how to bass trap such a room?

[Ethan Winer]

This should get you off to a good start:

How to set up a room
Acoustic Basics

--Ethan

The Acoustic Treatment Experts

[tumdrum]

Thanks ethan, this is what I already know but thanks for the refresher. My problem is I have been searching and. A lot of threads talk about even bass trapping but at the back is only 1 corner the other corner is a door. How do I get around that? From my understanding, corner traps are more effective than wall hanging. I understand I might be wrong.

[tumdrum]

the green thing is a window

[tumdrum]

there are 2 hanging doors to the closet as well. I've been squeezing my set up on the wall with the closet on my left. I'm building 2 bass traps for each corner going up to the ceiling. The back wall will have the same with 2 bass traps as well on the back wall. 2 floating above the mix position as clouds and one on each side for early reflections. I can't do bass traps the same way as the front wall cause of the door. Any ideas? Does this sound like a good idea? Bass traps are roxul safe n sound. 2 feet by 4 feet and 6 inches deep.

[Syncamorea]

The wall dimensions will set the foundation for the room's modal response, so that means it's still basically and 11x11' room. Which means you will struggle to get control of the bass, even if you trap heavily. Check out VPRs and MLV traps.

[tumdrum]

Originally Posted by Syncamorea

The wall dimensions will set the foundation for the room's modal response, so that means it's still basically and 11x11' room. Which means you will struggle to get control of the bass, even if you trap heavily. Check out VPRs and MLV traps.

So if you had to treat the room to mix a few albums, what would you do? Where would you trap most effectively?

[GIK Acoustics]

I am in a similar looking room (my closet doesn't protrude into my room though, so it's a little different). Based on what I have in my room, I would suggest:

Large superchunks or soffit traps floor to ceiling in the front corners. I would also try to get the floor/wall corner and wall/ceiling corner in the front as well. Trapping at all first reflection points (including the ceiling) and perhaps some freestanding panels in the back of the room. I would suggest using very thick panels for all of the panels so you get as much bass absorption from every trap as possible. If more traps were necessary, I would likely try getting the ceiling/wall corners to not take up any floor space but still give viable absorption.

As Syncamorea suggested, tuned absorbers or enhanced absorbers are a good option but can be tricky to DIY - I would definitely read up on it for awhile until you understand the concepts. I would also suggest testing your room first to see what exactly is needed. You can use the following program to test your room: Room EQ Wizard Tutorial - GIK Acoustics

[Syncamorea]

Yep, what Alexander said.

A soffit can help a bunch and since it doesn't eat up your footprint, it makes a small, treated room feel a little larger than if you have a bunch of thick wall panels.

Small, square rooms are about compromises that all involve a bunch of traps.

[tumdrum]

So just for clarification, 6 in open roxul safe n sound bass traps 2ft by 4ft from floor to ceiling on front wall and back, 2 for 1st reflections, 2 for ceiling clouds, and 2 on back wall, won't be enough? I have to do soffits or superchuncks and those will be sufficient?

[jwl]

Good advice above.

Bottom line, an 11x11 room will be difficult. The more bass traps you can place in the room, the better it will sound. Put as many as you can in as many places (especially corners) as you can.

If you are really dedicated, and don't need the storage space, you might also stuff the closet full of absorbent material.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by tumdrum

at the back is only 1 corner the other corner is a door. How do I get around that?

Rectangle rooms have 12 corners, not just four where walls meet other walls. This is from the Acoustics Basics article I linked above:

Originally Posted by Acoustic Basics

Note that rectangle rooms have 12 corners: four where each wall meets another wall, four where each wall meets the ceiling, and four more where each wall meets the floor.

Further, more traps flat on the front and rear walls helps further. The thicker the better.

--Ethan

[GIK Acoustics]

Originally Posted by tumdrum

So just for clarification, 6 in open roxul safe n sound bass traps 2ft by 4ft from floor to ceiling on front wall and back, 2 for 1st reflections, 2 for ceiling clouds, and 2 on back wall, won't be enough? I have to do soffits or superchuncks and those will be sufficient?

I would certainly recommend a few things:

Safe 'n' Sound works great, especially for thick traps. I would double up the Roxul on the traps if it's possible, so they're 6" thick. In a square room, there really isn't any reason to do thin traps as they will not provide the low end absorption that is needed. It WILL sound better with 3" traps, and if your budget is really tight and you can't afford it - it will still absorb the harmful reflections. If you do go with just a single sheet in each trap, try to space them from the wall a few inches to get some added absorption from them.

And you don't have to so soffits or superchunks, you can do some regular 6" thick panels straddling the corner if budget is tight, but superchunks or soffits would be more beneficial for absorbing bass.

There are always compromises people make when building these, and unfortunately that compromise is usually thickness or amount of traps, which are both very important.

I would think a 6" panel at each first reflection point along with hitting 4 corners of the room (preferably 6" or thicker) will be a good start to the room to kick some resonances down.

[tumdrum]

Thanks. My plan was to do traps floor to ceiling, all corners, cloud, side reflections and front and back of the room. I planned that they would all be 6in deep. 2ft by 4ft. To start... What should I plan for the next phase?

[tumdrum]

Now, nothing I do can be permanent. My wife and I are in an apartment now to aave for the studio about a year from now so all things I do can't be permanent.

[tumdrum]

Ok I'm starting to build the bass traps. All will be 6in deep. WARNING bass trap fabric question: all the threads here talk about breathable fabric. Because of Soo many traps(I'm planning to build 15, would it be more beneficial to use thinker fabric for the lows so the traps don't suck all the highs out of the room? Trying to avoid a complete dead room.

[tumdrum]

Anyone?

[John White]

It would need to be quite some fabric not to have the highs pass through. Perhaps some type of synthetic leather? How about wood in a slot pattern or perforated plywood or sheet metal or...

[cananball]

Stuff the entire closet full of rolux. Turn the closet into a giant bass trap. 24" on the back wall should be a good start.

Sent from my SCH-I535

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by tumdrum

Because of Soo many traps(I'm planning to build 15, would it be more beneficial to use thinker fabric for the lows so the traps don't suck all the highs out of the room? Trying to avoid a complete dead room.

For bass traps in corners and away from reflection points, you can use a heavier, more reflective fabric.

--Ethan

[tumdrum]

Thanks for the help so far guys... On my way to a better sounding room. I will post my results here in a week or so when I'm done.

[tunekicker]

I may have missed, but what is on the floor? If the floor is a hard surface and not carpeted try some thick rugs. It is easier to treat the floor than the ceiling, so if you need to treat the floor do it before treating the ceiling. Then you can more closely hear/measure what the ceiling needs.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[tumdrum]

It's carpet.

[GIK Acoustics]

Originally Posted by tumdrum

Thanks for the help so far guys... On my way to a better sounding room. I will post my results here in a week or so when I'm done.

Looking forward to hearing about the results!

To answer your earlier question, a thicker/less porous cloth would be fine if you don't wish to attenuate higher frequencies as much.

[tumdrum]

here is what rew showed with 4 corners floor to ceiling 6in thick

[tumdrum]

im waiting for more roxul to come in. in the mean time i put up some foam to tame flutter echo.

[Heyclown]

Viscoustic Room Simulator.
You can even measure up the room and send it to them and you will get a reply. FWIK

[tumdrum]

I have pics if anyone wants to see. I noticed a difference with mixing since they went up. It's not perfect but the translation is better. I measured before and thought I was doing something wrong because the graph looked like a big rollercoaster. It looks better now. Hopefully another 7 traps 6in thick will do the trick.

[Glenn Kuras]

If the tests are right, then that decay time between 40 and 50hz is a monster. You may want to try to move the mix spot forward or back to try to bring down the peak but it won't fix the decay. For that it is just going to take a lot of bass trapping in corners.