wall-to-wall corner behind the kit. You'll have to log in to myspace to see it though...if you don't have MS let me know and I'll see about posting it here or maybe just taking some more photos of the traps as the focus of the picture

I started off using foam traps and they weren't that effective, so you can see I added the fiberglass traps to the foam treatment I already had in place. The grey panels behind the kit are portable gobos, which I used just to block the sunlight coming in from the windows so I could take these photos for documentation purposes more than for any acoustic function.

[skiroy]

Yes IMgoing to tune the room with traps but what about the curtain question for the vocal isolation?

[Sigma]

x's2 for Guilford of Maine type FR701

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by Ethan Winer

From my Acoustics FAQ:



Also, fiberglass is not carcinogenic. See this:

Facts About Fiberglass - American Lung Association site

--Ethan

yeh people aomehow compare it to asbestos..whose fibers are hook like and attach to and scar lung tissue