Hello all! I have just moved into my new basement studio and I am really excited about getting it optimized to be the best control room I can afford :P. I am using this room to produce electronic music and therefore will be doing little to zero recording of acoustic instruments. This is strictly computer/synth music.

I am about to order 8 boxes of 8pcf/2inch mineral wool panels giving me a total of 48 2inch panels to work with. I haven't constructed anything yet but my intention is to make at least 8 6inch bass traps and use the remaining 24 panels to make 12 4inch mid/high absorbers.

THE ROOM: 22'9" x 20'9" ...ceiling is 7 7/8'
The walls are concrete, covered with 1970's woodgrain paneling mounted on a stud-frame (so,not directly on the concrete).
The ceiling is drywall.

38% rule has been applied

Questions: (keep in mind I have zero absorption right now)
1) Does it really make a difference to use 6inch traps for corners or would I be better off just making 24 4inch traps or some combination of 4inch for traps and 2inch for mid/highs?
2) Where are the most crucial points to hang the mid/high absorbers to help acheive a reflection free zone?
3)Am I a candidate for diffusers?

I've heard Ethan and others say hundreds of times that the more bass absorption the better so I'd prefer to work with that mentality.

Not sure if it matters but I am a Goa/Psytrance artist so bass is a HUGE part of my production. I am working with Dynaudio BM6a's and a subwoofer.

P.S. Hopefully I can get the floor plan jpeg to post properly to help understand the space I am working with.

P.P.S. Pictures of finished studio to come.

Yes, having more 4-inch traps is better than fewer 6-inch traps. See my Density Report which is about something else, but also compares what you're asking:

http://www.ethanwiner.com/density/density.html

> 2) Where are the most crucial points to hang the mid/high absorbers to help acheive a reflection free zone? <

This is explained in the Forum FAQ (see the READ THIS FIRST post), and also in the article How to set up a room on my company's site:

http://www.realtraps.com/art_room-setup.htm


> 3)Am I a candidate for diffusers?

Sure. But understand that good diffusors are a lot more expensive than good absorbers, whether you're buying or making them yourself.

--Ethan

Ethan,thank you! I've read the comparison article before and that is an excellent answer for me and anyone else thinking about going for density over coverage. That was really my main question and I will do my best to share with the rest of the forum the process of and results of all the time, money, and effort I've put into this project.

Sorry bout that 2nd question. I've read that article a hundred times and I suppose I was just hoping to find an "easter egg." Silly me.

ok. so here are the options I'm thinking of building. What do you guys think is my best option? Also, I was thinking of treating the front two corners with four traps each stacked horizontally since I dont mind giving up the space. What difference would it make by doing it that way instead of the standard vertical stacking using only 2 traps per 8 foot corner?

I will be getting 48 24"x48"x2" panels. Here are the options.

1)48-2"

2)24-4"

3)20-4" + 8-2"

4)8-6" + 8-4" + 8-2"

I'm thinking option 4 because I still get 24 panels and I can distribute them according to which part of the room needs a specific range of absorpition. Option 3 sounds good because it gives me the most coverage but I don't get the deep frequency absorption that 6" traps would give.

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't do that. It will leave too much air versus the amount of fiberglass. However, if you did that and also filled the entire triangle cavity with fluffy fiberglass, now that would be a serious bass trap!

> I'm thinking option 4 <

Yeah, probably.

--Ethan

OK, I'm Back. Just ordered 48 2" X 24" X 48" MIN WOOL panels from Insulation World . Just ordered 34 yards of black and snow white burlap from Hancock Fabrics too. Probably gonna need more black cause I bought the last of their remaining stock.

FYI- total cost so far = $544.08

I've almost decided how I'm gonna use the 48 panels.

4- 6"
14- 4"
8- 2"

This gives me 26 traps/panels. Coverage and trapping are maximized I believe.

QUESTIONS:
1) Considering the size of the room and layout where do the four 6" traps go? I'm thinking the front two corners. I'm also thinking of lining the front wall-ceiling corner right in front of my mix position because when I walk behind the speakers it seems to have a little more bass build-up right there on that front wall. Hmmmm.

2) I'll definately use 4" traps for my clouds. Should I hang them 4" from the ceiling to maximize their trapping effect or should I consider hanging them lower/higher for another reason?

Sure.

> 2) I'll definately use 4" traps for my clouds. Should I hang them 4" from the ceiling to maximize their trapping effect <

Sure, assuming you have that much space to give up.

--Ethan

Well, the cost just went up to $736.38

I didn't realize that when ordering the Min Wool panels from Insulation World, they estimate shipping costs. They say the cost can either go up or down, mine went up. Hancock fabrics didn't have any rolls of burlap. They called me up a week after I placed my order and said they could only offer me precut pieces of the burlap. Then I found Fabricland. I called up Pete there and he had rolls in stock and processed my order right away. Nice guy. 25 yards of black 25 of white..$187.50 w/shipping.

Gee, what a surprise.

--Ethan

Ethan,

I was reading the page on Room Setup at RealTraps and noticed where you said, " The method shown here is simpler because it avoids needing a mirror and second person...."

I agree with the mirror part, however a second person who knows how to do that long haired math is still required.

And most of my friends would fit the part of a "monkey with a mirror" much better than that of a mathematician with a calculator..........

Have a great day!
D.

Two multiplications and one division are "long haired" math?

--Ethan

Well, we've built:

2 - 6inch
3 - 4inch
3 - 2inch

Roughly 13 hours of build time, 5.5 boxes of mineral wool left, and all wood is cut. We had a last minute decision and went with wood frames as opposed to a frameless design we had in mind.

Today we hung the clouds. The measuring was exhausting in itself, just to get the spacing right. We are using Black and white burlap to wrap the frames. To our pleasant surprise the white panels GLOW IN THE BLACKLIGHT!
Needless to say, the sound is changing dramatically.
Here are some photos.

Just so happens the laundry room door is right in the perfect place to hang this 2inch panel, where my RFZ will be. We put it on hinges to allow access to the laundry room.

6inch VS. 2inch

Being 6'3" has its advantages.

Energy bulbs stay cool.

The clouds are up.


With the lights off.

Excellent!

Thanks Ethan! Here is a little sequence of the weekend activities as of Saturday. More than halfway done and the sounds in my Dyns get more focused with every trap we mount. Cheers!

First we cut the wood.


48" & 25.5"


Be sure to pre-drill your holes. We used 1.5" long screws.


Brace your corners for extra support


Staple the burlap to the back of the frame


If you measured properly the panels should fit right in




Staple more burlap and the trap is ready for mounting


Wood paneling is weak and provided an extra challenge for front wall/ceiling corners.


This is one of our 6inch traps before filling and burlap.


After


2inch panel mounted 2 inches off of front wall

We like your corner bass traps.....for other ideas please check our website....the leading edge in room acoustics.

Hey Psyentific.....How's your room sound now after your complete treatment? I'm into techno/drum'n'bass/electronica as well, and would like to hear some of your tunes. I have one I feel comfortable about sharing. I really like your room setup, and I'll probably configure mine similarly. What 2 synths are those? One looks like a motif....I have fantom X6, microkorg, EMU XL7 command station....thinking about getting a motif ES rack. cheers!
e-mail: mykill666@comcast.net my name's mike hill(mykill)

the treatment is actually not %100 complete. turns out that 50 yards of burlap is good for 18 traps. I have 11 panels left to cover and I plan on using them to make 8 more traps. So i'll need another 25 yards of burlap.

Good news is the RFZ is taken care of . That was my first goal. Everything we install after that is just bonus absorption.

How's the sound? AWESOME!!!

I can finally HEAR the reverb/delay I apply down to the smallest detail. I used to swamp my sounds in verb, now I can really control the space I am trying to simulate.

As far as sharing tunes, I'll hit you up once we're finished with our first track ("Hypnotoad")from the new room. It's going so well the first car stereo test we did passed with flying colors. We were happy with the whole mix, BASS and all.

The synths are the Access Virus TI and Motif 8. We love the TI. It's so flexible and we can design the trippiest sounds we can imagine. The TI also can be programmed and manipulated like a regular ol' VST plug-in. Our next synth will be the Clavia Nord Wave as soon as it comes out.

IMHO, the ES and Fantom have the same sounds. They are just preset machines with little design capability and in a year you'll end up tired of the same old sounds. I was working at Sam Ash from 2006-2007 and got to mess with these machines everyday. I think you should treat your room before you get any new toys. It'll be worth it. After that pick up a Nord or Virus, any model, they're all FAT! What DAW/sequencer are you working with? We are happy with Ableton Live 5.2.

My music partner is also amazed. It took me about 5 months to convince him that treatment was necessary if we were going to produce tracks that we can put on an album and play in a blaring club/outdoor venue. Acoustics was my favorite subject when I was in school and I think it gave me an egde in convincing him. That and the months of reading I did on this site and Ethans sites, we are now more excited than ever to start writing tracks again. This project cost about $1000 once we finish the last of the traps. Well worth it considering manufactured traps would cost about $3000+ to do the same treatment.

By the way, thanks Ethan!!!!

Metta,
Brian

Brian,



You got it. Not only reverb and short delays etc, but once all early reflections are treated you can hear tiny changes in volume, panning, and EQ too. I regularly tweak things in half dB increments.

--Ethan

I'm all hardware.....Yamaha AW16G w/burner. I use the fantom X to control and sequence the others. I agree the stock sounds of the X are boring, but it has more than enough power to create excellent patches. I also have a roland V-drum kit, it's the older flagship version(v-session). I'm a metal drummer turned electronica freak(went to a rave long ago.....brain was altered) Do send an email of hypnotoad when your done, and I'll send one back. L8R bro